Creating Scrapbooks: How to Get Started and Lots of Page Ideas

Preserving photographs and other mementos from your child's early years is so important. Most people do not remember everything that happens during those years. So as parents, it is important for us to document all the things that happen (firsts, birthdays, special events, trips, etc.) as well as collect mementos such as preschool graduation diploma, birthday cards, artwork, etc. to help our children be able to relive and remember those fun early years. Scrapbooking is a wonderful, creative, and fun way to preserve those memories. Below I have shared some great page ideas you can use in your toddler preschool album. I recommend about 50-80 pages an album. I have an album for each of my boys' first year, then 1 to 3, and then 3 to 5 (which is what I am currently working on). Some people may have albums for the baby/toddler years then the preschool years. You can do what works for you. Also, you can either arrange your book chronologically or by theme. I do a little of both (in general, it's arranged chronologically, but I do have pages that may include several different times during a year to incorporate a theme.) The most important thing when creating your child's scrapbook is to add your own creative touches and if possible, journal in your own handwriting. For all the ideas below, look at your photos and decide what works best. In general, use 1 to 4 photos per page and leave room to add embellishments, such as die cuts, stickers, borders, titles, journaling, eyelets, ribbon, etc.

Ideas for Title Page (first page of album)

A Name Page - I bought a printout of my child's name and what it means along with a scripture verse at a craft fair. I framed it and then added special touches to the page such as borders and hearts. You can find all kinds of name definition sites online, such as www.behindthename.com, and create your own page using information found on this site or another.