The ScrapBlog

I never throw away my scrap paper. I buy both 8×8 and 12×12 paper. I buy both patterned paper and cardstock. When I frame a photo, I have at least ¾ of a sheet of paper left. If I cut a border for the page, I have at least ¾ of a sheet of paper left. Even if I cut a 12×12 paper down to 8×8, I still have ¼ of a sheet left.

So what can you do with all of these scraps? One of my favorite things to do is to cut out shapes with hole punches. I then attach the punches on the scrapbook pages. I have hole punches that are circles, squares, diamonds and hearts.

If you make a 6×6 album, you’ll have tons of papers just the right size. Recipe albums make great gifts. Write or type your recipes on an index card or any colored paper and then cut to fit the album. You’ll find you can use many of your scraps when making these small albums.

I like putting borders on my pages. I often put a border on either the left or the right hand side of the page. You only need a strip 12×1 or 8×1 to do this. I’ve also put a strip of paper across the middle of the page horizontally. This requires a scrap only 1/3″ thick. I make the middle page borders very narrow.

Coluzzle makes alphabet templates. It only takes a small amount of paper to cut out letters to attach to your pages.

Now comes the question of storage. I’ve seen folks spend hours sorting scraps. Personally I would rather spend those hours adding new pages to my scrapbook. A few systems that I’ve found that work are accordion style folders. You can use a different slot for various colors. I do not sort my paper by solids and patterns, I just pick the predominant color and that’s where the paper gets sorted.

You can also buy sheet protectors and a 3 ring binder and sort by color this way. Again, some folks I know sort by solids and patterns. I’ve never taken the time to sort my scraps this way.

The final system that I know can work is the small rollaway storage carts. I’ve seen them with 10-16 small drawers. They are very compact and can easily be rolled into a closet or corner. With storage carts you can also store small items like cutting templates, hole punches and scissors.

When your scraps are organized, you’ll find that you’ll use them more, saving you money on buying new supplies.

Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com

\”Mommy, tell me again about when I was born\”. Any one who is a mother has heard this phrase countless times. Our children love to hear the story of how they were born. For those that are not yet mothers, I promise your kids will ask this many many times in the years to come.

Creating a scrapbook of your pregnancy helps you tell your child the story of their birth.

Here are several ideas for creating this very special scrapbook:

1. Take photos the day you find out you’re pregnant. Take a photo of mom and dad. Take photos of any siblings and take photos of any grandparents who might live locally.

2. Kids want to know \”were you excited?\” and \”were you happy?\” They also want to know \”who did you tell first?\” Journal the answers to these questions, for inclusion in the scrapbook. If this is your first pregnancy, it’s hard to guess what your child might ask you in 5 years. Think of yourself as a child. What did you want to know about your mother’s pregnancy? If you have other children, you know the questions you are going to be asked.

3. Take photos of mom and dad as the pregnancy progresses. Both my kids love seeing the photos of me being pregnant. We took side views, back views and front views.

4. Both my kids wanted to know what their names would’ve been had they been boys. (I have two girls). My own mom tells me about the name discussions she and my dad had before I was born. Again, journal these answers for your child to read when they are older.

5. Keep any reports and ultrasound photos that you receive from the doctor. I have ultrasound photos from both of my kids and they love seeing them.

6. Take a picture of the hospital where the child was born. Both of my kids were born at different hospitals and they both want to know about the hospital they were born at. They both have asked about the hospital stay as well. Did I stay overnight? Did I receive any medication? As the kids get older their questions become more detailed. Writing out the experience and putting this into the scrapbook allows the older child to have more information.

7. Take a picture of the delivering doctor if possible.

8. If there is baby naming, bris, or christening, take photos. Children want to see this. This is part of their birth.

9. Keep a list of who visits you in the hospital. Take photos if possible. Again, these are all questions I’ve been asked by my own kids.

