Scrapbooking seems to have become a lost art. Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was go through all of the scrapbooks that my mom had meticulously created throughout our childhood. Each of my siblings had their own scrapbooks documenting their infancy, and my mom had also created scrapbooks of her wedding, vacations, and so many more occasions. Now that technology has improved so vastly, physical photos aren’t as common to come by. Everyone carries around a camera in their pocket, and it is so easy to create photo albums on our phones — but to me, nothing can compare to the creativity and wholesomeness that scrapbooks foster. Over the years, I have gifted scrapbooks as anniversary gifts, wedding gifts, and the like. They make very thoughtful and unique gifts, and the process of making them is very enjoyable as well. Here are some tips that I found helpful while constructing my collections in the past.
- Keep a theme in mind
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Determining an overall aesthetic is a very important way to produce a cohesive final product, and it helps get the process started. I like to go to Michael’s for my scrapbooking needs, but they can be a tad expensive at times, so I would also recommend checking out Walmart and other craft stores. Regardless, Michael’s has a very overwhelming selection of journals to choose from. It can be hard to know where to start, but setting a theme will help the selection process go much smoother. Firstly, it is important to determine whether you want to construct a traditional style scrapbook (binder style with clear sleeves) or more of a journalistic look. If there’s a certain color scheme you wanted to keep up with, you could very easily find a binder that matches that theme. I have found cardboard-style journals with brown paper in the past that give off a more rustic and minimalist feel.
Anumeha Rajvanshi - Stickers, Ribbons, and Tape, Oh My!
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Scrapbooks are supposed to be scrappy. Decorating them should be fun and a little messy. There are so many ways to put a creative spin on a scrapbook. Filling in the blanks with stickers is an easy way to incorporate the theme (wedding stickers, beach stickers for vacation, birthday stickers, etc.) into the pages as well as leaving a nice splash of color and eliminating white space. Tying ribbon around the corners of pages using a hole puncher, using washi tape to create a border around the pages or photos, using stamps and ink to create titles, and adding fake flowers and gems are all great ways to spruce up the pages!
- Picture Placement is Key
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It is important not to make every page look identical to the last. Altering the way you place the images is an easy way to make the pages look unique. Whether you prefer the photos to overlap or be more spread out, you can arrange the photos so they are more centered or on the corners, and you can play around with this as you proceed through the pages. I also recommend using double-sided tape to place the pictures as opposed to hot glue or glue, as it does not require extra time to dry and doesn’t leave undesirable bumps along the pages.
- Include (and Save) Mementos
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If you are going on a vacation or a date and you are thinking about capturing those moments in a scrapbook, I’d recommend holding onto little keepsakes along the way. Restaurant receipts, movie or plane tickets, concert wristbands, etc. are all thoughtful and unique things that remind you or the recipient of the events that you have participated in together. In the past, I have even included something as random as a hot sauce packet from a restaurant I had attended with my partner. Adding items that are not pictures to a scrapbook makes the pages a little more diverse, and it is so wholesome knowing that someone held on to little things that reminded them of a date, for instance, when most people would have thrown something like a receipt away.
- Captions Go a Long Way
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Captioning the photos is not only a great way to eliminate space, but also a great way to add inside jokes and retell a story from your point of view (which may be different than how the recipient of the scrapbook remembers, or serve as a reminder to yourself in the future of how much fun you had).
Scrapbooking is a very relaxing and low cost hobby that allows you to reminisce on fun memories while creating a tangible product that has become uncommon nowadays. I am excited to share these tips to help foster the development of these keepsakes in the future, and I am excited to learn more along the way myself, as I continue this hobby in the future!
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