My granddaughter is the reason I got hooked on Scrapbooks. There was one particular camping trip Gord and I took years ago that had adventurously funny details she always loved hearing about. It would set her into giggling fits. Of course, the better I became at telling the story, the more she enjoyed it.

And after she started to experience show and tell sessions at school, she wanted me to show her this memory as well.

Well, this peaked my creative appetite. So I decided to find some old photos from that particular trip and dress them up in a storybook theme that we could enjoy together again and again. Luckily I had organized my memories by year and season, so I was able to easily locate the photos.

Categorize Your Projects

Vacations, Our "Grand Babies", Weddings and so on….

Pick or Create An Album Theme

Within the General category of Vacations I picked an Album Title which best captured the specific memory. In this case, I titled the camping trip "A Bear-ry Scary Story." This helped me to better focus on what I wanted to express.

What you pick as your album and theme is completely up to you. You can spend money on ready-made themes, adapt them, or go completely recycle-conscious and use only existing materials and supplies you find around the house.

When picking an album, keep in mind how many pictures you intend on using and if you will need or want to have an expandable album.

The most common size of ready-made albums and papers is 12x12 , but if you want to print out digital imagery pages from online album options, 8.5X11 is just as good.

Scrapbook Supplies

To get started, you only need a few supplies. When shopping for photo and paper supplies make sure that you use acid free and archival products. This insures that your precious family memories don't disintegrate over time. Here's the list:

• Album cover and pages templates (or make your own)

• Cutting Utensils (scissors, paper cutter)

• Pen, Pencil, Markers

• Card Stock/Photo Paper (acid free, archival)

• Adhesives (glue sticks, double sided tape)

• Stickers (old buttons, scrap ribbon, purchased stickers)

• Embellishments (found fabrics and other interesting compositions)

Get Creative

Use your imagination. And, if you do get stuck in "no man's land", you can go to the internet for ideas, layout and design help. Many people have shared their inspirational works online as examples to inspire you.

Remember that you don't have to put every picture you have into your scrapbook album. Think of your scrapbook as your "greatest hits". This will help you edit. And don't forget, it’s sometimes better to keep it simple! Happy Scrapbooking to all!!

P.S. My granddaughter loved the album so much, she insisted I lend it to her for a special show and tell at school on memorable family events. Needless to say, her story was the hit of the class! We've gone on to co-create other projects and my granddaughter is now the CCO, "Chief Creative Officer" on our latest projects.