Why I Love Scrapbooking

Why I Love Scrapbooking

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the most important things to me is my family - both my immediate family and extended family members. I have enjoyed taking pictures since I was in college. I attended what was Ricks College and is now BYU Idaho.

I was really excited when I discovered scrapbooking. Before I learned about scrapbooking, I put photos in photo albums. Scrapbooking is a safer way to preserve photos. When making a scrapbook you use cardstock, usually 8 1/2 x 11. Some people use 12 x 12 cardstock. There are many different colors of cardstock. Other supplies used in scrapbooking are photo safe photo stickers or dots or glue stick. The photo stickers are better. There are different colors of scrapbooking pens, but they are not erasable so you have to be careful when you use them. There are many kinds of stickers on all kinds of subjects. When I have made scrapbooks, I have used both scrapbooks that I have bought at a craft store and white binders. Scrapbooks are different sizes Besides 8 1/2 x 11 and 12 x 12, they are: 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 6 x 6, 8 x 8, and 12 x 15. There are also different types of scrapbooks. They are 1. Scrapbooks with three ring hinges. This is probably the cheapest scrapbook there is. Probably the cheapest type of scrapbook you can find. It uses standard three-ring hinges. They hold the page protectors, and inside the paper pages. Page protectors are usually thick and well-made. Similarly, they make it easy to remove and add pages as needed – you just unbind the hinges and add new pages. 2. Strap-Hinge. This type of scrapbook is a little different than a three-ring. It has a few straps (either plastic or metal) that go through the cover and the page protectors to keep them attached to the sheets. Most of the pages on this type of scrapbook are also bound to the book sleeves. But they can be disarmed, allowing easy taking apart to add or take pages out. 3. Post-Bound. The most durable and reliable scrapbook is post-bound. This is a little more expensive than the rest because it offers both the ability to put pages in and take them out, but also keeps them safe. These scrapbooks are designed with two-page protectors that meet in the middle. Here, you will find several screws that keep the page protectors in as well as the sheets of paper. If you want to take anything out or put something in, then you’ll need to unscrew and screw once again. Similarly, you can place several pages together between page protectors. 4. Book-Bound. You could say a book-bound scrapbook is the combination of a three-ring with a post-bound. While the cover on this kind of scrapbook is ultra-thick and protective, so it doesn’t have page protectors to keep your scrapbooking safe (as the covers are enough). At the same time, the covers and bounding center are so thick that it offers a lot of space to play with. So you can add all kinds of stuff on the pages without going too far on thickness (it looks similar to a three-ring scrapbook) Yet, a book-bound scrapbook has non-removable sheets. And you can’t add new ones either. This happens because the pages are all bound to the covers, firmly and permanently. And because you don’t have page protectors, your scrapbooking will be more susceptible to smearing and slipping out. 5. Spiral. You may confuse a spiral scrapbook with a sketchbook or regular notebook. And that wouldn’t be wrong – they’re entirely similar. This happens because the spiral (either metal or plastic), grabs the page protectors and the sheets all at once. So you get a pretty compact scrapbook. At the same time, this makes it possible to lay entirely open. The spiral spine won’t make any pressure on the page protectors to stay closed or anything. 6. Ribbon. Lastly, you'll find the ribbon scrapbook. This bound is attached with a ribbon on the center, usually with thin covers and a few pages only. The advantage is the amount of creativity it allows. You can place any type of page protector, sheet, or even art inside without problems. And what’s even better, this type of scrapbook looks fantastic, adding a stylistic touch to the scrapbooking.

I have made 76 scrapbooks, and I am proud of each one of them. Scrapbooking is expensisve hobby and time consuming, but it is well worth the effort.

In our church there is an organization called Primary. I attended the baptisms of the children I taught. I made a baptism scrapbook for each of these children. These scrapbooks included photos of the groups of kids I taught. They also included photos of them by the Ogden LDS Temple and photos of them singing Primaary songs. I put family photos in them and the words to the songs that were sung at the baptisms. I used 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and a white binder. I put "It's Great To Be 8" and other baptism stickers on the pages. I put a program on a page if it was available. I also made baptism scrapbooks for my friend, Brina's two sons, my friend, Melanie's son, Jay, son, Jessie, and daughter, Sarah, and my cousin, Kelsey's son, Kaden. I made baptism scrapbooks for most of my nieces and nephews. The scrapbook I made Jessie included several photos of him by the Ogden Temple. In one photo he was reading the Book of Mormon. I described his expressions in the photos. I put a couple of photos of him and I in the scrapbook. On the front of each scrapbook I put a favorite photo of each person and a title such as Jessie's Baptism Scrapbook. These scrapbooks were 10-20 pages. Some scrapbooks included an invitation to the baptism. I wrote or typed who was in the photo.

I made ABC scrapbooks for most of my nieces and nephews, my geat-nephew, Easton, my mom for her 70th birthday, my husband, Gil, most of my step-grandchildren, my step-daughters and their families, for myself, and about my cat, Tilly. In most of these scrapbooks, I used white binders with 8 1/2 cardstock. I made a few ABC scrapbooks that were 5 x 7. All of these scrapbooks included a big and small letter on each page, Some had two page layouts in some of the letters. I wrote several words that started with each letter around the border of each page. I put stickers and diecuts on each page that went with each letter and photos of the person or other things that went with each letter. In Easton's scrapbook I put cute clipart on some of the pages. Each scrapbook included an ABC poem on the first page. In mine and my husband's scrapbooks, I have a two-page layout of some of our favorite things. The title of my husband's scrapbook is: "All About Gil From A To Z". I used pale blue cardstock throughout the scrapbook, also other coordinating cardstock (white with blue dots) except for a few pages. The P: Pets page has pets around the border. The H: Holidays page has a Christmas manger scene on it. The B:Birthdays page has party decorations on the border of the page. The O:Outside - In The Swimming Pool pages, there are swimming decoratons around the pages. I used two cream colored cardstock pages on the "Favorite Things" two page layout. In my ABC scrapbook I included a poem I wrote. I used cream colored cardstock in the whole scrapook. This is the ABC poem I wrote:

My favorite aunt has passed away.

