My Life Before Smartphones is a guided memory book project — a series of guided digital chapter kits that help you bring your favorite memories back to life and turn them into pages that you can hold onto.
👉 New here? [See how it all works →]
Ready to dive in? 'Chapter 01: The Mall' is now available!
You don't need a craft room. You don't need a giant collection of supplies. You don't need to be a scrapbooker.
Here's all you need to get started....
1️⃣ Purchase the Life Before Smartphones digital kit(s) for the Chapter(s) you are creating
2️⃣ Gather a few basic supplies:
- A blank scrapbook album, journal, or even a composition notebook
- Scissors
- Adhesive
- A home printer, library printer, or a local print shop
- A few of your own photographs and mementos, if desired
That's genuinely it. Everything else you see on this page is optional.
(NOTE: Some elements shown below are personal memorabilia, photos, printed images, or additional craft supplies that are not included in the kit. This is noted next to each picture.)
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Real talk: the spreads we've made below aren't elaborate. That's on purpose.
Scrapbooking can get as detailed as you want it to — layers, embellishments, hours per page. If that's your thing, have at it. But that's not really the point of this project.
The point of the 'My Life Before Smartphones Memory Book' project is getting some of your favorite memories out of your head and onto a page — and that only works if it's simple enough that you'll actually sit down and do it!
So here's how simple this can really be....
This spread started with the kit components (background, borders, and cut-outs). Then we added a personal photo, some printed images, and a small piece of colored paper behind the photo.
(You can make multiple spreads just from the kit components themselves!)
THE KIT + WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE
If you have a few basic supplies you can add a few more details.
👉 THE ONLY RULE
Done matters more than perfect. Start with what's in the kit, adding more only if you want to — not because you think you need to.
Remember: This is about the experience, so make it fun!
No perfection necessary!
This spread just uses the book page as the background.
Then we used the kit components (borders and cutouts) and added a photo, some pieces of colored paper, a few printed images, a sticker, and some fun confetti.
This spread uses kit components (patterned background, border, and cutouts) plus printed images and some colored paper we had.
Most of us already have a few arts and crafts supplies sitting in a drawer somewhere. Feel free to get creative with this and use whatever you already have on hand!
Not everyone experienced the mall in the same way. We've included a variety of styles so you can create spreads that feel like your version of the mall.
This spread was made using one of the included backgrounds, plus pieces of the 'alternative' cutout sheet that is in the 'Chapter 01: The Mall' kit, and then we added some printed pictures and washi tape.
We hope these page ideas have inspired you to create your own My Life Before Smartphones Memory Book!
Above all just know that you don't have to be a 'scrapbooker' to do this.
It's simple to start, completely customizable, easy, and fun to make. We promise!
Your own memories will become the heart of this book — we just give you the physical pieces and a guided process to help you uncover them, bring them to life, and make something you can keep. 💗
IF YOU WANT TO GO FURTHER
If you catch the scrapbooking bug and want to go further, here are a few additional supplies you can add to your creative process — but remember that none of these things are the reason a page will turn out good. That's still just you and the memory. 🩷
- extra scrapbook paper, for more background variety
- stickers or washi tape
- markers or colored pencils
- a paper trimmer and/or exacto knife for clean cuts
- additional embellishments or ephemera
We've rounded up a few additional supplies for you in our Amazon store. You can check that out below.
(As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)