Some people start an album with a title page--a special poem, favorite photo or journaling that tells what the album is about. This file includes ideas for the first page on an album, Portrait Albums and Signature Pages. There are also poems in the Heritage and Memories files that are good for title pages.
(compiled by Denny Davis)
Use a scroll border page as title page. Draw a circle or oval in the center with a black pen. Put ivy and flower stickers along the line. Add black dots and squiggles between the stickers. Inside the circle or oval put the title--Jane Doe's Heritage Album, or The Doe Family Album, etc. For baby albums use baby type sticker. On a black page use gold and silver pens and sticker letters.
To minimize journaling throughout an album or album section, make an introduction page.
Use photos of the main people and places involved in the event along with a detailed description. On the rest of the pages use a minimum of journaling. This works well for vacations, weddings, etc.
Take a piece of printed paper and, using the wavy ruler and a pencil, mark a wavy line across the narrow width of the paper. Move your ruler down about 2" and mark another, parallel wavy line. Then cut the "ribbon" out and add a title with ABC stickers. Example: red gingham paper with "PICNIC" in red ABC stickers; green gingham and with "Joy" in evergreen ABC stickers; raspberry heart paper with "Ballet" in raspberry ABC stickers.
(author unknown)
This is a special scrapbook;
We've made it just for you.
You'll notice that, as we grow,
Your scrapbook will grow, too!
We know you can't always be near,
To watch us as we change,
So instead of pictures in an envelope--
We'll send an album page.
Then place it in your special book.
Enjoy your photos and our art.
But, be sure to read our words of love,
That's the most important part!
(author unknown)
I am so very special
I have been from the start
Before they held me in their arms
My family held me in their hearts
And like a single drop of rain
That on still waters fall
My life and love will ripples make
And touch the lives of all
So read this precious story
As step by step I grow
I am a special blessing and gift
As each page here will show.
(author unknown)
(do in fancy font or calligraphy, center on the page)
Grandma and Grandpa,
this book is for you,
though it might be quite puzzling
as the pictures are few.
But every few months
if you don't make a fuss,
We'll send you more pages
with pictures of us!
(adapted by Denny Davis from a poem by Kimberly Rinehart)
This album I have 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.
(© 2012 Grace Mandry, used with permission)
The journaling and images
Upon these scrapbook pages
Paint a profile of my life
Through its many years and stages
The completion of this album
Seemed, at times, a daunting task
As I searched for facts and photos
From the all-too-distant
(or not-so-distant) past
Yet to serve as validation
Of the worth of this pursuit
I have gathered quotes from learned
Men and Women of repute
The vast wisdom of their words
Lends homage to each yesteryear
To preservation of the past
And every memory we hold dear
(You can place quotes around the border or on the opposite page)
(Alison L., title page for a child's album)
Once I was a baby boy,
A tiny thing who brought great joy.
Time, it passed as time will do.
The months flew by and now I'm two.
Still, my growing has just begun.
Blink and you could miss LOADS of fun.
You say you want to watch me grow?
Well turn this page. Come on. Let's go!
(for a girl change the first two lines to:
Once I was a baby girl,
A tiny thing, a precious pearl.)
(Carole King)
My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision of the everchanging view
A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold
(Thomas E. Miles)
"All of this I am . . . And Part of This I Saw . . ."
Within the next few pages I hope you find the dreams, the past, the future that was and still is you! The corners have been left unturned in some books, and in others the print is barely legible for use. Whether friend or kin, they walked, they cried, they loved, they shared, they had treasure and they left it just for you. It's your heritage rich and true.
(author unknown)
My family is special
It is certainly like no other;
I have a very special Dad
And an extra special Mother.
I've uncles, aunts and grandparents
and of course my share of cousins.
So with all these special people
I've got memories by the dozens.
I want to keep these special times
Of all we've shared and done.
So here within this special book
I'll write down every one!
Here's to all the people
Who mean so much to me,
. . . A book to keep forever
. . . All about my family.
(K. Vallejo)
This is our scrapbook,
and it's here we keep
our mementos and pictures
so they're not in a heap!
For us it's a walk
down memory lane,
in hopes that our visions
of good times don't wane.
For you it's a glimpse
into our lives so busy,
the days have gone by
so fast that we're dizzy!
