Interactive Family Album

Design by Shannon Tidwell

Shannon Tidwell treasures the special times her son, Maddox, and his great-grandparents spend together. She also adores "Paw-paw's" own scrapbooking ambition. Combining these two subjects close to her heart, Shannon developed an interactive album with blank card stock blocks that the great-grandparents can fill in with their own journaled thoughts.

SOURCES Patterned papers by Mara-Mi. Computer font is Arial by Microsoft. Printed transparencies by Creative Imaginations. Die cut by Me and My Big Ideas ("T"). Stickers by Autumn Leaves (quotes) and American Crafts (letters). Rubber stamp ink by ColorBox by Clearsnap. Ribbons, flowers, vellum tag, safety pins, letter charms, and leather flower by Making Memories. Label by 7Gypsies. Album and large photo turn by K&Company.

Shannon first selected an album with background paper in a color she could incorporate into her design for ease and time efficiency. She also chose coordinating papers and embellishments that complemented her handful of snapshots of Maddox and his great-grandparents.

She composed a dedication page that explains the album's purpose to the recipients. That page also helped Shannon focus on the single topic as she created the album.

For each inside page, Shannon first arranged her strips of patterned paper, pictures, and quote or phrase stickers (faster than typing and printing). Then she added ribbons and other finishing embellishments all at once -- another time-saving trick.