Do you have photos or memorabilia stashed in shoe boxes or drawers, waiting to be sorted and put in an album? If you want to leave a legacy for your family or just get organized and ready to downsize, it may have paid off to procrastinate.
The art of preserving memories has come a long way in the past few years and is more efficient and imaginative than ever.
No one just puts things in albums anymore. “Nowadays it’s called scrapbooking,” explains Susan Brandt, assistant executive director of the Hobby Industry Association.
“A scrapbook allows us to preserve all those milestones or events and revisit them time and time again or, better yet, hand them down to future generations,” Brandt says. A memory book offers an opportunity to tell a story. Including your own observations with the photos or memorabilia makes it a special volume that can be tailored to particular subjects or personalized for various relatives and friends.
A scrapbook can draw generations closer as they work on the album together. “Every family member can participate, which makes it an ideal parent/child and grandparent/child activity,” Brandt says.
Plus, you don’t need special supplies or any particular expertise to get started. The basics can be bought anywhere. Here are some suggestions on how to get started.
Motivation
“The best way to get started on a book is to have a reason to do it,” says Cynthia Hart, author of “Cynthia Hart’s Scrapbook Workshop” (Workman Publishing, $19.95). Some of the most powerful motivations include a new baby, a graduation, a wedding or an important anniversary.
There are two distinct types of books you can make, Hart says: one that uses pictures that have been stored away for years and documents a broad time span, or one that chronicles a specific event, such as a 50th wedding anniversary. “In either case, it’s best to narrow the subject and have a plan,” she says.
For instance, if you’re doing a book on a whole family, start with the two sides that came together for a specific couple, or concentrate on one child’s life.
To chronicle an event, take photos of everything that will tell the story, and gather any memorabilia that applies.
Scrapbooks make special gifts, and they cost a fortune if you have someone else make them. “It’s become a big business to have someone take your photos, organize them and make them into pretty scrapbooks,” says Jo Packman, author of “Moments to Remember, The Art of Creating Scrapbook Memories” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $24.95). Prices average $2 to $15 per page and range up to $35 for some with special artistic touches.
All about photos
Having the photos to use for a project is rarely a problem, but organizing them is. We all tend to put them in piles and stacks, Packham says.
“Start with the ones you take today,” she suggests. “The minute you get them back, record pertinent information on the back using a photo-safe pen that doesn’t leave indentations on the picture and has acid-free ink. This is critical, because it allows future generations to know who everybody is.”
Organize pictures in acid-free boxes until you have enough for the scrapbook you want to work on, then transfer the information on the back of each photo to a page of the book (again remember the acid-free ink).
Old photos you have in shoe boxes or drawers should be moved to acid-free boxes. Pictures in old scrapbooks with adhesive page protectors should be removed using a blow dryer set on medium (run it lightly over the top of the page to release the adhesive and peel it up), Packham says. Set aside time every week to work on these photos, a little at a time, she says.
It helps to separate old photos into large categories first, then sort them into smaller groupings, says Lisa Bearnson, author of “Joy of Scrapbooking” (Leisure Arts, $19.95). All birthday parties would go in one pile, then sort the parties by person. Once you do this, it’s easy to develop a filing process, Bearnson says.
One last tip: “Shoot a few rolls of black-and-white film every year or at special events, because it’s much more archival and will last longer,” Hart says. Color photography will fade faster and disintegrate long before black and white, she adds.
Supplies
Fancy album covers and exotic papers are available for scrapbooks, as well as markers, decorative scissors, stickers, rubber stamps, embossers and inks. Computer software programs can be used to generate pages, borders and writings to use in these books. A caveat: Make sure everything that goes in the book is archival.
While many scrapbooks and supplies are labeled photo safe, which means they are made of acid-free materials, the mementos you use and some older photographs may not be. Invitations, birth announcements, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, drawings or notes can deteriorate because of their high acid content and harm any photographs they come in contact with. To slow the process, treat these items with special solutions (applied by aerosol can or brush).
At the very least, the essentials you’ll need are archival quality binders, paper, scissors, adhesives and pens.
Instructions, inspiration
Books, pamphlets, magazines and Web sites are devoted to scrapbooking. Pamphlets and project sheets loaded with ideas are often available free at craft stores. A magazine worth reading is Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Magazine ($4.95 an issue or $19.97 per year, 888-247-5282 to order), which is published bi-monthly and is loaded with pagemaking ideas and product information.
Two Web sites worth exploring are www.jangle.com and www.creatingkeepsakes.com.
