Thanksgiving Scrapbook Layout Ideas & Inspiration – Part 1 – memorykeepingideas.com

Thanksgiving Scrapbook Layout Ideas & Inspiration – Part 1


thanksgiving scrapbook layout ideas

Thanksgiving! What a great holiday to celebrate! And what a great opportunity to document your gratitude for family and life in your scrapbook pages. Need some inspiration to get your creative Thanksgiving-layout-making juices flowing? Well, look no further! 

I’ve searched the internet to find some awesome, creative, unique and unusual Thanksgiving scrapbook layouts. So, let’s get inspired together!

Document Your Unique Family Thanksgiving Traditions

Not everybody celebrates Thanksgiving the same way. Some families have cultivated their own specific Turkey Day traditions. Does this sound like you and your family? In that case, it is even more important to document your unique Thanksgiving celebrations! Make sure all the memories and traditions of your particular Thanksgiving day are preserved and documented. Let’s take a look at some of the specific traditions (and how they are documented) of other families!

document your family thanksgiving traditions thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Layout by Celeste Smith

This lovely layout documents the family’s tradition of putting on their pajamas right after Thanksgiving dinner. The photo is so cute and fun! I love how the title “pajamas” is made out of felt letters. This adds some real coziness to the layout. The photo itself is turned to black and white and both the photo and title are matted by a lovely duck egg blue colored paper with little black polka dots. Pattern paper is added to the title, photo and journaling cluster. Notice the little detail of the clock embellishment giving the time that the photo was taken! This is a cute detail that adds to the memories and the story of this family’s Thanksgiving traditions.

Design elements: Journaling about family traditions on Thanksgiving Day.
Finishing touches: “Pajamas” title made out of felt letters.
Cute details: Little clock embellishment showing the time the photo was taken. The exact time is also noted in the little tag on the left side.

document your family thanksgiving traditions thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Layout by BethB625 (Scrapbook.com)

The family traditions of the creator of this lovely layout consist of going to a movie on Thanksgiving Day. This movie going tradition is documented by showing a lovely photograph of one of the participants and clustering some ticket embellishments around the page. I love the big “traditions” title, making this page a bit more usual and non-traditional for Thanksgiving, but still fitting their own tradition. I’m a big fan of the muted, but colorful, background and layered cluster of embellishments. Notice the little wooden cutouts of the word “thankful” and of the little people indicating the number of people participating in their movie going activity. I love those kinds of subtle additions to a page: they make a layout very personal and contribute to the memory keeping. And finally: really now, who can resist a lovely yellow chevron stripe?

Design elements: Embellishing the page with movie ticket stubs.
Finishing touches: The strips of journalling.
Cute details: The three wooden cut-out people showing who went to the movies.

Journal About What You Are Thankful For

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to think about document all the things in your life that you are thankful for. Studies have shown that being grateful can be a very positive influence on your life, and the Thanksgiving holiday is a great opportunity to not only write down what you are thankful for but to get more creative and make a whole layout around the topic.

journal about what you are thankful for thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Layout by Cari Locken

This cute layout has a very fitting title: “Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart”, and it documents all the things that the creator of this page is thankful for. The journaling is done in a very creative way: using die cuts, hearts and stamps. This makes the journaling box an actual design element of the page. I love the way that the colors come from a matching set of Thanksgiving or fall papers, with pumpkins and a muted flower pattern paper. Even with all this color, the main subjects still are the black and white photos of her family, taking pride of place in the banner across the top of the page.

Design elements: Creative way of using several embellishments in the journaling.
Finishing touches: The cute embellishments spread along the bottom of the page.
Cute details: The little heart in the cloud die cut.

journal about what you are thankful for thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Jennifer Stewart

Another way of documenting all the things that your family is grateful for, is to have them write it down on a small piece of cardstock. In this layout, the creator used a grid to showcase all those little square pieces of thankfulness. She typed in all the names of the people. Don’t you just love this idea? It is great to have people write it down, because then you not only get to document what they are grateful for, but also their handwriting! Almost all the squares are filled. The ones in the top left and in the low right corner are filled with some fitting embellishments, emphasizing what the page is all about.

