Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Easy Tips for Back to School Scrapbooking Ideas

There's so much more to remembering going back to school then just scrapbooking a picture of the first day of school.  Why not create a few page layouts that document the feelings and memories of the back-to-school season?  Get your camera and your scrapbooking supplies ready, and try these school scrapbooking ideas.

Shopping for New School Clothes

This is a new school year ritual.We all take our kids to shop for back to school clothes.  This year, take your camera along for the trip, and not only will you capture some fun pictures of your children shopping, but you'll record the current fashions trends of that year.  Be sure to include the good, the bad and the ugly of this year’s fashions.   Even if you have a less than enthusiastic shopper, it’s a back-to-school tradition that should be part of any school scrapbook.

Registering for School

Another familiar back to school event is waiting in line for your child's class schedule and new textbooks. Take some photographs of your child's first impressions of the new school year if he is young or this is a new school for him.  Older children may not welcome photos during school registration, but you can still scrapbook their class assignment schedule after they no longer need it, or a picture of the stack of textbooks may make a nice addition to a school page layout. Registration is also a great time to snap a photo of the school building for a school scrapbooking album

Hopes for the New School Year


Have your children write down what they hope to learn in the coming school year. Ask them how they see themselves at the end of the year, and what they are most looking forward to at this grade level.  Maybe they are looking forward to learning how to read or long division or maybe just making new friends. You can include these thoughts in a scrapbooking page.  It's even more personal if you use each child’s own handwriting.

First Day of School

The morning of the first day of school is busy.  When you take a photograph of your children in their new clothes with new backpacks, pick the same place each year to take the photo.Pick the same location with the same background so you get a better idea how they have grown over the years.

Leaving for School

If your kids take a school bus, a nice moment to document is leaving on the bus on the first day of class. Take one photo of your children entering the bus, and then try to take one of them waving from the windows.

Reuniting with Friends

Part of the fun of the back-to-school season is reuniting with old school friends.  Photograph these moments at the school bus stop or in front of the school if you accompany your child to school.  Remember to be sensitive to older children who many not want photos taken during this time. 

The back-to-school season is full of traditions and rituals.  You’ll definitely want to document them in a school scrapbook album.  Whether you choose to create one scrapbook that includes all of your children or an album for each child, these tips will give you lots of ideas to fill up those pages.

Tips for Hosting a Scrapbooking Crop

Are you planning on hosting a scrapbooking crop?You are definitely in for a world of fun!  Scrapbooking is a fun and creative hobby enjoyed by millions worldwide, and a crop is a great way to get experienced and novice scrappers together to share scrapbooking tips, get new pointers, and to create some great new pages and books.But as much as it is, when hosting a scrapbooking crop, there are a few important things to consider.

For one thing, no matter how devoted a scrapper is he or she will probably need something else to do other than just concentrate on scrapbooks all day or all weekend.  When hosting a scrapbooking crop be sure to provide other activities that attendees can participate in, or provide instructors and demonstrators of new products or techniques.This means your friends won't be exhausted from trying to create new page layouts for hours on end, and they can get a rest from the activity.

If you're hosting a scrapbooking crop and want to provide an instructor make sure he or she is very experienced with both scrapbooking and in presenting as well.  Some people are very good at the hobby but not very good at instructing others!  It's awful for someone to be hit with stage fright when they're just trying to share tips on such a great hobby, and of course everyone will then turn to the person that is hosting the scrapbooking crop to get things rolling again. 

Demonstrating new products is also fun when hosting a scrapbooking crop but make sure you're not hiding a sales presentation as an actual crop.Your scrapbooking attendees will want to be able to create many page layouts while they are there, maybe even a complete album, and they need lots of time and space to do that.And be sure everyone has something to eat and drink as well!  If you're hosting a scrapbooking crop that is just one day you can usually provide a boxed or catered lunch; if this is a weekend affair you'll need to talk to the hotel or someone else about catering different meals or let your attendees know what restaurants are in the area.  If you keep these points in mind when hosting a scrapbooking crop you're sure to have a great time that is fun and enjoyable for everyone in attendance.

Baby Shower Scrapbooking Layouts Easy Enough for Beginners

A baby shower is one of the most important events in a mother's life, and of course she will want to find orginal baby shower scrapbooking layouts to capture her memories.  All those cute presents and all the friends and relative that gather should be remembered and some baby shower scrapbooking layouts can be just the thing for that!

There are many different paper packs and templates that you can buy for scrapbooking a baby shower.  Many scrapbook companies put together pages that are set with frames for photos, cute sayings, and everything you need to make a baby scrapbook page.  If you're new to scrapbooking or aren't creatively gifted then these baby shower scrapbooking layouts can be the right thing for you.  All that's needed are those pictures!  But some people aren't interested in having their pages already designed for them but still are a bit overwhelmed with what to do when it comes to making up their own baby shower scrapbooking layouts.

One thing to keep in mind is that while many use the colors of pink and blue for their pages you can get past this and use colors that you like.  Strong colors of autumn such as chocolate brown, rusty red, and warm yellow are favorites for many women when it comes to baby shower scrapbooking layouts.  One reason for this is that these colors are somewhat neutral and a bit easier on the eyes than strong blues, but aren't as washed out as pink can sometime seem.  You might also try these same colors but in primary shades, meaning red, blue and yellow.Baby toys are often in primary colors making these a good choice for baby shower scrapbooking pages.

Get creative with the wording and the fonts you use.  Many opt for "childish" fonts that resemble the writing of a child but there's no need to do this if you prefer something more elegant or something simpler.  You can put the child's name or a simple phrase such as "Baby Boy" or "Baby Girl" across the top of any baby shower scrapbooking layouts and some simple wording underneath in a smaller font for a nice touch.  And remember that you don't need to work the word "baby" into your layouts - try words like Love, Welcome, Family, and Cherished.

Be the envy of your friends at your next scrapbooking crop.  Get more scrapbooking ideas and information on making scrapbooking borders.