In all honesty, this post was supposed to feature a different craft project; a more ambitious craft project. The craft project this post is supposed to be about is one I found on Pinterest for a DIY Polaroid picture display. I even went out and bought all of the materials for it (including prints from Polagram!), started it, messed up the measurements, and have been, quite frankly, too lazy to fix. It’s currently hanging on the wall looking sad and asking for attention.

But you’re not getting that craft project – at least not today. Today, you’re getting what was supposed to be a craft project about what I did with the leftover materials and pitctures from that original craft project, the one this post is supposed to be about… 

So, basically, this is now a post about a super simple-yet-cute scrapbook idea I had. And I was lucky enough to talk with the team at 3M Scotch who advised (and then supplied!) the tape* and super cute kitten tape dispenser* (ohmygoodness it looks like it is holding yarn but it’s tape and it’s cute and it’s practical!) for this project.

Here’s what I used: 

• Scrapbook, £10 from Paperchase
• Washi tape*, £2.93 per roll from 3M Scotch
• Expressions tape*, £2.99 per roll from 3M Scotch
• Kitty tape dispenser*, £8.99 from 3M Scotch
• Polaroid-style Instagram prints, £12 for 48 prints from Polagram
• Assorted ticket stubs, notes, photobooth prints, etc. from my keepsake box

In the past when I’ve done scrapbooking I’ve always been really perfectionist with the results – cutting backgrounds for pictures and mounting them perfectly before glueing down with an archival/photo-friendly paste. I planned the layouts and bought craft products specifically along a theme. I spent SO much time and energy and money (goodness knows those projects are pricey!) making the scrapbooks look just gosh darn perfect that I could never really enjoy them.

But this scrapbook project was so much more me.

It was quick, fun, easy and I’m actually really happy with out it’s turned out. I didn’t stress about getting the pages perfect, but rather focused on making something that contained the random bits and bobs that were, until now, stuffed in a box on a shelf and ignored except for every now and again when I’d think: I really do need to do something with that memory box…

I loved switching the tape colours and patterns between pages, each time selecting one that I thought complimented the colours of the pictures on the page. (Though I learned I preferred working with the washi tape because it moved more easily if I decided to change my mind about how a page looked.) And the instant gratification of: that’s a project finished! was really welcome, too.

As for the Polagram prints? Well, right now the majority are clothes-pinned to twine in the washi tape-covered frame on the wall, but they won’t all fit when I get around to fixing the spacing and doing that project properly. So it’s a good thing that there’s plenty of space in the scrapbook to add more photos and ticket stubs and scraps of paper I’ve determined important… just as soon as the memories are made. (Or the original craft project gets finished – whichever comes first, really! 😉 )

Please note: while the products marked with a star (*) in this blog post were gifts, the views expressed are my own.