By MICHELLE COOK
Once the hurdle of starting a scrapbook has been overcome, individual creativity takes over and scrapbookers are able to share ideas with one another.
“Once you get going, then it’s easy to keep going,” said Melanie Mortensen, a junior majoring in humanities from Farmington. “It’s almost a challenge to see how creative you can be with the next page.”
Scissors, paper, photos and glue all come together to create personal masterpieces.
“I lay it out according to how I feel,” Mortensen said. She said she tries to balance the pages and achieve a simple and classy look, rather than follow a theme.
Other scrapbookers like themes, such as “my friends,” “baby’s first bath,” “pizza party” and “sports.”
If the pages tend to look dated or old fashioned after a while, some scrapbookers say all the better.
“Dating [the pages] is important,” said Joy Huish, designer and teacher at Pebbles in my Pocket, a scrapbook supply store in Orem.
“If you spread out ten scrapbooks in front of me, I could tell which one my great-grandmother did,” Huish said. She said the dating of the pages helps set the time period for the memories.
Coreena White, a senior sociology major from San Diego agreed with this idea. “I already have some (pages) in my first book that are dated,” she said.
White explained that even though she can see an improvement in her techniques since she first began scrapbooking, she doesn’t go back and change the pages like some people do.
Sharon Murphy, event coordinator for Michael’s Arts and Crafts in Orem, said scrapbookers should choose their best photos, rather than using every photo.
Murphy also suggested not “cropping,” or cutting off part of the photo. “Save as much of the picture as you can,” she said.
Employees at Provo Craft compiled a book of scrapbook ideas, which include:
* Decorate with markers
* Make borders
* Use stationery to frame pictures
* Use hole punches for corners, borders, etc.
* Use a variety of papers and colors
The designers at Pebbles in My Pocket also offer some ideas:
* Along with pictures, try writing a favorite memory to go along with it
* Art work too big or keepsakes that won’t last? Take a picture of the item with the person
* Don’t just have pictures … Try colored paper, stickers, fun pens, saved mementos such as ticket stubs and hair samples
* ALWAYS write the who? what? where? when? and why? on the back of the photo.
