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A scrapbook pocket page gives your loose keepsakes a safe home. Ticket stubs, postcards, brochures, certificates and kids' letters slide into the pocket and come back out whenever you want to read them. Ashley Roesch of Scrap With Ash shows how to make one from a single 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. You score three lines, fold, tape and stick it to a page. No cutting at all.
The fold shows the back of the paper on the cuff and the inside of the pocket. That is why double sided designer paper works better than plain cardstock here. Decide which pattern you want on the front before you fold. A busy print on the front and a quieter one on the cuff keeps the page from looking cluttered.
A scoring blade makes the lines quick and even, but you can do this without one. Measure with a ruler, mark each line in pencil at both edges, and run a bone folder or an empty ballpoint pen along a ruler to make the crease. Go slow and firm. Pressing hard and fast can tear the paper edge.
Repositionable tape lets go once the pocket gets used. A permanent tape runner holds it together through years of pulling papers in and out. Be generous. Run it along both side edges, under the cuff, and around the back when you mount it.
Leave the top of the pocket unglued when you mount it and you get a double pocket, one in front and one behind. Tuck a strip of coordinating paper under the cuff before you tape it for a pop of color, or cover the seam with a sticker border. For a fancier page, cut two large shapes such as hexagons, use one as the backing and trim the other into the pocket.
New to albums? Start with how to scrapbook. Give the pocket edges an aged look with how to distress paper edges. Pocket pages also suit a junk journal or a mini scrapbook album.
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Make a scrapbook pocket page from one 12x12 sheet: score at 6, 2 and 1 inch, fold a reinforced cuff and tape it down. An easy project: about 15 minutes. Materials cost about $1 to $3. You need 6 things, including 12x12 double sided patterned paper, 12x12 background cardstock or paper and permanent tape runner. The 10 steps start with score the Scrapbook Paper at the 6 Inch Line and score the Scrapbook Paper Again at 2 and 1 Inch.
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Swap the cutting blade on your paper trimmer for the scoring blade. You will not cut anything for this project. Pick a 12x12 sheet of double sided patterned paper and line it up at the 6 inch mark. Run the scoring blade down the track with firm, steady pressure. Go over it once or twice, but do not rush. Fast and hard can rip the paper edge.
No scoring blade? Use a ruler and a bone folder along a pencil line.
Slide the paper down the trimmer and score a second line at the 2 inch mark. Then move it once more and score a third line at 1 inch. You now have three score lines at 6, 2 and 1 inch. Set the trimmer aside. These three lines are all you need to build the whole pocket, and they keep every fold straight and even.
Measure all three lines from the same edge of the paper.
Pick up the paper and bend it along each score line to make a crisp fold. It does not matter which direction you fold yet. The point is to train the paper so it folds cleanly in the next step. Run your fingernail or a bone folder along each crease to set it flat.
A sharp crease now means a neat, flat pocket later.
Decide which side of your paper you want to show on the front of the pocket. Ashley wanted the Christmas icon print to stand out, so she folded the 6 inch section up to put the plaid inside. Flip that big section up along the first fold. The patterned side facing you is now the front of your scrapbook pocket.
Hold a few keepsakes up to it to check the size before you go on.
Find the next fold and flip that section down, then flip the last 1 inch section back up. This double fold builds a thick cuff along the top edge of the pocket. The extra layers stop the paper from tearing when you slide papers in and pull them out. Press the cuff flat with your hand along its whole length.
Line up the ends of the cuff with the pocket sides before you crease it.
Run a permanent tape runner along both side edges so the front and back of the pocket stick together. The bottom edge is already closed by the fold. Keep the top edge open, since that is where your keepsakes go in. Use regular permanent adhesive, not repositionable. It is what holds the pocket together over years of use.
Be generous with the tape. More is better here.
Add a line of tape runner under the 1 inch flap and press it down onto the pocket front. Smooth it from one end to the other so there are no bubbles. If you want a strip of contrast color peeking out, slip a narrow piece of coordinating paper under the flap before you press it down.
Tape the cuff ends too, so they do not lift at the corners.
Lay a sticker border along the seam where the cuff meets the pocket front. It hides the edge and adds definition. Ashley used two scalloped borders from the same collection as her paper so it all matched, and doubled them up to make the edge feel solid. Press each border down firmly from end to end.
Washi tape or a thin paper strip works too.
Choose a 12x12 background page and decide where the pocket sits. Ashley left about an inch of margin at the bottom. Run tape runner down both sides and along the bottom of the pocket back, then press it onto the page. You can tape the top as well. Leave it open and you get a second pocket behind the first.
Tape the bottom edge so nothing slips out underneath.
Slide your memorabilia into the pocket. Ashley's second sample uses a holly print pocket on a navy page with two gold cards tucked in. Her first page will hold her children's letters to Santa and the replies. Anything you want to pull out and read again belongs here: brochures, certificates, cards and notes.
Write the date on the back of each item before it goes in.
Keep going
How to Make a Flower Meadow Scrapbook Layout
More on this topic, picked for this scrapbook pocket page from one sheet of paper.
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How to Make a Scrapbook Pocket Page From One Sheet of Paper
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E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
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OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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