What do you put in a family scrapbook?

Scrapbooking with photos of every generation is a great way to showcase your family tree. If you have little children you can do the same thing. You don't have to let years go by in between photos. You could even take four seasonal photos in one year, change the decorations, but have the kids keep the same pose.

What do you put in a memorial scrapbook?

A memorial scrapbook is similar to a photo album in that it will include photos of your loved one . However, with a scrapbook, you can also choose to ass personal mementos as well as decorate it with embellishments.

What are the 3 main elements of a scrapbook?

A scrapbook is a collection of items, such as photographs, mementos, and personal notes, that are arranged and preserved in a creative and decorative way. The three main elements of a scrapbook are photos, mementos, and journaling .

How do you make a scrapbook look cute?

Cut photos into fun shapes and sizes Using the same old standard photo prints can soon get repetitive, so try cutting your photos into circles, octagons, hexagons and loads of other shapes to mix things up a bit. Using these photo shapes within repeating patterns is also a super-cute scrapbook idea.

How can I spice up my scrapbook?

Embellish with Journaling Tags If you'd like your picture to do the talking, tags are beautiful as-is, especially because many of them either have pre-printed designs or patterns on one side, or you can make them your own by adding lace, stickers, buttons, and more.

How do you make a memory box?

A memory box can be as simple or elaborate as you like. For example, you could make it using a shoe box, biscuit tin, or gift box . It does not have to be physical. You can also store memories digitally, using a USB memory stick, a hard drive, or online storage.

What to write at the start of a scrapbook?

This journaling can be as simple as dates and names or as elaborate as personal anecdotes, quotes, and reflections . Essentially, it's your unique voice and own handwriting guiding the viewer through your scrapbook, sharing the "who," "what," "where," "when," and most importantly, the "why" behind each cherished moment.

How to make a heritage scrapbook?

Begin your heritage scrapbook project by gathering together as many photographs as possible, from boxes, attics, old albums, and relatives . These photos don't necessarily need to have people in them - pictures of old houses, automobiles, and towns are great for adding historical interest to a family history scrapbook.

What is a heritage scrapbook?

One of the easiest ways to tell a family story is to combine scraps of memories and put them into a photo-heavy book. A heritage scrapbook can be as crafty or as simple as you like, so long as you emphasize the photos and stories of your ancestors .

What do you usually put in a scrapbook?

In short, a scrapbook album is a collection of pages, typically bound like a book or a photo album, containing photos, journaling, ephemera, clippings, letters, tiny trinkets, and other souvenirs . It is often decorated with stickers, die-cuts, stamped images, colorful washi tapes, journaling, doodles, etc.

What do you put in a relationship scrapbook?

Scrapbook ideas for couples include pages dedicated to your first date, a collection of your love notes, things you love about your partner, and mementos from your favorite outings together .

What to do inside a scrapbook?

Scrapbooks not only make sure you have physical copies of important photos, but they also provide a place for non-digital items—like children's drawings, ticket stubs, and dried wedding flowers . Scrapbooks also make great coffee table conversation starters and keepsake gifts for loved ones.

18 Creative Scrapbook Ideas to Preserve Your Family Memories (2024)

A nostalgic link to the past, scrapbooks hold everything from crinkled letters and train tickets to newspaper clippings or a candid shot of a loved one we wouldn't dare to lose. Your scrapbook can be whatever you'd like it to be: Family history is always an engaging subject, but even episodic moments of life, like vacations, can make for great creative fodder.

And not every scrapbook needs to be an actual book—a few ingenious ideas turn the concept on its head, from tins to folders and more. Some of our best tips and techniques for new scrapbookers have to do with the book or vessel itself, and all it takes to customize the cover is some creative thinking.

These are our best scrapbook ideas for all of life's little moments that need safe-keeping—plus everything you need to get started.

