You were you, before you were a mom.*

After having my daughter Emily I felt a pull to document each milestone of her story in detail. But then I realized…

My own story was being pushed aside.

Aren’t your worried you will be missing from your scrapbooks? Here’s how I responded to this “Aha!” moment:

*Before Your Story is about documenting a growing up story.

That can mean you or someone else.

“Before” can mean before kids, but it can also mean before marriage, before college, or at any point that best describes the parts of life that define the story of who your subject is today.

One big story, simplified.

Lots of stuff happens in life, but documenting those memories doesn’t have to feel complicated.

In Before Your Story you’ll learn a variety of techniques for simplifying big stories.

Thank you!

I feel good knowing that so much of my story has been recorded. I am excited to take your format and apply it to similar albums for my husband and other family members. I loved your left-brained approach to planning the project out and keeping my right brain focused and on task. I am 99% done with my album, which is definitely a first for me.

Heather H.

Your Album, Your Way

In Before Your Story I’ll walk you through my personal approach to completing this album. But it’s not the only way to tell your story.

You’re invited to follow along step-by-step or adapt the ideas to suit your personal style. Students have used a variety of paper, hybrid, and digital techniques to complete this project.

Here’s what’s included with the June 1, 2023 – August 31, 2023 session:

Classroom & Workbook

Get everything you need to build this album with ease, step-by-step.

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Coworking Sessions

Finish your album with six live Q&A + Coworking sessions on Zoom.

Community Support

Never feel alone with 24/7 access to our online creative community.

This workshop was developed in 2014 for Big Picture Classes and brought to Simple Scrapper in 2015. Our 2021 session brought the most significant updates to date, including a brand new 9×12 project example.

Jennifer, thank you.

If I had not done this class I would not have unearthed wonderful photos of me and my family from the piles and piles that I have—and I would not have looked at them from a completely different perspective. It has been wonderful following along and seeing all the ideas. Love your ability to make things simple and really appreciate all the time and help you have given and offered all of us. You are an awesome teacher, loved chatting with you and learning from you.

Karen M.

Jennifer, thank you sincerely for all that you did to make this class so special. I will really miss the excitement of regularly opening up the message board, viewing the videos, and reading the handouts. It has been very therapeutic to go back and revisit my earlier days. The comments from other class members also ignited more memories. Thank you one and all, especially those who commented on my photos.
BYS Student "MY2CATS"

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You can make sure your story isn’t forgotten with this beautiful scrapbook album.

There are milestone events in life, such as marriage and motherhood, that divide us permanently into a “before” and an “after.”

It’s easy to become so immersed in the after that our “befores” rarely appear in our scrapbooks. In this workshop, you’ll have all the guidance you need to tell your growing-up story in one gorgeous album.

And the next time your child struggles to imagine a time when your life didn’t revolve around hers, you can hand her this book and say:

“Before your story, there was mine.”

We officially begin on June 1, 2023 but you’ll have instant access to the classroom when you join.

Before Your Story changed each one of our lives. Revisiting my childhood to
adulthood gave me so much insight and love for the good things that happened in
my family and showed me why my brothers and sisters are so dear and close to me
as we enter our last stages of life together.”

Tippie A.