Love letters scrapbook is awesome to keep memories in one spot. My husband and I have a lot of letters, cards, drawings and tickets from the past 8 years. I had them all in two shoe boxes that we never looked at. I wanted to be able to have them in a place that was easy to pull out and flip through when I’m feeling especially girly and sentimental. I wanted this book to be all about the contents and not about the stickers, brads, gems and extra goodies I usually put into scrap booking, so I picked up a Smash Book binder from Michael’s and started loading everything in! Our love letters scrapbook is now one of my favorite keepsakes.
Love Letters Scrapbook
The first step was to sort through the most important memories. All of our memories are special but they can’t all fit in one book and I wanted them all in one space (up to this chapter of our lives). The next step was to attempt to put them into chronological order. This was, by far, the most time consuming step of the whole project. I didn’t stress out if I couldn’t remember when something had happened…I’d just throw it in somewhere close to that time period.
I loved that this book had a large pocket in the front and back to put larger treasures. I also used photos as pockets by adhering glue dots to the back and making it look pretty with washi tape on the front.
By layering pamphlets with their tickets, I was able to create a tangible layout. I’d kept the keycard holder from the hotel we stayed at and used it to hold the keys and tickets. I left everything in the envelopes accessible so we can pull them out later on. Envelopes also made for great pockets to hold letters.
I also bought a pack of hole punched folders to stuff holiday cards. I’ve saved all of the cards from flowers that Jeffrey has sent me and put them in the mini pocket folders. Anything that was a little heavier, I adhered with glue dots.
Anything that was double sided, I attached with washi tape so we’d be able to lift and read both sides. Again, in the above photo, I used an envelope that held a card because it had writing on the back that I didn’t want to be glued to the page.
In a few cases I had a lot of one thing (tickets, letters, art) so I made an envelope out of scrap paper and glue dots but covered with washi tape to make it a bit prettier.
I’d also gotten a clear photo holder that was by another company so I had to re-punch the holes. I wanted something clear that would hold photos, or in this case, movie tickets.
With the pack of hole punched folders I’d already mentioned, I added all of the remaining holiday cards. Another helpful technique was to accordion letters and tape one edge so you could unfold the letter to read it. I would show you a picture but I don’t want our love letters on the internet.
As always, a shot of my work area: messy. I was sure to include a few photos sprinkled throughout to show what we looked like during these memories. I have several photo scrapbooks already but wanted a memory album full of tickets and love letters. There are a few more pages left in the book but it’s so packed I can hardly wrap the elastic around it. I’ll just have to make a new one in 5 years! Have any of you made a memory album? What do you do with all the little trinkets you save from trips, birthdays and invitations?
Similar Posts:
Check out my Scrapbooking board on Pinterest for more ideas:
Follow Shelly @ DIY Mama’s board Project Life & Scrapbooking on Pinterest.
Pin it for later:
lisacng @ expandng.com says
Aww, so sweet, this keepsake book! So great to look back on. I used to have a book like this, in an album, but stopped because it took so much work. I love the smash book idea though. Maybe after I finish O’s baby PL album!
Shelly says
LISA! I knew you’d have something like this! π I suggest to take a break from PL to do this Smashbook. It took me NO TIME. The hardest part was not reading every single letter and crying over them. π It was fun to just be sporatic and creative with how I put it all in the book rather than embellishing and making sure all the color schemes went well together.
Rea says
Ahhh this is amazing Shelly!! I LOVE IT. This just reminds me though that I haven’t continued creating my scrapbook yet. I have to work on it during my free time. Such a joy to go back and remember those nice memories!
Shelly says
Haha! I didn’t mean to remind you that you haven’t finished your scrapbook, but I’m glad you like it! It was my favorite ‘scrapbook’ to create because of the simplicity!
Mrs. AOK says
LOVE!! I totally need to do this!!
Well, first I have to find everything I’ve saved, I’ve been like a squirrel collecting random things over the years but organizing it all… I haven’t been as efficient.
My husband has talked so much about Cedar Point. The pictures of you and your honey are adorable.
XOXO
Shelly says
I can’t wait to see what you make (you’ll have to at least IG it!) Funny story about CP. We went to OHIO for a wedding and CP was the big part of our vacation. We went on one twirly ride that they let us do twice in a row because someone had their phone out (so they had to stop to kick him off) and got so sick that we couldn’t go on anymore rides!!! π BOOO! We waited around for an hour, tried to eat, just wasn’t getting any better so we left. We’re too old for fun!!!!
Heather M. says
So flippin’ cute, Shelly! LOVE IT.
Shelly says
Knew you’d like that Heather! π
Jocelyn Jane Cox says
WONDERFUL! Meaningful! Clever! You really have a way with those glue dots. I did some scrapbooks for our wedding and honeymoon…I intend to do something for our now 2.5 year old, but for *some reason* (clue: he’s short and very chatty) I never get around to it…I love how you used photos to serve as envelopes/slots here! π
Isadora Guidoni says
What a great idea! I never thought about making a love letter scrapbook, I really like how romantic it is. I’m definitely going to start gathering and collecting things with my boyfriend to make our own <3
Shelly says
I hope it brings you as much joy as mine has brought me! It’s so fun to bring it out at anniversaries and if you can, leave some room for more memories!
Mark Brennan says
Nice scrapbooking, Shelly! So sweet to have a neat and organised little book that comemorates the love you and your husband share! Just curious, where did you find the scrapbook you used? Itβs so handy! Iβd love to have one for myself.
Shelly says
I found the Smash Book at Michaels but they’re also on Amazon! Just search Smash Scrapbook or Smash Portfolio.