The Best Summer Scrapbooking Ideas for Kids and the Family

Tools and Materials You'll Need

Before you begin, you'll need a few scrapbooking materials on hand to keep everything looking clean. Here's what you'll need:

Craft knife
Sharp scissors
Bone folder
Screw punch

Because you'll be working with small bits and pieces, you should also look for fine-tip pens and adhesives (such as a glue stick or roller). Try to source archival or acid-free products that are designed to last longer. Office supplies, such as labels and envelopes, work for housing keepsakes.

Purchasing or DIYing a Scrapbook

Choose your scrapbook with care. While you can make your own, purchasing a bound book is a good idea. Consider factors such as the binding and page count, and choose your materials and palette based on the theme, person, or event you plan on commemorating. It's a good idea to find solid and patterned paper that matches the items you are archiving.

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Travel Memento Scrapbook

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Collect your prized travel mementos in a stylish and sophisticated travel scrapbook. Anything from photos and postcards to bistro napkins and sightseeing tickets can be included.

Start by picking up a used, hardcover travel book. Carefully cut the covers off the book with a utility knife and a ruler, being sure to keep about an 1/8 inch of the spine completely intact. Discard the spine, and set the covers off to the side.

Next, cut out some of the pages to use as backgrounds for your keepsakes. (If you'd rather not use the book's pages, you can also use store-bought scraps instead. Maps work well here.) We cut a dozen, but this is highly customizable to however much you're planning to insert into your scrapbook.

Attach your photos and other mementos to the pages. Then, lay out half the pages—in this case six, right side down. Tape the pages together with photo adhesive tape, then back them with the remaining pages using photo adhesive paper. Now, attach the left side of the first page to the right side of the front cover, and stick decorative paper inside of the cover to hide the tape. Repeat these steps for the back cover and voila! A beautiful and elegant travel scrapbook.

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Ring-Bound Scrapbook

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Perfect to do with kids on-the-go, all you need for this simple scrapbook idea are looseleaf rings, a hole punch, some blank note cards, and crayons or markers. Pass the time on a long roadtrip by collecting postcards from each stop, punching a hole, and hanging them on the looseleaf ring. Let your kids have some fun by interspersing some hand-drawn cards throughout of the sights they see along the way.

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School Binder Scrapbook

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You can instantly transform simple school binders into a special scrapbook with cloth covers. After covering, we used one of our custom templates to iron on floral-shaped transfers, giving the final result a modern look.

Get the White Branch Binder Template

Envelope Scrapbook

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If your keepsakes include things like coins, buttons, stamps, or stickers (or really anything that is teeny tiny and can get lost easily), this scrapbook idea is perfect for you.

To make it, collect interesting envelopes (think classic airmail envelopes if you can find them!). Decorate with stickers, stamps, or vinyl lettering. Punch a hole in a corner of the envelopes and stack them together on a looseleaf ring. If your envelopes need some extra security, use a paper hole reinforcer or a plain circle sticker on the corner you'll be hole punching.

Now you're ready to start filling your envelopes with your small collections; add more envelopes as needed.

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Mini Books Within a Scrapbook

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Create small albums for your scrapbook, each with a story to tell—the ones here are devoted to family and summer friends. Stiff covers, paper spines, and corner covers give them a fancy hardcover feel; the book on top has a closure fashioned out of a paper fastener and string.

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Collected Memories Scrapbook

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Compiling "remember when" moments in an album and presenting them to a friend makes the bonds even stronger. Use our template with the headings "How We Met," "My Favorite Memory," and "Our Biggest Laugh," or make and write your own.

Download the template. Print in multiples, trim to size, and distribute to other contributors with a deadline and self-addressed stamped envelopes, also requesting photos and friend-related memorabilia. Then, insert the responses into transparent sleeves in a book, and present the honoree with what's sure to be a much-cherished trip down memory lane.

Get the Scrapbook Heading Template

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Polaroid Scrapbook

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A fantastic idea for guests attending a birthday party, this scrapbook makes use of fun Polaroid-style shots that are instantly developed on the spot. At a party or an event, use an instant camera to catch candid shots in action, set up a table with a laid-out album, tape, and a pen. The rest is up to your guests.

