I love to scrapbook, and I’m at my most creative when trying to preserve my daughter’s growth through pictures. I adore the process of choosing the paper colors, patterns, accents, and the personal feel of capturing every moment on a page I designed. I can make each memory come alive with the right combination of aesthetics and facts.
I scrapbooked my pregnancy and have finished a book with photos from her birth to the end of the first month. I’m currently working on month two to her first birthday. It’s a slow process.
If you’re interested in learning about scrapbooking your child’s life in photos, here’s a crash course.
1. The first rule of scrapbooking is that there are no rules.
Everything is about interpretation and personality, and there is no right or wrong. Give 20 “scrappers” the same picture and background information and ask them to go off on their own and make a page using the photo and info, and you’ll end up with 20 original pages. Some people will use words and titles. Some will use color and shapes. Others will still use a modern, clean-cut style, while others may use a more flourished, shabby-chic style.
2. There is specific terminology.
- Layout is what you want your page to look like – the placement of your images, embellishments, title (if any), journaling, etc.
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Embellishments can be brads, eyelets, bottle caps, tags, ribbons, etc., anything used to decorate your scrapbook pages.
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Brads are types of fasteners. While they are functionally designed to help keep things together in a scrapbook, usually by attaching things to the various pages, they can also be used purely as decoration or visual embellishment.
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Eyelets can be used to punch up any scrapbook page with decoration, but they also have the practical function of fastening items onto a page.
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Punch is a hole punch gone wild. The handheld shape makers come in an array of whacky shapes and patterns that you can “punch” onto your pages or, if you’re creative, your pictures.
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Die cuts are like paper punches on steroids. They are metal dies (molds) used to cut sheets of paper into specific shapes.
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Cardstock is a heavier-weight paper used to mat photos, cut die cuts from, make cards with, and add color to your projects.
3. Where to get the supplies.
Craft stores like Michael’s and JoAnn Fabric can be found throughout Fairfield County. There is an AC Moore in Orange, and many Target and Walmart stores carry scrapbooking supplies.
4. Inspiration can be found everywhere.
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Books – Go to your local library and check out some books dedicated to scrapbooking.
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Online – There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scrapbooking sites.
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Find a local scrapbooking group. Join Meetup.com or Google (your town) and scrapbook.
I have a scrapbook from the time Chris and I first started dating until we got married…then I switched to photo books (My Publisher is my fav). For me, as much as I loved the finished product, I was just TOO SLOW when trying to scrapbook. But I love, love, love them and think scrappers are super creative and patient. Your pages are beautiful!
Thanks Jess! It does take time, but I can’t relate to photo books. To me part of the fun is the physical aspect of putting everything together, including the cutting, pasting, etc.
Love your pages. I made homemade ones for my daughter’s first two years of life and then as it got harder to keep up, I switched to Shutterfly. Definitely don’t enjoy it as much on the computer, but at least it somewhat gets done. My poor little guy has nothing yet!!
Shannon,
A lot of the scrapbookers I know have kids in high school and even college and are just now putting books together!