Setting Up 2021 For Success with Stacie Watson

Hello and Merry Christmas, Elle’s Studio friends! It’s Stacie here with you today to share some of my tips on setting up my memory keeping for success in 2021. How is it already time for a new year? I know at times this year has seemed to drag on forever and has had it’s challenges for sure, but I still can’t believe that it’s almost over. I’ve been doing pocket page scrapbook for my main memory keeping for ten years, and I’ve learned a few tips that have helped me to not become overwhelmed or get so frustrated that I say I’m done, no more. I love adding my memories to albums. I love the supplies that are out there and I love looking back at my albums and reliving those memories. 

Supplies | 2021 Calendars, Monthly Highlights 3×8 Journaling Tags, Weekly Die Cut Labels, Acetate Months, Large 2021 Wood Veneer, Notes From Today Stamp

For the past ten years I’ve used a 12″ x 12″ album, with the exception of two years where I used 9″ x 12″ albums. 12″ x 12″ is my go-to size because it really has a lot of flexibility to it. At the beginning of 2020 I started out with a 6″ x 12″ sized album and quickly realized that that size wasn’t going to work for me. With a 12″ x 12″ sized album I know that I can always create smaller pages if there is a week that I don’t want to or can’t fill in that size. My first tip is to make sure that you choose an album size that is right for you. If you’re new to pocket page scrapbooking and just the thought of a 12″ x 12″ album overwhelms you, go for a smaller size. For me, when I decide I want to do something different then 9″ x 12″ is the size that I go to. I know that 6″ x 8″ is to small for me for my year long memory keeping. Pick a size that you know you can work with.

I LOVE the Acetate Months, and I know that I want to include them in at the beginning of every month. Since you get all of them at one time I will go through my album and add them into one of the pockets, that way when I come to the start of that month they are already there and ready to be used. I’m not the best at remembering to include the week number or even the dates of the week on my spreads, so the 2021 Calendars and the Weekly Die Cut Labels to the rescue! I love that again you get all of them at one time, so I’ll do the same with these as I did the acetate months. That way they will already be in the pockets of my album and I’ll have dates for each of my weeks. 

I’m not the best at journaling. I tend to focus more on the photos and the pretty journaling tags and embellishments instead, but when I look at other peoples’ albums who do a lot of journaling, I always think that I need to do way better at actually writing the story down. I may remember why I took the photo for a few years, but I wont always remember. So I like to have an easy way of writing down the things that happen in a week that also makes it easy to add to my album.  I really like the Notes From Today Stamp. You can either stamp these into your planner to make quick notes of the day (and check off what kind of day it was). I like the idea of creating some simple journal pages like in the photo above, and when I’m working on spread I can just simply add the pages to album and my journaling is done. I don’t have to use up more time telling the story again. The same can be done with the Monthly Highlights Journaling Tags. These would be easy to quickly jot down what you want to remember and keep in your planner! 

These are just a few tips to help get you organized and started for the new year.  I hope you found them helpful and will want to include them in the new year to help you stay on top of your memory keeping! I hope y’all have a very Merry Christmas and may the new year bring you awesome memories to document! Thanks for stopping by today!

Show us how you’re setting up your 2021 album using our 2021 products! Share your setup on Instagram using the hashtag #EllesStudio, or in our Elle’s Studio Facebook Group!

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