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Family Photo Scrapbook

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Creating a beautiful, personalized scrapbook has never been easier. In collaboration with Mixbook, Martha created her own collection of scrapbooks for you and your family to fill with your most precious memories.

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Folding Travel Scrapbook

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Who says pop-up books are just for kids? Enlarge photos from a recent adventure and create accordion fold-outs, which can be achieved using a bone folder to make sharp creases. These inserts, pasted into an ordinary journal of your choice, add an element of surprise to the story of the trip and convey some of the city's grandeur.

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Nature Scrapbook

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Pressing dried leaves and flowers is a great way to create unique art for your home. But if you're traveling abroad, or simply don't wish to disturb the natural beauty of your locale, why not try photographing them instead? Take a snapshot with your smartphone, edit accordingly, and print the photos for a scrapbook. You can also include them alongside children's sketches of nature or your own.

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Monogrammed Scrapbook

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Here's a way to create a scrapbook that's as special as the photos and other keepsakes it holds. Start with a fabric-covered album, and personalize it with decorative touches. We modified this one in two ways: covering the plain pages with patterned papers and adding a metallic monogram to the cover. Instead of using self-adhesive photo corners, cut slits in the decorative papers and slide in your pictures and card stock labels. It's pretty and simple to do.

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Sketch Scrapbook

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Think of a scrapbook as a traveling companion. When Martha Stewart Weddings editor-at-large Darcy Miller took a three-week trip to Africa, she brought along a blank book (light enough to carry in her bag) and a small kit—including scissors, magic markers, rubber cement, and a portable watercolor set. "I'd take my book out while the guide was talking about something, a tree or flower, and sketch it," she said in the August 1998 issue of Martha Stewart Living. "By drawing something, you have to really look at it, which forces you to 'see' it." When you return home, you can pair your sketches with photos from your experiences.

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Pet Scrapbook

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Here's a great gift for someone who's just adopted a new pet: Start a scrapbook to document their life with their new companion. Fill the pages with information about their new family member—their family pedigree if they're a purebred, or adoption papers if they're a rescue; any photos from the breeder or shelter, or classified ads; photos of the pet's parents or littermates; ID tags; a first collar; a favorite toy; the box top from a favorite treat; and heartfelt memories from your first meeting, whether those are written or in visual form. You can continue to fill the pages with new memories as time goes on.

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School Scrapbook

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A scrapbook can help organize and proudly display the steady stream of photographs, artwork, awards, and other keepsakes that accrue during a young person's school years. Here, we taped two pieces of standard notebook paper together, from short end to short end; trim the width if necessary to fit the scrapbook pages. Then, fold the paper up from the bottom, and make pockets in desired depths. Stitch the sides to scrapbook pages with a sewing machine to secure, or simply glue with an archival glue stick.

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Ribbon Photo Scrapbook

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If you're working with very fragile photos, historical documents, recipe cards, or anything that can easily tear or be tarnished, you'll want to avoid destructive tape and glue. These ribbon mounts allow you to secure items to the scrapbook page without damaging them. Start with a three-inch strip of grosgrain ribbon; fold both ends down at the midpoint to form a triangle, and then iron it out. Repeat the process until you have two or four ribbons for each item. Attach them to the photo by slipping the triangle (with the seams in the rear) over the corners, and use acid-free double-sided photo tape to affix them to album pages.

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Map Scrapbooks

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Upcycle the maps you used on a journey through foreign lands as the show-stopping features of a new travel scrapbook. The printed papers become colorful and fitting backdrops for vacation memories.

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Newborn Baby Memories Scrapbook

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Martha herself shared this precious idea back in the December 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living. Our founder created four printed-and-bound photo stories of special moments in her granddaughter Jude's first months as a newborn. Then, Martha gifted the set to Jude and her own daughter Alexis for Christmas.

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Kids' Memorabilia Scrapbook

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Tiny treasures like stickers, buttons, or stamps are easier to enjoy and store when they're glued to folded pages. Measure and mark a long strip of paper or card stock with its short side matching the long side of a small box. Accordion-fold the strip and glue the first page to the inside of the box's lid and the last page to the inside of the box's bottom.