Scrapbook Themes, Inspiration and Thrifty Ideas

Whether you do it as a rainy afternoon activity, a project to enjoy with your children or to make as gifts for friends and family, scrapbooking is a popular pastime in many homesteads. They are equally easy to make for artistic and non- artistic folk, while the very nature of them means that you can be as thrifty or elaborate as you like. Any craft store will provide you with a multitude of embellishments, gems, ribbons and decorative papers. Yet the best of us can occasionally be stuck for inspiration. Whether you have a something in mind you want to remember – weddings, birthdays and Christmas are favourites – or whether you just want to have a go at a something new, this hub will hopefully provide you with a few new ideas.

As I say, many folks will make up a scrapbook to commemorate a specific event, either as a memento for themselves or to give as a gift. However, I also think that they make nice projects to add to over a period of time. For instance if you are renovating a home or have taken on a new allotment! Keep a photographic record of your progress and keep receipts of your key purchases. These may not sound fascinating now, but in years to come people will be interested to know what their ancestors paid for things! Make little journal entries for interesting things you did or entertaining anecdotes. You could also do this if you are taking up a new hobby.... perhaps you are having evening classes and want to record your progress or maybe if you are learning to cook and want to keep a record of your successes and failures! All these things will be of interest in the future when the memories aren’t so fresh!

It is also sometimes nice to just have a record of the normal things. A journal over the course of one year. Include photographs of days out; receipts from good meals – with photos of who you were with; tickets from events and gigs; notes of any odd things that stand out to you. Maybe one day you saw a hot air balloon in the sky on your way home from work or spotted an unusual bit of wildlife on a country walk. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have photos of things, they can be illustrated in many ways. If you can afford it there are any number of themed toppers and embellishments out there. However, you needn’t spend a lot. Traditionally scrapbooks were made up of scraps after all! Cut out pictures from newspapers or go to charity shops to find cheap books with nice illustrations. These days you can find many old vintage books very cheaply as the information within is often outdated. However, the illustrations can be very decorative and whilst it is sometimes frowned upon to cut up old books, it can in some ways give them a new lease of life – albeit in a different format! Whilst really old books can be rare, many Victorian books where mass produced and are not difficult or expensive to find. If you can’t afford even this, you can always illustrate your entries yourself. You don’t have to be great at art. It’s a personal record and it will add your personality to the scrapbook.

If you have a garden it is nice to keep a seasonal gardening scrapbook. Take pictures or sketch the flowers in the week you first notice them open up. With the changing seasons it is sometimes useful to know when things first flower from year to year. Note down unusual weather, keep plant labels when you purchase new varieties and keep any seed packets to decorate your pages. With these it is especially nice to pick small flowers from your garden and press them to use for decoration.If you pick up any tips along the way write them down on scraps of paper and include them also. If you visit any gardens or shows during the year take note of anything that inspires you and add pages with ideas of things to do in the future – or indeed for that day when you have a bigger garden!

These are just a few of many themes you could create a scrapbook on. Let your imagination run riot and don’t be overwhelmed by all the different racks of sticker, glitters, toppers and gems. It is temping to buy some of everything, but it is not cheap. It’s sometimes more fun to be inventive and restrict the spending to one or two special decorations just to finish off with. The scrap book papers alone can be costly, so if you can only afford a few bits use it sparingly to mount photos and notes on and leave the backing sheet plain – perhaps using a decorated paper only every few pages. Talking of expense, the albums alone are an investment. If its a special occasion the by all means splash out, but if its just a project for you or the kids just use a basic old fashioned scrapbook and decorate it yourself.

So, how about some of these themes to think about:

Geneology - Great if you have been researching family history and want a decorative way of displaying your findings to the next generation.

Gardening - As above!

Kitchen and cookery – include culinary notes and pictures of kitchen decor you like!

Holiday plans and memories - plane tickets, photos, diary notes and places you went

Weekly or Monthly journal  - Note down anything that appeals to you and the date, so that if you can't make your scrapbook at the time you can do it later in the year. Its also fun to note down the music you are listening to so in years to come people can get into the hits of the day!

School projects – make history projects fun and memorable by combining the learning with drawing and crafts!

Vintage inspiration – if you love the vintage look collect images, postcards, buttons and fabrics. Great to inspire you when decorating!

Walking Journal – draw a map of each walk and include pictures, notes and things you find along the way. Collect fallen leaves and flowers to press and include (but remember never to pick wild flowers! Only ever gather those that have fallen)

I hope this has got you thinking. Just remember that these are heirlooms in the making. Include dates and names to photos for future generations to identify with. Especially with family photos! Write down who people are and how they are part of your life. If you think about these little things in the making, then your scrapbook will be loved by many generations to come!