How To Create A Scrapbook

Creating a scrapbook of family memorabilia and photographs is a great way to preserve the milestones in your family's life and become a treasured keepsake for your children. We've all got stashes of photographs, movie ticket stubs, report cards, brochures and receipts. Every household boasts at least one box of memorabilia that has no where to go except in the back of the closet. If we never look at those photos or remember the movie we saw with a particular ticket we might forget some cherished memories or laughs that have been shared with our families. If these things sound familiar to you, it is possible to turn your collection of photographs and memorabilia into a scrapbook that will warm the hearts of your family and entertain them at the same time.
Gathering your supplies can be overwhelming at first especially if you have never tackled this type of project. A seasoned scrapbooker could give you ideas on where to buy the materials needed for your album. It's also possible to ask a craft store employee about the types of supplies you will find while shopping. A scrapbook album with several pages and page protectors is one way to start your project. Another place to begin is choosing just the pages and protectors for your album. You can always pick out your album cover at a later date. This will keep your initial project costs down and give you time to decide exactly what type of cover you prefer. Safe scrapbooking supplies have been emphasized in the past decade and it's a very good idea to use acid free and lignin free materials to keep your photographs safe from chemicals that can damage their quality. If you have an item that is not archival and want to place it in your album, there are options you have to make it work and still protect your photographs. Some of those options are acid free spray and archival safe storage envelopes that are made of clear see through material.
Organizing memorabilia and photographs is sometimes the most daunting task because it's difficult to find a starting point. I've found that sorting things by decades works well, such as including everything you have from the 1980s in one box and so on. Then you can sort that box by particular year and then by birthdays, celebrations and events of a particular year. Boxes, folders and envelopes are good ways to keep items separate so that you can concentrate on certain events at one time. It's much easier to look at all of the photos and memorabilia from one birthday party apart from your huge collection of photographs. Just as putting all photos and memorabilia from Christmas 2000 makes it much easier to choose what would look the best on your holiday layouts.
Comparing the items that would work well on a scrapbook page is where the real fun begins. Some people can look at their photographs and put colored paper that emphasizes the hues or seem to make the photos 'jump out'. Others may need to use a color wheel to compare different colors before making a decision on paper. It's sometimes helpful to ask a fellow scrapbooker what he or she thinks might compliment your photos. Any route you decide to go will be fine, if you are satisfied with the way the colors blend. Another thing to think about is choosing the right photos for the page. If you are like me, I might have dozens of photos of just one birthday party. It's not reasonable to think you can use every photo you have for a scrapbook. Usually it's the clearest, most recognizable photos that look well on a scrapbook page. You can use as many photos as you want, but the clearest pages have 3-5 photos on them. So if there are a dozen photos that you want to use, it will be necessary to make 2 or more pages to document one event. Sometimes its even fun to do a whole album on one event, such as a vacation or an anniversary celebration.
After you have chosen the paper you want to use and the photos that will look the best, it's time to embellish the page. This can be done with a number of items on the market today. You can really use any item that will lay relatively flat so that your scrapbook page doesn't damage the opposite pages. Take a look at a scrapbook aisle in your favorite hobby shop and you might find ribbon, stickers, metal or paper tags, raffia, vinyl decorations, etc. All of these things are fun to use and can make your page very fun to look at. But all of these items are made to emphasize your photos and the thoughts that you write about the event. If you overdo on the embellishing stage your photos will take a backseat to the main focus on your page. A simple rule to remember is to never take the focus off the photos and journaling.
Once you have everything laid out on your page and it looks pleasing to you, it's time to adhere everything to the page. There are several ways to use adhesives. Not so long ago you had a few choices on adhesives, but now there are so many different ways to get your page put together that they couldn't all be listed in this small article. Photographs should always be mounted on the page or paper with a safe, archival adhesive so as not to damage the quality of the photograph. One of a kind photos or heritage photos can be copied onto modern photo paper so that the treasured photo isn't compromised. Most photos do well with the archival glue sticks, tape and double stick tapes on the market today. Just remember that when you put the photo on the page it is most likely to be there for a long period of time. Only a few adhesives are repositionable and can be used to 'change your mind later'. Other items such as metal tags or buttons may need to be added to your page with a special adhesive. There are many such adhesives on store shelves today. Again, asking another scrapbooker or a store employee what they recommend will give you good direction.
After you have taken the time to choose your best photos and the appropriate paper and embellishments you will enjoy getting all of these things on your scrapbook page. You should leave enough room to journal dates, people's names, places and other thoughts about your photos on the page or paper. When it's completed you will have a priceless piece of your family's history to enjoy again and again.
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