It is that time of year again, where the books are being turned back in, desks and lockers are being cleaned out, pencils boxes with two markers, one broken crayon, two dull pencils and a chewed eraser are coming home and then the countless papers, and projects are finally able to be returned.
But it’s also a time, when many children receive awards, medals, certificates and other items, commemorating their special achievements throughout the year. Perhaps it was for perfect grades, or just really great grades. Maybe it was for perfect attendance, which might not seem like such a big deal, but believe you me, it’s a huge deal. You might be surprised how few kids actually can maintain perfect attendance. Sometimes it might be a trophy or a medal for a sports accomplishment, or a club they participated in.
How does a scrapbooker go about scrapbooking with these 3-dimensional, oversized items?
It isn’t difficult, actually. You have several options, but I will tell you what works well for most.
If the item is a trophy, you might just want to take a photograph of the trophy. But be sure to get one of your child holding the trophy, as well. Your child will be thrilled to someday see how old they were when they received a certain award.
There is one item you just cannot go wrong owning, when you deal with memorabilia in your scrapbooks. You might find it really helpful to have a scanner and printer. However using a copy center, can work just as well, but keep in mind that if you use the copy center a lot, it might be more cost effective to just purchase your own personal machine.
Take the item you want to scan – medallion, award, certificate – and place it face down on the scanner. Run your scanner as directed. Pull your scanned item up onto your computer, and using any number of art programs, you can adjust color, size, brightness and other effects. When you are satisfied that you have the item the size that you want it, click print and print your copy out.
Whether you print on a special paper or just regular printer paper, is up to you, however for certificates and awards, I like to print them smaller replica’s on cardstock. It’s sturdier and looks better.
Once you have your printed copy, you can cut it out and place it onto your page in whatever designed look you prefer. The originals (the certificate, medallions, trophies and other awards) can be placed on a shelf in your child’s room, or a shadow box can be purchased to display the items. Whatever you decide to do, remember that making a big deal about awards, encourages them to do it again. Their self-esteem rises as they realize that mom and dad are proud of them, and they should be proud of themselves.
Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
Scrapbooking with Awards, Certificates, Medals and More
Biggest Scrapbooking Mistakes: Memorabilia
Memorabilia: Including Greeting Cards In Your Albums