This file has quotes, poems and idea about Scrapbooking. Also see Scrapbooking Humor, Title Pages, Memories and Heritage Albums.
Sentimental feelings
Creativity
Remembrances
And
Photographs
Become
One
Outstanding
Keepsake
Scrapbook
(put together by posters on Stampin' and Scrappin')
(Lynne Bertrand)
This is the purpose of the family scrapbook. It is a museum of reminders that life has been good. The Thanksgiving menus I have saved tell of the two years that the turkey weighed more than Nick. A hard copy of an E-mail invitation keeps fresh the office baby shower for our new daughter, Georgie. The Secret Santa message my college roommate scribbled on some notebook paper is what reminds me of weeks of silly, hidden surprises. My grandfather's hand-written marriage proposal reminds me that my grandmother didn't intend to have children--apparently a negotiable point. Old objects, photos, and notes have this effect on us; they trip our memories. With a scrapbook, more easily than without, we can find ourselves someplace else in our lives . . . the message is that life has been good, and that it will continue to be.
Using multi-colors of ABC stickers (including some stencils) write "Me and My Scrapbook" along the top and down the right side of a page. In the lower left put a teddy bear sticker. In one hand put a small book sticker. Put scissors in his other hand. Arrange other stickers or cut things out of paper to look like other scrapbook supplies. This would go great with pictures of you or your customers working on their albums. (Carol J.)
(Kimberly Rinehart)
We gather up pictures
and bits of our past
and scrapbook them into
a gift that will last.
We write about milestones
and travels and such--
the times of our lives
that we treasure so much.
A few special photos,
a family tree,
a few thoughtful words
and soon we will see . . .
The album we've made
is much more than a book.
It's worth even more
than the time that it took.
It's a gift holding memories
and made with great care
by hearts and hands
with love to share.
(author unknown)
Cleaning and scrubbing
can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up,
we've learned to our sorrow . . .
So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust go to sleep,
I'm working on scrapbooks
so memories will keep.
(author unknown)
I took a little time today,
To, reminisce of yesterday.
To review, my life in the past,
Recorded here in photographs.
My scrapbook; such a treasure!
So great, I cannot measure . . .
Before me, those moments golden,
As, before me, my life unfolded.
As I paged through, year-by-year,
Sometimes I'd shed a little tear.
So many faces, I have known,
Some passed away, and others grown.
Sometimes, it's hard to realize,
When all spread out, before my eyes.
With all the pictures that I took,
My whole life's in this little book.
(Rae Cross)
Old pictures; tin types, profiles; wedding shots;
Small bear on bear-skin rug; a country school;
Someone in cap and gown; two small grave plots,
And this torn one must be some blacksmith's tools.
This group, a family from yesterday,
This father sits--frail to wife--and children stand;
Such solemn faces; clothes--long since passe;
This large, framed one is labeled "Bumpkins' Band"
These, handed down, that must have meant so much;
Unnamed, undated; never seen or known;
And not one left to tell of so-and-such.
Are these close kin that I should not disown?
Should such be kept? Be burned? What should one do
To show respect for ones we never knew?
(Thomas Davies)
In this age of disposable everything
we must be careful . . .
not to dispose of our past.
It's no small task to:
find,
organize,
restore and
preserve our photos.
But if it is not done,
a valuable legacy will be lost.
We must establish a new tradition
of the family photo historian.
(Julie Southwick)
Someday, I will put all my pictures in an album
Not today, I am too busy.
I will never forget those moments, of the pictures that I took.
I will save the memorabilia
that belongs with those pictures and store them in a box.
Someday, I will put all my pictures in an album
Not today, I am too busy.
I got my pictures at the photo shop. I hurried to my car
and sat in the parking lot looking and laughing with a big smile.
I will not forget those moments . . . Never! They are too precious to forget.
Someday, I will put all my pictures in an album
Not today, I am to busy.
10 years, 20 years, 30 years
I keep moving those darn boxes around.
With good intentions I will someday, put all my pictures in an album
Not today, I am to busy.
My grandkids and great grandkids are visiting today
They want to see what is in those boxes that
I have kept in the basement on a shelf all these years.
Guarding like a watch dog
Taking special care that nothing destroys them.
I tell the kids someday, I will put all my pictures in an album
Then you will know about your family
Not today, I am too busy.
If only I had taken the time back then.
Today, I can't remember who, what, and when
Time has faded my memories
So I will just put those boxes out in the trash.
No one cares about those silly pictures any way.
Why did I save them in the first place . . .
Someday, I will put all my pictures in an album
Not today, I am too busy.
(Connie Sanderson, 12/2000)
'Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Everyone was sleeping, quiet as a mouse.
We were all "sleeping" all snug in our beds,
Except for our Mom, she was scrapping instead.