10. Take a photo of their bedroom the night they come home. They want to know what it looked like.

Kids love knowing the story of their birth. It’s a book they’ll look at over and over again. It’s truly the story of them!!

About the author
Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com

No time to scrapbook? Here are 9 ways you can make more time for scrapbooking.

1. Record your “why.” Make a list of all the reasons you love to scrapbook. What does it do for you personally; for your family; for generations to come?. Ask your family and friends, “why are you glad that I scrapbook?” The answers may surprise you. Scrapbook these answers and hang the finished piece in your scrap space. Seeing the motivation hanging before you will make scrapbooking seem less self-indulgent.

2. Book it. Write in time for scrapbooking on your calendar or on your weekly to-do list. When you schedule specific scrapbooking time, you may be more committed to keeping that time for yourself.

3. Let go. Remember that each page you scrapbook is a reflection of you at this moment, and sometimes that means the layouts have to be simple and quick. It’s important to be able to let go of a layout without holding yourself to a certain standard each time. Don’t taint the joy of scrapbooking by making it one more thing you have to do.

4. Get inspired. If you feel like you aren’t getting enough accomplished or you’re feeling burned out, find inspiration in fresh design books or a new magazine subscription. Or slam out some quick pages with a page kit.

5. Fresh products. Subscribe to a monthly auto-ship kit. When you invest in your scrapbooking habit at regular intervals, fresh ideas and inspiration — appropriate for the season, come right to your doorstep.

Encourage a few friends to join and- viola - instant club! And you won’t spend so much time wandering the aisles of your local crapbooking store (Unless of course you want to) because all of the supplies already coordinate.

6. Organize. Make your supplies and tools easy to get to and to find. Get the organizational system you need to make the best use of your time. Tidy and organize your area as soon as you are finished with a layout or project so it doesn’t become daunting to go there the next time.

7. Scrapbook with your family. Scrapbooking itself can create some magical family moments. Even young children can get started with their own creations. I love to watch my children record their memories and create cards for friends.

8. Start (or join) a scrapbook club. Get a few friends together to scrapbook at a regular time each week or month. When we have someone that is waiting to meet us there, we are more inclined to hold the commitment.

9. Make it your business. Become a scrapbooking instructor or consultant. When you move from the spending side of our favorite hobby to the earning side, you may be surprised how much family support you’ll get. When scrapbooking is your hobby *and* your job, all of your creations become “demo pages,” too — and that is multi-tasking at its finest.

Are you a stay-at-home mom who is looking for a fun way to spare your time with? Or are you a person who just can’t stop doing anything?

Have you found something to satisfy your need? Ever heard about scrapbooking before? It’s time to reveal it now and you’ve come to the right place. Why? Because you’re going to find the way on how to spend your time with. In methods that are quick and easy.

Discover them below:

1. Make Scrapbooking A Part of Your Life

If you answer YES to the above questions, scrapbooking is actually one of the most exciting solutions you can have in your life. It is absolutely a very nice way to remember the important people and events in their life. Moreover, by doing this, you are allowing them to bear in mind about the love that you took to do this for them. Let out your creative and positive energies and create something that will last a lifetime.

Make scrapbooking as one of the most rewarding things that you do in your life. All you need to do is to come up with a number of ideas to begin with. Then work through the projects, meet the goals and create yourself or your loved ones a book that they will treasure forever.

2. Start with a Wide Range of Ideas

One of the most challenging parts of creating a scrapbook is having ideas to share the memories with. The good thing about scrapbooking is that you need not to be very competently trained or very imaginative to have some concepts or ideas for it. All you should do is to ask a number of questions to gather some information that you need to have. These may include how you or they want it to look like, what things you or they want to be included in the book, etc.

3. Set Up a Place

One essential part of scrapbooking is that you have a safe and comfortable place to work on the projects. It is because you need to ensure that your equipments are safe from dirt as well as safe from little intruders. So, it’s recommended that you find a place in the house where you can carry out the projects persistently and safely. By doing this your can make sure that your equipments are essentially secure and that the projects you are working on get the best result.

4. How to Design the Pages

When it comes to scrapbooking, designing the pages is one of the biggest problems you probably will encounter. Well, you should not be too worried about this since there are things that can help you to come up with certainly remarkable ideas. One of them is the scrapbooking kits, which are provided with a great range of themes and elements such as stickers and colorful cut outs to help you design the pages.

5. Preserve the Memories through Scrapbooking

Now you’ve come to the last point. The aim of scrapbooking is to preserve the memories for a lifetime. It is what a scrapbook can do for you and for those that you love. To achieve the goal, it is important that the book represents all of the things that are characteristic of those within the pages of the scrapbook. So, it will be more than just photos in it. You can add other things related to a certain theme. For example, a baseball-themed scrapbook may include some tickets from a game. This will add dimension and special meaning to the scrapbook. Besides, it is also amazing and it helps you preserve the memories within your mind as well as within theirs.

Here are five basic things that EVERY scrapbooker should know about copyright:

#1–When you create an original scrapbook layout, card or other project (not from a sketch, scraplift or idea book) you AUTOMATICALLY own the copyright. No, you don’t have to add a copyright notice. No, you don’t have to register your layout design with the government. Tip: Adding a copyright notice or watermark image to your original designs is a good idea if you plan to share them online. It helps to remind everyone that your artwork is yours.

#2–In order for a work to be protected it must be original and created by the designer or artist. The work can be similar to existing works but not an exact copy. Chances are if you see a project in an online gallery, in an idea book or hanging in the store, that project has copyright protection. Tip: It is always better to assume that the project is protected and ask for permission to use the design than to assume it is just okay to use it.

#3–Since you own the copyright, only YOU can reproduce, distribute and adapt the design. Did you know that copying an image from the internet to your computer is considered “reproducing” the design and is violation of copyright protection laws? No, just because the image is posted on the internet doesn’t mean it is “fair use”. Tip: If you really want a copy of another person’s layout or project, just email and ask them…don’t assume it is okay because it is the same thing as stealing!

#4– Scraplifting is a term used to describe seeing ideas online, in idea books or at stores and making projects based on those ideas. The resulting layout can look a lot like the original or may end up being just loosely based on the original. This is not violating any copyright laws. Tip: These projects are in the stores, magazines, and galleries to give youinspiration for your own personal scrapbooking, but not to sell or profitfrom in any way.

#5–Some of the ways that scrapbookers and scrapbooking companies violate copyright protection laws (knowingly or unknowingly) are:

Making copies of patterns for friends to use.
Right-clicking or saving images from galleries to their computers.
Scanning printed design fabrics to print and use on layouts.
Using another’s words on their projects or in articles they write.
Using a protected font to create alphabet letters, stamps or other items to share and/or sell.

Remember to think about copyright laws the next time you are ready to create a new project, layout or article. Keep in mind that violating another person’s rights is not only illegal but also unethical. Always remember the Golden Rule…Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!

Helpful links:
This link provides easy-to-understand copyright information for knitters, but also applies to other crafts, including scrapbooking.
http://www.girlfromauntie.com/copyright/index-lite.asp
This link is the be-all, end-all of copyright information! Be sure to read the question and answer sections!
www.nolo.com
About.com gives some great, helpful advice for copyright protection and some other links.
http://scrapbooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa032701a.htm

Copyright 2004 Antuanette Wheeler
A note for store owners, list owners, website owners or others: You may use this article on your website, store newsletter or any other media as long as you allow the article to be printed or show in its entirety and include any links that are within the article. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or ideas, feel free to contact me at antuanettescraps@aol.com. Thanks!

Scrap Books are becoming more and more popular and are much more in depth than the old family picture albums. One thing people worry about in a fire, flood or natural disaster is saving all this handed down entrusted collection books. Perhaps folks should be complimenting their paper albums with digital scrapbook type files and backing them up in multiple places. Recently in an online think tank discussion this was considered and one person stated; Why not back them up on a CD ROM.

