You’ll never run out of pictures for scrapbooking your baby and toddler. This article will give you even more ideas for layouts. The themes for layouts are endless. Pay attention to your surroundings and pick up creative ideas from all around you. Leaves outside that your toddler can’t quit looking at – a page about their favorite cartoons, and them interacting with the show, etc. . . can be found. Below is a list I put together. May it inspire your muse and get you creating those unforgettable pages!
Putting a pair of glasses on your baby can inspire many different layouts, depending on the glasses. Sunglasses can inspire a glamorous photo op, or “Aren’t I cool?” photo opportunity. Do a ‘glamorous looking’ page by adding metal quotes or scripted poetry which matches your pictures. For the ‘Aren’t I cool?” LO – use cool colors that are laid back, or gives a hippieish feel. Make the page fun by adding whimsical items that you might think of using with older children. You’ll be sure to create a fun-filled page.
For the reading glasses pictures, make an education page – include items in your LO that you would think of using for a teacher.
Why not make a page of you, your spouse and baby all at the same age. If you have a baby book, or lucky enough to still have relatives around who knew you at that age, write a journal block under each one that describes and compares each person at that particular age.
It’s time for bed, ‘Sleepy Time’. Create a page with two or three pictures that tell the story of what you do to get your baby ready for bedtime. Be sure to write details beside each picture. If you need more room for journaling, make a pocket on the page to write a story with all the details.
Does your baby have a favorite toy? Make a page of your baby playing and sleeping with the toy. Find an advertisement to add to the page, so that years later they can see how much the toy sold for. If it’s something you can duplicate easily, like blocks, teddy bears, etc … make your title blocks in the same characters. If it’s something like the elmo rush, clip newspaper articles.
If you haven’t taken your newborn out on the town yet, make sure you take your camera to document the picture of the first person to stop you to say, “Awww … what a beautiful baby. Is it a boy or girl?” Even though you have a pink out fit on her.
Create a generations page of the same sex – include baby, dad, granddad, great granddad, etc .. include special sentiments about how each of them interact with baby. What things do they do to try and make baby smile, etc . . .
Use a corner rounder to round photo’s corners. Make everything on the page rounded, or round.
Make a page that tells the story of a famous look. Does you toddler make funny faces every time he toots? Capture the look that will make everyone who sees it smile for years.
Make long ribbon strips of different designs, but coordinating colors. Wrap one end over the top of the page. Make bows to place on top of the ribbons and place at various heights. Make the colors of the ribbons and bows, match the color of clothes your baby is wearing.
Create a page with their very first friend and their first time meeting each other. Make sure you snap pictures of them getting along in all stages. Hugging, laughing, fighting, crying.
Add a 3-D look by duplicating several pictures. Make the picture big and the only picture on the page. Take the duplicates, and cut out various different parts. Place the cut-outs on the same spot on the main picture with slim pop-up dots. The look is great and will sure to become one of your favorite pages!
Make pre-made journal blocks and give them to different relatives and friends. Have them write their comments about a favorite picture of the two of them together.
Find the perfect poem to go with pictures of an outing, like a poem about the beach, zoo, etc . . . find great pictures in other magazines to put on the page, as well of other things that are in common with the place you went.
Get together with your scrapbooking friends and everyone be in charge of making one thing for a page. Decide on your theme – like 1st birthday, one make the title blocks for each person, one find and decorate a poem, one make mattes, etc . . .
While taking pictures, be sure to get several perspectives about one subject. Ex: baby picking out their favorite baby doll, playing with it, sleeping with it, dragging it around, etc . . .
Make a whole page of 3-D embellishments that aren’t bulky at all – by paper layering.
Give paper die-cuts, e-cuts bulk, and make them pop out by gluing them onto a firm background – you can use anything from a piece of cardboard to cardstock.
Do a mosaic LO – this is done by getting a ruler and drawing cross lines horizontally and vertically covering the whole picture. When you’re done, it’ll look like a bunch of little squares – cut them out, and then glue them together, (like a puzzle) on your page. Scenes work best for this. Faces look a little odd all pieced together. Place it on a white matte, before placing it on your page, so it will look like grout between the squares. Make sure you leave a little bit of even room between each square, to let a little bit of the white show.
Create a whole page using stamping. Stamping is a great medium, that many times gets overlooked. Stamps come in such a variety, that your page can really be made unique by using them. Be sure to use embossing powder, chalk, graphic artist pens, etc . . . to add to the look.
Make a page of tinted pictures. Take a picture, and on your photoshop program, make a regular portrait blue, red and green tint. Glue them side by side on your sheet and decorate. You can also use a Black and White photo, using photoshop, color in certain areas of your photo with color.
Save old greeting cards. They can be an endless supply of a very unique look.
Use a photo index card that you receive from getting pictures developed as border.
Do a favorite book LO, with your toddler reading the book, a review about the book with picture, etc . . .
I hope these ideas have inspired you to get scrapping! I know it has me.