Design elements: Grid layout of handwritten notes of gratitude.
Finishing touches: The little bows put around some of the squares that have a little white space.
Cute details: The little embroidered pumpkin near the title.

journal about what you are thankful for thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Source: Pinterest

The creator of this lovely page went all out with the leaves embellishments! The layout has a fairly straightforward look with the journaling strips on top, the black and white photo of her family taking pride of place in the middle and some pattern paper on the bottom to balance out the design. The flurry of leaves across the layout adds a wonderful playfulness to the page.

Design element: The flurry of leaves give this straightforward layout a playful look.
Finishing touches: Leaf banners were used to frame both sides of the page.
Cute details: Who can resist the cute owl? It balances the “give thanks” element perfectly!

journal about what you are thankful for thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Michelle Rubin

I absolutely love this layout! It’s a straightforward grid, that not only includes the written notes of gratitude, but also the photo of the family members themselves! It’s a wonderful way to document your family’s Thanksgiving. And it’s a great way to remind yourself of all the things your different family members are grateful for. I love the simplicity of this idea, and it’s execution. The photo grid on top and the bottom very minimally embellished with a little strip of patterned paper and two circles with little buttons. And the title just says it all!

Design element: A simple grid that enables the photos to tell the story.
Finishing touches: The chosen color pallet helps the photos to stand out more.
Cute details: The cut-out circles with the buttons in the middle add the perfect detail.

journal about what you are thankful for thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Sophie Crespy

The creator of this layout lists five reasons to be thankful, and she goes on to list those five reasons in separate journaling strips, embellished different pattern paper strips. It might be difficult to read the French journaling, but it’s reasonable to assume that her reasons to be thankful have to do with those cute kids in the photos! She uses two different sizes for the photos, adding a little playfulness. The way that the layout is set up clearly makes these photos the star. Notice how the sewn circle clusters make one of those designer triangles!

Design elements: Using different strips of patterned paper to embellish separate journalling strips.
Finishing touches: Circles are sewn on some of the pattern paper strips to make the layout more playful.
Cute detail: I love the little stables that were put in the title and in the little tag above the photos.

Make The Photo The Star

It has been mentioned a couple of times already: some layouts are designed specifically to make your photo shine! This is a little bit easier if you have only one photo on the page, but it’s still possible to make one of the photos the star if you have multiple photos on your layout. Let’s take a look at some layouts where one photo is clearly the star and notice how many different kinds of design can make that wonderful photo of yours truly stand out and shine!

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Elijahsmom (Scrapbook.com)

This first layout clearly has a star photo! The cute baby’s first Thanksgiving is documented in a very effective way on this page. The photo is made the center of attention by making it slightly larger than the other elements on the page, including the other photo. The page is build-up out of very simple elements: The brown polka dots background color coordinates nicely with the brown outfit of the cute little boy and the circle with the fall colored leaves pulls all the separate elements beautifully together. The finishing touch is the cute turkey embellishment. 

Design element: If you have more than one photo on a page, make your star photo the largest.
Finishing touch: The cute turkey with its top hat.
Cute details: The little cornucopia embellishment in the lower left corner of the main photo forms a design triangle with the turkey and the “1st” title.

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Barbara Carroll

This is a very traditional way of making the photo the star of the page: giving all the space to a group photo that it needs. You’d want to make a group photo large enough so you can actually see the people’s faces! The lovely family photo is very minimally embellished with a tone on tone layered background look and stamped title in gorgeous typewriter script.

Design element: Group photos deserve a large space on your page.
Finishing touches: Stamped leaves embellishing the title .
Cute detail: The little buttons added in several places to the page.

make the photo the star thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Layout by Suzanna Lee
e

This is a different approach of making a photo the star. On this layout, the photo has become truly integrated with the rest of the page. I love the way that the page naturally flows from top to bottom. The little design elements flow naturally into the photo and are balanced below the photo with a little bit of journaling and some patterned paper. All the page elements fit beautifully together!

Design element: If possible, let your page let your page layout flow naturally into the photo and beyond.
Finishing touch: The “Thankful” title on placemat surrounded by the cute handmade feathers.
Cute detail: The little paint splatters on top bring a whimsical feel to this layout.

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Source: stampingwitherica.blogspot.com

Being the only photo on the page, it can’t help being the star by default. But the eye is even more drawn to the object of the photo by the addition of the polaroid-style photo on top. You can also create this effect by adding a white frame. The colors of this family’s outfits and those of the nature scene behind them are beautifully mirrored in the chosen color palette. In all it’s simplicity, this layout is a very effective and cute design. 

