Hello lovers! My husband and I have a LOT of letters, cards, drawings and tickets throughout our relationship. I had them all in two shoe boxes that we never looked at. I wanted to be able to have them in a place that was easy to pull out and flip through when I’m feeling especially girly and sentimental. I wanted this book to be all about the contents and not about the stickers, brads, gems and extra goodies I usually put into scrap booking, so I got a binder from my local craft store and started loading everything in!
DIY Scrapbook of Love Letters
The first step was to sort through the most important memories. All of our memories are special but they can’t all fit in one book and I wanted them all in one space up to this chapter of our lives (when we had a baby.) The next step was to attempt to put them into chronological order. This was, by far, the most time consuming step of the whole project. I had to remember to not get worked up if I couldn’t remember when something had happened…I’d just throw it in somewhere close to that time period.
I loved that this book had a large pocket in the front and back to put larger treasures. Sometimes I’d use photos as a pocket by adhering glue dots to the back and making it look pretty with washi tape on the front.
I also layered pamphlets and tickets a lot. I’d kept the keycard holder from the hotel we stayed at and used it to hold the keys and tickets. I left everything in the envelopes accessible so we can pull them out later on. I also used envelopes from cards to hold several letters. 
I also bought a pack of hole punched folders to stuff holiday cards. I’ve saved all of the cards from flowers that Jeffrey has sent me and put them in a pocket. Anything that was a little heavier, I adhered with glue dots.
Anything that was double sided, I used washi tape so we’d be able to lift and read both sides. Again, in the above photo, I used an envelope that held a card because it had writing on the back that I didn’t want to be glued to the page.
In a few cases I had a lot of one thing (tickets, letters, art) so I made an envelope out of scrap paper and glue dots but covered with washi tape to make it a bit prettier.
I’d also gotten a different clear photo holder that was by another company so I had to re-punch the holes. I wanted something clear that would hold photos, or in this case, movie tickets.
With the pack of hole punched folders I’d already mentioned, they had large folders that could hold several larger cards. Another technique I did was to accordion letters and tape one edge so you could unfold the letter to read it. I would show you a picture but I don’t want our love letters on the internet. 🙂
As always, a shot of my work area: messy. I was sure to include a few photos sprinkled throughout to show what we looked like during these memories. I have several scrapbooks with photos so I wasn’t trying to make this a photo scrapbook as much as a memories, tickets and love letters scrap book. There are a few more pages left in the book but it’s so packed I can hardly wrap the elastic around it. I’ll just have to make a new one in 5 years! Have any of you made such a memory book? What do you do with all the little trinkets you save from trips, birthdays and invitations?
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Felicia says
I wished I would have kept all the small notes my husband lady me when we first started dating. Thanks for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Sunday.
Shelly says
Awe! Me too!!! You can still start keeping little notes, tickets and cards now! 🙂
Erin says
I love this. I wish that I had thought to do this while my husband and I were in the early stages of our relationship – although a great deal of that time he was deployed so I (thankfully) still have all those mushy emails. 🙂
Shelly says
You can still print them and put them in a book for easier reference! I should have printed some of our AIM convos from when we first started flirting!!
AmieJo says
Great idea. Maybe someday I can find the time to do this. Pinning it for that day.
Shelly says
I kept putting it off too and one day, literally, I was cleaning out my craft closet…mid cleaning session and went to the store to get the book to put everything from my shoeboxes in. I couldn’t take it anymore! HAHA No time like the present!
lisacng @ expandng.com says
LOVED this! I love how organized yet messy it is. If you know what I mean. You got really creative like using photos as pockets. Nice! I started something like this but in a traditional album. I like this Smash Book idea though!
Shelly says
I loved that too! The fact that things pull out of different directions and each page has something a little new in the way of holding the letters/photos/tickets etc. I’d love to see your album!
MaDonna says
Aww, sweet idea!
