The good thing about scrapbooks is you can freestyle everything. That means you don’t have to use a bound book with a limited number of pages. You can use loose pages, however many you want, and bind them when you’re sure you won’t be needing additional pages. Or you can predetermine the number of pages in each book, especially if you’re chronicling your life in measured timeframes. For instance, a child’s one-year memory book may have 12 pages, one for each month of the year.
Because of the freedom to decide how many pages to include in your scrapbook, you don’t have to cram several photos on each page. Here’s how to use each page better:
Define Borders
Pages don’t just act as containers for photos. Yes, the photos are the highlight of the scrapbook, but that doesn’t mean you can just put them all together and call it a day.
Spend a little time on borders to treasure each memory and frame them beautifully. It’s easy to make your own border with stamps and a Momento ink pad, and no matter how many pages you need, adding borders to each one takes minutes. The added detail they provide will show just how much you love the subject of the scrapbook you’re making.
Add Captions
Photos correspond to memories. You may remember what was going on in the picture and when they were taken, but not everyone has those details to guide them when looking at the finished book.
Captions can be anything — the date and place of the photograph, the names of people in the photo, or a witty description of what was happening. Those hilarious expressions your baby made? They can be made more fun with the addition of thought bubbles.
If you’re giving the scrapbook as a gift, instead of captions, you can leave messages to the recipient. As they flip through the pages, it will be just like you’re there with them.
Go with Variations
One page can have just one photo in the center, with the rest of the space decorated with scrapbooking tools. Another page can have two photos that were taken on the same day or complement each other. Yet another page can have a collection of smaller photos.
You don’t have to go with just one arrangement. Scrapbooking lets you do what feels right, but do pay attention to balance. Don’t overcrowd each page, and don’t leave them feeling empty, either. You may choose to feature one important photo on a page, and to highlight their importance, decorate around them with your stamps and pens.
Mark the End
Scrapbooks don’t go on forever. It’s okay to end them at a good point. A wedding scrapbook, for instance, could end with the photo of the couple in their wedding car. This doesn’t necessarily correspond to the actual event, but you’re telling a story and that means there is a beginning as well as an ending. And you shouldn’t be afraid of the ending.
It’s just a way of saying that it’s time to put one scrapbook down and open the scrapbook for the next chapter of your life. The end page can be a little thicker than inside pages, to protect the book from damage.
The story you’re telling through each scrapbook can be fun and more engaging if you use pages creatively. From start to finish, give each page the love and attention they deserve.
