Have you been enjoying capturing your memories with our Meadows collection? Debbie Pettit, our guest creator for the month, has created 4 different layouts that are sure to provide some inspiration! Here's what Debbie has to say: Having been a scrapbooker for many years, I have tried almost all of the various ways to tell life‚Äôs stories: 12X12 layouts, digital pages and books, pocket pages, ‚Äúsmashbooking‚Äù, mini albums, etc. My current favorites follow the latest trends of memory keeping, including memory planning, storytelling in a traveler‚Äôs notebook or journal, and traditional scrapbooking.¬† My goal is to encourage others to simply document their stories in whatever way is enjoyable.¬† There is no right or wrong way; just print your photos and choose a method that feels right and makes you happy.¬† Your memories ‚Äì Your way! I‚Äôve decided to use this amazing opportunity as a Cocoa Daisy Guest Creator to share four different methods of memory keeping for the same photo/memory.¬† By using some simple techniques for each, I hope these four projects will inspire you to try something new‚Ķ or at least keep going! Let‚Äôs get started:¬† One Photo‚Ķ Four Ways Month In Review Within the pages of my A5 insert (traveler‚Äôs notebook), I always include a wrap-up of the previous month.¬† This idea was originally introduced to me by Layle Koncar during her Saturday morning creative listing sessions.¬† I print a 5X7‚Äù collage of 9 photos, intentionally leaving the bottom right photo spot blank to allow a place for embellishing! Facing the collage photo, I journal about the key moments of the past month.¬† The first lined pages of the Cocoa Daisy A5 insert are a perfect spot for this since the pages are already so beautiful (and did I mention they are LINED pages?) You‚Äôll notice the photo I‚Äôm using 4 times is last in this collage.¬† My husband, Rick‚Äôs, retirement was official February 28^th! If a collage of the past month is the most you can devote to memory keeping, and you do it each month, you‚Äôll have a great documentation of your year! Yeah for you! I also like to cover the Kraft cover of the insert with some of the decorative papers and embellishments.¬† This month I wanted the umbrellas but they would have been trimmed off.¬† I fussy cut them before adding them to the opposite side of the paper ‚Ķ I wanted the sweet butterflies to show!   Memory Planning Memory Planning is not the same as using your planner to write down your schedule and to-do lists for the week.¬† It‚Äôs a fun way to document and highlight the little (and/or big) things that already happened.¬† It‚Äôs similar to a diary or a journal, with photos and embellishments.¬† Adding interactive elements keeps it interesting while also providing a way to add additional photos or some hidden journaling.¬† With a clean slate every week, it's fun to try new techniques! Here, Rick‚Äôs retirement is a part of the weekly happenings.¬† I had fun with the rub-ons included in the kit to mark the days of the week. ¬†Hint‚Ķ I actually applied them to vellum sticker paper first rather than directly on my pages! The pocket ¬†(on Friday) makes a fun spot to add more to your story‚Ķ. Extra photos can be seen as you pull out the photo strip (with the journaling on the back!) Paper, stamps, stickers, die cuts, rub-ons, enamel dots, and washi all add to the fun of this layout and help to highlight the photos and the stories. It may be extra but it makes me happy! I am Memory Planning in a Heidi Swapp book this year, but there are so many options.¬† Any weekly type of planner (vertical or horizontal) could be the base for you to start! Storytelling Preserving a memory in a Traveler‚Äôs Notebook allows you a little more freedom and flexibility to tell your story.¬† Be sure to let your photo shine among the fun embellishments!¬† In this case, I‚Äôve used the photo of my husband on page FOUR of this layout!¬† By cutting out a circle on pages 2/3, I‚Äôve created a peek-a-boo cut out.¬† This gives you a glimpse of the photo throughout all four pages! It‚Äôs obvious that photo is the focus of the story. ¬†After turning the page, the title on page 1 shows through.¬† I like the cohesiveness this allows while also simply being fun! In this Cocoa Daisy Traveler‚Äôs Notebook I also added a couple punched borders to the edges for a layered effect. Again, with some of the pages in the inserts already decorative, memory keeping can be quick and beautiful!¬† Remember to cluster your embellishments, rather than sprinkling them all over the page like pizza toppings! üòä   Scrapbooking Double page 12x12‚Äù scrapbook layouts will always be my favorite way of memory keeping.¬† Here‚Äôs that one photo of Rick, definitely the focus of the story.¬† With more real estate, you can add supporting photos and journaling to document your memories. I often start a layout with 4‚Äù strips of paper and see where that takes me.¬† In this layout, I used them on the left, right, and bottom of the pages.¬† Adding border punches or decorative cuts along the edge makes them more interesting. The ‚ÄúHighlights‚Äù card included in this month‚Äôs kit seemed to need a cut out to reveal the journaling.¬† Hence, this pocket and sliding tag were created! Once the layout was complete, it seemed the wavy strips and bracket pieces should have been stitched.¬† Since it was too late for that, I simply added faux stitching with a pen! A few embellishments were all that was needed to round out these pages. Thank you for allowing me to share my projects with you.¬† Continue to tell your stories through your photos in whatever way or ways you choose.