Scrapbooking with Images over Images

If you really think about it, scrapbooking is the process of putting together seemingly different images and items together to create a synergized layout that tells a story through a visual dialogue. Not all photographs are created equal. Some photographs can convey a complete story all by itself but more often than not, some photographs are too vague or simple to be able to tell the viewer something. If the person viewing a photo has no personal memory of that particular snapshot, it is difficult to be able to tell much about the image. Thanks to scrapbooking and its many practitioners, we now can share and enjoy photographs enhanced by other visuals to be able to convey emotions, memories and the story behind them. While scrapbooking may not be for everyone, it can hardly be argued that anyone who views a wonderfully made scrapbook will enjoy the experience. While there are no set rules and guidelines on how to create a scrapbook, the most important and basic trait one will need is creativity. Afterall, the person who makes a scrapbook will need to be able to tell a story from photographs and some other items. You can cut out and make your own elements for use in a scrapbook but if you are pressed for time and cannot find the right visuals within your own things, you can always resort to the vast items available for purchase from scrapbooking stores and supplies. More and more people use these items for their scrapbooking and this is backed up by the fact that more and more scrapbooking items and elements are introduced in the market to answer the consumer demand. Using these commercial scrapbooking items need not take away from your creativity in producing your scrapbook layouts. Your use and ingenuity in utilizing these items needs your creativity. Creativity is the ability to be able to think out of the box so limitations are a no-no for the scrapbooking process. While it may be easy and ideal to use the traditional scrapbooking elements in your layout, why not go step further and use materials you can scrounge up that actually belong to that snapshot. You can use actual materials to create further depth, texture and color to your showcase. Do not stop there however. How about exercising your creativity further by using some sketches in your scrapbooking projects. Instead of using other mediums to develop your photographs to tell a story, why not expand your snapshots by making actual sketches around it. Perhaps you can creatively sketch images or ideas that cannot be conveyed by a simple snapshot. Simply put, you do not have to limit yourself and your creativity by simply adding other items and materials to your scrapbook layouts. You can creatively use your own sketches in scrapbooking. If you don't happen to be good at sketching, don't let this stop you from this endeavor. You can also create or transform certain images into sketches by using your personal computer. It is in by no means cheating if you do this. Applying the aid of technology simply helps your creative juices to continue springing forth. The creative sketch you use in scrapbooking need not even be your own or even electronically achieved. Why not incorporate a sketch done by the subject of the photograph or photographs you are trying to showcase. For instance, if you are making a layout for your young child, you ca add their personal sketches into the layout for a truly creative scrapbook.

Creating memories on paper

One of the reasons that people do scrapbooks is because they want to preserve the memories of some great occasion or event. In fact, a scrapbook has long been synonymous with albums because it is primarily filled with pictures and memories. One difference with an album and a scrapbook is the fact that you can put a whole lot more in a scrapbook than just photos. You can place three-dimensional objects that make the occasion more memorable and meaningful. Below are some occasions that people often create a scrapbook for. Read on and you might get some ideas on how to preserve memories in those occasions into paper. Coming of a Baby An ordinary baby album will probably contain the baby's first photos but a scrapbook can contain not only the first photos but also some of the special milestones that the baby will go through in his first year. All the firsts that he will experience in his life can be documented in a scrapbook. For instance, you can include the baby's strands of hair after he gets his first cut. You can bind these and then place in a piece of see-through plastic. Another first are the nails that were first cut, both from the fingers of the hands and the feet. Parents can also include copies of special documents such as the birth certificate and the baptismal certificate. Another great idea is to put the babys thumbprint, handprint and foot print. Some will also paste a piece of the babys first ultrasound photo, his first medical certificate and his first vaccination chart. Wedding and wedding anniversaries A wedding scrapbook may contain pictures at the wedding but it can also include wrappers from the gifts of the guests, wishes that the guests gave for the newlyweds and the gift cards that they have put on their gifts. This is one way to preserve the day not only for the newlyweds but also for their guests. Another good idea is to document not only the wedding itself but also the days or months of preparation for the wedding. Photos can capture events like the bachelors party, the bridal shower and even the pre-wedding practice. The scrapbook may also contain the invitation for the wedding, dried flowers from the bouquet of the bride, a piece of the garter, mayhap even the souvenir if one can manage to paste it on the scrapbook. Graduation Another event that is worthy of reminiscing is the graduation. This marks the ending and the beginning of an old and a new chapter in a persons life. A graduation scrapbook can contain the invitation for the event, the investiture that is usually given to the graduates, some pieces of strings from the tussles, and of course the photos of the graduates. Corsages that are dried may also be put in the scrapbook if one can find a way to paste it in a flat surface. If you can, you can also include messages from the graduates classmates and friends as well as to his or her teachers. Put the messages in a kind of message board. If there are awards merited, one can put the medals or copies of the certificates in the scrapbook. If the graduate did a special address, a copy of the speech should also be included in the scrapbook.

When Less is More in Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a wonderful and creative means to be able to preserve memories and share them with other people. To make a scrapbook, one should be able to create a visual and tactile delight by showcasing photographs along with other "scraps" or bits and pieces of something that when put together tells a complete story of that particular slice of life depicted in the particular photo. For instance, a photograph of a person hardly tells a story especially if the photo has no other particular merits or characteristics other than it containing a face. Creatively making a layout of it in a scrapbook allows you to tell the story behind the photograph. By adding other elements from different mediums, you can explain the photograph and the memory behind it without using something as blatant as actual statements. The challenge of scrapbooking is in being able to utilize various elements to enhance a photograph while being limited to a finite area. Sometimes, in our zeal to tell a story, we tend to clutter and create a busy layout for our scrapbook. While there is no right or wrong way to layout a scrapbook, it may be important to note that sometimes, less is more. Perhaps it is important to remember that when we do scrapbooking, the inclusion of "scraps" or other creative elements into a layout is done to enhance a photo and tell a story that the photograph simply cannot do on its own. Our layout of the elements we incorporate however should not take away from the photograph. Remember that they are there only to improve its capacity to convey a thought or memory and not steal the show entirely. This means that although there are no set rules in scrapbooking, it may be a good guideline to maintain a clean and simple layout for scrapbook projects. Although it is easy to get lost in the project and with all the items and "scraps" commercially available for use in scrapbooking endeavors, we must always keep in mind that a clean and simple layout may be more manageable to create and maintain. By a clean and simple scrapbooking layout, we don't mean that you necessarily use less materials resulting in a Spartan like or anemic look to your scrapbook pages. A clean and simple scrapbooking layout simply means that you incorporate more synergy and symmetry in your layout instead of a haphazard collection of images, textures and colors. The look and feel of a scrapbook is subjective to the viewer, which makes it even more important to maintain a clean and simple layout in scrapbooking. What looks like creativity to you may look too chaotic to another. This is why, being guided by trying to achieve a clean and simple scrapbooking layout is a good way to ensure that your scrapbook and memories can be easily shared and enjoyed by yourself along with your friends and loved ones. A clean and simple layout for scrapbooking cannot be achieved by curtailing creativity. Instead, more creativity should be exercised so that you can craft a better visual layout. If however you are new to scrapbooking or you may not be sure about what clean and simple scrapbooking layouts mean, you can use ready made scrapbook layouts or use a software for scrapbooks. You don't necessarily have to convert your scrapbooks into digital forms but you are sure to be able to get wonderful ideas from these computer layouts.