Elsie’s Thankful Journal

Hi friends! Over the past year, one of the things I have gotten really behind on is printing family photos and documenting our memories. I am still somewhat undecided between whether I prefer scrapbooks, photo albums or photo books. So in the meantime, I am focused on small projects that capture this season of our lives.

Today, I’m partnering with Canon USA to show you my thankful journal. It’s a simple photo journal that pairs short gratitude journaling with family photos. I plan to let my family add some of their own captions (Nova’s will be SO CUTE) when we celebrate Thanksgiving together this year.

I used my PIXMA TS9521C printer to print a bunch of photos from my phone. To do this, I simply AirDrop the photos to my computer, size them down on the size paper I’m using in Photoshop, and print. My favorite printer paper is Luster because it’s not too matte and not too glossy.

The first thing I did was print and cut out some square family photos. This is how I print ALL my photos, for any project. I print photos like this to send to my grandmothers too.

Next, I used textured stickers to add a simple title to the front. I cut each sticker out from the plastic to make sure the placement was just right.

Next, I used acid-free washi tape to secure one photo per page. I like to do it to one side or the other (not the middle) to leave an equal space for journaling.

The book I’m using is an art journal (meant for watercolors) because I loved the size and the paper weight.

Last, I did a bit of journaling. A few sentences per page.

Here’s what the finished pages look like. I’m excited because this is a photo album I can 100% finish and put on our shelf. Perfect for anyone in a busy season or just not ready to commit to a big memory keeping system. 🙂

I hope this project speaks to some of you who, like me, just need to GET STARTED. xx- Elsie

P.S. Want more inspiration? Check out my thoughts on The Art of Letting Go!