Scrapbook Look #11 - September 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 off with a pretty simple page layout that uses a couple of features I really like about digital scrapbooking. 

First, I really like using arrows to point out hard-to-see things in photos that you might otherwise miss.  In this page, I took pictures of a day gone wrong.  We set out to do a little local sightseeing but everything changed when we got a flat tire.  (We made the best of it with milkshakes while we waited for new tires.)  It's a little hard to see the 3-inch gash in the tire if you don't know what you're looking for, so I added the yellow arrow to point it out.

Second, I have a digital art embellishment that spelled out ADV-ENT-URE DAY just like this, only it didn't go with the colors I had chosen for this page, so I used this great tool in my Artisan scrapbooking software called Alphasets to just make my own embellishment (so easy!) in a matching color.  Here's how it works:

Isn't that cool?!  They're really great for titles, but it was just perfect to use them for this little embellishment (which is kind of a title for this page, now that I think about it).  

Next up, we have a fun two-page layout of a family visit that included a Cinco de Mayo themed birthday party (along with a few pictures from earlier in the day--I'm more of a chronological scrapbooker than a strictly-themed-page scrapbooker).

I don't always have events that require two-page layouts, but since my digital scrapbooking ends up in a bound book, it's a fun thing to be able to do.  

I used a blueprint from my Pixels2Pages membership (the free April 2026 blueprint) which I filled in with colored papers of my choosing, and I really like how this particular layout is kind of divided into sections.  It makes it easier to see groups of related photos, I think--especially because I put so many photos on the pages.

The Mexican-themed paper I chose for the background was bright originally, and I felt it competed with everything else going on on the pages, so I used the opacity/transparency tool in Artisan until the colors were muted just right!

My last share for today also uses an exclusive blueprint from my Pixels2Pages membership (the free May 2026 blueprint this time).  Because of the nature of the event (which was spending time in nature!), I thought a layout design that highlights a photo as a background across two pages was perfect! 

The large title font is called Adorable Signature, which I downloaded from my favorite 1001freefonts.com, and the journaling font is Rockwell.  

Don't you just feel like scrapbooks bring everything to life in a way that photos on phones and computers just don't?  Just can't?  

I highly recommend scrapbooking as a self-care activity!  Truly.  I love how I feel when I'm doing it, and I love that I have something lovely to show for it after, too.

Join me again next month for the last Scrapbook Look of this year-long series!

CREDITS

• Scrapbook pages made using Artisan software by Forever.  (information | subscription | digital art store)
• 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.  
• Digital art credit:  Bring Me Family Yearbook 1 by Michelle Bell for FOREVER Digital Art, Cottage Fields Scrapbook Kit by Katie Pertiet Designs, Mexican Adventure Papel Picado by Lucky Girl Designs, Around the World Latin America by FOREVER Digital Art, Perfect Palates - Dove White by FOREVER Digital Art, USA State of Mind - 12x12 Spreads by Seatrout Scraps, Escape to Colorado Collection by Seatrout Scraps, All Things March Mixology by FOREVER Digital Art, All Things May Mixology by FOREVER Digital Art

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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My Process for Preserving Photos - 5 duplicatable steps

I have a specific process for keeping my photos (and videos) organized, easy to find, and preserved in each of the 3 ways photo experts recommend.  All without breaking the bank or losing my mind.

The whole process is really fun, but it also gives me such peace of mind!  I worry much less about fire, water leaks, natural disasters, etc.  

Everyone’s preferences are a little different, so not everything I do is automatically the way everyone would love doing it, but there is a lot to be said for learning a proven process and then using it yourself. 

So I have decided to share my own process for preserving my photos and videos using FOREVER since it’s permanent, private, and the best quality I’ve ever seen in 20+ years as a memory-keeping guide.

The step-by-step pieces of my process are here, but I also made a video where I show you (around minute 15) the nuts and bolts of what my process looks like. I take a selfie and walk that photo all the way through the process in 11 minutes!

If you feel like your photos are getting the best of you and you can't quite keep up, the document above and the video below can help! I include the two blocks of time I use (one daily, one weekly) and their purposes so that I am always on top of my photos. Maybe they'll work for you, too!

Whether you do exactly what I do or just take a few nuggets with you, I hope it makes a huge difference in your photo preservation. Because this is what's waiting:

What was your biggest takeaway from seeing my process?  I'd love to know in the comments.

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. 

Photos should always be accessible to the people who love them, so please share this post with a photo-lover you know.

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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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Ditching Monthly Cloud Payments

 I'm so excited for this summer for several reasons, but a big one is what I'm calling

THE "SUMMER OF 69"

As I've talked to people the last several years about preserving photos and videos permanently, I've been struck at how common it is to be surprised about several aspects of the "usual" way of doing things.

Many people don't know this, but there's a way to stop paying monthly fees for the rest of your life to back up your photos and videos (to places that reserve rights to close your account at any time).

And even a way to stop buying a more expensive phone with bigger storage space all the time.

My goal is to tell 69 people about it this summer! Totally life-changing information (and no sales pitch, I promise). I just want to teach people.

To be a part of the Summer of 69 between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2026, just email me at photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com and we'll set up a Zoom time to chat.

You'll get a lot of important information, but you'll also be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card. More than once, if you like.

NOTE: The first 69 people will be entered into the drawing, but I'll definitely talk to 70+ people about this life-changing option. That goes for anyone reading this after Labor Day 2026--email me anyway. I'm always happy to get you out of those "monthly payments until you die" plans you are probably doing, even if you miss the gift card drawing for The "Summer of 69."

Being able to truly preserve my photos and videos forever with no monthly subscription payments and the ability to actually delete things from my phone while still accessing them through my phone is the greatest thing I've discovered for my digital memories. Being able to pass them down--guaranteed--to future generations is the icing on the cake.

I can't wait to tell you about it. 😊💕

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Why External Hard Drives Aren't Forever (not even a decade)

It's easy to think the Latest & Greatest form of technology is the answer to everything.  Being able to back up photos on a CD was amazing for a while.  Then DVDs for backing up family videos.  And lately EHDs (external hard drives) are all the rage.  And now SSDs (solid state drives) are vying for attention, too.

Having a secure place to back up photos and videos wouldn't be that important, except that what you're saving is absolutely irreplaceable.  Like this:

That's my daughter, a few days old.  And her big brother kissing her cheek.  I'll never, ever get that moment back.  I never get another chance to capture those faces in that time.

I'll tell you a little more about that sad video (with some hope!) later, but here's why CDs, DVDs, and hard drives aren't forever.  Not even a decade.

Why Hard Drives Don't Last

Most EHDs and SSDs last 3-5 years, simply because the connectors fail.  They just stop working.  They're not really made to withstand repeated use.  (Which is ironic since the purpose of EHDs & SSDs is repeated use.)  But it's not just the connectors.

We can learn a lot from the experience of Iron Mountain.  They were tasked with backing up the entertainment industry's music.  Music, as you know, has gone from records to 8-tracks to cassettes to CDs.  It has been stored on hard drive disks since the 1990s.

About 1/5 of what Iron Mountain recently received on hard drives to archive was entirely unreadable.    

“In our line of work, if we discover an inherent problem with a format, it makes sense to let everybody know,” Robert Koszela, global director for studio growth and strategic initiatives at Iron Mountain, told Mix. “It may sound like a sales pitch, but it’s not; it’s a call for action.”

They found that hard drives are not designed for long-time archival use.

“It’s so sad to see a project come into the studio, a hard drive in a brand-new case with the wrapper and the tags from wherever they bought it still in there,” Koszela says. “Next to it is a case with the safety drive in it. Everything’s in order. And both of them are bricks.”

What we learn here about music applies to anything else stored on a hard drive.

Like our photos.  And our home movies.  And that audio recording of my mom reading her grandkids a story.

What to Do About It

Kevin Purdy suggests that the best solution to this problem is:

The gist of it: You cannot trust any medium, so you copy important things over and over, into fresh storage.

Seriously?!

But what if you don't have the equipment?

Or the time?

Or the knowledge?

Thankfully, there's another option.  I suggest this three-step solution.

1. Use a digitization service.  I suggest the one with the highest customer satisfaction (as independently determined by TrustPilot).  It's phenomenal.  Then pair it with #2 below.
2. Next, put the updated versions of your photos and videos on a flash drive or a computer if you like, but whatever you do, back it up in the cloud.  This is the only private cloud storage service that guarantees your photos and memories will be yours for your lifetime + 100 years, a legacy you can pass down.   Not only that, but they triple back-up everything, keeping your files encrypted, and will update file formats FOR YOU.  (Like, when .jpeg files become outdated in 20 years.)  Another bonus with this particular service is that you'll buy your cloud space, so there are no recurring payments (until you die!) to keep your photos and videos always accessible and safely backed up.
3. Print the photos in pages.  I know print is kind of "going out of style" these days, but print will never be at the mercy of a hard drive crash.  And don't think you have to have a lot of time or "be creative" to put photos and memories in books!  Find a high-quality print option that will last for generations, then spend 10 minutes a day on it.  Really.  It works.  

Don't miss that amazing point:  If you don't have equipment, time, or know-how to "copy important things over and over into fresh storage" as Purdy suggests, FOREVER Storage will literally do it for you.  

If that's not peace of mind, I don't know what is.

A Few Words of Encouragement

SO, WHAT ABOUT THE BABY?

If your heart broke watching my video, I first want to let you know that the video has a happy ending.  Knowing that the magnetic tape in VHS tapes deteriorates, I sent in my home videos to be digitized using FOREVER Digitization a few years ago.  I was brokenhearted to receive that video I shared with you at the beginning.  Most of it was fine, but there were a few parts that were garble-y, including that sweet moment.  I was pretty upset about it for several days before remembering that I have the original Hi-8 tape that might be in better condition.  It had been stored differently, so I sent that in to FOREVER Digitization for digitizing and crossed my fingers.  It was in much better shape, so I now have that video as it was meant to be seen!  

SENDING MY PHOTOS AND HOME MOVIES AWAY?

I know it can be scary.  I've done it four times now, and the first time was indeed a little scary for me, so I know how you feel.  When it came down to it, though, I decided that if I didn't get the VHS tapes digitized, I'd just have to throw them away in 10 years anyway.  Nobody has a VCR any more, and my grandchildren-to-be definitely won't!

If you're at all worried about sending your DVDs or VHS tapes or slides off to be digitized, learn more about FOREVER Digitization so you can see how much care goes into the safety of your precious memories.  There is a lot of hope at that link!

GETTING AHEAD

I heard of someone recently who had saved all their family photos and home movies on an external hard drive, then put it in a safe deposit box for their family to have when they pass on.

The intent is beautiful.  But, practically speaking, that EHD may not even be readable 10 or 20 years from now.  It makes me sad to think about.

But you can get actually get ahead of technology issues by following the 3 steps above, using the links I included.  And that's the best news of all.

It's important to keep in mind that every form of technology has a different purpose and capability.

NOTE:    If you're new to Forever and open your free account here, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.  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.

So, share this post with anyone you know who is still using an external hard drive to save their photos and videos.  All types of hard drives are not long-term storage devices.  They won't even last through the rest of this decade.  But there's hope because there are other, better options!

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