Good idea and yet, consider that one other person in the group had backed up all their old day on Word Perfect 1.0, AmiPro 2.0 and some other old programs and had them all on floppy disks; the old kind? Indeed in a few years will we all be using CD ROMS or will these be replaced with yet another better suited storage device of the future period? And how will your grandchild read it or view it if there are no CD ROM or DVD Players in 50 years? Ah ha, good question; yet it makes sense to back up all this data, images and paper material in your scrapbooks just in case. And doing it digitally makes a lot of sense.

Ones and Zeroes will be around in the future, but most likely thinking way ahead into the future it is doubtful that CD ROMS will. Please consider all this in 2006 and your grandchildren will thank you, even if their kids never get a chance to meet you.

Have you ever considered interviewing your child and journaling from your child’s perspective instead of your perspective?

When we create scrapbooks we tend to see the photos through our adult eyes and write the words though our adult perspectives. However if you ask a child questions, you’ll get a whole new perspective.

Many times while putting photos in scrapbooks, one of my kids will share her memories of how that photo came to be. How wonderful to capture those words and add them to the scrapbook.

Children of all ages can be interviewed. Depending on the age of the child, different questions can be asked. For example, a young child might be asked “do you remember going to Disneyland?” and then listening for the child’s view on the trip. A child who is a bit older can be asked “what was your favorite ride?”

The interview process can be about a trip, a favorite recipe, school etc. We have created school days scrapbooks. Ask your child about their favorite teacher, their favorite topic, where they sat in the classroom and who they ate lunch with. As kids get older you can ask question such as “what did you admire about that teacher?”

Right now my daughter is in high school. She has tons of stories to share about each teacher, all of whom have very different personalities and bring something different to each of her classes. It’s fun to let her talk about class and jot down what she is telling me to add to her scrapbook. Even in high school, teachers are so flattered if the student says “can I get a photo standing next to you?”

Does your child have a favorite dinner? Take a few photos of them helping to prepare the meal. Copy recipes onto acid free paper and then let the child tell you why they like this certain food.

We have always had photos of friends. Ask questions. “What do you like about this person”? “How did you and this person meet?” “What are some of the things you and this person have in common?

My daughter has a friend who she has known since kindergarten. If you asked me how the girls know each other, I would tell you that they met in school. However if you ask my daughter how they met, she remember they were on the playground and it was the first day of school. She actually remembers the conversation they had that eventually led to them playing together and becoming friends. Her story of how they met is very different than mine.

Try a few pages or even an entire scrapbook of seeing things through your children’s eyes instead of yours.

It’s hard to believe that my husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year. We are having a dinner party at the church where we got married. I’m already planning a scrapbook of the event. Here are some of the things that will be included. Maybe you can get some ideas here for your next celebration.

1. Digital photos

My sister will be bringing her digital camera. I want to get a picture of every family or couple who attends. In my scrapbook, I will write who they are and any special memories about them. I will also be taking pictures of the church, even though it has been totally remodeled since we were married there. Pictures of the cake and dinner food will make a nice addition, along with a copy of the menu and mention of who catered it.

2. Guestbook pages

I’m not sure what type of guest book we will have. If it is already in a nice album, I’ll make a copy of the pages for my scrapbook. One idea would be to have pretty guestbook pages in a looseleaf binder. Then, I could just take them out and put them in a plastic sleeve in my anniversary album.

3. Invitations

A copy of the invitation will probably be the first page of my album. On the other side will be an original invitation from my wedding.

4. Then and now pictures

I want to take picture copies of my wedding showing my husband and myself, my parents, bridal party, and special guests. Across from each of these, I will put pictures of these same people now. There will be captions under each picture, identifying the people, and writing something special about them.

