Becky Higgins School Kit is Back

The Becky Higgins School Scrapbooking pack is the best I’ve seen.  I’ve been doing this long enough I knew it was unique, well organized, useful, and original.  Unfortunately, I recommended it to several people and it told out by 2PM the day it was released on-line.

They have re-released it!

Check out the order instructions here to get it this summer. 

For the younger years, I’m doing 4 full size 12X12 pages of “a year-in-review”instead of soley school stuff, but two days and I’m usually done with a year, not counting the few days I took to sort all their best papers and projects by year.  I still need to think that stack some and will over time as I go through them.  For now, it’s organized!

It’s turning out just as I’d hoped.  If the kid’s “stuff” is piling up in drawers or under the bed, and you don’t know what to buy to get it all scrapped, this might be for you. 

With three kids, I needed some help.  I L-O-V-E the snap closure pockets for all the certificates and special papers, one for each year. 

(Reading with an RSS reader?  You might have to click into see the photos below)

I cut all the photos out and then ran them through a 4X6″ Zyron sticker maker so that adhering would be a breeze.  Small pics are great to work with (I print the out on my own Photo Quality Printer using Vivera photo ink in an HP PSC 1510 All-in-One), but adhering all of them can get tedious.  The sticker maker makes it NICE.  The Xyron’s are only like $15.00 at Wal*Mart and the refills are like $8.00 or so.  Not back for acid free tape.  I’d use that much going all the way around the edges of each photo. 

I used photo corners as embellishments, added a bit of ribbon, and highlighted the text curve with new permanent markers to bring emphasize to the word line (barely visible here in an arc on the upper right page).  I made a brown sticker border strip out of the excess from the sticker sheet included.  I also edged one of the chipboard photo corners to give it a bit of brown accent color.  The journaling is SO easy with this sticker dots and titled and untitled journaling blocks.  I added the 123-ABC stickers from my stash, but the other elements were included, including the fun polka.  All the papers are gender nuetral and yet fun.

I can’t think of any other way to do 29 pictures on a two page spread and not have it look jumbled! 

A close up of the heavy chip-board elements to give it a bit of a 3-D feel without adding too much bulk to a thick book.

Even though Red didn’t go to preschool, I high-lighted his year at home, educational family trips, and what he learned just living!  The kit came with these cute metal brads (which are the light blue dots you see mounting the chipboard).

Each year has enough scrapbook supplies for at least 4 pages and a pocket for that year, and an acid free “notebook page” you can use to write a letter for your child for that year.  I used the first to write a note of the things were were praying for him that year and put it in a hidden pocket.

This is just the notebook paper, blank and really thick card-stock.  You can use the paper it for borders, background accent, or journaling.

I added a page for the back of the year and may add one to begin the front “first page”.

Here I used the journaling blocks as the emphasize design point of the page and some stickers I had for “Us”.  Keeping it simple and clean is my goal with the focus on the pictures and story rather than fancy design elements.  I want each child’s to look somewhat equivalent in style, and the kids being the same will help guide.   Next time, I want to print one focal picture among the smaller ones, but I like this look, too, and won’t go back and change it.  Enjoy the finished product and move on, I say!  I may add some buttons or something to this page, I don’t know. 

I did Goldilock’s Kindergarten layouts early this week and will post them soon for those interested in ways you can use the kit.  I’d love to find kits of others using it to see what they are doing also.  I’ll get on that!

There is a cool video that shows all the parts here.

UPDATE:  I’ve started a FlickR group for anyone who wants to post layout ideas:  Click Here to Join!  I’d love to see what you’ve done.