By Allie McComas
It was February, 1986. Yes, I remember it well. That was when I learned a life lesson that would stay with me the rest of my life. My Great Aunt "Emma", as I'll refer to her, brought over the first two out of her five photo albums that had pictures from her trip to the Middle East. The albums were each about the thickness of a dictionary (unabridged) and made an impressive "thud" when she eagerly plopped both of them in front of me.
As she stared at me expectantly, I obediently grabbed volume one. Inside, there were thousands upon thousands of rectangular pictures, perfectly lined up, six to a page, with a short description painstakingly typed, cut out and pasted under each picture.
If that weren't enough, she sat with me, as though I needed her help, and read each description out loud. Pointing to each, she said "Here I am wading in the Dead Sea. Here I am floating in the Dead Sea. Here I am getting out of the Dead Sea."
During that mind-numbing afternoon, a single word kept throbbing in my head. BOR-ING. Simple, rectangular photos in albums = BOR-ING!
If they weren't boring, I'd be writing about how to create an album just like Aunt Emma's. Thank goodness, most of us have evolved from the photo album to the art of scrapbooking. Can I get an Amen?
"Make sure your heart is in your work."
WARNING: Scrapbooking is very addictive! And, they have yet to invent "the patch" for it, so proceed with caution!
Scrapbooking is a very popular hobby these days because it offers a creative way to preserve your treasured memories. This enjoyable pastime allows your creative juices to flow as you craft wonderful, thematic pages of cherished moments.
But before you do anything, you must start with an idea and a blank canvas. You must decide what these pages will contain. You have to be pretty picky about the pictures, color schemes and embellishments you want included in your layout.
Start with your pictures (or even a single picture), the highlight of the page. Look at the colors in the picture. Think about placement, cropping, borders, and the supporting thematic elements for the picture. You want a design or layout that is pleasing to the eye and urges your viewers to turn the page to see more. It must have balance and flow. A good example of this is shown in Figure A.
FIGURE A
This 2-page spread includes great colors and captures the spirit of the day. (click for larger image)
Before you cut, glue, or measure anything, you should have a clear vision of what you want to create. This is when it should all start coming together. Then you need to ask yourself some questions:
- Who is the viewer?
- Is it for your son or daughter with highlights of their childhood?
- Is it for your sister's wedding?
- Is it for public view?
Knowing your audience will shape the design and components of your scrapbook.
Does everything included in the layout contribute to a central theme? Your goal is to evoke feelings attached to the moment, accomplishment, or event you are recording. Ready-made scrapbook kits can be a big help in this area, especially for occasions like weddings, vacations, birthdays and holidays. Make sure you capture the feelings of the moment!
Is your layout a bit lackluster? In other words, is it boring? Make sure your heart is in your work. You want to grab the attention of your viewers. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what would attract you. It could be the eye-catching photos with a complimentary color scheme or cool shapes, textures and interactive embellishments that draw someone to the page. Just make sure you have something to draw them in.
Creating your masterpiece
Lay your photos down nearby and imagine them in different sizes or trimmed in a certain way. You could surround a picture of a horse with a frame shaped as a barn or place it by a tree in a farm-like setting. Just imagine what you can do with your pictures. If you have a picture of a mountain range, cut along the mountain tops to create a surreal effect.
If you wanted something a little different, try cutting an entire person out of one photograph and add him into another. Don't limit your creativity, use your imagination.
Once you have your layout in mind, carefully crop and size the photographs using the all-important paper-trimmer to be precise. Many scrappers prefer templates for the perfect shape and size but ithat's just personal preference.
The color factor
What would life be without color? Dull. It's easy to see why color is such an important factor of your scrapbook. The right color scheme will attract viewers, so choose your colors thoughtfully.
You want the page to POP with color, not confuse or disorient the viewer. If you've ever seen red words on a blue background, you know what I'm talking about. Ouch. You want the viewer to look at the page and immediately feel what you're conveying.
If you are working around pictures from your Hawaiian vacation, you may want to focus on the colors of the sand, the deep blue ocean, and maybe even the colors on the cabana. Whatever the theme, make sure your colors are visually-appealing reminders of the subject.
My friend Nancy, who is a hopeless scrapping addict (and who has completed ten scrapbooks of her two kids and is still going strong) will almost always use the colors of her kids' clothing as the color palette.
Words will be words
Baby's first word, names of people in a picture, a poem, quote or caption gives that personal touch to your page. Text can be handwritten or typed using different fonts for an individual look or design. Using text for captions below the pictures or making funny thought bubbles are great for humorists (like me).
Tags are a "must-have"
Very popular items these days are hanging tags, as shown in Figure B.
FIGURE B
Hang tags are very popular due to their versatility. (click for larger image)
They look very much like price tags yet they are so versatile, you can design, color, and vary the content on your tag to match any theme. Use them for writing a funny or poignant poem, a riddle or joke, or any other interesting tidbits of that occasion. Plus, these tags are great for personal dedications.
Page embellishments
This is an art in and of itself. Here's where you can get really creative and show your personality. Embellishments add that unique and personal touch to the pages in your scrapbook. These are often used to highlight the central theme or main focus for each page. The great thing about embellishments is you can use anything!
Odds and ends around your house can immediately spark an idea for your page. Use leftover items from previous craft projects such as ribbons, beads and stickers.
I always can find interesting things at garage sales like pins, fabric, silk flowers, lace and all kinds of little trinkets. Unique memorabilia is what makes the page come to life, so make sure to garnish your scrapbook pages with them.
Here's an important tip: Don't be a clutter-bug! Too many embellishments on a page will turn your scrapbook into a mishmash. Keep one theme per page, and have all pages relate to the others within the scrapbook.
No matter what you want to put in those pages, the most important thing to remember is that laying out the basic arrangement of your pages first will save time and heartache in the future.
Scrapbooking is just as much about the process as it is about the finished product. So above all, have fun and have a scrapping-good time making them!