Yearbook Let's chat about ephemera

Aloha!! Can you believe it's almost March already?! I can't!! Isn't this kit just dreamy? I am using the main Malama Kit with a few pieces from the Traveler's Notebook Kit and a couple of newer items I bought from the store. Be sure to check out all the newer items from Creativation and the add ons. They are great ways to make your kit stretch further. 
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Today I want to talk a little about ephemera. We all collect it, save it, and then it sits on your desk, in a basket, in a drawer and it hardly gets used. How can we get this real life pieces of our journeys and add it to our pages? 
My first advice is to not force it. If you are trying to make it work on your page and it's not. Take a second, and try to figure out if it will help carry on your story. If it doesn't really work, don't feel bad about not using it. Keep a photo box that is light and photo safe and store it in there. Or make a secret pocket to hold your ephemera. 
Second, You may actually have to plan ahead before making your layout. I am big on just starting and figuring it out well I am scrapping. Letting the layout flow. There are sometimes when you need to play, or strategize and find a place for your ephemera. 
You can layer your ephemera with your patterned paper, build a cluster with embellishments and stickers, you can even have it be your main image on the page. 

For the layout I am sharing today, I used an image that I had stored from online. I saved it to my computer a while ago for my records. I thought this was the perfect time to use it. As my image for the spread that I wanted to start telling the story of these two Aunts of mine, 11th great aunts actually. 
I love genealogy, and I have been studying my families history for about ten or so years now. Astime as went on, i gather more and more ephemera to add to my tree. What a cool way to use this stuff I collect then to add it to an actually layout. So I can make the stories come alive so much more.
These sisters and their stories are so incredible, it needed to be told. It is one of those family stories you can't believe you have, and then it hits you it is real. This is the stuff that makes scrapbooking so cool. I can add real ephemera to help tell my story. 
You can do this too and one day your family will look back and be in awe of the way things used to be, even if you are just telling the day to day stories of your life. Things like movie ticket stubs, restaurant business cards, menu's, food boxes or labels, and packaging from items you use. All these things have changed over time and it tells the story of the things you love and do. 

I wanted to give this layout a vintage type of feel because I am telling an older story. I ripped my patterned papers from the main kit. I also used the really intricate floral doily that came with the kit too. It really tied so well with my photo, one of what my great aunt could have looked like, what she wore and how she kept her hair. The Thickers from the Pick Me Up Collection really adds to the old feel, but without having that brown antiqued look. 
When using your real life ephemera remember to keep your supplies in mind. Use products that help tell your story. Use elements that have a common color, theme and feel to them. This will also make your ephemera feel like it's suppose to be on the page. 

I choose to make this layout a double page spread. I love making layouts like this especially in this situation. I have a lot of story to tell, and by having an extra page I have the space to journal a lot. For this spread it is important. I also added another title, I balanced it with some of the small paper pads from the Traveler's Notebook Kit. They are perfect for adding a few embellishments and stickers. I added a few of the My Mind's Eye puffy stickers. I thought the colors balanced, but the theme of travel worked well too. I also used a foam thicker word from Pebbles and an old Fall kit. 
Don't forget to mix in elements from older kits to your current kit if it helps tell your story and works together. Many of the add ons work for multiple kits. Like these resin flowers from the shop. They really bring out the purples from this Pick Me Up Collection and bring back that old feeling, without feeling so outdated. For me this is important but for you, don't be afraid to have your likes and stories be the focus, even if it isn't what looks like in style. Like my double page spreads may not be the hippest trend, I know in the end it will help tell my story, and I can use all that space to create something beautiful. 

I did lots of layering with puffy stickers and washi tape on both sides to tie the pages together. 

They don't have to completely match but they have a similar feel, and that is what I wanted. This is how I made two pages feel like one spread. 

This is what the full second page looks like, with all it's journalling. I also added some die cuts from the main kit and a tab on some more real life ephemera I had wanted to include from my research about these two sisters. (There story is quite tragic so I won't go in detail at all, but i still felt it in needed to be heard.)  By adding this info, in a hidden pocket, by sticking the patterned paper to white card stock around the edges, I can pull the paper work I printed from my online family tree site. You can see the info is there, but you don't have to read it. This is really nice for times like this where maybe not everyone wants to read all the gory details. It also can work for ephemera you don't want to get ruined by lots of hands, like broadway or musical playbooks, or report cards, or old driver licenses. You can also get envelopes through Becky Higgins or sometimes even the Clique Store will have fun different album sizes and you can use those protecters in regular albums. Just punch out new holes that work for you sized album. 
Sometimes using real life ephemera takes thinking outside of the box, but it will pay off when you see your real life stuff mixed in with you pages and cute kit products with your stories. 

Thanks for joining me today and talking about how to use ephemera a little more on your spreads. Head over to our Clique Kits Facebook group and we can continue or conversation there too. Show us your layouts and projects where you have used real life ephemera. 
Head over to the store and check out all the new Creativation products and use my code Hannah10 and get a discount and have it added to your upcoming kit.