Do you remember those days as a kid when you had fun pasting newspaper clippings onto cardboard, sprinkling the pages with glitter and bundling dozens of papers together with some fancy ribbon or string? Guess what! Today that is considered a hobby for kids as well as for adults and some experts even call it art!
Scrapbooking is a type of public record keeping that has been around since ancient Greece. It is like telling a story: your own or you can make someone else very happy by telling theirs. That is why a scrapbook can be such a personal gift, one that is appropriate for most occasions. It is a creative way of preserving personal and family history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabilia and is contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks. “Scrappers” utilize a variety of materials to protect their history including photographs, prints, cards and cardstock, rubber stamps, stickers, rub-ons, stencils, clip art and a variety of other objects like flowers, buttons or sea shells. The scrapper may also add text or journal entrees to clarify where pictures were taken or what special meaning they have.
If you do not want to make your own, necessary materials can be bought in scrapbooking, craft ands department stores or ordered online. A starter’s kit usually includes: an album, papers, stickers, stencils, hole punch and scissors.
With the use of scanners, page layout programs, desktop publishing and advanced printing options scrapbooking can also be done in digital form, giving a specific piece a more professional look. If you have the equipment, the process really isn’t that difficult.
Scrappers have created online forums and groups that meet at conventions, retreats and craft stores. Here are a few scrapbook varieties they may be discussing:
Trendy felt scrapbooking: using felt gives your work a very smooth and cotton feel.
Mini Book Scrapbooking: Used by the less imaginative. The smaller the paper the less art needs to be applied.
Collage scrapbooking: if you do not have a specific theme in mind.
Illustration scrapbooking: photos are replaced by illustrations or drawings.
3D scrapbooking: 3D material is used like blocks, toys, lampshades or boxes instead of an album.
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