Design element: Put extra emphasis on the subject in your photo by placing it. 
Finishing touch: The little banners of different pattern paper give a whimsical look to this layout.
Cute details: I love the scalloped edge on the bottom side of the photo.

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Source: Pinterest

This photo is clearly the star, as your eye is immediately drawn to the two lovely people on it. The photo is not put in the middle, but on the left side of the layout and it is balanced on the right-hand side by a grid of stamped pieces of cardstock, decorated with some embellishments. This layout clearly shows that you do not have to put your photo in the middle of the page to make it shine. 

Design element: Experiment with putting your photo on one side of the page, balancing it out with other page elements.
Finishing touch: I love the way that the date is stamped on one of the square cards, as well the initials of the two kids in the photo.
Cute detail: Notice how the square brown background is place on top of a scalloped edged piece of pattern paper with stitching all around it. 

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Source: Pinterest

This is such a fun photo and it certainly deserves pride of place in anyone’s Thanksgiving layouts!. The photo is put a little bit above the center and is framed by lovely sentiments and flowers. The addition of the lovely “Home For Thanksgiving” title finishes off the page beautifully. And sometimes that is all you need!

Design element: Frame your photo with lovely sentiments and embellishments.
Finishing touch: The little flower cluster on the left-hand side adds a little pizazz to this layout.
Cute detail: Notice how the “Thanksgiving” in the title is doubled up by a dark hand-letter font underneath. These details add depth to your layout.

make the photo the star  thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Lynn Shokoples

Another very cute photo! This one is put on the page slightly off center and is layered on several pieces of angled patterned paper. This creates a bit of more whimsical look than if you would layer the papers in a straight way. This whimsical feeling is enhanced by the cluster of flowers on one side of the page and the row of little banners and tags on the other.

Design element: Layer your main photo on top of several angled pattern paper pieces and create a design triangle between the photo itself and embellishments on the lower left and right-hand side of the page.
Finishing touch: Angle your title with the angled pattern paper background.
Cute detail: I love the little brads used to create the washing line that holds up all the little tags and banners.

Make Your Own Thanksgiving-Themed Embellishments

All sorts of cute Thanksgiving-themed embellishments are for sale in stores and online. But wouldn’t it also be fun to make your own? You can use whatever papers and materials you have in your scrapbooking stash and around the house to create your very unique handmade Thanksgiving embellishment! It is far more cost-effective and very creative! And you can make your embellishments as big or as small as you need. This can be a tremendous advantage if you are a traditional paper scrapbooker. Let’s get inspired by other scrapbookers and take a look at their creations!

make your own thanksgiving themed embellishments thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking
Layout by Becki Adams

I adore this handmade turkey! It’s so cute with its little polka dotted burlap head and body. And the little bow tie is just to die for! Just look at the gorgeous plumage he has been given. Those tailfeathers are made from all different scraps of a pattern paper (stash busting, anyone?) that somehow just all fit together. This little turkey is clearly a happy fellow, no wonder he’s holding a little flag saying “Happy Day”! 

This handmade turkey is the main focus of the page. The photos that are included are little squares and are snapshots of things around the house. None of the photos have that “star quality” that you’d be looking for in a feature photo, so it’s a great idea to make your own handmade Turkey embellishment the star! It sets the atmosphere and theme for the rest of the page.

Design element: Of course, the main design element of this page is the lovely handmade turkey!
Finishing touch: I love the gold paper strips (scalloped and straight) that frame the middle part of the layout. This gold paper is also used for the feet and little bow tie of the turkey, and in the chevron arrows pointing at the “Turkey Day” title.
Cute details: I just can’t resist that “Happy Day” flag, it’s so cute!

make your own thanksgiving themed embellishments thanksgiving Layout Ideas Scrapbooking

Layout by Wendy Sue

Another handmade turkey! This one is made up out of different patterned papers and has a really flamboyant set of colorful tail feather plumage! What a lovely and colorful addition to this layout! Again, the turkey is the star of the page, but is closely followed by the cute kids on the photo! Don’t you just love the title “I Love My Cute Turkeys“. 

