Pocket Week Guest Post – Scrapbooking Pocket from Reflections… of a life well lived

Today’s guest blogger is Rebekah from Reflections… of a life well lived. She does some amazing scrap booking and card making, and shares it on her site. Some of my favorite layouts she’s done are Glow and Bekah by the Numbers. She also shares some “real life” stuff on her blog like I’ll take a 2 liter of Coke, a pack of gum, and oh yeah, some porn (with a title like that, you know it is going to be good!). I was lucky enough to come across her through the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge, and am so glad that she agreed to come guest post here today! Take it away Bekah!

I am so excited to be a guest blogger here at Expect Moore! I have loved all the projects this week, and today I am going to show you how to create a hidden pocket for pull-out journaling on a scrapbook page.

There are many good reasons to include a pocket on your layout. They are great for holding keepsakes that you either can’t or don’t want to adhere. They are convenient for  holding larger items, such as a brochure or menu. You can also use them to hide your journaling when you want to keep it a bit private, or it interferes with your design.


Once you have decided that you want to use a pocket, then you need to decide what kind! The options are vast. A slash pocket is quick and easy and can be attached to your page with brads, stitching, or regular adhesive.  There are also tons of cute pockets that you can purchase ready-made, such as coin envelopes, library card holders, and clear pockets.

So let’s get to the good stuff! Here is how I created the pocket for the above page…

1. First, decide how big you need your journaling block to be. It may help to write everything out on a scrap piece of paper first. Cut cardstock to this size, leaving tabs at one end.. This end will stay secured in your pocket. (see photo below)

2. The cardstock you cut for your pocket will be as wide as your journaling block and twice as long. In the example below, my journaling block is 3×4″, so I cut cardstock 3×8″ for the pocket. Fold this in half.

Be sure to leave tabs on one end of your journaling block. On the opposite end of the block, you may wish you attach a brad, ribbon, etc. as a “pull” for your block.

3. Place your journaling block into the folded pocket, with the tabs toward the closed end of the pocket. Fold the tabs over.

4. Tape the pocket on the open end, just enough to provide a “stop” for the tabs on your journaling block. This will prevent the journaling block from coming out completely and getting lost or damaged.

5. Now you can adhere your journaling pocket behind a photo or the layout itself.

I hope you enjoyed this brief tutorial. If you have any questions, visit me at Reflections….of a life well lived or email at rdoak03@yahoo.com

Wow! That’s awesome! Just further proof that Pockets are great on… everything! And this layout is great for the pages where I want to tell the story behind the pictures, but don’t have the room! I can’t wait to try it out!