So we've put together
this album for fun,
to capture each moment
of things that we've done!
(Joan Walsh Anglund)
A family is the place we start
It is our strength . . .
Our home--our heart.
So to my family I give praise
And keep this record of all our days.
(Kim Beckstead)
My child, your memory treasures,
Captured in this book to see,
Creating it has been my pleasure,
This priceless gift to you from me.
(author unknown)
It's important
for you to see,
that you mean
the world to me.
I created this special book
with a warm and loving touch;
so that you will always know
I love you very much!
(Monica Matheny)
This album is a patchwork quilt,
With memories sewn throughout.
Each picture weaves a story
That tells what we're about.
Each page is pieced together
With moments from out past.
And like a quilt of fabric,
These memories will last.
(Ruth Mae Fox)
To the Past, Present and the Future,
I Dedicate This Book:
To the Past, because I came out of it,
To the Present, because I live in it,
To the Future, because my children
shall inherit it.
(Claudia Evans Nicolai, January 1997)
I've made a quilt of memories
To keep my family warm
Through breezy springtime afternoons
Or in a winter storm.
Memories keep us company
When friends can not be near,
So my quilt is made of photographs
Of all our loved ones dear.
Within you'll see the fabric
Of our lives from day to day
As scraps of our activities
Fill each busy day.
They're pieced together carefully
And stitched with love and care
So you'll be warmed from inside out
And feel that you were there.
Quilts and minds get worn with time,
The thoughts and colors fade.
The names and dates get lost among
The schedules that we've laid;
But you can wrap within my quilt
Whenever you are cold
And reminisce of favorite times
Among the days of old.
(Narda Poe)
This book is like a comforter,
A quilt with many parts,
A keeper of our memories,
A place to warm our hearts.
The fabrics are our life's events,
Those things we want to keep,
The programs, stubs and photographs,
Placed here--not in a heap!
The scraps all stitched together,
held fast with love and care,
Create a family legacy--
a gift for all to share.
(Repeat first verse if desired)
(author unknown)
Memories fill this book . . .
of places we have known,
moments we have cherished,
People we have loved
These are personal riches,
Treasures from our hearts.
Life is like a patchwork--
Make it precious day by day--
Have a pattern for your life--
Adding fun along the way!
(author unknown)
Our family's like a patchwork quilt,
With kindness gently sewn;
Each piece is an original,
With beauty of its own.
With threads of warmth and happiness,
It's tightly stitched together
To last in love throughout the years,
Our family is forever.
(Jenifer Patrick)
When it is dark and the house is quiet,
the dishes all done, the laundry sorted,
the children tucked into bed.
I get out my album and precious photo boxes--
filled with happy memories of our days together:
birthdays, celebrations, discoveries, adventures.
Much like women of old who took this time
to stitch together quilts,
I stitch together a patchwork of memories.
You hold in your hands the (SMITH) Family Album.
Treat it with care for it will become my legacy.
Each page is a reflection of the live we led,
the love we shared, the lessons we learned,
and the memories we cherished.
It is a story of everyday existence,
One woman's remembrance of the things that made us laugh,
and those that made us cry.
I dedicate this book to the future,
with the hope that the past will never be forgotten.
If the album is for one child use those little bitty size photos to spell out the child's name on the title page.
If it is more than one child do the surname instead.
If you have thrown away the little bitty pictures, cut wallet size photos into letter shapes and spell out something like "our family".
Or cut wallets size photos in squares or other quilt shapes and combine them with solid color blocks for a border and put a poem in the center.
Down the sides of the page place 1" black squares like film sprockets so the page looks like a giant film frame. Inside the frame spell out "The Smith Family: A Professional Portrait" using ABC stickers. Add camera and other appropriate stickers. (CMC Maria)
Some people like to 'finish' their album, or a series of albums, with a dedication or signature page. This is where you can take credit for what you have created, and say a little something about yourself and why you created the album. An album is a gift of love, so use the signature page to express your thoughts and feelings.
Even if the album is not a gift, the signature page is still important. It can be used to give closure to the story (or a segment of the story). A signature page can tell who you are and why and when you created the album. It may indicate your feelings, but no matter how you do it; it is your final chance to finish the story.
Here are some ideas for doing a signature page:
Most of these ideas came from posters on the Stampin' and Scrappin' message board.
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