Scrapbooking is all the rage in the craft world, but these aren't your grandmother's memory albums. These elaborate pages spring to life with wonderful art, three-dimensional paper mechanics and themes galore. With so much detailed attention going into each memory, it's no wonder that these albums are fast becoming treasured family gifts and heirlooms. So grab your scissors, acid-free paper and adhesive to cut, fold and paste up a photo album worthy of handing down from generation to generation.
The Album and the Acid Free
Available in a myriad of colors, sizes and shapes, most contemporary scrapbook albums have one important thing in common—the pages are made of acid-free paper. In fact, acid free is a recurring term in scrapbooking. There are acid-free adhesives, pens, page protectors and paper. So why all this acid-free stuff? Because over time, papers, glues, tapes and inks containing acid can render yellowish stains and eventually cause disintegration, ruining the very photographs and mementos you're working so hard to preserve. So, though usually a bit more expensive than their acidic counterparts, acid-free products are the scrapbooker's friend and highly recommended.
Beyond acid free, there's book binding. Search the scrapbooking aisles of your local craft department and you'll find albums with spiral, three-ring, strap-hinge and post bindings. Spiral types are usually the least expensive, but you can't add pages to this type of book. However, they're great for beginners, children and commemorating special occasions that require only a limited number of pages. Three-ring, strap-hinge and post bindings allow you to add pages to the album, increasing the capacity in ongoing scrapbook projects.
The Cutting Edge
Oh, the selection! Circle cutters, jumbo and miniature paper punches, valley-edge scissors, wavy-edge scissors, utility/craft knives, straightedge paper trimmers—so many choices can make a scrapbooker's head spin, but my, what wonderful results!
Cut perfect circles using a circle cutter without so much as lifting a pencil or pair of scissors. Cut or score perfectly straight lines just as easily with a straightedge paper trimmer that features a built-in ruler and grid for getting it just right. Make paper waves, valleys or mountains with specialty edging scissors that work just like pinking shears. And the punches! If you have an occasion, there's a punch out there with a shape designed especially for it. Or go freehand with scissors and a utility/craft blade to cut out design details.
Papers, Stickers and Die Cutouts
Acid-free paper is available in every color of the rainbow and a few colors that the rainbow has never seen. Paper comes plain, patterned and embellished with photographic images in a variety of sizes and weights. I found paper in plaids, stripes, marbleized, holiday themes and even sheets that looked like grass, clouds, fields of flowers, etc. You can buy it in single sheets, packages or bound in books. Most local craft stores have entire aisles dedicated to acid-free paper.
Regarding paper, I have one bit of advice—keep your scraps. You'll find tons of uses for them when embellishing pages. I store mine in a plastic see-through folder with a bound closure. That way nothing escapes and I can see what's inside without opening it up.
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