Family by the Sea Scrapbook Layout

There’s something fun about looking at photos taken a year apart and realizing how much has changed. This trip to the beach gave me one of those moments, and I knew I wanted to get the story into an album.

We headed to the coast to celebrate my daughter’s birthday and give Dexter another chance to play in the sand and water. It was only his second trip to the ocean, but what a difference a year had made. The little boy who had been unsure of the sand and waves the year before was suddenly ready to splash, explore, and run toward the water.

Those are the details I want to remember. The photos show a happy family day at the beach, but the story is watching Dexter grow a little more confident and getting to be there for another one of his milestones.

This two-page layout gave me room for seven photos without sacrificing space for the story. I used the larger photos for the moments I wanted to anchor the page, then let the smaller photos fill in the details of the day. Soft beachy colors and a few ocean-inspired embellishments pulled everything together without competing with the photos.

That’s one of my favorite things about starting with a sketch. The blank page has already been handled, so I can spend my creative time choosing the photos, papers, and details that make the layout feel like mine.

You don’t have to wait for the next Sketch & Savor Recipe to arrive. Family by the Sea is your Welcome Recipe, so it’s ready for you as soon as you join.

You’ll get the complete sketch and measurements, creative guidance, Cricut files (when applicable) and story prompts to help you turn your own photos into a finished memory. And remember, your page doesn’t need to be about the beach, use seven photos, or look anything like mine. The Recipe gives you a place to begin. You make it yours.

Then, as a Sketch & Savor member, you’ll receive at least two new Recipes each month so you can spend less time figuring out what to make and more time actually creating.

However you choose to make this recipe your own, remember that the best scrapbook pages aren’t necessarily about the biggest moments. Sometimes they’re about noticing what changed between one photo and the next and taking the time to preserve the story before those little details are forgotten.

So pull out a few photos, follow the recipe, and see where your story takes you.