Scrapbooking: A Beginner's Guide
Photography, for most of us, is about the thrill of chasing and capturing the moment and that is what keeps us going back for more.
There comes a time though when we realise that our hard drive is full of images which don’t often get seen or remembered by either ourselves or by those close to us. We can be so busy chasing the next image that we forget the precious moments that have already passed.
Scrapbooking is a way of rediscovering and preserving those moments and making them into very personal works of art to be handed down to future generations. It is time to forget those scrapbooks we made when were young: The dull sugar paper that buckled when we put too much glue on it and the hotch potch of cuttings and stickers we stuck on during a wet Sunday afternoon. These days there are wonderful printed papers, stickers and embellishments that are truly hard to resist. The scrapbooks themselves are made with special archival materials that are made to last for generations.
So, what is it all about? Well… it’s all about choosing photos which have a special meaning or memory for us and telling their story. This can be a story about a special occasion such as a wedding or birthday party or the first photo of your newborn baby. It can also be about capturing the tiny little moments, which can easily slip our minds like how your little daughter looked when she tried on your new high heel shoes or your little boy helping to water the flowers in the garden. Remember his first game of football?
Our lives are made up of tiny snippets of time and the very special stories that make them unique. Scrapbooking is about capturing those stories and handing them down as a gift to our families. Making a Scrapbook is a wonderful way of recording our Family History in an interesting and very personal way.
Wouldn’t we love to know what our Grandmother or Grandfather really felt about their lives? The ordinary little things that made their lives so different to our own? Do we know their favourite colour or what they liked to read or their favourite food? Did they have a hobby? Were they just like me?
Researching Family History is becoming one of the most popular pastimes of our age. It is so interesting to include family stories in amongst the dates and times. Even the tiniest bit of information about an almost forgotten ancestor can make them seem so much more real. In making a Scrapbook we are making sure that our own stories are not lost in the mists of time.
Over the next few weeks we will be exploring this very popular hobby and making a start on making your first page; If you would like to explore this fascinating hobby as we go along, have a think about what subject you would like to ‘Scrap’. Find some photos you would like to work with and the story you’d like to tell. We will be learning about layouts, adding easy artwork, making page decorations and ways to ‘journal’ your special story. Join us in a new hobby that all the family can enjoy.
To see some of Paula's artwork visit her website: www.paulawatkins.co.uk
Copyright Paula Watkins
Photography by Paul Watkins
Reader feedback:
Discuss this story:
