Scrapbook Look #8 - June 2026

 "Scrapbooking isn't just re-living memories.  It's re-loving them."  ~Janna W.

Welcome back to Scrapbook Look!  However you like to do it, we can all enjoy the relaxing and therapeutic benefits of scrapbooking, including a quick pre-designed yearbook that doesn't require extra software.

This month, I'm starting with thanks!  This is my Thanksgiving 2025 page.  I usually just use one digital art collection on a page/event, but I mixed two collections here, and I love how it turned out.  It's fun to look back on that day by having this record of it!

And here's what that page I created digitally looks like printed.  I am so blown away every.time. I get a book back from Forever Print.

Next, I'm sharing a layout that I have really been loving in my last 3 or 4 family yearbooks.  

Sometimes I have photos that fit nicely into a theme, like this Thanksgiving one above.  But sometimes there are months in which I've just taken a handful of random pictures.  I'm not really a "put one photo on a page" type of gal, so sometimes there are multiple unrelated photos that I want to put on a page.

And that was the case in January.  So, I used a winter-ish template--something pre-designed for me that I could adjust as needed.

I love how it turned out!  I've credited below the digital art designer who created the page, but the one thing I added myself was the word January.  I used a fun technique you can do in Artisan called Shape Titles (which I demo here) to choose a fun font from my computer and include both an outline and a fill color that I could color match to the page.  This technique allows me to stretch the text box however I want.  

There was an event in between this page and the one I'll share last.  Again, February photos were random, so I used the same idea as my January page, only a different pre-designed template, and this time on two pages instead of one.

Here's the template I chose.  I like using pre-designed templates because the designers (credited below) use layouts and color combinations I wouldn't think of.  

I love these editable templates!  This allows for 10 photos, and although I do happen to have 10 photos I want to put on these pages, they aren't in the orientations this layout provides.  Plus, with 5 different events to write about, I need a lot more text space.  (Photos are not actually worth a thousand words.  We need the words!)  So, I just moved things around and adjusted!  How fun is this?!

One thing I love about digital scrapbooking in general is that you can not only crop a photo but you can resize it, too, zooming in on it if you like!  It's the BEST. 

  

CREDITS

• Scrapbook pages made using Artisan software by Forever.  (information | subscription | digital art store)
• Digital art credit:  A Day of Thanksgiving Kit by MagsGraphics, Tabbed Photo Mats - Thanksgiving by Forever Digital Art, Monthly Memories Layered Templates No. 1 by Katie Pertiet Designs, and Family Yearbook 1 by Forever Digital Art (designed by Michelle Bell)
• Digital book printed here (in gorgeous, high-quality pages I fall in love with every time), with the digital version PDF also kept forever there in my private account.  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.  If you're new to Forever and open your free account here to give it a try, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post, along with 2 GB of private Cloud Storage (a $50 value).

FAQ

Why digital?

First, there's no "right way" to scrapbook, except for two things:  1- quality so your book will last for many, many years to come, and 2- something you will love and therefore do.  

I personally choose digital because it's faster and easier, taking up less space in my house than the papers and scissors and stickers (and table space) I needed when I was a paper scrapbooker.  I like that instead of having to crop (cut) a photo to make it fit, I can easily resize, zoom in, etc.

I also love the ability to print multiple copies with just the click of a button, and for safety reasons I like that my scrapbooks exist both digitally and in print.  (I have scanned my old paper scrapbooks for the same reason.)  

And you print it, too?

Yes!!  Aside from what I mentioned above:  Print has increased accessibility!  I print my digitally-created scrapbooks because print is an easily-accessible form of seeing and also sharing (and gifting!) photos and memories.  Print doesn't need a full battery in an expensive gadget.  Plus, photo experts still recommend print as an important way to store photos and memories, in addition to digital forms.

Thanks for stopping in.  See you at next month's Scrapbook Look!  (Or, first click the Scrapbook Look tag at the bottom of this post to see more scrapbook pages.)  

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Killarney National Park, Ireland + a travel photo tip

Ireland had never been on my radar.  But it was high on my daughter's list, so when she graduated from college (and had worked so hard we felt like she deserved a vacation!), I went to Ireland.  I swear, I have never been the same since.  It's now on my list of dreamy places where my heart feels at home.  I'd go back in a minute!

I had several favorite places in Ireland, but today I'm going to share just one:  Killarney National Park.   

MY FAVORITE PLACES IN KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

The town of Killarney in County Kerry, about a 3 1/2 hour drive southwest of Dublin, is a stop on the Ring of Kerry scenic drive.  

The town of Killarney itself has a lovely cathedral, St. Mary's.  The stone is so beautiful, and I loved the wooden beams in the ceiling! 

For me, the biggest draw was the rest of the national park area.  The ruins of Muckross Abbey were so fun to explore.  The yew tree in the cloister (bottom left) is just stunning.  And the water dripping off the buildings over the centuries has made a few stalactites (bottom right)!

 

Muckross House is nearby, and although the mansion itself was neat to see, for me the big draw was the extensive gardens.  The rhododendrons growing in the gardens of Muckross House were jaw-dropping.  There were so many, and they were so tall!  This is my 6'3" husband standing in front of one(?)!  We saw a few that must have been at least 30 or 40 feet tall.  

My daughter took this little video of her walking into a grove of rhodies.  It was incredible!  (Blogger is having trouble with this video, so watch it at the link below.)

13 Gorgeous Seconds of Rhododendrons in Ireland

Torc Waterfall reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest, so I automatically loved it since that's where my heart lives, but it was also fun to see holly trees growing wild here in Ireland, too!

My other favorite part of Killarney National Park was the Gap of Dunloe.  It's a narrow mountain pass with lakes, a river, and the most charming stone bridge.  The pictures don't do it justice!

+ A TRAVEL PHOTO TIP

If you're like me, you take a lot of photos while traveling.  Since phones are easily lost or stolen, I suggest regularly (daily, or just setting it to auto-upload) backing up everything in the cloud.  

I don't mean iCloud, either, since they don't actually guarantee that they are a backup.  

(Yes, iCloud actually says in their terms of service--even when you are paying to use their services--they are not a backup, and they suggest you backup your photos and videos elsewhere.  Google Photos actually fits into the same category of not actually guaranteeing anything.)  

I personally use this unique cloud service for security and guarantees.  It has a (free) phone app and also a setting to auto-upload from your phone to the cloud so that everything is backed up without you having to even think about it--especially nice when you're on vacation.

This gives me so much peace of mind when I travel!  If something happens to my phone, at least nothing happens to my photos and videos.  

You can do the same thing here!  And here's the app information.

I highly recommend all of Ireland, but if you find yourself there, be sure to wend your way to Killarney National Park!

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NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.  If you're new to Forever and open your free account here to give it a try, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.

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