There are seasons in memory keeping when every page comes together with layers, details, and all the extra touches. Then there are seasons when the most important thing is simply getting the stories documented. Lately I've been working on catching up in my albums, and instead of overthinking every card and embellishment, I challenged myself to create four Project Life spreads in a single day. The goal wasn't perfection or the most ornate pages I’ve ever done, but rather preserving the memories while they're still fresh in my mind.

For all three of these layouts, I pulled exclusively from my Story Foundations collections. One of my favorite things about the Story Foundations products is how easily they work together. Even though the cards, embellishments, and elements come from different releases, they share a cohesive style that makes mixing and matching effortless. It allowed me to focus less on designing and more on documenting.

For all three spreads, I brought in varying layered card templates from my Bottom Ups templates. I selected my photos, added my journaling, and chose cards that supported the story rather than trying to build elaborate embellishment clusters. Sometimes we can get so focused on making a page look perfect that we forget the real purpose of memory keeping. The photos and words are what will matter most years from now.

Because my second layout was actually the continuation of another week that had an insert, I found myself pulling mainly from the Brighter Days and Out & About collections because that’s what I had used for the first part of the week. Easy peasy, I could simply pull cards that fit the mood of the photos and slide them into the pockets. The result still feels cohesive and complete, even with a much simpler approach than I normally take.

By the time I reached the final spread, I was reminded that done really is better than perfect. These pages may not be packed with every technique or embellishment I love to use, but they contain our stories, our everyday moments, and the memories I want to revisit later. If you're feeling behind in your own albums, consider giving yourself permission to simplify. Print the photos, write the words, get the cards into the pockets, and trust that the stories themselves are enough.