She was cropping and clicking and tape running too;
Mounting and planning, sticking stickers--all new.
We knew that Santa wouldn't come while she was scrapping away.
We began to worry he would just go on his way.
No presents, we thought, this would be no fun.
We could still hear her cropping.
It was way past one.
Then it came to us all so fast,
She was making US pages of each of our pasts.
What fun it would be when we gathered around
Looking at pictures that our dear Mom had found.
So we settled back down, for our long winter nap!
Who cares if he comes, we'll let Mom scrap!
(Becky Logan)
"Honey", I said
"I don't want to commute to DC
I want to stay home
And cook and clean instead"
"That sounds good, but we need a plan"
"Don't worry, I've heard of this new thing
It's called Creative Memories
Lots of money it is sure to bring"
"$1000 to start should be enough
To get me going with all this cool stuff
Friends and neighbors will come from near and far
Many won't even need their car"
And come you did
To crop after crop
Long after my hubby and kids had dropped.
Profits were made,
But soon they were spent
To support my habit
I made not one red cent.
Taking pictures to crop became my mission
Although it kept me far from the kitchen
Pages and albums stacked up
Along with the laundry and other stuff.
"Honey" he said,
"We had a deal, you promised to cook meals,
Money was to flow like water from a spring,
But cropping has turned into your thing."
Alas, what could I say, he was so right,
Creative Memories had taken over my life,
Money and time are two things essential
For me to realize my true cropping potential.
Software training can bring in the dough
Being a consultant I will have to let go
My albums will get done, my family fed
I may even remember to make the bed.
(author unknown)
The old family album, the pages are worn,
From turning and browsing they are tattered and torn,
For mem'ries are sweet ones, we like to repeat once,
We live them again in the old family album.
Now picture the family, we're all having fun,
We're in this together--parents, daughters, and sons.
For pictures are share times, those family affair times,
We live them again in the old family album.
The cameras is snapping while gifts we're unwrapping.
lens is recording our group as we're boarding.
shutter is clicking while baby is kicking,
all to record in the old family album.
So stand all together, remember to smile.
We'll all be recorded in family group style.
The camera is ready, now everyone steady,
And we'll be a page in the old family album.
(Denny Davis)
The question of how many albums to do, how many pages per year, types of albums (topical versus chronological) is a debate that has many viewpoints. Do what works for you. Here are some thing my family does.
I put together a number of photo albums and scrapbooks during my first 45 years. None were exactly what I wanted and--worst of all--none were safe. When I started using Creative Memories albums I decided to redo everything.
I dismantled all my albums and went through my house collecting photos and memorabilia that had never made it to an album. I sorted everything similar to methods in the "Ready, Set, Sort" and "Divide and Conquer" info in the Photo Organization file. I started the family albums at the point where my husband and I met. Since we were both still living at home when we got married that seemed logical. (I made my childhood and heritage albums later.)
As time went on I got faster and better at scrapbooking. My first album is extremely simple with few photos and lots of journaling because I could not afford to take many photos during that time. I kept calendars from every year and also used my check register and old letters to help me recall information. I like the next three albums much better--they are still simple with lots of journaling but I added decorative touches here and there and matted quite a few photos. (I did not have paper when I did my first album). I decided not to redo much of the first one because it shows the way my scrapbooking style changed as I got more experienced. I did mat a few photos and that made a world of difference. It might be a good idea for beginning scrapbookers to make some pages of pets, gardens, hobbies, etc. so they can get a better idea of their style before doing their family albums.
My albums are chronological except in a few places. For example if I had a handful of photos of a certain relative's family--like a graduation photo of one child, a reunion group shot and a Christmas photo for that year I would put them all on one place on a page with a title like "Davis relatives in 1986". And during the years I was a Camp Fire leader I grouped those activities for that year together. It made the albums easier to follow and more interesting to look at.
I did not put just one event per page as many people do. Often I have only one good photo (sometimes none) of an event. I journal a lot but usually not enough to fill a whole page. Another reason for grouping several items on one page is that if I had a separate page for each birthday, Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, first haircut, new puppy, etc. I would have way too many albums. I don't want thirty or forty albums to pass down. I will have probably ten or more and that seems like enough. I can envision having so many albums that someone might someday throw them away or store them in a basement because of the room they take up--or dismantle them and keep a few pages or photos. That seems less likely with fewer albums. I group photos of pets, friends, distant relatives, flower gardens, sports events, etc. That way it would be easier for someone to discard the non-family pages if they wanted without dismantling individual pages.
I don't need every single photo of an event to convey the meaning. Especially since I take a lot of similar photos in case some don't come out well. I crop my photos so I can get quite a few on a page--especially since I don't use much decoration. If I were doing scrapbooks primarily for the enjoyment of doing them, or if I were young enough that I would have many years to enjoy looking at them; I might do things differently. Even though I enjoy making and looking at scrapbooks, my primary reason for making the albums is to hand down to my children and grandchildren.
