Anya Lunchenko for Scrapbook and Cards Today 1.

Hello, memory keeping friends! Anya here today and I would like to share one of my favorite ways to make layouts. A few years back I decided to go back to the smaller format when creating layouts. The main reason for that was the size of the albums that held my 12×12 pages. They were too heavy for my kids to handle. Even though I still create 12×12 pages sometimes, 8.5×11 is my go-to size!

Anya Lunchenko for Scrapbook and Cards Today 2

With that came a little challenge of being able to fit everything into a smaller format. I love to use multiple photos on my pages, lots of decorations and a long story. Not every single page has a long story to go with it, but when it does, I found a perfect solution to which I come back again and again.

Anya Lunchenko for Scrapbook and Cards Today 3

I create a regular 8.5×11 page and then make an additional 4.5×11” skinny page to go with it. This insert has two sides. I decorate the front side in similar colors and elements as the original layout and use the entire 4.5×11” space on the back for journaling. This way I get to play with lots of different patterns and embellishments and have enough space for photos; plus, I am not limited to what I can say in the journaling.

Anya Lunchenko for Scrapbook and Cards Today 4

To create the smaller size page, I take a regular 8.5×11 page protector, place a sheet of cardstock trimmed to 4.5×11 sliding it to the left, and using the Fuse tool and ruler, create a new fused line to the right of the insert. I cut off the excess and my custom page protector is ready to be used. You can make any size page protector using the Fuse tool.

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I love how besides having more freedom in designing a page, these inserts also add to the whole album, making it more interactive and fun to look through. I hope you’ll give this option a try one day!

~ Anya Lunchenko

~ be sure to follow Anya on Instagram at @anya.l.studio ~