Need scrapbook ideas? We have some really unique options for you to try. These are perfect for preserving photos and souvenirs from special moments in your life. Let us help you create interesting pages for your scrapbook using paper crafts, natural materials, and even items you would have thrown away!
What is Scrapbooking?
Scrapbooking is a way of presenting and arranging memorabilia in the form of books, boxes, or cards. Books or albums are the most common ones, however. Decorative pieces are often added to each page, along with short descriptions or journal entries about the specific memory or event. These create a mixed media effect, which is part of scrapbooking’s charm.
It might surprise some hobbyists to know that this isn’t a recent invention. In fact, the art of scrapbooking first began in the United Kingdom back in the 19th century. One of the earliest known scrapbook enthusiasts is author Mark Twain. He carried two whenever he traveled, which contained news clippings, photos, and various souvenirs.
Fun fact: did you know that even before the advent of photography, scrapbooking was already a way for many female college students to chronicle their daily lives? Much like today, theirs also contained various ephemera such as playbills, ticket stubs, pressed plants, and even invitation cards to mention a few.
These vintage souvenirs can provide plenty of inspiration when it comes to your bullet journal ideas as well!
The Difference between Journaling and Scrapbooking
Some might say that there’s hardly any difference between journaling and scrapbooking. However, these are two distinct hobbies that have a few similarities between them.
For journaling and scrapbooks, the use of diaries or blank journals is essential. When journaling, dated pages are preferred so the owner would be able to keep track of daily and monthly events. Most scrapbook enthusiasts prefer blank pages, which allows them to decorate as they see fit.
One major difference between the two is the extent of the journal entries written in each page. Journaling often means long, detailed entries of one’s experiences. Scrapbooks, on the other hand, provide a visual representation. Some pages might have short journal entries, but scrapbooks often rely on visuals to express their feelings and tell a story.
Scrapbook Ideas – Going Digital
For many, the real fun of scrapbooks comes from collecting various materials to use as decoration. It is through gathering these materials that scrapbook ideas are born, after all. However, not everyone has the space to keep scrapbook materials in. This is why along with online vision board ideas, digital scrapbooking has become a trend for many!
The process is no different from traditional scrapbooking, but there are a few more advantages when it comes to going digital. This includes access to more diverse materials, cost-efficient, less environmental impact, and having the ability to share the pages you worked on quite easily. In terms of longevity, a digital scrapbook is bound to outlast a traditional one as well.
How to Scrapbook
Aside from having the materials, you’ll also need a few great scrapbook ideas to get started. It may seem as if scrapbooks are limited to simply collecting memories, but this isn’t the case. You might be surprised at how truly versatile these can be.
Wedding Scrapbook Ideas
When it comes to putting together a wedding scrapbook, you can make it uniquely your own. Not only will the process be fun, you’ll also end up with a one-of-a kind souvenir from your special day. Here are some scrapbooking ideas:
Choose a Unique Color Scheme
Color can play a key role when it comes to the overall look of your scrapbook. While most wedding ones are typically in neutral tones, why not inject a bit more color into it? The scrapbook need not be overly formal either. You can add a touch of humor in your decorations and notes as well!
Use Pressed Flowers from Your Bouquet
If you’re looking for a way to preserve your bouquet then why not press the flowers and use it to decorate your pages? These will add a romantic touch to your scrapbook design, while also allowing you to keep another special souvenir from your wedding.
Make Your Own Guestbook
Some weddings use message boards where guests can leave notes for the couple. These can be pretty expensive so why not personalize things instead and make your own? Add personal touches and make sure it also follows the theme of your wedding. At the end of the day, this would make for a really meaningful keepsake.
Use Behind the Scenes or Detail Shots
It isn’t unusual for pre-nuptial photoshoots to incorporate plenty of detail shots. This includes photos of the bride’s gown, accessories, and the whole preparation process. Instead of filling a page with paper craft, try using these photos for your background instead! The key is to find balance and not go overboard and make it look cluttered.
Add a Cut-Out of Your Veil and Candlewax Seals
If you aren’t too attached to your veil, adding a small piece of it to your scrapbook can be a romantic detail. If you wore gloves, you can put those instead. These are accessories that will usually be stowed away instead so why not give them a special place in your album? You can also use the wax from your wedding candles to create special seals and use those as embellishment!
Baby Scrapbook Ideas
Once you have all the basic materials on-hand, it’s time to start creating your scrapbook. One of the most common is a baby book. Whether you’re making one for yourself or putting one together as a gift, here are some scrapbooking ideas to get you started.
Pregnancy Themed
Scrapbooks are meant to chronicle special events in our lives, so why not create one that follows your pregnancy? You can add photos of your ultrasound, news clippings of important events, small notes or letters for your child, a list of all the food you craved, the activities you did with your family during this time, and so on.
Baby Shower Mementos
Scrapbooks are also great for keeping souvenirs from your baby shower. This could include the cards you were given, pieces of décor, and any well-wishes written by your guests. You can even have a special Polaroid station so you can collect the photos after and conveniently add it to your scrapbook.
Your Baby’s First Memories
Once your baby is born, you are likely to capture and collect items that serve as markers of their many firsts. Why not keep their hospital tag? Some parents even keep a lock of their baby’s hair, or their newborn’s footprint and handprint in their scrapbooks! It is only natural that people would want to save all of these precious souvenirs.
Your Baby’s First Holiday
Aside from documenting their many firsts, you can also save keepsakes from your first family trip and turn it into a scrapbook. If you’re headed to the beach, you can pick up a couple of small shells or a bit of sand to decorate your pages. You can also use airline or bus tickets, a map of the place you’re visiting, or any other trinket that would fit your scrapbook page.
Your Baby’s Favorite Items
Aside from writing down important memories in your baby-themed scrapbook, consider telling a story through their favorite items instead. You can add mementos such as their baby socks, their first piece of clothing, a cut-out from their favorite blanket, or even an embroidery piece you made for them. Being creative is key here as you’ll need to make sure it fits your scrapbook’s pages.
Anniversary Scrapbook Ideas
Whether you’re the sentimental type or simply want a safe place to keep souvenirs, an anniversary or couple scrapbook is a great idea. The best bit? Given today’s technology, storing memories has become much easier to do. Here are some scrapbook ideas for anniversaries:
Commemorate Your First Date
A first date scrapbook isn’t unusual for some couples. We suggest making a smaller than average album, which should fit all of your little keepsakes. This could include photos, receipts from the place you went to, bus tickets, and so on. The small size would allow you to create more pages as well. A few journal entries should also help tell the story of how your first date went!
Compile All of Your Love Letters and Notes
Are you the type of couple that enjoys sending or leaving each other notes? Don’t let those gather dust in a shoebox somewhere. One of the best ways to preserve and display these is through a scrapbook. To stick it to your pages, do use washi tape to make sure it won’t get ripped if you ever feel the need to remove it. Glue will certainly damage the paper if you use it.
For Vintage Lovers
If you and your partner collect a number of vintage or antique ephemera, why not put these to good use and add them to your scrapbook? Another thing you can do is add a little story behind each piece and what it means to both of you.
A Map for Long-Distance Couples
You may not be together for your anniversary, but that doesn’t mean you can’t commemorate your special day. Start off by printing out a map of your city and theirs. Add two points for each of your locations and trace the distance between the two of you. Along the way, highlight places you have visited as a couple and ones you plan to visit in the future.
Print-out Memorable Text Messages
In this digital age, handwritten letters and notes aren’t as common. Instead, we have text messages or even emails taking their place. If you have saved many cute or encouraging ones from your partner, why not display them in a scrapbook? This way, even if you lose your phone or access to your messages, you’ll always have precious copies preserved.
Scrapbook Ideas for Friends
When it comes to keepsakes, the ones we share with our friends tend to be the most common. You can proudly display your friendship and be able to look back at all the memories easily through an album. Here are some scrapbook ideas for friends you can try!
School Days Themed
Whether you’ve graduated years ago or are still in school, it’ll be a worthwhile investment of your time to put together a scrapbook. Aside from photos, you can also include other mementos such as old I.D.’s, grading cards, school pamphlets, and various other ephemera you may have collected. A great tip here is to make sure to date everything properly.
Memories from High School Prom
For some people, prom was one of the most memorable things about being in school. It wouldn’t be too surprising to learn that many have kept souvenirs from that special occasion as well. Do you still have the corsage you were given? You can press some of its petals and use it to decorate your scrapbook pages. Pieces of confetti and prom invitation would all add a lovely touch when placed with your photos.
First Day of College or University
Did you end up going to the same school as your friends? If so, compile any souvenirs you have from that day and display it in a scrapbook. Some people tend to forget their freshmen year quite easily, but doing this will help commemorate the beginning of another chapter in your friendship.
First Trip with Just Your Friends
You may have taken plenty of trips with them as kids or even as teens, but your first trip as adults will surely be a special one. Surely you’ll be taking plenty of pictures, but why not keep other souvenirs as well? Flowers, leaves, a hotel’s calling card, a piece of tissue from a café you liked—all of these little things make for great scrapbook decoration.
Commemorate Ten Years (or more!) of Friendship
A decade-long friendship isn’t easy to come by so commemorating this anniversary with your friends is a must. One of the best scrapbook ideas for such an occasion is compiling photos and memorabilia from the beginning of your friendship up to the present. It needn’t be only from your own collection, too. Ask your friends for souvenirs they might have kept and want to donate to your project. If you can work on it as a group, that would be even better!
Travel Scrapbook Ideas
Traveling can teach us many things about the world and ourselves. We take home these lessons along with a number of souvenirs that remind us of the trip. If you’re tired of displaying the usual mug or magnet, why not opt for a scrapbook instead? There are many scrapbook ideas to choose from.
A Collection of Your Travel Tickets
If you have a lot, you can choose to dedicate an entire scrapbook to just the travel tickets you have gathered. There are many scrapbook layouts to choose from, but we suggest leaving enough space for some photos and a short entry describing memories of the trip itself.
Make Use of Postcards
Postcards are among the easiest souvenirs to get during travel. You can keep them in an album or place them in your scrapbook alongside travel photos. Pro-tip, you can even mail yourselves these postcards so they get the country’s stamp as an added souvenir.
Preserve Some of the Local Currency
If you have coins or even small bills left after your trip, you can add this to your scrapbook as well. To avoid damaging them, add small transparent pockets to your scrapbook pages and insert them there. These make for great souvenirs and are better displayed in this way instead of just keeping them in your wallet.
Create a Map of Your Trip
This is one of the most fun scrapbook ideas you can try! You can purchase a map while you’re traveling or print one out when you get home. The idea is to mark all of the spots you went to. After, add a photo of you in that location. You can even mark the different places you weren’t even able to visit for future reference.
Tell Your Story with Flowers and Plants
We’ve discussed the idea of using pressed flowers for your scrapbook layouts and this can be applied for traveling too. Before you pick some, check for local rules and regulations. You can also purchase some from local flower markets and press those in-between any books you brought along with you. Remember to add the date and location when you put these in your scrapbook!
Future Plans Scrapbook Ideas
When it comes to using scrapbooks for your vision board ideas, you have the opportunity to be even more creative. These will allow you to visualize an idea or a dream, which should help motivate you to work towards achieving them.
Design Your Future Apartment
How to scrapbook? There are no rigid rules to it! In this case, you can use it as a design space for your dream apartment. You can cut-out magazine photos or download ones from the internet. Each page could be dedicated to a room in the house so you can see how everything flows together.
Career Vision Board
The fun thing about using a scrapbook for your vision board ideas is that you get to add more pages to it whenever inspiration strikes. You can include letters to yourself or affirmations that should help you get through days when you’re feeling down.
Style Vision Board
There are plenty of scrapbook ideas, but have you ever thought of using it to design an entirely new wardrobe? Many of us tend to go through phases and often, changing up our appearance injects new vitality in our lives. If you’re the type to plan, use it to visualize your new wardrobe. It would even help you keep track of all the different styles you’re interested in.
Manifestation Scrapbook
Have you ever heard of manifestation and how it can help bring your dreams to life? By putting together visual representations of these dreams and giving your energy to creating your scrapbook, you are also manifesting in some form. Not only is it a relaxing thing to do, you’re also able to refocus your mindset on what your priorities should be.
Affirmations Scrapbook
Usually, affirmations are placed somewhere we can easily see them. However, creating scrapbook pages around this idea can work in the same way. If you’re feeling anxious about the future, take some time off and sit down with your gathered materials. Start by focusing on a word that brings you peace and design your page according to it. The process might be simple, but it will help keep worries at bay and remind you of what truly counts.
Basic Scrapbook Supplies
Album or Blank Book
When it comes to this, you don’t need to purchase something brand new. You can reuse old albums, secondhand books, or even put together one for yourself using scrap paper. It’s all about what you like and what fits the scrapbook ideas that you have. The most essential thing is having enough space for each page so you have more room to play. Try a 12 x 12 dimension album to begin with.
Cardstock or Scrapbook Paper
This type of paper is typically used for invitations. It is much thicker than the average printer paper and is great for use in scrapbooks because it won’t tear easily. These also come in many different colors, so you have plenty of options when using it to decorate. Some also have patterns on them, others are metallic, and there are special ones that are glittered.
Glue and Adhesives
For adhesives, you can use the same ones typically used for other types of paper crafts. Popular options include glue dots, liquid craft glue, and glue sticks. If you want to save a bit of money, getting these in a bundle will certainly be beneficial. If you want something more decorative, you also have the option of using a washi tape.
Cutting Tools
One of the most fun parts of learning how to scrapbook is putting together all the paper decorations for your pages. It gets even better once you realize the multitude of cutting tools you have available. You can create unique edges for your photos and papers depending on the tool you use.
Along with your cutting tool, you should also consider getting a cutting mat. This will add a layer of protection when it comes to your work table.
Writing Tools
The type of writing tool you use often depends upon the kind of paper you have chosen. It’s beneficial to keep a variety of them around to give the writing on your scrapbook a different look each time. Note that if you’re planning on using calligraphy on your pages, make sure you get the best fountain pen essentials for your needs.
Scrapbook Embellishments
So, where do you source decoration for your pages? The key is to be creative. The best scrapbook ideas often make use of personal souvenirs. This could be photos, travel tickets, or any small collectible that means something to you.
Other décor you can use are scrapbook stickers, decorative washi tape, patterned paper, magazine cut-outs, pages from old books, scrapbook stamps, glitter, and so on.
The Best Scrapbook Ideas Are Often Unplanned!
You need not have the best materials or have everything on-hand. When learning how to make a scrapbook, all you really need is your imagination. So, let your creativity flow when it comes to this hobby.
