Just today I spent 5 hours with a group of 7 women at my home all telling their story with little 4x6 and 3x4 cards and photos.

Today I've invited Jennifer Wilson from Simple Scrapper to share a little more about the style of scrapbooking that is growing daily - pocket scrapbooking.

If you are wondering how you could use pocket pages alongside your digital pages, read on...

The Project Life product line and various other incarnations of pocket scrapbooking have become wildly popular. Digital scrapbookers who are accustomed to creating layouts may not be sure how this shift applies to their chosen memory keeping format.

In this post I want to share three different methods digital scrapbookers can use to incorporate more pocket scrapbooking into their process. However, I do want to offer one caveat/reminder first. Pocket scrapbooking doesn’t have to be a 365, weekly, or even monthly type of activity.

I see pocket scrapbooking as an alternative page composition that can be used for any type of stories, big or small. Just as photo books are an alternative to layouts, pocket pages are simply a new format choice among many.

3 Pocket Approaches for Digital Scrapbookers

1. Traditionally Digital – The most common approach to pocket scrapbooking amount digital enthusiasts is the literal one. The grid-like pages are translated to digital layouts, with or without rounded corners. Some scrapbookers, like Amy Melniczenko (example), will even use products that mimic the look of a stitched pocket page.

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2. Quick & Easy Hybrid – The easiest way to dip your toe into pocket scrapbooking, but retain the general look and feel is to use the physical products. The digital variation is thus printing journaling directly on the cards. My favorite way to loosely attach the card to a sheet of 8.5x11 paper and run it through the printer. It works like a charm and is the echnique I used on this page from my new Before Your Story workshop.

 

3. All-Out Hybrid – My favorite way to leverage the computer for pocket scrapbooking involves a lot of printing, but the result is worth it. Here’s the process:

• Select digital journal card and add journaling.
• Re-size for printing using WendyZine’s action.
• Order rounded corner 3x4 print from Persnickety Prints.

This is a great option for specific projects that are finish-able in a shorter period of time, like December Daily. While I didn’t add journaling on my cards, I used this process to print decorative digital cards for my recent holiday project.

Pocket scrapbooking is not just for paper scrapbookers. No matter the option that works best for you, it’s very possible for digital scrapbookers to include more pocket-style and true pocket pages in their albums.

Have you tried any of these pocket approaches? Which one is your favorite?

 

Jennifer Wilson helps women create space in their lives for scrapbooking and focus on what matters most. She is founder of the Simple Scrapper website and is a Big Picture Classes instructor. Her new pocket album workshop, Before Your Story, begins February 27.