Getting Started With Scrapbooking

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Are you of the sentimental sort but find yourself creatively challenged? Do you want to preserve memorable moments but are on the fence on how to convey those moments visually? How can you do it? There is only one word for it – scrapbook! And who knows? Scrapbooking may be the thing for you if you just try it!

Scrapbooking is a time-honored hobby that remains popular up to this today. Young kids do it. They love to cut away pictures, put stickers, and add other memorabilia. Adults also love to scrapbook. It gives them a sense of pride when making one because it is a very personal type of book.

There’s a reason they call it honoring your “roots,” because compiling such records provides feelings of grounding, stability, and continuity. Such feelings can be quite illusive these days, making a record of a family’s journey through time more treasured than ever. — Helen Davey Ph.D.

A scrapbook is simple to make, fun to do, and adds a personal touch in preserving those joyful memories. The best part is that there’s virtually no way to be bad at scrapbooking – modern instruments have made it easy to learn yet still make you look like a pro. All you need to do is buy the things you want to use in a bookstore, cut them up, paste it, stick it, color the pages, do some lettering, add glitter or ribbons – whatever you like and you’re done!

Are you interested? Then read on to how you can get started with your first scrapbook.

Determine A Theme.

Whether it is the memories on your pregnancy, your wedding day, or an unforgettable vacation, choosing a theme can add coherence to your scrapbook. You can make this more systematic by designating a box to collect the things you’d want to include.

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Gather Memories.

Start by saving items that you’d want to put into your scrapbook. Pictures are the go-to item to fill the contents of a scrapbook but consider other things like hospital arm tags, baby footprints, plane tickets, and dried flowers/leaves to add a little variety into your work.

Family photos are a record in the way that family bibles once were the ledgers of families’ histories. Arthur Dobrin D.S.W.

Select A Template.

If you’re reluctant to DIY, you can go to your local Walmart or crafts store to a find pre-made scrapbook kits. These come with ready-made templates where you can just glue your picture in and come in layouts that organize your scrapbook like a pro.

Create A Journal.

Journaling is the heart of what makes a scrapbook. Try to arrange the items in a sequence or convey a story when putting together a scrapbook page. A good tip is to tell the circumstance of the picture like Baby’s First Step, Our Wedding Toast, etc. Also considering assigning photographs and labels to people who were present in the event – this way, anyone who reads the scrapbook can have a fuller picture of the moment.

Go Digital.

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If all the above seem tedious, there are online resources that can create a digital scrapbook. Simply upload a picture, pick a layout then drag-and-drop them in place. Sites like Creative Memories, Stampin’ Up and Kiwi Lane Designs even come with a visual suite that makes designing scrapbooks a breeze.

Digital art therapy is, in part, the contemporary descendant of magazine photo collage, offering another way to “cut, move, and paste” without the sharps or Elmer’s glue. It has made available a virtually limitless gallery of images that can be used to create that “picture that’s worth a thousand words” in therapy. — Cathy Malchiodi PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT

One final thing to remember is that there’s no such thing as a perfect scrapbook. Scrapbooks are created uniquely to reflect your experiences and memories, so it should reflect what makes you unique as well.