I have a bad habit of trying to squeeze way more photos on a scrapbook page than I probably should. Most standard layouts typically feature a handful of photos that enhance the theme of the page design. Whereas I start off selecting two or three favorite images, I end up attaching close to a dozen, and the result can be a bit chaotic looking.
My mom is constantly nagging me to ease up on the number of photos I use and instead place the extras in a mini album. It’s not a bad idea, as mini albums can accommodate a decent amount of pictures and include space for you to add journal entries. However, I’m cheap and don’t want to have to pay for another album. Of course, I could always make one using a die cutting machine and some ribbon to tie the pages together.
I have yet to experiment with mini albums. Rather, I try to strategically piece together my page design puzzle using as many photos as I can. Fortunately, I’ve gotten lucky and my layouts don’t look too bad despite featuring more than a dozen images on a 12 x 12 scrapbook page.
The trick to making multiple photo spreads look appealing is to experiment with different placements. For example, you can free up more space on a page if you skip using photo mats. Another option is to print your photos with thin white borders, then attach them to the page end-to-end.
Reducing the amount of embellishments also leaves you with more space to add extra photos. My goal in scrapbooking is to have my pictures be the primary focus. By using minimal embellishments I still add interest to the page, but my pictures are front and center.
In order to fit more photos on a layout, I also cut down on the amount of journaling I add to pages. I still include important details about the pictures or events featured on the page, but I use brads or eyelets to mat photos on tags to free up additional space. The tags provide a home for me to write details, but they don’t eat up room that I could use to attach even more photos.
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