Documenting the events, familiar faces and special moments that are all a part of your next summer family BBQ is a great way to get your loved ones involved in a lasting project! All of your various relatives taking various snapshots can contribute to the building of a scrapbook--an "all dressed up" photo album that celebrates this event. But this won't be the old dime-store album of plain, clear vinyl pockets in a grid where you insert your 4X6's. If you're the "lucky" one who gets to amass this family treasure I can help you get started.
Here's How "Scrappers" Do It
During the summer family picnic festivities, or shortly thereafter, ask--beg if you have to--grandma or grandpa to write a handwritten reflection of the day's events. If they can jot down things family members mention that are going on in their lives at the time it adds a nice, newsy touch. Keep a copy of the invitation to the reunion showing where it took place. Keep artwork the kids created. Be sure to include a group photo since it shows the size of the family. To add journaling you can record some fun facts to your scrapbook memories. Some ideas: What games and sports were played? Who traveled the furthest? Who makes the most popular dessert? Who grew the most since last year (taller that is!). Who's the "sore loser" at card games? Who's the biggest "ham"? Who sneaked in a nap? Are we having fun yet??
The photo collection you pick keepers from could be sent to you or emailed as files for you to print yourself. The advantage here would be your ability to print them at a size best suited for your "creative genius". Often a somewhat small size works for a number of the photos as there may be a lot of them. It depends on whether or not you receive vast numbers of pictures. The group photo should be at least 8 x10" in size. There is plenty of space for it as long as you get a 12 x 12" scrapbook. You could get a smaller size book but the large size lets you place numerous photos on a page with enough room for photo captions. To arrange photos on a page you can place them at various angles and overlap them a little. This adds a casual feel, lets you pack more onto a page and avoids the monotony of a traditional album.
Don't be afraid to trim around some of the people in photos. You can trim using small scissors around their outline; or even hire a freelance graphic artist to do it digitally. Say your special group photo requires 1 figure to be removed while keeping a fairly natural look. A graphic artist can remove a portion of the photo while retaining background. At an event like this many of the photos will have similar backgrounds or contain undesirable objects like a cluttered table or people with their backs to you. Cropping captures what is important since page space is limited. Believe me you’ll notice when you go to layout each page! Then you can place the cropped shape on a pretty or bright background. One method uses a large stamp punch that mimics the shape of a postage stamp. You place a small photo in it and use it like a photo matte. Little secret here...if that fiancé keeps showing up in photos, you can crop said newcomer and include on the page. Removal later on is easy if they don't become a husband or wife after all. Gosh...had to say it though!
If your family is very large commit a pagespread to each individual family to make it clear which kids are offspring of whom! It may seem obvious now, but wait until children change, babies are born and the years pass. Any members of your clan who didn't make the reunion can send current photos to contribute. Also, note the ages of each child so you can get that perspective of how they've changed years later. The backs of photos won't work since they will be glued down. Make a pocket and place the "Li'l Ones Facts" in it or enter as "Emily at 4." by their pictures. . Identify them with any nickname they’ve acquired too. If you really want to show what a journal wiz you are, have the kids write a little about something they like such as their pet, school or pastime. If you ask them in the form of a specific question, they write the answer for you. As a side note, take care if you ever write on photo backs as a slight indentation may be seen from the front where the writing is on the reverse.
The Whole Story ... Page by Page
A theme for this memory book is a given—celebrating togetherness. A good color scheme would be the bright, cheerful hues of summer. I would not use pastels as they denote newborn babies. Instead, the natural brights of fruits and vegetables, pools and green lawns would be the way to go. Patterns on papers you incorporate could be red-check tablecloth, linen textured or wicker basket patterned. Adornments you add can run the gamut from grass and trees to apples and watermelon to baseball, volleyball, soccer or beach toys. Handwritten labeling may be appropriate for much of it to keep it informal. The title of the scrapbook should be in die-cut, stenciled or stick on lettering.
Embellish to Your Heart's Content ....
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Punches are precut forms rounded, concave or more complex for shaping edges of paper layered over another for dimension. Stringy, green fibers add texture and adding them vertical would mimic grass. Also, acrylic strings are used for tags. There are punches that create holes in shapes as simple as slits to run ribbon through to cutouts that emboss as they create punches, such as an embossed (raised) snowflake with several holes in its design.
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There are foam stamps and woodblock stamps with rubber to transfer inks onto paper. You could stamp a monogram onto a page—hey, if they’re embroidered on handtowels, they’re sure good enough for you! You could give your hand a try at clear stamps of autumn leaves that are black outline drawings you can place partially over images since the stamps have transparent backgrounds. Relevant images for soda drinkers might be the Coke and Sprite 3D stickers in little bottles, cans and bottle caps. If your taste runs more toward lemonade get those instead. Lemonade lovers represent!!
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You could make good use of a fabric sheet called Magic Mesh that reminds me of volleyball or soccer netting of these sports. Let me coach you on one technique for it: Place a band of it across the center of a page. Above it, place little headshots of members of one volleyball or tennis team. Below it place the headshots of the opposing team. All on a grass green background.
At last, I’ll close with the scrapbook cover itself. Making Memories has a Postbound Leather Album with a window in its front cover for insertion of a photo or illustration. Archival safe with top-loading sheet protectors and takes refills. Sheet protectors are good if the album is heavily used or passed around. An add-on for the outside of your scrapbook could be a fashionable book-clip to label the outside spine of your binder. I’ll leave the reminiscing to you all in the years to come!
The End.