Design element: Use “real” feathers for your handmade turkey! This gives your layout a soft and touchable finish.
Finishing touch: The strip of turkey pattern paper is so cute!
Cute detail: I love the way that the title is build-up out of smaller letter tiles and playfully arranged larger “Turkeys” letters.

Use Photo Grids To Get Many Photos On One Page

Using a photo grid on a scrapbook layout is nothing new. It is a great way to put multiple photos on one page. Photo grids are very practical, but certainly do not have to be boring. Just add your own creative flair and away you go! Let’s take a look at some of the photo-grid techniques used by different scrapbook layout creators and get inspired to use photo grids on our own Thanksgiving layouts!

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Source: Pinterest

This grid-style layout is a bit fuzzy, but still clearly features one larger photo (doesn’t that turkey look amazing?) and a couple of smaller photos. This is a great way to add those “around-the-house” shots that are not spectacularly beautiful, but still add to the story and the memories. 

Design element: Feature one larger photo and make a grid of the smaller photos.
Finishing touches: The orange pattern paper beautifully coordinates with the color of the lady’s blouse!
Cute detail: The lovely food embellishments surrounding the “Thanksgiving” title. 

use photo grids to get many photos on the page

Layout by Sheri Catherine (Scrapbook.com)

This “messy” grid layout layers polaroid-like photos on a colorful background. Love those vertical chevrons! The images themselves are mostly closeups of “Thanksgiving type things”, and create a lovely library of “small” memories that are worth preserving.

Design element: Make a messy grid of those small photos.
Finishing touch: Ground your photo cluster grid with a strip of ribbon or pattern paper on the bottom of the page.
Cute detail: The orange paint splatters add a pop of color to the brown background. 

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Layout by Jen Reedd

“Turkey Day”! If you have a lot of photos that you want to use, a grid layout like this is definitely the way to go! I love that the title is put on a corner, and not just in the middle on top, making the grid a bit more playful. The cute turkey embellishment is a fitting finishing touch!

Design element: Use an extensive grid (with rounded or straight corners) to fit a lot of photos on one page.
Finishing touch: Make your grid a bit more asymmetrical by adding the title in the corner.
Cute detail: The cute turkey embellishment!

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Layout by Robyn Werlich

This layout shows a different kind of grid: the photos are clustered together in one corner of the page and the rest of the page is embellished with pattern paper, buttons, stitched leaves etc. I love the mix of square, vertically and horizontally oriented photos! Changing the images to black and white makes it easier to fit different photos together, since you don’t have to worry about clashing photo colors. The different pattern paper and various embellishments  provide some lovely matching colors.

Design element: Turn your photos to black and white to more easily group them together.
Finishing touch: Bring pops of color with strips of different pattern papers.
Cute detail: The little buttons added on one vertical paper strip!

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Layout by DeanaB (Scrapbook.com)

Yet another type of grid! The bottom half of the page is used to grid some photos. The photo colors fit beautifully together because they are all quite dark. Using only part of the page for your photo grid leaves you with more than enough space for some extensive journaling. 

Design element: Only use part of the page for your photo grid.
Finishing touch: Darker photos more easily group together without clashing.
Cute detail: I love the green “grass” effect on the bottom of the page. 

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Layout by Wendy Sue Anderson

In this layout, the page is divided in two parts. The upper half is filled with the title, the lower with a grid-type photo strip. Notice how one of the photos is in color, while the rest is black and white. The embellishments and pattern paper coordinate beautifully with the colors in the photo. 

Design element: Us a grid-type photo strip to display your photos. If you want, change them all (but one) to black and white.
Finishing touch: The large title is playfully laid out and made up out of cozy word pattern paper.
Cute detail: The twine wrapped around the top of the page.

use photo grids to get many photos on the page
Layout by Rebeccakeppel (Scrapbook.com) 

This lovely layout also uses a grid type photo strip. The strip consists of only two photos that are taken only seconds apart. That creates a “short movie”, adding to the story telling of the layout. The photos are cropped closely to only show the people and not much of the surroundings. This way you immediately focus on what the creator of this page wants you to focus on. The middle of the page is taken up by a large title and some large embellishments and the top of the page is mostly white space. 

Design element: Use photos that are taken only seconds apart for a great storytelling effect. 
Finishing touch: The beautiful “Thankful” die cut title.
Cute detail: Little lines of sequins are added to several places on the page. 

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