All of my college scrapbooks have a hand-inked title page. Since this is the final year, I decided to go all out. I always make more work for myself than necessary. It didn’t take nearly as long as I expected, but that was perhaps because I was sitting through an excruciating football game and needed something to occupy my mind. But how did I do this? I can’t draw, remember? Read on.
I decided on the university seal. The other three books also feature a university symbol, albeit much simpler ones. Any design, even text, will work with this method. Play with the sizing, print it out and make sure you like how it is positioned on the page.
Mark lightly in pencil around the edges of the printout so you can reposition it on the page where you want it later. Then, flip the design over and shade the back with a pencil. A non-mechanical pencil is best. It’s important to get complete coverage over the back of the entire design, especially in detailed areas. Also very important – slip a piece of paper underneath the design while you shade because the pressure may make printer ink transfer onto your scrapbook page.
Flip the design back over and secure it to the scrapbook page. Using a pen with a nice pointed edge, trace over the design, applying a bit of pressure as you go.
The pressure will transfer the shaded pencil marks from the other side to the scrapbook page. Lift up the design periodically to check your work.
My arm almost fell off by this point. The design below is very light and is meant to be a guide. Now all you have to do is color!
I used blue and gold metallic pens to color the design. Keep the original printout handy to refer back to check your pencil markings.
I repeated the process by adding the “Year 4” text at the bottom. I did this separately so I could position it against the completed design above. The font is Californian FB, available on some Microsoft machines.
Finally, the finished product! We are officially underway with College Year 4.
Almost Never Clever 
Nat — This is wonderful that you are sharing this! Good luck on your project. Excellent idea on using the school seal (I went to UCSC so it’s the same for me) I have been married for 19 years and haven’t done the wedding scrapbook yet — you are giving me hope! (I’m behind on my blogging too. Of course.)
Hi Kelly! Thanks for your kind words! I’ve accepted the fact that I will always be behind, but I’m trying to not let that get me down so I can keep plugging away. When I finally started scrapbooking my first year in college, I had to psych myself up to just start. I didn’t have a grandiose plan or neat supplies. Finally as a bonus for you, when I finish this college book, my next project is my wedding. Hopefully you’ll get some inspiration!
You are very welcome! And also: great blog title!!!
Wow, Natalie. Your commitment is impressive. I would’ve given up long before all of this (b/c I can’t draw, either). NICE!
Thanks! It’s really because I have a hard time throwing stuff away.
Wow, this is so beautifully done! I love your style of scrapbooking. What dedication to put your college memorabilia into scrapbooks! I copped out and just stuck the smaller bits in my (non-acid-free cling-page) photo albums with my photos… and punched holes in the rest of it to add between my photo pages. Your albums will be (and already are!) such treasures.
(by the way, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment!)
Thanks! I was really into spirit at my school which is why I amassed enough items. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to organize my scrapbooking for just regular life after college (though I have enough boxes of stuff ready to go). I’m not a mini-album person either. I’ll keep looking back at your pages for ideas!
Wow, that’s really beautiful. Thanks for summarizing the technique, I might have to try that one day. As far as mini albums, I usually scrap with the conventional 12×12 album size and enjoy pulling back to do a mini album on a special occasion (usually 8×8). It helps to break up the monotony. I also like that size for a few special albums because they travel well when I want to go to lunch with friends and take pictures. Nowadays people just whip out their mobile devices to flash their pictures.
Thanks! I learned it in a 7th grade art class and it’s always come in handy!