Me and My Big Ideas Scrapbook Album

Overzealous Vacation Photographers, Rejoice: Scrapbooking is (Still) Here For You

Any excuse to use stickers, amiright?

Any excuse to use stickers and this child of the '80s is in. I think stickers were the gateway drug for my scrapbooking addiction. I know what you're thinking…

A) Scrapbooking ranks right up there with painted wooden figurines of geese in bonnets as far as 'hip' crafts go.

B) "Great, I only made it to week three in my kid's baby book; all I need is another parenting project to feel guilty about."

First of all, a quick trip through the papercraft aisle at any major craft store will soon dispel that bad rep that scrapbooks have. Second, this could be the way to make up for that second child's glaring lack of baby book and give you an excuse to buy stickers as an adult. Win-win.

Most parents are overzealous cell phone photographers as is. Take us on a vacation and we really go nuts. Oftentimes, a majority of those pictures aren't necessarily 'framers' on their own. However, with the help of a bit of embellishment (STICKERS!), a series of otherwise boring photos come together and tell a fun story. Plastic page protectors come as one big sheet or in a series of smaller pockets that are perfect for telling an amazing vacation story with several not-so-awesome pictures.

Sometimes one picture can say it all. Even a small road trip, a weekend at Grandma's or a visit to a local museum can seem like a special occasion when laid out. If you look hard enough, there's washi tape, gold-foiled embellishments and clear overlays in the papercraft department for any theme — even a day trip to San Antonio. Think of your page layouts as extensions of the memory and photograph.

One solid sheet of paper can also hold multiple photos if you use additional embellishments and pieces of paper as frames. A friend's glamping-themed bachelorette party becomes immortalized forever with the help of chipboard stickers of flowers, birds and fun phrases. Alone in a photo album, these pictures would have been fine but clustered together with coordinating colorful paper they're a lot more fun to look at.

Part of the fun of scrapbooking vacation memories is including souvenirs from the visit. Tickets, napkins, maps or even a collection of "Do Not Disturb" signs add a fun element to your album pages. Think creatively about how to use those bits of ephemera that tell the story of your trip. Pick and collect relatively flat items during your vacation, then when you get home and are ready to work on your scrapbook pages, simply let the items match the photographs.

Not just for memories of the kids, Mom or Dad need preserved memories, too. Host a craft night with cocktails and invite friends to bring their favorite photographs. Better yet, invite the same friends in the pictures to scrapbook and relive the pictures' stories. A weekend getaway to Palm Springs will live on in full color from the pages of your scrapbook.

Scrapbooking isn't intended to add extra pressure to vacations or parenting. This should be fun for you to make and fun for you and your family to enjoy later. Don't feel like you need to break out the glue and scissors the minute you unpack your bags. Think of these pages as colorful collages of your vacations and memories. Try getting the entire family involved by inviting the kids to create their own scrapbook pages with you. (Just make it clear which stickers are theirs and which stickers are yours.)

Me and My Big Ideas Scrapbook Album

Source: https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/overzealous-vacation-photographers-and-sticker-lovers-rejoice

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