I am sure you have heard the old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” The same could be said about your family and friends’ first impression regarding your albums.
If you spend hours or days on a beautiful layout, you wouldn’t just ignore the title and content. You wouldn’t leave people wondering who it is in those pictures, and what they are doing. You’d want to make sure you had the perfect title, and most likely a nice little journaling box explaining what is happening or words to the recipient.
If you take so much care to make sure that you have presentable layouts, shouldn’t you take the same care to ensure that the album and first page are presentable and that people understand what they are looking through?
Many people enjoy making their albums available for their family to enjoy, anytime. Perhaps placing the finished (or often almost finished, in my case) albums on the coffee table or a easily accessible book shelf. When you are spending the time to make these books available to others, why not spend the time to make a special page at the beginning of the album, with a title page or a dedication page?
I scrapbook a yearly album, as well as several mini albums throughout the year for various occasions and events. When creating an album as a gift or all about one person, I usually begin my albums with a dedication page. I always include a journaling block, which is typically a letter to the recipient or to the person I am creating the album about. I also include a photo and some simple embellishments. This is a really good example of what to do with the first page of an album.
A few other examples for your front page are:
- Title Page (The Smith Family 1999)
- A Year in Review
- A Poem or Letter
- This Year in History
- New Years Resolutions
- Favorite Things
- Memorabilia Pocket Page
Be creative! There are so many things to do with that first page. Check out the next article with some quotes and poems that you can use on that first page.