We all have drawers, baskets, and boxes full of old photos. It’s just a part of human nature and the ability to use a camera! But not everyone is a scrapbooker. In fact, many hate the very idea of scrapbooking. They see big dollar signs. They see too many pictures to put into albums, and they see a whole lot of time spent placing those many pictures into albums. Guess what? You don’t have to hate scrapbooking! And you don’t have to be a scrapbooker either. It’s not that difficult to create an album for your family and friends to enjoy and never once will anyone call you a scrapbooker. Ok, well maybe someone will…but it won’t be me.
In the previous two articles, I Am Not A Scrapbooker And I Never Will Be! part 1 and I Am Not A Scrapbooker And I Never Will Be! part 2, we began discussing the whole concept of NOT scrapbooking. Here is more of that article as we now look at what else you need for your photo album and we take a last look at creating our photo album rather than our scrapbook.
Somewhere around your home you have a pair of scissors. This pair of scissors will be perfect for your “photo album”, and there is no need for those fancy scrapbooking cutters that are sold everywhere. A pair of scissors will work just fine. And how do you get the photos to stick on the page? Easy – pick up a couple of acid-free glue sticks while you are picking up your paper. You can get large packs of them for only a couple of dollars. Oh, and you need a pen. Since you probably don’t care about the acid in your pen, you don’t have to purchase anything fancy, just avoid markers because most of them are more acidic than a normal standard pen.
You are set. You now have all the supplies necessary to complete a photo album, and not be called a scrapbooker.
But, if there is a little part of you, just the teeniest, tiniest little part of you that is curious. Just a little curious about how it would feel to be a scrapbooker. You can do it for next to nothing. Yes, even using what you have purchased for your “photo album”. All you need are a few more items that are just as cheap as those.
Look around your home for embellishments. Ribbons, yarn, metal washers, charms off old jewelry, stickers, even junk mail can be cut apart to make clip art images. What about buttons? You probably have some of those laying around. Wrapping paper, wall paper samples, and fabric scraps work too. See, and you didn’t have to spend a cent to do it. You just used what you had, just to see if maybe you liked scrapbooking.
Oh and one last thing, you can add poems straight off the Internet. Or you can make your own up. Just write them directly onto your page. That’s it.
You may now resume your normal “non-scrapbooker” life. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you made a scrapbook…uh… I mean “photo album”.