Baby Audrey's Album

I have mentioned that my sister was expecting her first baby! My mom was here for a visit in November, and planned to be at my sister's in time for the Christmas Eve due date. It would have been ever so smart {and organized} of me to have my gift for baby Audrey ready for my mother to take with her when she went home. That would have been a great plan. Instead, this was the scene at my house the Monday night before Christmas.

It occurred to me, just days before Christmas, that I should make my sister a baby album! I didn't think she had a baby book yet, and I was pretty sure she wouldn't suddenly start scrapbooking.

I decided I would make her a predecorated scrapbook, ready for her to simply add photos and stories. I have completed similar projects for some of my custom album clients in the past.

{click on images to enlarge}

So at 9pm on December 21st, I pulled out my papers and supplies, came up with a quick plan, and spent the next three hours making a scrapbook.

I had a Baby Album Kit from which I borrowed some pre-printed pages for journaling.

I kept the color scheme focused on the color pink. Since I love pink and green together, I favored that combination throughout the album.

Usually when I am completing a project for a client, I am very careful to take their tastes, style, and preferences into consideration. Since this project was a surprise, I wasn't sure what my sister's preferences would be. I hoped she wouldn't mind pink!

This album will not hold every last picture of baby Audrey's first year. It will have to be a "best of the best" album.

After the pre-printed intro pages, I decorated a two-page spread for each month of the coming year. Depending on the size of the printed photos, each page will hold 2-5 photos, for a total of 4-10 per two page spread. For new, first-time parents, I know that is hardly any photos at all!

I also included plenty of journaling boxes. Of course, with a scrapbook, my sister can write anywhere on the page, and say as much as she wants about her sweet baby girl.

I always love making baby books. But this one was so extra-special. I have prayed for a long time that my sister and her husband would have a child. As I worked on these pages, I got to pray for Audrey, her life, and the lives of her parents.

This was definitely a "use-what-you-have" project. I pulled papers, mats and embellishments from a variety of kits. One thing I like about special projects, as opposed to general family albums, is the way a theme can be carried throughout the book to unify the design. Here, the theme rests heavily on the color scheme.

The large photo mats on the page can be used for journal boxes, or to perfectly mat 4x6 photos. However, their placement on the pages doesn't require that they are even used as photo mats. Photos can be placed anywhere on the page... two photos can overlap one mat, if desired. No rules!

These are quick, easy layouts that can be used for any type of album page. Switch out the papers and change up the colors, and these ideas could be used for sports, holidays, or vacation photos. These are simple pages that will {hopefully} put the focus on the pictures, not the layout.

Many of the page layouts I used were borrowed from one of the handouts I share with the ladies who attend my workshops. Easy ideas for getting pages done helps the process go more quickly, and helps those who don't feel creative have more confidence in their results. I try to take the stress out of scrapbooking!

Pre-cut mats, journaling boxes, Calendar Month Stickers and other fun embellishments also make it quick and easy to complete cute pages!

I knew my sister was due at Christmas, so it worked really well for this album to start with January and end with December. But, if the baby was due in April, I could have done an album that spanned from April of this year to March of next.

I added a couple more pre-printed pages after all the months, since that made sense to me.

And just in case the Audrey wasn't born until January, we have a few extra pages at the end, plus a first birthday page. I can tell I was losing steam... it was almost midnight when I finished these last pages. But I finished the album in three hours! It was in the mail on Tuesday, December 22nd. And it arrived on my sister's doorstep, all the way across the country, in time for Christmas! {I won't talk about how much postage I had to pay...}

And, right on time, Audrey also arrived on Christmas Eve! My new niece was born at 9:47 a.m.! And her baby album was waiting when she came home from the hospital on Christmas Day. I can't wait to meet her!