Session #18 - 12 Months to Memories
One Double-Page Layout, Two Stories: A Fresh Way to Scrapbook Back-to-School Memories
Back-to-school time comes with a lot of photos.
There's the first day of school.
The new backpacks.
The outfits.
The excitement.
And then, of course, there are the school pictures!
But what happens when you have photos from two different moments that belong in the same story?
Do they each need their own scrapbook layout?
Not necessarily!
For Session 18 of 12 Months to Memories, we're trying something a little different: two related events, two slightly different designs, all on one double-page layout.
One Layout Doesn't Have to Mean One Event
For this back-to-school layout, the left side tells one story:
The First Day of School
And the right side tells another:
School Pictures
They're two separate moments, but they clearly belong together.
Rather than making two completely separate layouts, we're combining them into one cohesive double-page spread.
This is especially useful when you have a smaller number of photos from each event.
Two Sketches, One Double-Page Layout
Here's the fun part.
We're using two different sketches—one for each side of the layout.
The sketches aren't identical, but they work together.
This gives each event its own little personality while still creating a finished spread that feels intentional.
And that's an important lesson:
Your double-page layouts don't have to be mirror images.
They just need to feel like they belong together.
Connecting the Two Sides
So how do we make two different sketches work together?
We create visual connections.
For this layout, we'll use similar:
Papers
Colors
Embellishments
Design elements
Titles and accents
Those repeated elements act like a bridge between the two pages.
Even though the layouts are different, your eye recognizes that they're part of the same story.
Making the Photos Work for You
This layout is also a great example of working with the photos you actually have.
On the First Day of School side, we have four photos, including a group shot.
On the School Photos side, we have three children with one school portrait each.
Instead of trying to force those seven photos into one identical design, we're letting the photos determine how each side works.
That's one of my favorite scrapbooking principles:
Don't make your photos fit the layout. Make the layout work for your photos.
Three Kids, Three Personalities
The school-photo side is especially fun because we're documenting three kids.
Each child gets their own photo, but they become part of the larger story of that school year.
You could even add a little journaling for each child:
Their grade
Teacher
Favorite subject
Best friend
What they were excited about
Something they loved at that age
Those little details make the page about more than just school pictures.
They capture who each child was at that moment in time.
Think in Stories, Not Just Events
This is really the bigger lesson behind today's layout.
Instead of asking:
"What photos go together?"
Try asking:
"What stories belong together?"
First day of school and school pictures are different events, but they're both part of the same bigger story:
A new school year begins.
That opens up so many possibilities for your own scrapbooking.
You could combine:
A birthday party + family dinner
A vacation + the drive home
A sporting event + the celebration afterward
A holiday + the family gathering
A school performance + backstage photos
You don't always have to create a separate layout for every event.
Sometimes two smaller stories make one fantastic double-page spread.
Your Scrapbooking Challenge
The next time you have photos from two related events, don't automatically separate them.
Ask yourself:
Could these two stories live together?
Choose two sketches that coordinate rather than match.
Then use similar papers, colors or embellishments to tie them together.
You may discover that combining two stories gives you a more interesting and meaningful layout than creating two nearly identical pages.
And that's what I love about scrapbooking—there isn't just one right way to tell your story.
Sometimes the best layout is the one that makes room for more than one story.
Happy Scrapping,
Diane Gutierrez
Diane Gutierrez Scrapbooking
My Final Layouts:
Watch Replay Video: