Last week, I went to the craft store, as I was running out of, well, everything and it was time to restock. This time, instead of rushing through, I took my time and looked closely at various options. I also spent more money than I’d intended, but what I bought should last for a while. At least I’d like to think that.

I bought my usual refill pages, sleeves, and glue dots. None of my scrapbooking pens work well anymore, so I replaced them. After listening to some recommendations from friends, I also bought some new things that I think will help the process go much faster. If you are an avid scrapbooker, and you keep up with the latest and greatest in supplies, none of what I’m writing about is new to you. But I had gotten waaaay behind, and have barely kept up with the scrapbooking world, at least in the last few years, so it’s all new to me.

These are pocket pages or sleeves. Pictures and journaling cards (where you write down info. about the pictures) are simply inserted in the pockets. These will be great for the typical 4″ by 6″ photos, or photos that can be cropped. I have a lot of older pictures that are various sizes, and they’ll be placed on traditional pages. The photo shown above is a pack of various sized pocket pages, made by Becky Higgins Project Life, a brand mentioned to me by a couple of friends. While Project Life seems to have a major presence with this type of product, there are other brands out there. So far, I’m not partial to any.

This is a pack of journaling cards, produced by Me & My Big Ideas. There are lots of themes and colors to choose from when looking for cards. The designs do tend to be trendy, which may not be such a great thing. In five or so years, chevrons and other current designs will be a thing of the past, a least until they come back in again. In the future, I’ll look for more classic or less trendy designs. This may not be a negative for everyone. Another negative with the cards- what I found in the store tends to be girly, or at least little-kiddish. I am the only female in my house, not counting two cats. Girly and little-kiddish (at least in more recent years) aren’t big themes around here.

I bought a package of these pockets, which may be used for holding programs from school plays, band concerts, award ceremonies, bulletins from special church programs, etc. These will go right into a scrapbook, as they are 12 by 12, and will fit right in to a book.

Here is yet another set of photo pockets. This set is produced by We R Memory Keepers. Remember, I’m not partial to any brand at this time. I’m certainly not promoting anyone, and I’m definitely not being compensated by any company to promote their product. This is still very much an experiment to me.

As I previously mentioned, I spent more money than I’d intended. This is easy to do in a craft store (at least for me). The Project Life products were pricier than some of the others, but I decided to give them a try based upon recommendations. I’m also trying to use products that will hold up well over time, which may mean I spend more. Before I go shopping again, I’ll be checking for coupons or sales at the craft stores. I’ll also see if ordering from an online source is less expensive (so far I’m finding that not to be the case).

My scrapbooks will be hodgepodges of traditional pages and the newer pocket pages. I can’t give up traditional completely because of those old photos I mentioned earlier. Having combinations of book styles would drive some people crazy, but those pocket pages are just too convenient. They also make things much easier for me, as I’m very page-design challenged, and I don’t have to work so much at making the page pretty- that’s already been done for me. Like most people, I have a limited amount of time to spend on hobbies or projects like this, and I want to use it wisely.

I’d love to hear more feedback from seasoned scrapbookers. And, I’ll do another post on how this is all working out for me soon.