Document This: Your Makeup Bag

Good Morning, Paper Crafters! It's Nicole here, starting a new series on the Creations Galore Blog called, Document This. In this series we'll be sharing journaling prompts, picture suggestions, and scrapbook ideas that go beyond the traditional items we seem to always document, such as birthdays and holidays.

I constantly ask myself, "What would any future grandchildren like to know about me at my current age?" or "What do I want to know more about my grandparents?" Some of the everyday items that seem so mundane, when documented, can turn into important, cherished stories. One example, make up. I can remember the Avon Lady coming to my grandmothers house. As a child, I'd look through the magazines sitting by her side. I wish I had a picture of just one of those moments. Which leads me to this first prompt... Your Makeup Bag.

Go ahead, open it up, spread out the contents, and photograph it. Maybe you don't wear a lot of make up, take a picture of your moisturizer. Take a selfie in the bathroom mirror. Or use a self timer to photograph where you get ready. Just think of how the packaging and products might change over the years. You never know how precious that photo will be to someone years from now.

I opened up my makeup bag and spread it onto a piece of white cardstock near a window with nice natural light. Consider doing this on your vanity, bathroom counter, or any other place that helps tell your story. I first took a close up photo. This would be a great photo for describing my morning routine; however, I wanted to highlight each product I used. So I arranged all of the contents of my bag to fit onto the 12x12 piece of cardstock, switched my camera to landscape mode, and took a photo from above. Here's the result after cropping the photo:

Because I really wanted to document what each piece was, I added numbers to the picture with Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop, consider stamping or writing directly onto the photo or using an online editing software like PicMonkey. Here's how the photo looked after adding the numbers:

So cute! This photo can now be printed and scrapped. I am a pocket scrapbooker and wanted to include it in my Project Life album. I printed the photo 6x6, planning to put it into a 6x8 page protector that fits into any 3 ring album. Next I documented each number, describing the item by brand and color. I sized the journaling to fit in a 2x6 block and added it below the photo. I could have wrote far more than just the product details, like how I don't use a powder or concealer, how I overcame my oily skin, or how I'm self conscious about going without lipstick, but I chose to keep it simple for this prompt. In the future I'll take a photo of myself getting ready for the day and journal about those quirks at that time. 

I added a pretty piece of patterned paper into the page protector as well and inserted it into Week Seven of my Project Life Album. Here's a look at it all together: 

This prompt isn't just for those that pocket scrapbook! Turn it into a traditional scrapbook layout or an art journal page. We hope you're inspired to document the contents of your make up bag or your daily routine and would love to see how you use this prompt. Leave us a link in the comments below or post a photo to our Facebook page!