The end of the year is an insane time filled with parties, packing, shopping, wrapping – all the “-ings,” if you know what I mean. In this post I’m sharing the steps I took to document about one-third of our December in one simple pocket page layout using photos and some really simple design.

We’re not immune to this busy-ness in our home, and I welcome it this time of year because it’s always good stuff. Let’s document it.

/ 1 / Place your photos in pockets (and prepare to move them around!)

I always print all of my photos and then initially place them in pockets. This time of year we take so many photos, so I tried to pick the ones that highlighted our experiences. We visited a bunch of local Christmas markets here in Germany, France, and Austria with our friend, so that’s what I made sure to document. I didn’t try to print every single photo or experience, just the highlighted moments that will remind me of those experiences. I kept the photo editing simple – just edited on my phone with no templates this time.

/ 2 / Print your journaling cards

I used the set of December You are my Fave no. 5 journaling cards to create the layout plus one card from the Project Life Everyday Edition core kit (designed by Liz!). Super duper simple.

I created an 8.5 x 11 inch plain document in Photoshop and added the cards I wanted to use to the one page so I could print once and then trim the cards. In Photoshop I was able to add my own text to a couple of the cards but you could easily just print the cards as-is and write your own journaling using your handwriting.

Once printed, I trimmed the cards to size using my trusty (10-years old!) paper cutter and scissors for the rounded card.

/ 3 / Experiment with the layout

Place your cards, change them around, swap out options. I like using the Design A pages because then I have more flexibility when moving the cards and photos around. In addition to the digital cards, I ended up adding a pop of red and pink using a card from the Project Life core kit, but a plain white card with some journaling was also a contender. The bottom line: keep it simple and have fun.

/ 4 / Embellish

If you’ve seen any of my previous posts, you probably know I’m not big on embellishing with much, but occasionally I’ll add a little something. For this layout I rounded out the journaling card for one photo and I added some text to a patterned card. Again – keeping it really simple.

/ 5 / Enjoy your finished work

I’m always a little stressed about selecting the photos, but once my layouts are complete I never, ever think about the photos I didn’t select. Done is way better than perfect, and now we have these photos printed and ready to enjoy!

Here’s the left side of the finished layout:

And here’s the right side:

What’s your process like for documenting these busy months and weeks? What’s the hardest part of the process for you?

Let’s tell our stories in simple ways that keep us working through the process and enjoying the results of our efforts.

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Cheers!

Catherine

Products used: December You are my Fave no. 5 journaling cards, Project Life Everyday Edition core kit, Design A pocket pages.