Hi everyone! It’s Catherine here, and today I’m sharing a simple pocket-page layout. I’ve been documenting our son’s first year using a 12 x 12 project life album, and I’m a little bit behind, so I’m trying to keep it simple as I finish up the last couple of months. I’m finding the formula that works for me includes lots of photos, a little bit of journaling and documenting monthly. I also find it a lot easier to tell a single story with the layouts, rather than attempting to include a bunch of different moments in one layout. I love the challenge of putting those more “random” layouts together, but I find doing a layout like this, with a single subject, a lot quicker for me to complete.

We’re a west coast family living in New England this year, and this winter has been a bit of a shock for us! The snow started falling in January and it just didn’t stop. So I gathered all of our snow photos from the month, printed them and used them in one layout, regardless of the specific date they were taken. This works because I’m documenting monthly, rather than weekly.

It’s so beautiful here – I just wish it wasn’t so cold! I knew I wanted to include a large image of a snowy street in our neighborhood. On the left side, I cropped the photo to 12 x 8 inches in Photoshop, and then broke it up into four 4 x 6s to make printing easy. I wanted to include a little bit of journaling on this page, so I added the “adventure” text from pictures + words no. 9 and just a couple of my own words.

In the pocket next to it, I used a pattern from the more or less papers along with a bit more kraft paper so I could include some more journaling.

I contrasted the single photo on the left with a collage of photos on the right side, still sticking with my wintery theme.

As I scrolled through our January pictures in iPhoto, the shots of my shoes on the ground immediately jumped out at me, so I picked four that showed a progression of the snowfall throughout the month. I always use 4×6 templates vol. 1 (they’re free!) to print two 3×4 photos on a 4×6.

The minimalist photo templates have become a go-to for me in this album. They are the perfect way to add some journaling without sacrificing simplicity. I love the look and function of them.

On this page, I had room for just one 3×4 journaling card. I used the same dotted pattern as the previous page, along with some kraft paper. A little bit of journaling in the same fonts as the rest of the layout ties everything together and adds just enough detail to remind us of what a crazy winter we were about to experience!

This layout came together so quickly. I loved working with such a cohesive set of photos, and I love how the large photo contrasts with the collage of 3×4 pictures. I haven’t used kraft paper in ages, but it really warmed up the layout – all that snow was a little chilly!

I think I’ve discovered how I’m going to quickly finish up this album. You can see more of my work on my blog or on Instagram, or see what inspires me on Pinterest. Do you have a go-to formula when you’re playing catch-up with Project Life?

xo,

Catherine

Products used: wordart from pictures + words no. 9, papers from more or less, 4×6 templates vol. 1, minimalist 4×6 templates, minimalist 3×4 templates, Project Life pocket pages