"Scrapbooking"...

It's a craze that's sweeping the States...

If you're anything like me, there's a cupboard somewhere in your home that you hardly dare open, because 5,000 precious & irreplaceable photos will fall out onto your head... And you may have, like us, a treasured album full of 100 year-old photos of people who look like you & your kids- but who are they and how are they related to you? And now my mother-in-law has passed on, how do we tell which dear little identical twin is my husband and which one isn't?

But our cousins in the States have come up with some wonderful creative ideas that turn sorting your photos out from an eminently put-off-able chore into an enjoyable hobby you can share with your family. Not just now; if you use the right materials and look after your albums your descendants will enjoy your work in many years' time and you will have made their own family history come alive for them.

I've discovered to my horror that most of the photos I did get round to doing something with are now damaged; I put them into "self-adhesive" albums. Unfortunately the adhesive is acidic, which will in the course of time damage the photos; looking back at photos from before my first was born, they have become brittle and discoloured already and there's no chance of anyone gazing in wonder at these in 100 years, or even 10. But it's not too late to rescue my precious "baby" photos - I still have most of the negatives and thanks to my e-friends in the States and several lively websites I'm now armed with the knowledge to do something about it.

"Scrapbooking" is more than organising photos, however. It's about displaying them attractively, preserving other interesting bits & bobs like concert programs, tickets, newspaper articles and, most importantly, "journalling" so that in years to come anyone who looks at your "layouts" will know the who, where and why of the pictures. You can use all kinds of materials, including fabrics and fibres, stitching, buttons & eyelets, handmade or even homemade papers - anything that will lie reasonably flat. You don't have to stick to any style or format although there are plenty of "readymade" ideas out there to get you started.

Looking at the scrapbooking sites you will instantly think - but this could cost a fortune, and I've got better things to do with my money! But as usual, it doesn't have to cost a very much...

Here's one I made earlier...

Most inkjet paper sold in the UK is PH-neutral, i.e. acid-free (or at least buffered) and inkjet inks are safe to use and will last if they are protected from the light, as they will be in an album. So you can use digital photos, and photo collages, and design & print your own backing papers. Stamps, stencils, chalks, and watercolours can all be used to create different effects. PVA glue and most gluesticks are safe to use - look for the words "solvent-free". You can use ordinary ringbinders, A4 card and photo corners, or even make your own album - see Maggie Wright's excellent book "All you need to know about making Memory Albums" (obtainable from a library near you, or of course Amazon)

A stamped background...

and a punched "mat"...

The improbably-named art of "Tea-Bag Folding" has proved to be a great delight and occupies my younger children wonderfully on rainy Sunday afternoons. These intricate little bits of origami can be used to make photo corners, decorative rosettes or even entire 3D frames for your pictures which really bring pictures that can't be "themed" alive.

Greyscale images can be very effective...

Ebay, the online auction house, has proved to be a good source of punches, stamps, eyelets and other interesting items - look under "Other - Crafts, Sewing". And there are many resources on the Web, packed with ideas and freebies you can print out and use.

I have to admit to getting carried away and ordering some "proper" scrapbooking stuff from the States for my family to give to me for Christmas! And to get a feel for it in the cause of researching this page, of course... and I'm enjoying making up "real" layouts no end, with my daughters acting as Artistic Consultants and my sons as Critics... but I can hear the faint voices of their future descendants as they identify their ancestors and see for themselves the times and places we lived in... and of course, the clothes we wore!

A "layout" of our home & garden...

Resources:

UK Scrappers - a thriving UK scrappers community, including links to all the main SB shops (and info on craft shops which have good SB supplies)....

Graceful Bee - an excellent beginners guide from this lively, informative site.

DMarie - layouts to die for...

Creative Express - just look at these goodies...

ComputerScrapbooking.com - use your PC creatively.

Kozy Kards & Krafts - from a fellow Fractured Frugal Friend

Amazon - online booksellers

Ebay - online auction house

ScrapbookScrapbook.com - has some free patterns to print out

Chantal's teabag folding site - includes some clear folding instructions.

Rosemarie's TeaBag Designs - lovely designs to print out & fold.

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