My Polaroid Album: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making a Keepsake of Your Own!
the annual polaroid scrapbook keepsake…
Mmmmm, simple little traditions. One of my favorite parts of this mid-20s stage of life is cultivating & creating family traditions of our *own.*
Which brings me to my new year’s ritual of creating a photo album of the previous year. This is where I take allllllll the polaroids from the past year, put them in a photo album, and then both Adam and I take notes, add doodles, write down memories, etc. It’s SO easy—this isn’t “fancy” scrapbooking, but man, these books have quickly become some of my favorite keepsakes! It takes only about 2-3 hours start to finish and creates a concrete book of memories from each year!
This is different from my typical health-focused blogging, but I posted about it on my insta story the other day and got SO many questions that I had to dig into the process! While it may not be about wellbeing, it is about intentional living and documenting this one, beautiful life of yours. :)
This process is super simple, and I’ll walk you through it now!
A little peek. :) It’s DEFINITELY not the “cutest” or “fanciest” scrapbook, but I personally love how easy, simple, and authentic it is! No “fluff” or unnecessary fixings—just photos, handwritten memories, and a tangible keepsake from each year!
how i use my polaroid:
Awwww, my sweet lil polaroid. Hands down my favorite way to document life—we go through about 1-2 packs of film per month (more on vacations), and there’s just something magical about holding your photos—so nostalgic and grounding. I LOVE this because as well-intentioned as I may be, I never go through the process to print off the photos on my phone or computer. Like, ever. Having a polaroid takes out all the hard work of printing photos and gives you tangible printed photo keepsakes to save for a lifetime!
Snapshots from our wedding. :)
Why polaroids?
I also very much like that “you get what you get” effect of polaroids! Oftentimes with digital photos (on the phone), I want to keeeeeep taking pictures until I get “the shot” and it can distract me from being truly present in the moment. With the polaroid, I’ll just snap a few & even though they may not be “perfect,” I find them much more authentic and able to truly CAPTURE a moment. I will take polaroid photos during the “big” moments (like vacations, trips, weddings), but I also will just snap random shots in the everyday moments (at home, friends over for dinner, simple moments on hikes, etc.). They are such a simple, easy way to document life with a tangible keepsake. I hiiiiiighly recommend investing in one. (In case you’re curious—here is the camera and film I use!)
Okay, this isn’t a glimpse of our photo album exaaactly—but this is actually the back of our Christmas card from 2019. :) We used some of our polaroid snapshots to “round up” our year! This is just an example of the photos we snap & take with our polaroid!
no polaroid? no problem!
If you are thinking, “Maaaan, I would’ve loved to do this last year, but I didn’t have a polaroid and don’t have any photos to use…” fear not, you can print all your phone photos with this method! This little guy allows you to print ANY picture on polaroid film. If you are someone who has always been resistant to polaroids because you can’t control how the photo turns out when you snap it, you’ll love this because YOU pick the photo that you print!
Even though I have a polaroid, there are always a few photos from the camera or phone that I would love to include in the scrapbook… then I found this! Problem solved! It’s instant, it’s customizable, it’s easy, and you still get that beautiful, vintage polaroid feel!
There's something about seeing candid/casual pictures and little notes/memories that just SO PERFECTLY captures a life stage—who you were, what you did, how you felt….
gather your goodies:
Throughout the year, I add all the porlaoids to one box & keep them all in one place. I’ll also add other keepsakes I’d like to add to the book (cards, concert tickets, our Christmas card, notes, etc.) When I am ready to build my scrapbook, I will then organize the photos and keepsakes by time of year, the specific event (vacation, camping, holiday, etc.) and group similar photos together (beach days, weddings, etc.). This just makes it easier to put the photos in order when you put them in the scrapbook!
Keep your polaroids in a box throughout the year and then save special notes, plane tickets, keepsakes, etc.
grab a scrapbook (i recommend this specific one!)
Okay, so I used to just get any old scrapbook but it was SUCH a pain taping and gluing and organizing each photo. Then, I found this specific book—with its self-adhesive backing, you can easily place any photo and move them around with ease. No annoying tape, glue, or mess needed! Simply place your photos in your book and arrange them however you please! They will “stick” where you place them without getting stuck, if you know what I mean. You can easily remove the polaroids if you ever want to take them out, frame them, move them around, etc. I know it’s so random to recommend a dang scrapbook so highly, but it really has made the process SO much easier. If you want a little extra flare, sometimes I’ll use a little gold washi tape (even though it’s not necessary) because it’s cute and adds some personality to the page!
Once you get the scrapbook, place your photos in the way you prefer! I typically put them in chronological order, January–December, but you do you! You could organize by person in your family, topic (weddings all in one section, vacations all in one section, sports all in one section, etc.), you could organize by color, type of photo (outdoors, at home, etc.). Ultimately, organize them in a way that feels good to YOU!
doodle, take notes, share memories!
Next grab a sharpie, metallic marker, or permanent marker pen and start writing! This part is SO fun—this is where you write down specific memories, add commentary, doodles, etc. I recommend involving your fam! It’s so fun to hear diverse perspectives and their unique take on memories and events! Inevitably, they remember something in a totally new way and being back nostalgic memories! Adam and I each take a turn (it only takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour each) and we’re done! It’s so simple but it really has turned into such a sweet way to benchmark each year and capture a life stage.
there ya have it! one year. one scrapbook. full of allll the photos from each year, handwritten memories, and a sweet (and super simple!) way to document life.
the yearly polaroid scrapbook starterpack:
