I spent a good portion of yesterday creating pages in a scrapbook.
I bought a small scrapbook for this baby because I really wanted to be able to keep a record of this pregnancy and to be able to “hopefully” capture the memories after.
I figured that if I went with one of the small scrapbooks that takes pages that are 8″ x 8″ that maybe…just maybe the smaller sized page wouldn’t seem so intimidating.
I also told myself that I wasn’t looking to create “the most gorgeous scrapbook” out there. I wanted this to be a cross between keeping records and documenting the memories. I was looking to create the feeling of an old spiral bound paper covered scrapbook.
I have some old scrapbooks from when I was a teenager and I love the informality that my old paper covered spiral bound scrapbooks have. It’s like they hold all my secrets.
Years ago, when my girls were little, I started a scrapbook for each of them. The big 12 x 12 pages….
I’ve realized a few things that really got me bogged down in regards to those scrapbooks.
1. I was trying to create the most gorgeous, elaborate pages ever known to man.
2. I tried to document EVERY. SINGLE. PHOTO that we took
3. I was trying to “copy” other people’s ideas of a scrapbook
I managed to work through a few things (in my head) yesterday and that leads me to a plan that I believe will really work for me.
1. I’m creating a more laid back feeling scrapbook.
Yes, I’m still using pretty paper and the odd sticker or ribbon or embellishment, BUT….these books “look” way more like me. A little laid back, but neatly laid out with special memento’s of certain days and events tied in with the pictures.
2. I’m highlighting only key moments or ages or events.
I actually worked on both this baby’s scrapbook and on Siah’s scrapbook. While working on Siah’s book, I’ve decided that I’m going to scrapbook ahead with this baby’s book and create pages for 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and so on…up to 12 months. I’m going to create first visit pages for the grandparents and for other key visitor’s. I’m currently working on Siah’s book even though I have no photo’s printed out. I managed to create about 12 pages for him yesterday and have a list of pictures that I know that we have on the computer that I need to just print out. I’ll just load them onto a USB and run down to the closest Shopper’s Drug Mart and print them out with the instant photo center and then slap them in and VOILA! A ton of pages completed.
I’m actually going to go and pick up another 3 scrapbooks and recreate books for Geli, Xandra and Jeremy, highlighting the first month, then a monthly pic or two and possibly some Easter or Halloween or special holiday’s. I think that I can get MUCH further with WAY less personal frustration and I’ll feel WAY more productive and good about actually accomplishing something with these “memory” books.
3. I’m being true to myself in what I’m creating.
I want a book that is a combo of pictures and special treasures or notes. For example, one of the pages that I created for Siah was a page with “notes” that I scribbled down in the early days with him. I had saved all the cards that people gave me and I was able to create a pocket with one of the cards and I tucked these “notes” into this created pocket. I love that I can look back one day and pull out a piece of paper that I wrote down little notes about his feeding, sleeping and pooping habits. One note has his weight on one day within the first month scribbled onto it. Another piece of paper has notes to myself with a grocery list, a note to book swimming lessons for the kids and a few different Dr. Appointments listed down. I tucked some ribbon that I had saved from one of his first presents behind the little envelope and the overall look is something casual, but cute and I love it.
I think that this will work for me. I think that I can actually accomplish this.
Seriously, I probably knocked out over 20+ pages yesterday and it was amazing to feel like I could have kept going. I am looking forward to creating more pages for both this new baby and also for Josiah and I’m feeling really good about being able to put something together for the older 3 kids as well.
I do also keep a small “treasure box” for each of my kids. It has their first outfits, the hat they got in the hospital, their first shoes, their first sweaters, hand prints and/or foot prints from different ages……the first tooth, first hair cut. That kind of stuff. The kids LOVE to go through their boxes and look at their stuff. They also suggest that we keep and put stuff in the boxes. So I know that they love and treasure these boxes, just as much as I do.
Do you scrapbook? Why or why not? Are you amazingly creative or do you just throw things in a book and call it done? Did you keep scrapbooks when you were younger? Do you have some other method of keeping memories and treasures?
Let me know what works for you?
