Simple Scrapbooking

Before getting into today's topic, I must first apologize. My updated blog design will not post today. The details are still being worked out before it can make it's debut. I can't promise, but I sincerely hope it will be unveiled on Monday. That should be just perfect for a "Meet Me On Monday" blog I'd say!

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A little over a month ago, I spotted a book in Hobby Lobby that I considered buying. Before I did however, I wanted to check it out from the local library so I could look more closely at the book before making the purchase. This seemed to be the best choice for a lady who doesn't like to spend money. A few days later, I logged on to the library's website, and placed a hold on "Real. Life. Scrapbooking." by Rebecca Cooper. It didn't take long before it was in my hands.

We made a library stop, while on our way to get groceries, just so I could pick up the book. Sadly, I get carsick when I'm not keeping my eyes on the road so I tried very very hard not to peruse the book that was on my lap and singing to me. Alas, I could not resist skimming the siren song full of words, photos, & layouts. By the time we got from the library to the store, I was feeling slightly ill. That was all the looking I would be able to do for days, due to a busy weekend.

Just a little bit of perusing pictures and layouts of this book brought me an epiphany. You see, it's all about scrapbooking your real life simply, hence the title. My idea was sparked when I spotted a page showcasing a notebook with paper removed and photos placed into it. How much fun would it be to take a regular journal and turn it into a personal scrapbook? However, my idea was not really to scrap it in the traditional sense, but to use it to record "a year in the life" through the eyes of my kids. Evan & Jaron, a brother singing duo, recently did a project called "52 Sundays." Each Sunday, they released a new song to be downloaded. Remembering that inspired me to set this "scrapbook" up in that same way.

The Scrapbook Journal Project:

*What you need- a journal or notebook of your choice, pen or pencil, & photos/drawings/mementos collected throughout the year.

*Personalize your cover page, or the inside cover of your journal, to include your name and the date you start your journal scrapbook, you can include the end date or add it later.

*Use your first solo page as an "about me" page. Include your likes, dislikes, favorites, etc. This will be repeated at the end of the year on the final solo page of your journal. It's nice to compare and see how you've changed over the course of the year. When you get older you may have many laughs over these, along with comment such as, "I can't believe I loved that movie so much!"

*Once a week (52 Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, or any day of the week- try to stick with the same day) write about the week you've just experienced. Use the paper on the right hand side of your notebook for journaling. Maybe it's just a simple week, or maybe you had a big event, record it just the same. The page on the left hand side should be used to place a photo, drawing, or memento (ticket stubs, postcard, etc) from the week. Be sure to record the date on one of the pages as well.

*This can be done as a "year in the life" or "my year of school: grade X 2009-2010." You can start the project in January, on a birthday, beginning of the school year, or Summer vacation. It can be changed into a daily account of your road trip or Christmas break. The possibilities are endless.

*Encourage your children to keep this kind of scrapbooking journal. If you have a child that cannot write, record what they have to say about the week (or day) in their words or let them draw a picture. For kids too young to express themselves with words, try to capture their reactions or funny faces.

I truly believe these types of things will be precious to our children when they grow up. That's one of the reasons I scrapbook. My children will also be starting a journal like this when school starts in a few weeks, starting with the open house and meeting the new teacher. My hope is that my children will continue this as they grow up and in the process learn to appreciate the little things in life.

For the record, I finally had time to sit down and go through "Real. Life. Scrapbooking." and loved it! I even discovered a few more alternatives to the project that I came up with. Rebecca Cooper captures great ways to keep your scrapbooking simple and remembering that it's about the memories rather than fancy embellishments. Her ideas and layouts were exactly what I was looking for. A brand new copy of her book now resides in my scrapbooking center.

As I said, Rebecca Cooper has variations of this idea in her book. If you are considering tackling some simple scrapbooking, head to the library like I did. You will be able to find her book, as well as many other books with the same theme.

How do you capture your memories? Your child's memories? If you scrapbook, do you journal your pages? Do you include the point of view of different family members or just your own? If you don't scrapbook, is it because it's too overwhelming or you don't feel you have the time? Do you think the scrapbook journal project would solve that problem?