Day In The Life | 4x4 Mini Book

Today I'm sharing what I ended up doing with my words & photos from my Day In The Life documentation back on May 8th. You can check out my post that just includes the words and photos here.

Last year I did a Day In The Life each month from January through June. I incorporated my words and photos into Project Life® using a 6 inch x 12 inch layered template. You can read more about how I did that here:

This time I decided to go with a 4 inch x 4 inch mini-album from We R Memory Keepers and ended up using 30, 4x4 photos.

All photos were printed here at home on the Epson Picturemate Show printer. I printed these on 4 inch x 6 inch paper and trimmed off the excess. I know I mention that printer all the time - it's because I use it all the time and it's awesome. I would totally buy another one if this one breaks. Love being able to print when and what I want.

In addition to my 4 inch x 4 inch photos I also used this 4 inch x 4 inch set of printables. I ended up printing these on the Epson Picturemate Show printer too. Sometimes I print printables on Epson Matte Presentation Paper and other times on photo paper. Depends on the size and on the color.

If you don't want to work in the 4 inch x 4 inch size here's a 3 inch x 4 inch Day In The Life Cards version as well for those of you that might a different size or color family.

I loved how these cards turned out. I used a Precision Pen in .03 to write on the photo paper.

On these cards I ended up adding some additional text that wasn't included in my original post - they ended up being more perspective-style journaling vs. the facts of what was happening that day.

I also ended up cutting up a 12 inch x 12 inch piece of pattern paper from Teresa Collins for the last page of the album - that's the diamond paper called Something Wonderful Geometric.

ANOTHER IDEA

We R Memory Keepers - Page Protectors - Nine 4 x 4 Inch Photo Sleeves - Fits 12 x 12 Three Ring Albums

If you'd like to incorporate 4 inch x 4 inch images and printables in Project Life® you could use these 12 inch x 12 inch page protectors from We R Memory Keepers.

Here's a look at my completed book:

THOUGHTS ON THE PROCESS

  • I loved playing with this size. 4 inch x 4 inch was enough of a departure from what I usually work with that I felt renewed energy working in this size.
  • I loved putting the times on the photos. As you will see below I ended up putting the time, a line, and some text (pulled directly from my blog post) on each photo (with the exception of a couple that I left blank that were companions to another photo from the same time).
  • I added just a few embellishments here and there. I thought about adding more but I ended up even taking a few things off (and reprinting the photos).

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Wood veneer circle is from Elle's Studio Happy Day. White transparent polka dots is from this set at Studio Calico.

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Small "the story" circle sticker is from Teresa Collins Something Wonderful Sticker Sheet. I cut it to make it a circle because it had an extra little tab on it.

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As I mentioned above I opened, edited (using RadLab) and added text to each of my photos in Photoshop. I basically kept one file open and dragged and dropped my photos on top and then changed the time and words - each time doing a Save As at the end.

Most of times and words stayed in the same position but some changed due to more words or too much white along the bottom of the photo.

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Sometimes when I put together projects like this I like to specify the kids ages. This means no math for me later on (win) when I look back through the album to try and figure out how old they were at a particular point in time.

This little insert is one of the 4 inch x 4 inch divided page protectors that I cut in half and slipped a "5" and a "12" in from this set of Heidi Swapp ephemera. Those are kept in place with small staples from the Tiny Attacher.

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And, as some of you know, I love adding 2 inch index tabs to my inserts. Inside I slipped a couple stickers (stuck back to back) from Cosmo Cricket.

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AE_TOday

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AE_rememberthis

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A stapled cork star adds a little interest to this one.

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Cork heart added to this photo. Again, it was random.

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For these two images I did want to add in something a little different. I chose these metal heart charms from Tim Holtz.

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Each of the pieces are separate in the package (the charm, the designed paper and then a plastic epoxy that fits on top). I adhered them with a mini-glue dot.

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A little cork heart to finish off the day.

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SUPPLIES

Click on the images to jump to the products.





















SHARE YOUR STORY | LINK TO YOUR DAY IN THE LIFE

Did you participate in Day In The Life this go-around? I'd love to see your blog post and/or how you made something with your content. Please link directly to your post vs. your general blog link.

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58 thoughts

  1. Pink Ronnie says…
    05/23/2014

    This is sooo lovely, Ali.
    Really enjoy the small glimpses into your life as well.
    Ronnie xo

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Michelle t. says…
    05/23/2014

    Very inspiring and meaningful. You've really inspired me. Now I want to do 2 this year. 1 day during the school year (hello, 5:30am) and the other during the summer. Michelle t

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. ailynk says…
    05/23/2014

    this is soo cool... but i missed it

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. lea lacoste says…
    05/23/2014

    love the size of that mini album!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Debbi G. says…
    05/23/2014

    Amazing...as always! Thanks for the inspiration :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Susan says…
    05/23/2014

    Ali Edwards, you are such an inspiration. Of course, scrapbooks.com will now sell out of their 4x4 albums quickly...

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Melissa says…
    05/23/2014

    Adorbs!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Theresa says…
    05/23/2014

    OMG LOVE!!!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. J Allen says…
    05/23/2014

    Love! Love! Love!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Sarah Stegall says…
    05/23/2014

    I have always wanted to do this project but have felt a bit overwhelmed for one reason or another. This little album is PERFECT!! I love that it is so simple and clean. Not daunting or scary.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Beth M. says…
    05/23/2014

    Love the 4x4 format!! What font did you use for the time on your photos? It looks great!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Isabel says…
    05/23/2014

    Love, Love, Love the 4 x 4 size!!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Carrie says…
    05/23/2014

    This is so cool.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. JC says…
    05/23/2014

    Total win, Ali. I love this.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Patti L says…
    05/23/2014

    Love the style. I find myself more and more going for streamlined and simple projects.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Debbie says…
    05/23/2014

    LOVE!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Cassie says…
    05/23/2014

    This is incredible! How fun would it be to do this on birthdays over the years and see the the different ways we celebrate. Love the detail captured throughout just one day.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Jennie says…
    05/23/2014

    Super cute mini-album! I love how you included the times and a little about each photo.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. kybarb says…
    05/23/2014

    love these little mini books! My 2nd one should be delivered today and I'm having a hard time deciding what to put in it. Travel photos or my favorite everyday photos. I'm pretty sure I will be ordering more of these little albums:) Thanks so much for sharing all the pages in your book too. So helpful to see them all!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Evia says…
    05/23/2014

    LOVE the little book. I've never done one that small but this is giving me inspiration to do it! Beautiful work!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Fiona says…
    05/23/2014

    I love how this project turned out, especially the small size!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Dori says…
    05/23/2014

    W O W! Ali, your design sensibility is way beyond amazing! Thanks for sharing this perfect little album. :-)

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Deiga says…
    05/23/2014

    I totally love this. I'm inspired to try a 4 x 4 album myself. Love being able to peek into your regular everyday life. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Taylor says…
    05/23/2014

    I love this little scrapbook. It turned out beautifully!

    xoxo
    Taylor

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Donna M says…
    05/23/2014

    Love everything about this!

    Reply 0 Replies

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