Much like a writer can get “writer’s block”, someone creating a scrapbook can have difficulty coming up with new scrapbook ideas. It can be difficult to continuously come up with creative ways of telling a story – especially if you have already created a similar story in the past.
Each time you scrapbook, you may challenge yourself to come up with better, and unique ways of telling the story, while at the same time not over-complicating the scrapbook page. Whether you are creating a digital, or traditional, scrapbook, there are many things you can do to stay creative, by using simple scrapbook ideas.
The Photos
A great scrapbook starts and ends with the photos you choose to include in the album. The pictures alone can tell the story for the entire album. There are several ways that you can be creative when choosing, and using the photos.
The first creative idea happens before the photos are even printed. Since many of us now use digital cameras, we are able to perform some editing before the photos are even printed. If you have a good understanding about photo editors, you can do such things as add some text, create a 3D effect, or do some creative cropping.
You can also change the colours of the photos, such as keeping the main subject in colour, but change the background to black and white.
Combining several photos into one can also be done easily with a photo editor, and you can create some great effects this way. For example, you can combine photos of brothers and sisters together to create a collage photo that you can then include in your scrapbook.
After a photo has been printed, you can crop the photo into many different shapes. You may even cut the photo into several pieces, like a puzzle, and reassemble them onto the page. Perhaps have one piece off to the side to look like the puzzle is incomplete.
There are many creative ways of adding photos to your album, and exploring many of the different ways will help you to create great looking scrapbooks.
Colours
The colours of the photos help to stir the emotions for those that are viewing the scrapbook. Whether they are vibrant energetic colours, or more relaxing pastel colours, the colours you choose will invoke different emotions in those that read the album.
As with photos, you can really get creative with your colours. For seasonal albums, choosing colours that match the season is always a good choice. How about starting an autumn album at the end of summer with nice vibrant colours (blues, yellows, and greens), and as the album progresses further into autumn, the colours start changing like the leaves on the trees (oranges, reds, and browns)?
In such a case, the colours will help tell the story of the changing of seasons. You can do the same for any season of the year in a similar fashion – winter whites into spring greens.
Writing the Narrative
Scrapbooks usually include some sort of written narrative to help tell the story. In such a case, you can be as creative as you want. Whether you wish to write out all the words by hand, or print them out on a computer, just let your creativity flow into they story you are telling.
For computer typed words, you have many options for fonts. While you can mix and match the fonts, try not to use too many different varieties. Stay with about 5, but make them work for your album.
Regardless of the method you choose to write your story, try to be creative. For a children’s album, you may want to add a bit of humour into the storyline – especially if the story on the page is a rather amusing incident. Everyone likes to laugh, and those that were present for that incident will chuckle even more when they recall it as well.
The important thing is to be creative and enjoy the story that you are writing.
Taking a Break
There may be times where you feel less creative, and don’t seem to like anything you are adding to your scrapbook. In such a case, the best option is to step back, and take a little break. Recharge creative batteries by walking away and doing something else.
When you do walk away, try not to think about your scrapbook, just let your mind concentrate on something else. After about an hour or so, you can return to scrapbooking and your creativity may have returned. Scrapbooking shouldn’t be a chore, so don’t let yourself think that way.
One of the best reasons to scrapbook is the story that you can tell not only for today, but for many years in the future. With simple scrapbook ideas, you can ensure that your story will remain creative for years to come.