Shelly says
Shucks 😉 Aren’t I just the sweetest? Really though, I love looking back at our stuff. I get butterflies just like I had in those first stages of our relationship when I look at this stuff. I’m such a sap.
Shambray says
I have so much stuff to scrapbook between my husband and I. These are great ideas. You inspired me!
Shelly says
YAY!!!! I’m glad! I’d seriously love to see what you do with your memories! It was a super fun project that took a LOT less time than regular scrapbooking!
Cathy Mini says
Very cute idea! I have all of these sorts of things sitting in a shoebox in my office, and I should really do something creative with them to commemorate all of the memories 😀
You’ve definitely inspired me today, and I cannot thank you enough for linking up all your awesome posts to Bewitchin Projects party this week!
I am SO stoked to see what you have for us next week for our next party over at OurMiniFamily.com!
Cheers,
~Cathy Mini~
OurMiniFamily.com
Shelly says
I’m glad you’ve been inspired to do something fun with your memories!! 😀 Thanks for having us at your linky party!
Tracy says
What a great idea. My husband was in the navy the first 5 years we were married and I have 2 shoe boxes full of mementos. I will have to make a scrapbook for them. Love this idea…..being a scrapbooker why didn’t I think if this hehe. Thanks for sharing.
Shelly says
It’s a bit different than scrap booking I feel because, for me, with scrap booking the photos are permanent and you don’t ever take them out. You’d want to take out some of these memories to read so it’s a bit trickier…but in a fun way! I honestly thought it was way easier than scrap booking because the pages were already designed!
Katie says
Very cute. And something I could totally see myself going back to over and over again to look through.
Shelly says
That’s my hope too Katie! I’m hoping we’ll get more use out of it than with everything in shoeboxes. I’ll put it when our other scrap books so when I get mushy I can look through this as well!
the cape on the corner says
aww, cute. the boyfriend and i have been together for almost 17 years, and we were cleaning out things and he found his stash of things from our early years. the things i sent him/drew him were hilarious and annoying and clingy but we really had a great laugh going through that stuff. thanks for bringing that memory up!
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Shelly says
That’s a LOT of years of memorabilia! MAN! I was soooo annoying too! I really wanted to throw them away but I also wanted to remember how we were. 🙂
Christina @ Juggling Real Food and Real Life says
I love it Dana! Thanks so much for linking this up at Let’s Get Real. This is good old-fashioned scrapbooking………..you know before we went crazy turning it into works of art. I have bunches and bunches of memorabilia that I would love to turn into something like this. Thanks for the wonderful idea. Memories are so important and the generations that come after us will certainly enjoy knowing who we were when we were young.
Shelly says
I’m glad you love it Christina! That’s why I enjoyed this project, there wasn’t as much pressure for an amazing layout…just fill the binder with our memories! I’m not sure future generations will be able to look through our book but we will! 😉
Megan Walker says
This is such a sweet idea! For our first Valentine’s Day, I wrote out the story of how we met and started dating in a book for my now-husband. After we got married, I have updated it every year on our wedding anniversary. I love going back to read it when I’m feeling sad or I’m mad at him (haha). It helps me remember all the obstacles we have overcome to reach this place!
Thanks for sharing on Hump Day Happenings : )
Shelly says
Awe! Too sweet!! Those will be really awesome memories in 10-20-30 years! That’s funny that you said you read it when you get mad! I create something for my husband when I’m frustrated with him and it always makes me calm down and realize how much I love him. 🙂
Leslie says
What a cute book. I like how you’ve got it laid out too. What a neat idea thanks for sharing!
Kim Spencer says
My husband passed away and I have his many letters in a scrapbook. I was reading that to keep them intact I should use a acid free file that is sturdy to keep them from wrinkling and to preserve them. I read them all the time even though it’s been going on 6 years since he passed. I was wondering if theres away I could laminate or somehow make an actual book with them in in it. Many are written on front and back of sheet paper and I also have the little notes also.. Thank you ❤