Project Life Emphasis Day: Inserts

Hi there Project Lifers.  Today, I thought I'd share with you how I use inserts in my Project Life albums.  By inserts, I mean extra page protectors within my weekly spread to house all those extra pictures or memorabilia that just would not fit into my two 12" x 12" page protectors.  This month I used inserts for two of my spreads.  However, I didn't post the inserts in the Ideas Gallery at the website, so I thought I would share them here for you.

@ the Farm

For this spread, we had gone to an Easter Egg Hunt / Spring Fling at a farm down the road from my parents' house where I grew up.  It was a beautiful sunny day with lots of activities; therefore, I went a bit snap happy.  I just couldn't pare down my pictures, so I grabbed an insert.  This one is by American Crafts, and it holds six 4" x 6" photos.  I only had five, so I created a title card just for the set of photos that I included on the insert.  Here's the front and back of the insert.

Oh Snap! . . . March

This spread is my March daily page.  Each month, I find that I have enough random, daily shots to fill two Design A Becky Higgins Page Protectors.  I love that all the random shots are together, so that the rest of my spreads are a bit more cohesive and have a color scheme to them.  Again, I had too many pictures, but I also had some of my youngest son's schoolwork.  Since St Patrick's Day is in March, I thought this was a good way to include something from the pile of papers that we have saved over the last school year.  I just slipped it into an 8.5" x 11" Avery Sheet Protector and popped it in the album.  SO easy!

The second insert for this page is for more random photos.  This one is a Becky Higgins Design H Page Protector.  You could actually use your paper trimmer to cut down a Design A one, too.  Aside from slipping in photos, I added two 4" x 6" cards.  So simple.  Again, the front and back of the photo insert.

Using inserts in my Project Life album has really helped me spend less time on creating my spreads.  Seems odd, right?  But I don't spend nearly as much time culling or resizing or cropping photos.  I just grab (or create) an insert and include them all!  Plus, my kids love being able to see their Valentine's Cards, report cards, artwork, certificates, notes, and other mementos right in the album.  Have you used any inserts in your albums?  Any tips?  Favorite page protectors?  I'd love to hear!