When I was younger, I used to love going to the photo booths in the mall. My friends and I would attempt to cram ourselves inside. Some of us were halfway in the booth, some were squashed against the photo booth, someone was always sitting on another’s lap, and someone’s head always got chopped off. I still look back on my old photo strips and laugh at our silly expressions… good times indeed. Nowadays, with Photoshop, it’s easy to create your own photo strips without dealing with the crowded booths.

One of the things I like about using photo strips on my layouts is that I can pack in the photos while at the same time I can save space on my layouts. Photo strips are perfect for maintaining a clutter-free layout. Notice how I used three photo strips on my layout and then I added my title, embellishments and journaling in little bits.

Our First by Nicole Martel

Supplies: Paper, Tag, Border stickers: Pink Paislee, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Flower: American Crafts, Labels: 7Gypsies, Button: Buttons Galore & More, Brad: Queen & Co., Pen: Uni-ball (Signo). Tools: Punch: Martha Stewart Crafts, EK Success, Electronic Cutter: Making Memories Slice (Words & Expressions).

Design Notes: Try outlining your title with a black pen to make it more interesting and less flat looking.

Click take a Pic by Kari Ann Sweeney

Supplies: Paper: Jillibean Soup, Bella Blvd, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Brads: Creative Impressions, Eyelets: We R Memory Keepers, Journaling Spots: Scenic Route, Stickers: Bella Blvd.

Design Notes: Don't throw away those scraps. My stack of scraps are often my starting point when working on a layout. Stretch your dollar and your supplies.

Journaling: Our first photo booth adventure with Ellie. The four of us in a small space was tricky but so worth it. 06/10

100% Surfer Style by Tracy Gardiner

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Chipboard: Enmarc, Rub-Ons: BasicGrey, My Mind's Eye, Ink: Tim Holtz, Blending Tool, Foam: Tim Holtz.

Design Notes: I used no patterned paper on this layout, which is unusual for me. I cut each "brick" individually (from Kraft Cardstock) but you could also use a punch or die-cutting machine to cut out rectangles to form the brick wall. Use the  blending tool with the Distress inks to "color" the bricks. I also "colored" the naked chipboard filmstrip with the darkest distress ink and used the same ink on the torn cardstock behind the filmstrip. This is an incredibly simple layout but was pretty time consuming as I inked each brick separately.