Simple Scrapbooks for Your Baby's First Year

The designer: Jennifer McLaughlin of Whittier, California created a first-year "highlights" album for her daughter Ainsley.

The concept: Design an album that covers highlights in these areas: growth chart (personal changes or milestones), places you go, people you love, and things you do. This album requires only four photographs each month, as well as four journaling blocks.

• Choose an album. Jennifer used a 12 x 12-inch post-bound album for her project (Note: When you use a consistent color and design scheme, it's fun to use an album that coordinates with the overall feel.)
• Create a title page and dedication page.
• Choose a design scheme. Jennifer used Ainsley's quilt as a starting place for her page design. Note how the color blocking on each page is drawn from the colors and patterns on Ainsley's quilt.
• Preassemble monthly album pages, designating an area for the photos and journaling.
• Set up a journaling template in your word-processing program. Since Jennifer knew her journaling squares would be the same size each month, she set up a text box and saved it. She also saved monthly headings and simply typed new information once a month when she updated Ainsley's pages.

• Jot down journaling information about your baby's growth and development, places you've been together, and special people she's meeting. Once a month, sit down at your computer and type the new information. Print the journaling on vellum and attach it to your premade scrapbook pages.
• Take pictures of your baby and add them to your album.