by Calista Sprague
With the vast array of tools, papers, stamps and stickers available these days, novice croppers can easily become overwhelmed. We have all seen the Scrapbook Queens with their gorgeous two-page layouts, complete with fancy titles and 42 different materials including ribbon, pressed flowers, beads and lace.
Quit looking at those! Most mothers do not have the luxury of time to turn every page into a work of art. Most of us just need to preserve our family’s pictures and memories in a simple album, and the simplest scrapbooks can be remarkably effective. To get started you need surprisingly few supplies, available at specialty shops and most craft stores:
• Acid-free albums Look for post-bound, drop-in pages
• Acid-free colored or themed paper Look for large variety packs
• Acid-free glue sticks
• Acid-free pens
• Scissors
You probably noticed a theme: acid-free. Acids in papers, plastics, inks and adhesives can cause photos to brown and eventually deteriorate. All pictures should be properly placed in acidfree albums, whether you create a decorative scrapbook for them or not. “Magnetic” albums, with the pre-glued pages and plastic covers, so popular in the 1980s and 90s, are particularly damaging.
Remove photos from these albums immediately.
Start with a small album, 8 1/2” by 11” or smaller, so you will have less blank space to fill. For an older child you might start with a school, sports or birthday album to make the project more manageable. If your baby has just come into the world, you might plan an album to go through the first year.
Once you choose your pictures, begin with two or three for the first page. Cropping the pictures can enhance the impact of your pages. If the subject of the photo is small against excessive background, trim a little at a time until the subject becomes more prominent and the background recedes. (Don’t crop out the Grand Canyon, however!) You can use a stencil to cut pictures into ovals, circles or squares, but be sure your subject fits into the shape before you cut.
Pick out a piece of decorative paper (the size of the album pages) to be the background— solid or patterned—and pick out a coordinating color(s) to “frame” each picture. To make framing quick and easy, just glue the back of the picture to the sheet of paper so that the desired amount of colored paper sticks out on two sides (1/8” or 1/4” or so). Cut the remaining two sides, leaving the same amount of paper showing. Just eyeball it. No need to measure or use a straight edge (unless you are an incurable perfectionist).
For special pictures, make a double frame. Follow the same procedure, gluing the back of the single framed picture to a second color of paper and cutting wider than the first. This layering looks fancy, but can be achieved in a flash.
Before gluing to the background paper, try a dry fit. Lay the framed pictures on the background paper. Try tilting them slightly or overlapping at the corners. Try both at the top or bottom, or both on one side. Once you are satisfied, glue framed pictures in place. Arranging the pictures differently for each page will add variety to your scrapbook.
Journaling is one of the most important features of a scrapbook. What good are pictures if no one remembers anything about them? Cut a coordinating color or white piece of paper to fit in a blank space on the page. With an acid-free pen or marker, record the people, places, memories or stories associated with your pictures. Just a few words or a few sentences will be appreciated in years to come.
Journaling in your own handwriting will be priceless to your little ones some day, but if you are unable write legibly, type it on the computer and print. Most printer ink is acid-free. Once you are happy with the journaling, attach it to the page with the framed pictures. If you have memorabilia from the event, attach it to the page as well. (Just be sure it does not directly touch the photos since it may not be acid-free.)
That’s it. Just drop the finished page into the protective sleeve in your album. Voila! As your confidence grows, you can expand your repertoire for more elaborate layouts. Look at scrapbook magazines for ideas. Or, you can keep it simple but invest in a wider variety of products to achieve new looks.