Basketball is a sport I used to play

I love Christmas and Easter too.

I am dedicated in all I do.

Pizza and chicken I like to eat.

Fruit in the summer is quite a treat.

My husband has grandkids that I love.

I pray to Heavenly Father above.

An iris is a pretty flower.

At my jobs I got paid by the hour.

As a kid I worked hard at school each day.

I love to give handmade gifts away.

My mom taught me wrong from right.

I often went places with my mom and dad.

I played games with my siblings. This made me feel glad.

I will quickly help a friend in need.

Good books are fun for me to read.

I sold greeting cards when I was small.

It's hard to reach things 'cause I'm not tall.

I enjoy seeing uncles at family reunions..

Softball with Porter relatives was very fun.

My husband is glad he works no more.

He's extra sweet to his wife and goes to the store.

I like the colors blue and yellow.

Sometimes my husband is a zany fellow.

I received a blue ribbon on both my husband's and my scrapbook at the Weber County fair. I received a red ribbon on the scrapbook I made about my cat and the ABC scrapbook I made for one of my nieces.

I made graduation scrapbooks for my oldest niece and nephew and for two of my step-granddaughters. These scrapbooks included photos of each of their school years, their teachers, and their friends besides graduation photos of them and other family photos. I made a 50th anniversary scrapbook for my parents. This party was held at a place called the Moyle Community Center in Clifton, Idaho. This scrapbook included photos of who was at the party and memorites their siblings had of them when they were growing up. At this party, some people related memories they had with my parents, and i took photos of them sharing memories. A big project was when I gave my dad four different scrapbooks for his 80th birthday This scrapbook included photos of each of his kids when they were growing up in the order of their birth, photos of his siblings when they were growing up and at family reunions, photoso of his parents, and photos of my dad when he was growing up. I made an 80th birthday party for my dad too. His 80th birthday party was held at the Bluebird Restaurant in Logan, Utah. In one of the photos that was taken, my dad held a cake that said, "Happy birthday, Henry." His sisters, Mary Lou and Maxine stood by him in the picture. I put photos of people that were at the party in the scrapbook. The scrapbook included photos that I took and photos that my cousin, Lujean, took. I took photos of him opening gifts. Theses photos were in the scrapbook. I sang a song called "Red River Valley" at the party. My dad loved to play this song on his accordion. This photo was in the scrapbook as well as photos of family members sharing memories of my dad. I put the memories in his scrapbook too.

I made a scrapbook for my husband, Gil, for his 60th birthday. I called it Gil's Memorable Moments 60th Birthday Scrapbook.On the front page is a picture of him with the microwave he bought when he turned 60 years old. The scrapbook includes photos of him holding the scrapbook and looking at it. This scrapbook includes photos of me,my siblings, my brother, Boyd's wife, some of my nieces and nephews, daughters, two granddaughters, and his brother, Royce, and his wife. My husband and I used to go see Boyd's kids in a play and in a dance recital. The scrapbook includes photos of their kids in their dance costumes holding the trophy they received. Everyone whose picture is in the scrapbook shared why Gil was special to them or memories they had of him. Boyd's wife, Carolee wrote a note to Gil for her daughter, Emilee, who was six years old. granddaughter, Stephanie, said, "Everything is special." I put photos in the scrapbook of things she has done with her Grandpa Seely: swimming, a 12th birthday party, a graduation photo, and a photo of her shooting her Grandpa's Seely's glock at a shooting range. I made a 70th birthday party for my husband too. This party was at the Golden Corral Restaurant in Ogden, Utah. I put photos of who was at the party: my brothers, a couple of sisters-in-law, and a few nieces and nephews. On the front page is a picture of him holding his birthday cake. I put the experiences that my brother, Ronald, was willing to share with Gil. My sister wrote why he was special to her.

I made a big scrapbook of ward members at events like baptisms, chile cookoffs, and Trunk or Treats.

I made a wedding scrapbook for my brother, Ronald, and his wife, and my nephews, Timothy, Travis, and Ben and their wives. These scrapbooks included wedding photos as well as wedding stickers. I put photos from Ben's reception in his scrapbook. Ronald's scrapbook includes photos of their sealing day as well as their wedding. It also includes photos they had taken of their first anniversary in the vicinity of the Logan, Utah Temple and surrounding areas. I used yellow cardstock throughout their scrapbook. Travis's wife took many photos that I included in their scrapbook. In the other scrapbooks I used cream cardstock throughout the scrapbook. These wedding scrapbooks were 35-40 pages.

I also made a few other scrapbooks for family members.

I forgot to mention an important thing I use when making scrapbooks. I love using the Fiskars scissors to cut around the pictures. In my husband's ABC scrapbook, I stuck the photos to cardstock which was just a little bigger than the photos. When I wrote the journaling, I used the scisssors to cut around the journaling. The Journaling about the pictures took the most work in making the scrapbooks. To sum this scrapbooking story up: I love taking photos of nature: clouds, flowers, trees, Easter and Christmas. I have taken many photos at family reunions. I have taken so many photos, and there is no way I could put them all in scrapbooks. Pictures are so important, and I know that the family members and friends I gave them have and will enjoy looking at them often