Yesterday I showed you a tutorial on this cute little mini album. I wanted to give you some ideas about how to fill this mini with photos & stories. Like i said yesterday, there are many ways to tackle this album. Today let's talk about the simple month to month idea.
This mini album could be a quick snapshot of your life throughout this year or a reflection of the past year. You can use the journaling card in many ways. In fact you could have multiple journaling cards in one pocket. Print out a bunch and keep them handy for when an idea or thoughts hit. It is easier to write as you go rather than trying to remember everything at the end of the month.
- jot down thoughts throughout the month
- use it for daily lists
- write down your schedule for the month
- reflect on the month at the end of each month
- give one to each family member at the beginning of each month & collect them at the end of the month
So now you have some idea for monthly journaling. Let's talk about the photos. You could do one 4 x 6 portrait (vertical) on the opposite page. It could be just a photo of an event during the month or a family portrait each month (how cool would it be to have 12 family photos at the end of the year). Another option is a collage of the photos of the month.
Here i am going to show you how to collage photos using Photoshop. There are also some other options i will give you at the end of the post. Simple open a 4 x 6 inch canvas in Photoshop. I left the background translucent but it can be white or black in the background. You will cover up most of the background with photos.
Next open up your photos for the month. They can be both portrait & landscape photos (vertical & horizontal) since we are resizing them to 1 x 1 inch squares. Crop each photo to this size.
Now start dragging your photos onto your blank 4 x 6 canvas. You will be able to get twenty-four 1 x 1 inch photos onto your background. They can be in chronological order or random. it's your choice!
You don't have to fill up every square. Leave one blank for the title of the month. I picked a simple typewriter font for the middle square. I love the position of the title too.
White or black backgrounds are cool options for the title. I think i like the black. You can do it any color. My colors are a bit off because i print at home. They are adjusted for my printer so don't let the reds throw you off.
Another option is to change up some of the photo sizes. Here i used a 2 x 2 inch photo as my focal point for the month. Play around and have fun. You don't have to have Photoshop to make this collage. You can gather your photos from the month & trim them down to make your own collage on white or black cardstock. Another great option is Big Huge Labs and their Mosaic Maker.
Tomorrow is some other options for this album plus another free download!
