Creating a Scrapbook Your Child Will Cherish

Scrapbooking is one of the fastest growing and most popular craft of our day. It is a great one. What better way to invest your time, money, and creativity than in preserving your families memories? Most scrapbookers desire that the finished scrapbook will be passed down to their children and grandchildren. They hope that the scrapbook becomes a family heirloom that generations will enjoy looking at. To preserve and share family history is a wonderful goal. Scrapbookers devote lots of time and money creating the perfect scrapbook pages to be enjoyed. It would be a shame for the finished product to not be a cherished one. Avoid common pitfalls with these tips and create a scrapbook that is sure to be enjoyed by generations to come.

Tip #1 Be Picky

Be choosy about what makes it in to your scrapbook. As mother's we delight in (as we should) all the things our children do. All of the pictures are cute and we love all of their creations. We are faced with an overwhelming amount of material to choose from. It can be tempting to try to use every photo and document every detail. The result are many, massive scrapbooks. This will be overwhelming to a child and others who would otherwise enjoy the scrapbook. Creating such scrapbooks brings about feelings of intimidation rather than enjoyment. To keep this from happening you need to be picky and carefully choose what is included in your scrapbooks. Creating pages from Little Johnny's birthday? Why not limit it to a two page spread? Use only the best photos and other memorabilia. Choose items that capture the spirit of the party as whole. Rather than photos from every football game, use the best from one season. Be ruthless and only scrapbook the most important memories or they will add up very quickly.

Tip #2 Journal

Journaling is key to creating a meaningful and loved scrapbook. It is also one of the things even the most avid scrapbooker often avoids. Many excuses are given as to why one does not journal in their scrapbook. Handwriting, not knowing what to say, and ruining layouts are all common excuses given for not journaling. However, if you want your scrapbook to be something your child and grandchildren will cherish you'll have to bite the bullet and pick up the journaling pen. Journaling makes the photos and other memorabilia in the scrapbook meaningful. Journaling tells the story and connects the future scrapbook owner. Labeling photos with names is no enough. Your child at age twenty or thirty is likely not going to remember who Billy is and why he was at his fourth birthday. Taking the time to elaborate makes the difference. Don't just write, "Johnny with Billy and Joey" Take the time to tell a story and say, "Here is Johnny with his best friends, Billy and Joey playing their favorite game, Candy Land. Billy won the game that day." Explain the relationships of those in the photographs and what is going on besides the obvious. Journaling creates meaningful scrapbooks that can be treasured by future generations, so it is worth including in layouts. Stencils or printed text can be used if you don't like your handwriting. Although having your handwriting in the scrapbook will personalize it for your family. Overcome your objections and journal in your scrapbooks.

Tip #3 Involve Others

Gatherings to devote time to working on scrapbooks, cropping pictures, and such are very popular among scrapbookers. We rarely directly involve others in the creation of our scrapbook though. Although you will still be the primary one creating and probably even interested in the scrapbook get others form your family involved. Let your child help decide which photos you use or pick a color scheme. Let them add a journal entry about an event. Getting your child involved in creating a scrapbook is a great way to spend quality time together and can lead to more meaningful conversations. Have other family members right messages to your child on slips of paper or write down their favorite thing about a particular family gathering. Then include these as part of your scrapbook. Don't let the fear of messing up a layout get in the way. Maybe an event has occurred that is particularly meaningful to your child but not to you. Take the time to create scrapbook pages about things even if your child seems to be the only one who sees them of importance. Allowing your child and others to help creates a scrapbook that is meaningful to everyone. It is not just something mom made, but it the scrapbook becomes something to do with the whole family.