5. The album

The pages of the album will be wedding-type scrapbook paper. My favorite color is pink, so there will probably be a lot of that color in the pages. The pictures will be spaced so there is room for a paragraph or so to describe each. Finally, each page will be in an acid-free, archival quality plastic sleeve for preservation and protection.

If you are planning a celebration of any kind this summer, let your imagination go free. Come up with ideas of pictures, scrapbook layouts, and written descriptions that you will treasure for years to come. It will provide you with many hours of enjoyment and memories.

A scrapbooking embellishment is a wonderful way to spruce up any scrapbook page, and with so many embellishments to choose from, the choices may feel overwhelming. On the other hand, you may be tempted to jump right in and buy as many as you can because they’re so enticing. This may leave you with a lot of wonderful embellishments that you don’t know what to do with. One of the best ways to make the most of your options and your budget is to approach these wonderful additions with a plan.

Before you start shopping, have a good idea of what type of scrapbook embellishment you’re looking for and give yourself a budget. You don’t need to have your scrapbook all planned out (that can take away from the fun of choosing extras!), but if you know your theme and colors, you can make the most of your money and won’t find yourself “stuck” with an embellishment that is so specific you can’t use it for multiple purposes. One exception to this is clearance items. You can find great deals on off-season embellishments, and some are simply too good to pass up.

What types of scrapbook embellishment should you choose? This is entirely up to you! With so many to choose from, let your imagination run free. You’ll probably have some ideas in mind, and will probably think of some new ones as you shop. Consider a variety, but not so many as to become distracting. Embellishments range from everything from specialty papers to brads, eyelets, tags, and photo anchors. Choose those that are complimentary, serve your theme, and that add that special touch that only you can create.

Interested in other, less expensive alternatives? Consider using scrapbook embellishments you make out of keepsakes and other special items. Did your mother crochet an heirloom baby blanket? Ask her for the extra pieces of yarn to include on a photo page of your child wrapped in the blanket. Did you pick up a keepsake on recent travels? You might be able to use this in your vacation scrapbook. When you start looking around, you may see that the perfect scrapbook embellishments are right in front of you.

As adults, when we think of scrapbooks, we immediately think of photographs. When we look online, we find albums filled with photographs. Of course many of the layouts we see are filled with embellishment but the central focus is the photographs.

Kids and teens also enjoy scrapbooking. Scrapbooks do not have to be photographs. Here are several ideas for both kids and teens:

• Lyrics to songs
• Photos from magazines
• Postcards
• Greeting cards
• Collector cards
• Classmate photos from school
• School reports
• Photos off the web of a favorite television star or musician
• CD covers

Kids and teens enjoy collecting all types of things that can be put into scrapbooks. Older kids of course can use all of your scrapbooking supplies. You might be amazed at the creativity teens show through scrapbooking.

Young children often do better with very small scrapbooks, and your scrap paper. They can glue it, cut it and add it to their treasures.

For the older kids, you may want to consider copying whatever they wish to scrapbook onto acid free and lignin free paper so that it does not turn yellow and crack.

Kids and teens both love stickers. We have always watched for sales on stickers. Over the years we have bought more than our fair share of stickers. For very young children, I don’t think it’s necessary to worry about the stickers being acid free. I have from time to time found stickers that come 1000 to a box. I’ve bought those and had the younger kids use them in their scrapbooks.

One of my daughters actually created a wonderful album of all of her stickers. It came out beautiful. The pages were nothing but stickers.

Another idea for kids making scrapbooks is to use homemade albums versus the store bought albums. Start with a piece of colored cardstock for the cover. Punch three holes in the side of the cardstock and then add pages. You can either use white cardstock as your base, or full sheets of scrapbook paper. Punch holes in each page. Use ribbon through the holes to tie it all together. Not only do the kids love these scrapbooks but they can make wonderful handmade gifts to give to others.

It really is possible to scrapbook at almost any age, and with almost anything as your focal point. Next time the kids say “I’m bored” suggest they create a scrapbook.