Hey there, Catherine here. In this post I’m sharing three of my favorite elements for putting together a simple pocket page layout.
Whether you’re new to hybrid scrapbooking or you’ve been documenting your memories with pocket pages or Project Life for years, I hope this post will be helpful!
For this post, I’m working with a layout documenting our recent weekend in Paris. We live in southwest Germany, so it was an easy road trip for us (what a luxury, we know!).
I wanted to keep the documenting really simple for this one and include a large photo of the two of us, since that’s really the memory we’ll keep with us – a weekend just the two of us.
Here’s the full layout:
I used three of my favorite hybrid scrapbooking elements to put this layout together: photo templates, printed journaling cards, and a simple insert.
ONE / Photo Templates
If you’re looking to group two, three, or even six photos in one pocket, photo templates are definitely the way to go. You need Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to use them, and the process is really simple.
Liz definitely has my favorite photo templates. They’re easy to use, they add white space, and they let me include lots of photos without a layout getting too busy.
I keep a folder of photo templates on my computer and scroll through them to figure out which to use for the layout or set of photos. I usually wind up mixing things up a bit and using different sets in one layout.
In a given layout, I also try to include both templates and full-bleed photos like the title picture in this layout, which is just a 4×6 photo with writing added to it in Photoshop.
Here’s a tutorial for using Liz’s photo templates.
TWO / Printed Journaling Cards
As much as I love seeing other people’s handwriting in their albums and layouts, I really prefer printed text in my own albums. It’s totally a personal preference, but it helps keep things streamlined and simple for me.
I also like the mix of textures between glossy photos and matte white cardstock.
Normally I run my journaling cards directly through my printer. You can see how I normally print on my journaling cards here.
For this layout, I wanted to use these day of the week “stamps” from pictures + words no. 15 spilling off the cards.
So I used Liz’s method for printing on journaling cards, which meant running the cards through the printer attached to a sheet of paper with washi tape. If you can’t run odd-sized pieces of paper through your printer, this method seems to work really well.
I love including lots of detail with words on just a couple of plain white journaling cards. For our trips, I include our itinerary and any details we want to remember. I like how the text breaks up the photos and it’s fun to go back and read those explanations of the photos.
THREE / Simple Inserts
I love a simple insert. I usually start with an 8.5 x 11 inch page protector, which you can easily buy in bulk online (these are the ones I use), and I use a piece of cardstock as the base for my insert. My go-tos are black, white, and kraft.
Then I’ll either print a single photo (like in this layout) or a collage using a photo template. I like printing 5×7 or 6×8 and leaving some space around the photo.
I added a little caption with white ink, secured the photo with some polka dot washi tape, and that’s it. Super simple, but I really like the inclusion of a large photo, which serves as a focal point for the layout.
If you’re an experienced memory-keeper, I’d love to hear your go-to elements for putting together a layout. And if you’re new to this, please let me know if you have questions!
You can find more of my work over on my blog, on Instagram, or see what’s inspiring me on Pinterest.
xo, Catherine
Products used: 4×6 photo templates vol. 6, 4×6 photo templates vol. 5, pictures + words no. 15 – all from Paislee Press; plus a Design A pocket page from Becky Higgins.
