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One-of-a-kind books, part I: Memory albums

I have only been able to snatch a chapter of two of reading for the last two days because I am putting together a memory scrapbook for a friend who is getting married. Three of us have already put in two nights of work and will finish it tonight, in time for the bridal ... I can't call it a shower, although we will certainly give her some presents, but mostly it's a chance to have some fun together before she ties the knot. Let's call it a 'bride-to-be's day out'.

We have scanned and printed, cut and glued, and had only just started writing and embellishing at around 1 a.m. last night. All of this got me thinking about one-of-a-kind books. There's something very appealing about owning a copy of a book no-one else has, even if it only has personal and not monetary value. This one is mostly pictorial, telling her story from the time we first knew her at elementary school and ending with her fiance and their two children. We have been careful not to put anything too embarassing into the book – it will be perfectly safe, for example, for her future husband to read it. We do hope the album will become a treasured item to her and a lasting reminder of our friendship.

Scrapbooking is a huge phenomenon and there is no doubt that the scrapbooks of today will be a boon to the historians of the future, as well as treasured family heirlooms.

Scrapbooks/memory albums are a good idea if you have regular photo albums that are overflowing and no-one ever looks at. Taking a selection of photographs and designing a setting for them and writing some text to explain what's happening in the photos can turn anonymous photographs into heirlooms. The designs can be just as elaborate or simple as you like, and while there are plenty of pre-made settings available, you don't have to use them but can design settings of your own. There are plenty of embellishments available, ranging from glitter-glue, labels, stickers and stencils, to pockets, eyelets, tea-bag folding patterns, quilling, spirelli, and even jewelry. Personally, I prefer simplicity, but I have seen some pretty good-looking highly-embellished memory albums.

What most appeals to me about memory albums is being able to tell a story in both pictures and writing, that may be read by future generations. By using archival-quality materials, you can create a memory album that will last decades, even centuries, and keep your memory alive long after you are gone, giving you a kind of immortality. It's comforting thought.

Comments

Antonella said…
I love scrapbooking for the sheer pleasure of seeing my memories captured for my children and (hopefully) generations to come. I have always loved photography and this is an extension of taking the pictures... of course, all I need now is some time to work on my scrapbooks (lol)... If you're ever interested in what you can do with quilling, stop on by my quilling blog quilling.blogspot.com. Antonella :-)

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