Pinterest-Inspired Budget Scrapbooking

After I failed miserably at keeping a baby book up to date during Jona's first year, one of my goals for this year is to make a Jona-scrapbook and update it every month. In January I went to a craft store to get started. I picked up a Project Life notebook and wandered the scrapbooking aisles feeling overwhelmed and wondering why everything scrapbook-related is so dang expensive. I left the store with only the notebook and filler sheets, but decided that was all I needed.

I remembered that Megan at Ginger Snaps wrote a great post on scrapbooking on a budget, and her tips were so helpful in getting started. I used PicMonkey to size my photos to fit the sleeves, and I used paper and supplies that I already had at home. While there are a few things I'd like to buy to make my album even better, like letter stamps and some more printed paper, I think I'm off to a pretty good start. The most important part is that I'm actually printing these pictures and putting them together, rather than just leaving them to sit on my phone or computer forever.

3 Budget Scrapbook Tips:
1. Use PicMonkey to edit, resize, and print your photos (for free!).
2. Use a mix of inexpensive supplies and items you already have. The printed paper and stickers I used were both things I already had left over from other crafts.
3. Keep it simple. Remember this is mostly about the photos, so don't feel the need to add too many other things to your pages.

Do you like to make scrapbooks? Do you have any tips?

I'm linking up to In Residence for Pin to Present. Be sure to check it out to see what other bloggers have been pinning and making lately!