Giving the Gift of Memories
By Sara Naumann

Do you know any brides-to-be? Have a friend who’s expecting? What about an upcoming Golden Anniversary or retirement party?

A completed 8”x8” mini scrapbook devoted to one theme or person makes a special gift and a wonderful way to commemorate a turning point in someone’s life. Want to get started? Take a look at our tips and time-savers:

Organizing: A good way to start the album is with a title or introductory page. “Smith Family Heritage” or “Joshua’s First Day of School”, for example. This can be a written title only or a title with a photograph that represents or sums up the theme of the album. The rest of the album can be sequenced chronologically or by sub-theme. A heritage album might be organized chronologically, or by mother’s side and father’s side. A friendship album could be organized by Things We Love, Places We’ve Gone and Things I Love About You.

You can either place photos and journaling text on facing pages, or integrate photos and journaling. For example, the left-side of the spread will have photos, the right side will have explanatory journaling. This is ideal for photos that require lengthy journaling.

Themed papers and embellishments will make creating the album faster and easier, and will help present a unified theme throughout the album. Crop your photos to fit onto the page; if you’re using patterned paper backgrounds, be sure to follow the Golden Rule of Patterned Papers and mat each photo on a corresponding solid paper to provide a visual “space” between the picture and background paper.

Themes: Hot Off The Press designers suggested some of their top themes for mini albums.
Brides: Often the most exciting times of our lives are also the most hectic, and the memories we most treasure can be easily forgotten amidst the errands, decisions and plans. Weddings are a perfect example. What bride wouldn’t love a mini album dedicated to her special day, showcasing photos from the pre-wedding events, like the bridal shower, bachelorette party, dress and cake shopping?

Grandparent’s Brag Book: Grandparents have bragging rights in all the grandkids, and bragging is much more fun when accompanied by a visual aid! Feature first moments, from the sonogram to first tooth to first beach trip, as well as those “everyday” activities, like bathtime and dinner.

A great adaptation is the Working Parent’s Brag Book—a book created to be placed on a desk or bookshelf at work. Another adaptation is a School Album, containing photos from the entire school year, or class photos from several years.

Anniversary Albums: An anniversary album is one of the few gifts that a number of family members can collaborate on, even long-distance. Ask people to send a color-copied photograph (even if it’s a black and white photo) accompanied by a note to indicate where and when the photo was taken, what the event or occasion was and any special memory associated with it. Then organize the photos by theme or chronologically. Color copy the sender’s note onto acid-free paper and include in the album.

Retirement: A mini album filled with work-related photos and messages from co-workers is an ideal gift for a retiree. Have colleagues write a message on a piece of paper to adhere to one page of the album; if possible, feature a photo of both people on the opposite page. Include photos from business trips, conventions, company picnics and Christmas parties, as well as “life around the office” shots.

Sports & Activities: Whether your child plays soccer or chess, an album for the coach is a great way to express thanks and collect a year or a season’s memories. Oregon scrapper Donna created an incredible album for her son’s baseball coach: She gathered two photos of each boy (one posed and one action) then asked each player to complete the following sentence in his own writing: “I loved being on this team because…” Donna allotted each boy his own page in the album, simply recreating the same layout throughout the album. A Teacher Appreciation album can be created the same way.

Recipe Album: Clipped from newspapers or scribbled onto index cards, family recipes are wonderful treasures! Collect those treasures into one mini album—if your family has many, organize them into themes such as Favorite Christmas recipes or Smith Family Cookie Recipes.

While a mini album makes a wonderful gift for a special person, many scrappers create them for themselves, too. “It’s easier for me to make time to scrapbook when I do it in bite-sized pieces,” says one Texas scrapper. “With a mini album, whether it’s for me or for a gift, I feel motivated to scrapbook when I feel like I’m completing the projects.”

For 8”x8” albums, patterned paper collections and cardstock collections, see the Paper Pizazz® Mini Album line from Hot Off The Press.