Get Creative and Preserve Memories with these Small Scrapbook Ideas

One of the best things about DIY scrapbooks is their limitless potential for creativity. In design, materials, theme, and size, your next scrapbook can be absolutely anything you want it to be. Sometimes, a small scrapbook is the perfect project. Creating a pocket-sized book is a delightful way to preserve memories, with each small page an inviting and approachable canvas on which to express your artistic ideas.

Making a mini scrapbook typically starts with an idea or theme. It might be travel memories from a recent getaway, a charming scrapbook about—or for—your toddler, a birthday book for your BFF, or a foodie journal with recipes and notes about memorable meals. You could make a small scrapbook to document a hobby, create miniature art collages, or give as a romantic gift to your sweetheart. Maybe you prefer to embrace randomness and just fill each page with photos, doodles and whatever comes to mind.

Need some advice on scrapbooking essentials? Read our guide: Scrapbooking 101: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

Ideas for a Small Scrapbook “Blank Canvas”

When you’re making a mini scrapbook, the first creative decision is what to use for the book itself. You can either purchase a blank book, or go for a DIY approach. For a mini scrapbook, choose or make books sized 8 x 8 inches or smaller. Choose an appropriate paper thickness and binding style for the scrapbooking materials you intend to use.

For blank books, there’s a huge array of options available in stores and online. You can browse various styles of books designed especially for scrapbooking, which include albums with vinyl pockets for inserting your own pages and spiral-bound paper books. Or, look for artists’ sketchbooks and generic notebooks with blank paper.

A DIY canvas for a small scrapbook gives you the most options for paper and cover styles, binding options, and size. You can cut and bind pages of cardstock, thick artists’ papers, decorative scrapbooking papers, and more. Blank notecards are a great choice for mini scrapbooks, and they come in different colors. You can bind them using a hole punch and binder rings or ribbon, or discover creative DIY binding ideas on scrapbooking blogs.

Creative Ideas for a Mini Scrapbook

The beauty of scrapbooks is that each one is totally unique and expresses the personal creativity of its maker. However, we have some fun ideas for mini scrapbook themes and pages that you can personalize for your own small scrapbook project.

Use Maps in a Travel Scrapbook

Using maps in a travel scrapbook is a no-brainer, and there are so many ways to get creative with a map-themed page or spread. Tourist maps saved from your trip are a great choice, but you can also print custom maps of the locations you visited. Paste these onto the pages of your scrapbook and embellish them to capture memories of your travels. Here are some ideas:

• Use colored markers to draw arrows from the margins of the page to points on the map. Write matching notes about memories, or stick little photos or stickers in the margins to correspond with the locations. For example “the best mai tai on the island” with a photo of you sipping your cocktail, or a simple “our hotel.”
• Handy with a needle and thread? Sew a line of running stitches through the map with embroidery thread to mark the route of a road trip. Or, embroider decorations like hearts and flowers to decorate the map.
• Trace the outlines and select details of a paper map and transfer it to a scrapbook page. You can then hand-draw or paint the map in an artistic style of your choice.

“Then and Now” Scrapbook Spreads

Give a two-page spread in your mini scrapbook the theme of “then and now.” Choose two small photographs representing that theme, and stick the “then” picture on the left and “now” on the right. This could be your beloved pet on the day of adoption, then a more recent day as a member of your family. Or, a first day of school picture next to a graduation day portrait. Embellish the spread with stickers, doodles, or notes.

A “Favorite Media” Mini Scrapbook

Document your love of movies, books, music, or other media in a mini scrapbook. A movie buff might dedicate a two-page spread to each of her top 10 favorite movies. Each spread could include a quote, a still image from the film, a movie theater ticket stub, and personal notes about the meaning of the movie. You could dedicate a scrapbook to all the books written by a favorite author. Make photocopies of pages from the book and highlight key passages. Add facts about the book, note the dates when you started and finished reading it, and a little sketch of a character.

Mini Envelopes for Letters

Miniature envelopes are always a sweet addition to a scrapbook. You can buy tiny envelopes to paste in the book, or find a printable template online to cut out and fold your own. For a romance-themed scrapbook, fold up sweet notes or small memorabilia (e.g. the fortune cookie slip from a date night, an RSVP card from your wedding). A sentimental idea for a family-themed mini scrapbook or gratitude book could be cutting out the signatures from birthday cards sent to you by loved ones. How about a page dedicated to your grandmother with a piece of her handwriting saying “I love you” in an envelope?

A Hobby-Themed Mini Scrapbook

Dedicating a small scrapbook to your favorite hobby is a great way to document your projects, experiences, and growth. If your hobby is knitting, for example, you might make a page for each knitting project with a scrap of the yarn, a sketch of the design or pattern, and a photo of the work in progress or finished item. Gardeners could sketch landscaping ideas, record the prime seasons for planting, blooming, or harvesting, and make notes about plant care. Accessorize those pages with pieces of seed packets, pressed flowers, and photos of your garden.

Make an Adorable ABC Book

ABC books—“A is for apple, B is for bear e.t.c.” are always popular with kids, but you can use the same concept for your mini scrapbook. Find letter stickers, print letters in a favorite font, or design your own stylish lettering for each page or two-page spread in your scrapbook. Brainstorm ideas for each letter of the alphabet that correspond with something meaningful in your life. Examples could be “C is for Chess—I’ll never forget the day I first beat my Dad at chess,” with a photo of you playing the game as a child. Or, “M is for Magical Moment,” with pictures or notes about memories that felt truly magical.

Photo Dump Scrapbook

A photo dump refers to a collection of photos that are random in theme, yet simply feel like they’re worth sharing. Use this concept for a mini scrapbook that captures the many facets of your life. Print small copies of photos that are meaningful to you, but don’t necessarily reflect a single theme. Maybe it’s one from a party, another of your sister as a child, a pretty flower photo, a selfie in a cool outfit, and a photo of an award you received at work. Stick each one on a page of your scrapbook and embellish the pages in spontaneous ways. A sticker here, a remembered line from a poem there. Doodle a crown on your sister’s head, or add a rainbow over those flowers. Draw a decorative frame around the award. This mini scrapbook is just for you, so do whatever comes to mind and let the creativity flow.

Love Scrapbooking? Discover Digital Scrapbooking with Mixbook

If you love creating scrapbooks, there’s an excellent chance you would enjoy digital scrapbooking as well. There’s room in your creative world for both wonderful ways of preserving memories!

The Digital Scrapbook theme captures everything you love in a traditional scrapbook, with the ease of the Mixbook Studio™ online interface. For a digital version of a mini scrapbook, choose small book sizes like 6 x 6 square and 8 x 6 landscape.

Visit our online scrapbooking page and get started today.