scrapbook layouts: Natalie- Early Years

This past summer, I took an absolutely amazing class called “Before Your Story” through Simple Scrapper to create a memoir-type album documenting my growing-up years from birth through about when I met my husband. It has been an amazing process to assemble it, and it is so very close to being finished! I think it is possibly one of the most meaningful album projects I have created.

Some of my final tasks to bring it to completion were to create a title page and a prologue page. I created the prologue page first:

The journaling reads:

This project began simply as a way for me to develop and elaborate on a timeline of my life from birth to when I met and started dating Joel. I have always said that I don’t have a good memory and that I’d forgotten much of my childhood, but as I looked through old photos and memorabilia, I discovered that those memories had just been dormant, and they came flooding back.
With the memories came the renewed realization of just how much the LORD has greatly blessed my life. His plan is perfect, and his timing is perfect. Nothing in my life was or is a surprise to Him. He graciously allowed hard times to happen so that He could discipline me as His child and grow my faith; He placed the right people in my life at the right times; He gave me good gifts so that I might use them to glorify Him; He appointed the times and places that I have lived: all these things that I would seek Him and find Him.
This album is more than an elaborate timeline. It is a testimony to God’s grace and blessing upon me. It is a celebration of what He has done in my life, and I hope that this shines out to anyone who reads it.
Whate'er my God ordains is right:
his holy will abideth;
I will be still, whate'er he doth,
and follow where he guideth.
He is my God; though dark my road,
he holds me that I shall not fall:
wherefore to him I leave it all.
Whate'er my God ordains is right:
he never will deceive me;
he leads me by the proper path;
I know he will not leave me.
I take, content, what he hath sent;
his hand can turn my griefs away,
and patiently I wait his day.
Samuel Rodigast (1676), translated by Catherine Winkworth (1863)

It took me a surprisingly long time to tackle the title page. I think my perfectionist tendencies were kicking in big time, and I was afraid of making something that “wasn’t good enough” for this important project.

Finally this week, I put it together.

Throughout the album, I kept everything very flat (which is unusual for me!), but on this title page, I wanted a bit of dimension. I hand-wrote my name with a black marker, scanned it, and used the trace feature in Silhouette Studio to turn it into a cut file. When I had sized it how I wanted it, I cut it four times from white textured cardstock and stacked the layers.

The album also has very minimal embellishment, and I carried those few motifs onto this title page, using floral stickers I mounted on white cardstock to detail-cut and vintage doilies that had been part of my grandma’s craft stash. The tiny gold foil letter tile stickers were quite honestly a nightmare to work with, but I did the best I could.

I need to place a photo order to fill in some last few photos, and then I hope to have a video to share my finished project!

P.S. This album is housed in a 9×12 album; this is the first time I’ve used this size, and I did enjoy it!

Supplies:
patterned paper: Park Lane “Southern Charm” paper pad
cardstock: The Paper Studio smooth white, American Crafts textured white
stickers: Maggie Holmes #stickerbook
other: vintage paper doilies