Scrapbooking: Only 16 Years Later...

 Today's a big day because -- only 16 years later -- I'm finally done with scrapbooking the year 2001! I've been working on this year for awhile because things were particularly messed up due to the fact that I changed album styles that year and left a lot of things undone, notably the journaling in the strap-hinge album. I'm happy to put this mess behind me and move on to...2002!  As you can see in the above photo, I ended up with 3 albums for 2001, which is pretty typical for me (I'll make new spine labels one of these days). 

I found quite a few photos I wanted to add and most of them fit into small pocket pages. I also used lots of 8.5x11 page protectors for smaller subjects and memorabilia.

 

I used several of the 6x12 pockets for stray photos that somehow didn't make the cut the first time around.

 

The 6x12 open sleeves worked great for many types of memorabilia such as small certificates like this one from summer reading club.

I slipped Bailey's book list into the back of it so it can be pulled out. In addition, I occasionally I found a photo that spoke to me so much that it warranted its own page, so I stopped to make a few.

  I just mixed and matched my way through the year, adding in extra photos and memorabilia. The 3-ring binders make all the difference in the world, as they make it so easy to add things and move pages around.

There were very few pictures of me and my activities in the original albums, so whenever I found some I added them in.

I recycled a lot of the memorabilia I had kept. Sometimes I pulled out the one page I wanted and got rid of the rest. Going forward, I will need to scan or take photos of some memorabilia to reduce the bulk in the albums. In many cases, a smaller image would be just fine but 2001 was such a mess that I honestly didn't want to add in that extra step!

I often found myself reading through memorabilia trying to figure out why in the world I'd kept it! Obviously, most of those mystery items didn't need to be saved!

So now I'm moving on to 2002, which I'm hoping may be a little easier. I'm starting out with one album's worth of pages and will be adding at least one more album for that year. There are lots of events that didn't get scrapbooked back then (the half box of photos below), so I'll be using 12x12 pocket pages for many of them.

 

 I also have a lot of memorabilia for 2002 which will need to be incorporated into the albums in some fashion. (I should mention that I also have boxes of school papers which I'm not even attempting to work into these albums. These are family albums, not school albums, so I'm planning to make separate binders with Bailey's schoolwork highlights (no photos) over the years. Basically, my thought process is this: If I have photos of a particular event, then I'll add in the certificate or award that goes with it. Things like Bailey's spelling tests or a research papers will be saved in separate 

 binders.)

On the subject of memorabilia, I will say that my little system for saving "scrapbookable" memorabilia has worked really well. It took me awhile to figure out the best way to save and organize this kind of stuff but this method has been great. I have four hanging file folders per calendar year -- one for each quarter, so when I'm ready to work on pages, I just pull out that quarter's folder and see what I find! For this big project, I've been pulling out one year at a time.

Even if I don't use all of the memorabilia I saved, some of it is helpful to jog my memory! I never would have remembered these "record" birthday invitations! Now I can add one into the album when I work on her birthday pages.

 So overall this project is going well, but it is SLOW GOING. No surprise there! I only wish I had finished the 2001 albums back then as it would have been so much easier. FINISH WHAT YOU START! Lesson learned...16 years later! :)

jp