Anatomy of an Album: Baby (the beginnings)

[ American Crafts 12x12 Corduroy album in Blush; K&Company Butterfly; Hambly Butterfly transparency ]

And so it begins. A collection of stuff: images, stories, and bits of this & that picked up along the way.

I want Anna's baby album to essentially be a home for a bunch of different things. Some pages will be artsy, some simple, and others will just act as a place to store stuff. Little things (like the hospital bracelets & hat below) will be kept safe and sound inside the pocket of a page protector.

My mission is to selectively keep stuff, tell stories, and create a home for the memories of her first year. 

This is not an album with a master plan. There are no spots to fill in the blanks. It doesn't all match. Rather it is something that is evolving as she (and I) evolve.

I am using is a 12x12 3-ring album from American Crafts in Blush. Inside are four different sizes of page protectors from American Crafts: 12x12, 8.5x11, 6x12, and the divided 12x12 with 6 pockets for 4x6 photos. The pages are intermixed from one size to another which is one of my favorite things about 3-ring albums.

The current first page (shown above) is a divided page protector from Crop-In-Style that is designed as sticker & die cut storage. I am using these page protectors for little things because each pocket has an extra piece of transparency that essentially closes the pocket keeping the contents safe inside. This particular page protector has 5 pockets and holds a hat, the hospital bracelets, a clothing tag, the newspaper birth announcement, and the proof of the hospital photo. I envision that I will use more of these throughout the album.

[ Information and supplies on this layout can be found here. ]

One of the reasons I like to include 8.5x11 (besides that I like scrapbooking in that size) is that it fits standard sized papers - such as a document from the hospital and some information from the pediatrician that will be fun to look back on some day. The back of the layout above is a certificate from the hospital with Anna's footprints stamped onto the page.

[ Information and supplies on this layout can be found here. ]

[ Cosmo Cricket Animal Friends patterned paper]

The layout on the back of the music 6x12 page is one that documents what was happening around here at week 6. Journaling is from this post.

[ Hambly Onesie Transparency ]

As I mentioned in the beginning, I don't want this book to be just layouts. I want to include more bits of life such as this onesie. It's one of those tiny ones that only lasts a few weeks but is such a great reminder of what a miracle this whole thing is in our lives. Currently it is just sitting in there on top of the onsie transparency. I am not sure exactly how I am going to attach it to the transparency yet - I don't want any sort of adhesive that will yellow the onsie. 

The next couple pages are divided 12x12 protectors with 6 pockets for 4x6 photos. I want to be able to quickly slip in some of our favorite photos that may or may not be scrapbooked in a crafty way. 

It's a start. I am excited about getting some more stories documented - especially some layouts about meeting family, our time in the hospital, etc. I've done a few more 12x12 double-page spreads for Creating Keepsakes that will be coming out in issues later this year and will be placed in this album once they are photographed. There's no particular order to how I am telling these stories - usually it just depends on which one is inspiring me the most when I have the time to put something together.

I'm also planning to add in some 12x12 photo enlargements - maybe one like this:

I'm excited and inspired to get more of her stories told and to give them a home in this album.

I'll share some more interior shots again in a couple months as the album begins to grow.