Scrapbooking Articles Tips & Ideas

Sometimes a creative layout only needs a few well-chosen words to tie the whole theme together. Since family and family events are some of the major themes of any scrapbook, I thought I’d offer a few quotations you could use on your family pages.

There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go and that is to travel that way yourself. -Abraham Lincoln

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.

–Johann Schiller

The family is a haven in a heartless world.

–Christopher Lasch

Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts. –Author Unknown

You don’t choose your family They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.

–Desmond Tutu

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. –Barbara Bush

In time of test, family is best. –Burmese Proverb

The informality of family life is a blessed condition that allows us to become our best while looking our worst. –Marge Kennedy

The family is one of nature’s masterpieces. ~George Santayana, The Life of Reason

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family –Anthony Brandt

A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.

–Chinese Proverb

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.

–Margaret Fuller

Where can a person be better than in the bosom of their family? –Marmontel Gretry

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. -Alex Haley

A happy family is but an earlier heaven. –John Bowring

Any of these short quotations can be neatly written or computer-printed and displayed in your layout to show how you feel about the beloved people in your pictures.

When a loved one dies, those of us left behind are often left holding nothing but the scraps of paper that come out of such a death. But these documents, these pieces of paper, can offer us the materials for a scrapbook layout that remembers and honors the one we lost, and takes its place among the precious memories of our family.

One of the benefits of digital photography is that the funeral home can reproduce photographs for a memorial bulletin or leaflet. At a recent funeral, the deceased’s photo and dates were on the cover, then the page opened to show the obituary and the facts of the funeral-minister, pallbearer, etc.

This small, one page booklet is perfect material for a memorial layout. If you take several of these from the funeral home, each page can be displayed in your layout (don’t worry about the funeral home running out, they always make more than they think they’ll need). The central image should be the photo of your loved one.

One effective way is to put that photo in the top center position on the page. Then further information, such as the inside material, can be arranged below. In this way, your loved one and the information you want to remember from the days following their death, are displayed together.

Another elegant option is to include the newspaper obituary itself, perhaps pasted onto a tastefully colored border. This can be balanced next to the photo or placed below the photo, with small embellishments indicating your affection for your loved one, or a carefully calligraphed list of the major dates of your loved one’s life.

A family scrapbook is the perfect place to create a memorial to a member of the family who has passed on. It helps collect the bittersweet, but important, times of your family’s life.

People tend to get involved with scrapbooking for two different reasons. They might see it as an attractive way to accomplish a necessary task, namely, getting those photos and memorabilia organized. This is organization with the side benefit of creativity. Or, they might see it as a way to express themselves in a beautiful yet practical way. This is creativity with the side benefit of organization.

The trick to scrapbooking, though, is that it requires a bit of both. If you find that you could organize an army, but making those lovely layouts that you’ve seen is beyond your capabilities, here are some tips for the not-so-creative.

Steal ideas from others. This is actually a perfectly acceptable practice, so if you have trouble coming up with your own brilliant ideas, find ideas somewhere else. Believe me, you’re not the only one having this problem; there are thousands of scrapbooking sites, including this one, that exist to help you find just the right way to preserve your memories. Most of our imaginations do need a little nudge, so we look over at someone else’s idea, and if it’s good, we just flat-out steal it. That’s what those ideas are there for! With time, you will develop a better sense of how you want things to look and how to make them that way, but at first, don’t hesitate to look at websites, books, magazines, and your friends’ scrapbooks to get ideas and prod along your own dormant creativity.

Get others involved. This might mean joining a scrapbooking class, or letting your kids in on your new activity. In any case, not only will you get new ideas, but you will receive feedback about what you’re already doing right. If you’re frustrated because you always seem to use the same layout template, a friend might look at that and be impressed at how well that template works. You can trade ideas, and learn not just what you’re doing wrong, but also what you’re doing right.

We all know, of course, that scrapbooking doesn’t necessarily mean that your memories go into a scrapbook. Some of your beautifully laid out pages will go into frames, birthday cards, or websites. Another popular option for your scrapbooking materials is to make a scrapbook calendar.

There are several ways to do this.

Some companies print up a calendar that comes with lay-outs and accessories, and from month to month you can simply design your own family pages that coordinate with that month. This is an excellent option for beginners or for those with little computer experience.
You can custom make your own calendar pages. It is easy to buy or make seasonally appropriate display pages, and to print out the monthly page of dates. You then apply your own pictures and memories and out them together. You can use this technique to custom make gifts for different friends and family members, each one tailored to your special memories of them.
Online calendar services. This is an excellent source for those who do a lot of computer scrapbooking. You design your 12 pages, using either your own templates or ones that they offer, and you email them to the company. The company then prints them out and binds them into a professional looking calendar. You can buy several copies of this calendar to give to relatives as gifts.

One of the best things about scrapbook calendars is that they make meaningful but inexpensive gifts for all your loved ones, and express your unique memories throughout the year.

Click Here to see the Heidi Swapp Blank 12″x12″ Calendar

If you are like me the thought of turning all those boxes of pictures into beautiful scrapbooks that can be shared with generations to come seems like an overwhelming task. But it doesn’t have to be. Just sit back, take a deep breath and follow these tips to start.

