How to Scrapbook

Today I was talking to one of the Pharmacy Techs at the drug store and telling her about going to an all day “crop” on Saturday.

“Whoa! I just started Scrapbooking and I had no idea . . .”

Well, it is a super hobby that can be very calming and lots of fun. The owner of the store where I purchase my supplies has “crop” sessions (a few hours) just about every week and some special marathon and benefit crops that last all day or occasionally ‘round the clock. She has a special room set up with large tables and wastebaskets for each of us. I have met a lot of gals at these crops and made some new friends.

Now, there are people who will scrapbook your memories for you. Hmmm . . . re-read that sentence! It is very hard to do that! I do pages for my sister-in-law, especially of her great-grandson. I have made books as gifts and I know people appreciate these and likely would never do this themselves.

The real pleasure of “scrapping” is remembering the people; remembering the activities. Selecting just the right paper and adding embellishments is the real fun. Making it your own personal work is the delight!

Scrapbooking is nothing like when you learned how to dance! 1-2-3, 1-2-3: no, cropping is nothing like that! Here, finally, is a hobby, an activity that actually has no rules and is strictly your own personal thing to do.

It is more likely that if you are considering Scrapbooking, you wonder what you would crop.

Well, of course, Ava, my great-granddaughter, is a wonderful subject! But so was my citizenship party, our vow renewal, all children, holidays, parties, graduations, pets, church activities and the real challenge: old photos from years ago.

With digital cameras, we can put photos on our computers and crop them, take out the “red eye”, make them black and white, size them and print as many copies as we want. Old photos are just that. You can have a picture enhanced or fixed but basically, you just have exactly what you took out of the box – generally black and white – to work with. So, I think cropping old photos is more of a challenge.

Last fall we were on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, and I have several photos of the beautiful autumn leaves. Many Texans have never seen that much autumn color because we might have one or two trees to look at in late fall.

A lot of people have been on cruises and that makes a great topic; so does a theme park! Any holiday makes a good topic.

Here – finally – is a hobby with only one real rule. That rule is to use materials that are acid-free and will keep your memories in good condition for many years of viewing. The more you crop, the more you see that it makes perfect sense to spray photos with a special spray and there are other sprays for clippings.

I like to have different books for different topics. Some people would like to do their books in chronological order. That’s your choice!

If you are contemplating trying your hand at Scrapbooking, go to your local shop and wander through the aisles of papers. (Just a few years ago, I was relying on plain construction-type papers.) The papers can give you great ideas on how to set up your page. Then you can use brads (decorative paper-fasteners), flat and 3-D stickers, chipboard, sparkling paints, ribbons, and on and on, to make your pages your personal statement.

With fall coming up, this is probably a good time for people to take up this new hobby. Let me know how you enjoy it!