By the time I started scrapbooking my youngest daughter, Jodi, was married. I had given her some duplicates of her childhood and various family photos. When she saw my albums she started making her own. She mostly copied the pages I had done of her childhood years--without so many pages of her sister and replacing some of my journaling with her own thoughts. As time went on she developed her own style. It is more decorative than mine but not fancy. She journals less but still enough for future generations to understand.
Jodi made one album for her dating, engagement, first house, etc. and continuing up til her first pregnancy--at which point she started her first family album. She had lots of wedding pictures so they are in a separate album.
She has three daughters and is making albums for each of them. On each of their albums she is starting with her pregnancy and will continue as the girls grow up, adding albums as needed. She is making a separate albums for their school stuff. Most likely it will be full by high school and they will each have a separate album for that. She is using smaller albums for their Girl Scout things (she is a Scout leader so is making an album for herself).
She is making a heritage album on her husband's family which include his childhood photos. She and I made an album for his police career using a black leather album.
Jodi is very busy and she does not like to make decisions so she decided to simplify decision making for her albums. She wanted them to be attractive and somewhat decorative but did not want to constantly have to come up with page ideas, pick colors, etc. She picked three or four coordinating colors and a few coordinating stickers and die-cuts to use throughout each her daughter's albums (different ones for each girl). She still uses regular colors on certain holidays or on pages that seem to call for specific colors. Many times she will make identical layouts in each of the books for an event and just vary the color of paper. In two of the albums she uses cranberry and evergreen for Christmas and in the other she uses regular red and green but she usually makes the layout the same.
When dividing photos between the albums she does this: pictures of vacations, Christmas, etc., the cutest photos of the girls and most group shots go in her family album. (She gets double or triple prints and we take a lot of photos so there are plenty). On birthdays the 'birthday girl' will get one or two pages of her own birthday and the leftover or duplicate photos will go in her mother or sister (or grandma's) album. In other words, the family album will have an overview of the family and each girls album will feature her but have some photos of the rest of the family. At Christmas each girl has mostly photos of herself or group shots that include her.
For me the ideal would be for every descendant to have a full set of whatever albums a person has. This is not practical from many standpoints (money, time, storage space, etc.)
My daughter is not planning to make duplicates of her heritage album. She is going to make a few pages of her and her husbands childhood/dating and marriage for the front of each of their daughters' baby albums. Also a family tree page and a couple of pages of direct line ancestors with plenty of journaling. Then she will add a page in her second daughter's album of her older sister and a page on each of the two older girls in the youngest one's album. That way whoever ends up with mom's or grandma's heritage or family albums each girls will at least have a brief overview of their background.
I plan to scan my more important pages and burn them to a CD. Some people videotape their albums and add voice over commentary.
Some make only a family album and sometimes a baby book for the child. Some make only books for the children instead of a family album. The problem comes in when the children grow up. If there is only a family album who will get it--and when?. If there are only albums for the children when will they get them? If they marry at age 24 Mom may be only fifty or so. Is she going to give the album to the child and be without photos or will she keep it and make the child wait until she dies to have their baby book?
Some people make a family album and keep the duplicate photos in a safe and orderly way to be made into albums later.
(Either with the child when they are old enough or by the child when they are grown.) Or they make an album with a few pages and highlights of the child's life from birth to age 18, including various relatives. This album can be taken to college, the first apartment, etc. without worrying about the child's "real" albums being lost or ruined in some way. At the appropriate time--such as the birth of the first grandchild, buying their first house--the child can be given their other albums.
As long as you have negatives or duplicates stored in an orderly manner, you can do some albums later (maybe when you don't have a baby and a couple of pre-schoolers taking up all your waking hours!) But be sure to make notes of dates, places, special events, cute things your child says and does, etc.
I think in a few years it will be economical enough for me to make color copies of many of my pages to give to each grandchild. My daughter is scanning many photos and other memorabilia for future use.
Another thing I do is journal extensively. When I type something in the computer to use in one of my albums I save it in a file. My plan is to incorporate them into an autobiography and family history.
I never put photos in an album unless they are about a year old. When I first get photos back they all seem special. But if I let them set a while I can look at them from a better perspective and almost always put in way less. Others put all photos from an event no matter how similar. If that is your style you might want to make one album--a "condensed" album--where you put maybe one or two pages per year of your child's life. That could be the "college album" mentioned above. Or it could be the album you keep when you give the others to your child.
The problem of having too many pages will work itself out as you have more children and you get busy with all of their activities. You usually don't have nearly as many photos of the second child--or even of the second year of the first child.
(Denny Davis)