· One: What are you going to make? Before you even look at your pictures, decide how you want your FIRST scrapbook to be. The simplest way to do this is to decide if you want this book to be chronological or theme based. Many families do one book for the whole family and individual ones for each child.

· Two: Stay focused. Now that you have decided what you want to make, go through your pictures. Make sure that you don’t get too caught up in the nostalgia of the pictures. You have a task to accomplish. If you want to make a scrapbook from your family trip to Yellow Stone, pull out only those pictures.

· Three: Decide on the scrapbook size. There are so many different sizes of pre-made scrapbook books out there. They can be as big as 12×12 or as small as a single picture per page and can have as many pages as you want in them. Have fun with this. Spread out on the kitchen table and play with some variations. Pretty soon you will see which pictures you want to group together and approximately how many pages and of what size you will need.

· Four: Have fun! Scrapbooking is something that will not only showcase your photographs, but it also is a showcase for you. The most wonderful thing about scrapbooks is that there is no set way to do this. Many places on-line and in stores can give you templates, but the finished project is all you.

Everyone gets burned out, so don’t be surprised if you are having trouble finding the excitement and joy in your hobby. Sometimes it can be hard to find something that is new and creative after doing something over and over again. Just how many ways can you write the word “baby”?

Fortunately, scrapbooking is one hobby that can be done alone or with others. When you feel like your brain just can’t come up with anything new, throw a scrapbooking party. Invite your friends together, turn off the TV and just have fun. It’s a way to show off what all of you have put together and brainstorm ides for doing the same thing in different ways.

And don’t forget the kids. Children have a way of seeing the world in a way adults have forgotten. Take them with you to the craft store and let them pick out designs, embellishments and paper. Then when you get home, make a scrapbook—or at least several pages– using only the things that the child has picked out.

Throwing a scrapbooking birthday party is also another great idea for getting your creativity back. Take digital pictures of your child and their friends while they are playing and print off copies of these pictures for all the children. Then put the supplies out in the middle of a table and let them build their own scrapbooks. Don’t butt in or critique. Let their imaginations run wild. You will get a whole new perspective on how children see the world and each other. Just enjoy the party and watch what they come up with.

If you are thinking of how to come up with ways to spruce up your scrapbooks and make them look extra special then what you might be needing is a new approach to scrapbooking design by incorporating varied types of materials when you are making a scrapbook.

Here are some scrapbooking materials that you might want to check out the next time you go shopping:

· Glittery stuff: from glitter pens to actual glitter, these sparkly, oftentimes messy scrapbooking materials are a favorite among the younger set as it seems to make any craft project a little more special with each dose of glitter. However, if your kids are the ones who are going to use these glittery scrapbooking materials, make sure that they do not make so much mess my setting up the table with some covers as well as make them use popsicle sticks when it comes to applying the glitters mixed with glue.

· Assorted colored gel pens: gel pens create cute lettering for their letters or notes but these also make for a great material when it comes to scrapbooking. If you want to add in your favorite quotes, write them down using your favorite color of gel pens to make them pop out from your scrapbook more.

Aside from these, you can also check out more scrapbooking materials, from different colors and textures of paper, stickers, embellishments, ribbons, brads, beads, and more, there are certainly lots of fun materials that you can use to make your scrapbook look extra special.

With today’s latest technology, preserving our memories like family reunions, parties with friends, baby’s first step, and special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries is as convenient as simply bringing your digital camera. However, with the convenience comes the habit of just keeping these precious pictures as “files” in your computer. Now, we seldom have these files developed or make hardcopies because we can simply look at them through the computer and send them to family and friends without making extra copies that require additional costs.

However, “files” are never the same as creating memories that we can touch, smell, and look at for hours and hours. In order for us to make our memories timeless, making a scrapbook is definitely a fun and exciting idea that will preserve your life’s best moments. But how do you make a scrapbook?

· First, choose a sizeable album or simply a blank scrapbook that you think is suitable to your taste. Selecting one is very personal so take your time to choose your scrapbook. Once you bring your new scrapbook home, gather all the pictures you want to use in your scrapbook. But before randomly putting them all in, think of a theme that you would like to have.

· Do you want a scrapbook that will contain your child’s picture over the years? Or is it for your family? Some people like to start at the beginning. For example, the first picture on the album will start with a baby picture of your child, or your first date with your spouse-to-be. Basically, your scrapbook will display your history and how you and your family developed and grew over the years.

· Add a few designs to make your scrapbook more attractive. If you want to put titles and texts in your scrapbook, you can either buy them ready-made or you can cut out letters from old magazines. For texts such as stories, notes, and poems, you can choose a pretty piece of stationary and hand write the content or print them so you can come up with different font designs.

· Last but not the least, you can add little picture designs either bought or cut out from old magazines, stationeries, etc, to complete your scrapbook’s look.

Once you have completed your scrapbook, you can now preserve and flip through your life’s best moments easily and show them to your friends and family.