October Challenge | Fill in Memory Keeping Gaps
Welcome to the monthly Nerd Nest Memory Keeping Challenge!
This month, your challenge is to fill in memory keeping gaps.
Unless you are a diligent chronological scrapbooker, you probably have gaps in your memory keeping system. That’s nothing to be guilty about: I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to tell all of the stories I want to tell. But still, it can be annoying when I’m flipping through almost-done albums with just a few blank pages. And lots of times, when I skip something, I’m avoiding that “gap” because I’m stuck in some way.
Sometimes those memory keeping gaps are visible: you might have half done or empty backside pages in an album. Sometimes they are less noticeable: when you flip through an album, do you notice any glaring omissions? Are there important-to-you stories that aren’t there?
I have this topic on the brain since Catch Up with Project Life starts this month, so I thought I’d spread my filling in the gaps mania with you and challenge you to fill in some gaps this month!
The first gap I tackled was a 6×12 insert in this Week 17 spread from my 2013 Project Life album. This insert was meant for documenting building the pipe bookshelves, but after printing the photos at 4×6 and 4×4, I just couldn’t figure out how to design the page while also getting all of the journaling I wanted in there.
My solution was to just go decorative for the 6×12 page. I kept it simple with the photos, strips of washi tape from an Oh Deer Me kit, and burnished circles of wood. I added a little title block to the side of the 4×4 photo.
For the journaling, I added in a 5×7 page protector. When I can’t fit everything in, an extra insert or hidden interactive elements works for me every time.
On the front side, I added a strip of bigger burnished circles with washi tape to tie in the journaling page with the photos page. I drew lines to write on, which kept it looking a little neater.
I tied in the backside of the journaling card with a boarder of the washi tape and added my journaling to a cute card from this month’s Studio Calico Project Life kit.
My favorite thing about this spread is the QR code. I used a free QR Code Generator to make a code that takes you to the blog post about building the shelves so that readers can see the time lapse video! (You need a free QR Code Scanner App to use these.
I printed it off at 2×2 so it would fit into the space on the tag.
For this challenge, I also decided that I’m going to finish up the last few gaps in my April-June 2014 album. I started with this previously blank Design H protector, on the other side of which is a companion insert to a layout about Jonas’s mad baking skills.
I didn’t have much else I wanted to add for April, so I went back and picked a few photos I liked that just didn’t make the cut. I’m happy to have filled out this blank space with a few random little stories.
I still have a few more things to fill in for my 2014 April-June album: pages about the kids’ soccer season, a spread for The Maker Faire, and a title page. Then I’ll be ready to share it with you in a video so you can see what a finished album looks like.
What gaps are you going to fill in? Share your take with a link in the comments below! You can also use the hashtag #NerdNestChallenge on social media.
I’ll be adding takes I find to the Nerd Nest Challenges Pinboard! Share your links to past challenges too so I can add them.
