Some scrapbook pages are about birthdays, holidays, and big milestones. But more and more, I find myself drawn to the photos that captured absolutely ordinary days.
This page is part of the throwback album I’m creating with childhood photos of both my husband and me. I love the idea of documenting the lives we each had before we knew one another—our families, childhood homes, everyday memories, and all the little pieces that eventually became our story.
For this layout, I used photos of my husband as a baby spending time outside at home with his mom. There isn’t a big event happening here. It’s simply a collection of backyard moments—and that’s exactly what makes these photos worth preserving.
Scrapbooking the Everyday Parts of Childhood
When I started putting together this album, I knew I didn’t want it to be filled with only birthdays, holidays, school pictures, and other milestones.
I wanted the ordinary photos too.
These pictures capture such a simple piece of my husband’s childhood—spending time outside at home with his mom. He’s riding his little tricycle, wandering around the patio and backyard, sitting with his mom, and just being little.
Looking at old family photos like these, I always notice how much of the story is actually happening in the background.
The old patio furniture. The dirt yard. His toys. The camper behind them. The clothes they were wearing. What his mom looked like during this season of her life.
At the time, those details probably didn’t seem important enough to intentionally photograph. Years later, they’re part of what makes the pictures so special.
That’s one of my favorite things about scrapbooking older family photos. You’re preserving more than the people—you’re preserving a tiny glimpse of what everyday life looked like.
The Story Behind “Backyard Days”
I kept the title for this page really simple: backyard days.
I didn’t want to give these photos a complicated theme when their simplicity is what I love about them.
They’re just pictures of my husband as a baby, spending time at home with his mom.
And within this particular album, they help tell a much bigger story.
I’m creating this throwback album with photos from both of our childhoods. Some pages are about him, some are about me, and eventually those two separate stories will lead into the life we’ve created together.
I love being able to give those earlier years their own space first.
There’s something so interesting about seeing the person you know as an adult when they were tiny—and seeing the people, places, and ordinary routines that surrounded them.
Creating the 12×12 Scrapbook Layout
Because I had four photos I wanted to include, I started by figuring out how to fit all of them onto one 12×12 page without making the layout feel too crowded.
The larger vertical photo of my husband with his mom became my main focal photo. From there, I arranged the other three photographs around it, allowing some of the edges to overlap.
Rather than lining everything up perfectly, I wanted the photos to feel like one loose, connected cluster.
I also rounded the corners of the photographs. It’s such a small detail, but I love how rounded corners soften a layout—especially when I’m working with older family pictures.
One of my favorite parts of this design is actually the empty white space in the upper-right portion of the page.
I used to feel like I needed to fill every empty area of a scrapbook layout. Now I really appreciate leaving some breathing room.
With four photographs and patterned paper already on the page, that open space keeps everything from becoming too busy.
Using Patterned Paper With Old Family Photos
The little car-and-star patterned paper felt perfect for these pictures.
It has a slightly nostalgic childhood feel, and the muted red, navy, yellow, and cream work nicely with the colors already present in the photographs.
Instead of covering the entire background in patterned paper, I used one larger section along the left side of the page.
Then I repeated a smaller torn piece behind the photograph in the upper-right.
Repeating the same paper in another area is one of my favorite simple scrapbook tricks. It carries your eye across the page and makes the layout feel intentional without requiring a lot of extra embellishments.
I also tucked a soft yellow paper behind part of the photo cluster. It brings a little warmth into the layout while still allowing the photographs to be the focus.
When I’m scrapbooking older pictures, I don’t worry too much about finding paper that perfectly matches the decade. Instead, I usually pull colors and patterns that complement what’s already happening in the photographs.
My Favorite Way to Make Simple Scrapbook Titles
For the “backyard days” title, I used alphabet stamps on watercolor paper.
This has become one of my favorite ways to create scrapbook titles.
I especially like using watercolor paper because it’s thicker and has a beautiful subtle texture. After stamping the words, I tear around them instead of cutting everything into a perfect rectangle.
The combination of the stamped letters and torn watercolor paper gives the title a slightly imperfect, handmade look that fits naturally with my scrapbook style.
I placed the title over the patterned paper and slightly into the photo area so it feels connected to the rest of the layout rather than floating by itself.
What I Used to Make This Page
This was actually a pretty simple page supply-wise. I used:
- 12×12 white cardstock
- Vintage-inspired car and star patterned scrapbook paper
- Soft yellow paper
- A small piece of burlap-textured paper
- Four printed family photos
- Watercolor paper for the title
- Alphabet stamps
- Black ink
- Gingham washi tape
- Corner rounder
- Adhesive
You definitely don’t need these exact supplies to recreate this layout.
That’s something I want this scrapbook inspiration series to show: you can take the basic idea of a layout and make it completely your own using whatever photographs and supplies you already have.
How to Customize This Layout for Your Own Scrapbook
The basic formula behind this page could work with so many different types of memories.
You could use childhood photos like I did, pictures of your grandparents or parents, vacation photos, everyday pictures of your kids, photos of a childhood home, or even a collection of random family photographs from the same period.
Start with one larger photograph as your focal point and arrange three smaller photos around it.
Then add a larger strip of patterned paper along one side of the page. Tear a smaller piece of that same paper and repeat it somewhere on the opposite side.
Add another subtle paper behind your photographs if the page needs more separation or warmth.
Finally, finish it with a small title.
You could also add journaling if you know more of the story behind your photographs. But if you don’t, that’s okay too. Sometimes simply preserving the pictures together is enough.
Old Photos Don’t Have to Document a Milestone
If you’re going through boxes of family photographs looking for pictures to scrapbook, don’t automatically skip over the ordinary ones.
The backyard pictures.
Someone sitting in an old lawn chair.
Kids playing outside.
A photo taken in front of the family home.
The pictures where nothing particularly exciting seems to be happening.
Those are often the photographs that show what life actually looked like.
Years from now, the toys in the background, the old furniture, the house, the clothes, or even the landscape might become just as interesting as whatever everyone was doing when the photograph was taken.
That’s one of the reasons I’m enjoying making this album so much.
It’s not only a collection of pretty scrapbook layouts. It’s becoming a place where all these little pieces of our childhoods can exist together—and eventually tell the beginning of our story.
See More of My Scrapbook Layout Inspiration Series
This layout is part of my Scrapbook Layout Inspiration series, where I share completed scrapbook pages along with the stories behind them, how I designed each layout, the supplies I used, and simple ways you can customize the ideas for your own photographs.
If you’re looking for more scrapbook layout ideas, browse the rest of the series for inspiration you can use in your own family albums, heritage scrapbooks, and everyday memory keeping. 🤍
