How to Preserve Your Memories Through Scrapbooking

[Viola Harmon]

There's good reason why the scrapbooking craze is taking North America
by storm. It's a creative, fun way to preserve memories for future
generations to enjoy. But first, understand that scrapbooking today is
nothing like the scrapbooks we made in school years ago. Contemporary
scrapbooks mix and match photos and prints with digitally altered
effects, memorabilia of all sorts, journaling and special
embellishments. The scrapbooks themselves may be beautiful, elegant
albums or cute, pop culture albums made of decorated chipboard or
clear acrylic, or even albums hand made by the scrapbooker or
scrapartist.
The memorabilia is not limited to photographs, but could also include
such keepsake items as letters, greeting cards, passports, travel
brochures, concert programs, invitations, menus, jewelry, pressed
flowers from a corsage or perhaps even a small item such as a hand
made doily or baby bib that you would like to preserve for posterity.
If it's flat enough to attach, it's suitable to scrapbook.
Journaling is a key element in scrapbooking. Journaling refers to the
title, words, explanations, thoughts and feelings that you record
about your layout. You can journal by hand with special pens and
pencils, you can print from your computer, you can stamp messages
using alphabet stamps and inks, or you can use die cuts or stickers to
put words together to form your message.
Embellishments are the items you use to decorate your page. Aesthetic
rather than functional, they contribute to the page's beauty or mood
that you are trying to achieve. Typical embellishments include eyelets
and brads, fabric, ribbon, beads, lace, stickers, die cuts, paper
flowers, metal hardware or frames, glitter, decorative objects created
by techniques like quilling or iris folding, or any array of ready
made embellishments available for purchase at any craft store.
Scrapbookers today tend to be a versatile bunch, choosing among
traditional, paper scrapbooks, completely digital scrapbooks, or
hybrid scrapbooks which combine both traditional and digital elements.
Preserving Your Photographs
Heats, humidity, light, smoke and time are natural enemies of
photographs. Although the black and white photos that our grandparents
produced had great lasting power, the colored photos popular today are
less likely to survive the test of time.
The best solution is digital storage. So long as your storage media
doesn't crash, burn or become obsolete, digital is forever. Even if
you are using a film camera, most development services offer a digital
disk along with your pictures. Storing digital photos has never been
easier. Remember to backup and keep a spare copy.
If you have heritage photos, save the originals in a dark, dry storage
area, and work with copies. Simply scan the original into the computer
then print it out on glossy photography printer paper. Alternatively,
take your originals out to a service offering laser
photocopying .Photocopy the originals onto high quality glossy paper,
and use these copies in your layouts. They duplicate the originals,
plus you can enlarge them at the time of photocopying if desired.
If your snapshots are damaged and faded, technology has the answer.
Scan your photograph into the computer, then use your image editing
software to remove redeye, adjust the color tones and adjust
brightness and contrast. You can also remove any unwanted objects that
are marring the picture. If editing can't fix the color, simply
convert the entire image to black and white, and then adjust the
contrast as needed. You now have an elegant photograph that fits well
with any color scheme you want to use in your scrapbook layout.
Remember to resize and crop your photographs digitally before printing
them out. Why waste costly photographic paper and printer inks on
photos that you later crop (cut and trim) by hand?
To preserve the life of your photographs substantially, spray the
prints with a photographic preservative, available where photographic
equipment is sold.
Journaling
Traditionalists argue that journaling should be done by hand, since
your hand writing and hand written message is a significant aspect of
the scrapbook project. Others say that digital journaling is a good
solution for those whose handwriting is less than flowery. It's an
individual choice.
Layouts
Whether your design your layouts personally, or whether you "scrap
lift" ideas from scrapbooking magazines or blogs, your layout
represents the scrapbook page and how you have chosen to incorporate
the elements.
Unlike a photo album that contains miscellaneous photographs on a
page, a typical scrapbook layout has a theme or focus. Whether it is
introducing the new puppy or memories of your summer barbecue, the
layout tells a story. The theme could also represent changes over time
- such as Halloween costumes of the nineties, etc.
Your color choices play a key role in setting the mood of your layout.
Scrapbook artists select papers, cardstocks and embellishments that
compliment the colors in the photograph or alternatively, that
represent the theme, such as using purple and yellow for an Easter
layout. Another possibility involves converting the photos to black
and white or sepia, then using any color selection desired, since
these neutral colors work with everything
And finally, after scrapbooking your page, digitize it so you always
have a record. If your scanner doesn't accommodate the layout size
you've chosen, try taking a picture with your camera or web cam.
Remember, digital is forever.