Scrapbook Your Childhood Memories in a Memory Album

In today's scrapbooking tutorial I discuss how to scrapbook your childhood memories in a memory album or memory book. This is an overview of what you will need to consider to create scrapbooking pages about your early life and your family story. Along the way I give you lots of tips about journaling, photos and documenting your life.

Scrapbooking your childhood memories can be very powerful. Writing things down and looking at old photos is a trigger for many memories to come flooding back. How easy these memories can get lost in the busyness of our lives. Why not capture them in a childhood memory album and preserve those memories for yourself and future generations to enjoy?

Also consider scrapbooking past generations if you have some family photos you want to preserve. Documenting your family history is engaging and rewarding process and it is amazing what family secrets you might uncover. Remember you are an invaluable resource of the past and it pays to get these memories recorded for prosterity before they are lost. If you want to start a family history project I suggest you start on recording your childhood first and then move on to family history as a separate project.

Getting Started

1. Choose a 12x12 album or 8x8 inches for this project. Chances are you have lots of pictures you want to include and a smaller album will limit your photo choices too much.
   
   Physical Scrapbook vs Digital Scrapbook
   The assumption is that you will be making a physical scrapbook but of course you could decide to make a digital one instead. Or even better why not do both? Whatever format you choose you will need to decide on a standard size of your pages as a starting point.
   
   
   
   Black, White or Brown Pages
   Do you want black pages, white ones or maybe even natural looking brown ones? Black and white photos can look particularly good on black.
   
   Choose Acid Free Album and Pages
   Make sure whatever album and pages you choose they are acid free and of archival quality. Also the same goes for any pens and rubber stamping you use - the ink needs to be fade resistant and of archival quality.


2. Gather scrapbooking supplies together like cardstock and paper, embellishments, stickers, frames, brads, washi tape, tags etc. Some of these you may need to purchase if you have not done a lot of scrapbooking before. If you are completely new to keeping a scrapbook you might want to consider taking a class. A good place to start would be to ask at a scrapbooking store near you.
   
   
   
   Other scrapbooking supplies you will need are scrapbooking tools like pens, markers, ruler, scissors, double-sided tape or glue sticks, a cutter, cutting mat etc.
   
   You don't necessarily need to own all these items as you may be able to borrow these short-term from a fellow scrapbooker. If you do decide to buy scrapbooking supplies remember it is an investment in keeping memories alive for future generations and therefore worth the expense.


3. Create a timeline and place the most significant events of your life on it. Collect key photos that match various early life events and experiences. Very likely you will be presenting your album chronologically but consider other ways to catalogue your memories such as themes. I have seen some wonderful albums created using themes such as my school, my friends, family vacations, our house etc.



4. Keep a notebook and take time to jot down memories as they come to you. What stories do others tell about you? Did you have favorite ones as a child? You may need to ask other family members for their thoughts and ideas.
   
   
   
   Take the Time to Write Down Important Childhood and Family Memories
   Just make a start documenting in your notebook. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just get the memory down in the first instance. You can perfect the composition of it later if you think you need to. I encourage you to just write and don't filter too much. Often memories written this way have a way of sounding more authentic and heartfelt.
   
   Once you get started writing down your early history and and what was happening in your family you'll be surprised about how much comes back to you. Give this project some thought and the time it deserves after all you are investing in you. Use your photos as memory joggers. Concentrate on the remembering the 5 Ws: when, where, what, who and why.


5. Assemble photos, momentos and emphemera from Your Childhood
   While you are bringing together all your photos, momentos and emphemera from the past it is a good idea to store these in one place as you find them. Special storage boxes can be purchased that are achival safe for keeping old photos and other memorabilia for extended periods.
   
   
   
   Store Your Photos and Momentos Safely
   If you are using an old shoe box or chocolate box don't leave your precious photos in there too long as the paper will degrade over time. Be sure to store all your precious momentos in a dry place as mould is a killer. If you have photos in old plastic albums consider shifting these as you work on your family history project as gums and residues can be harmful to old photos.
   
   
   
   Types of Emphemera to Use of Scrapbooking Layouts
   Ticket stubs old programmes, cards, brochures, pamphlets, maps etc are all the types of emphemera that can be used in layouts but also they are invaluable sources of information about when an event occurred. By looking over any keepsake you have kept of that time you are likely to remember more.
   
   Document the Everyday Not Just the Big Events
   Remember that scrapbooking isn't just about scrapping the big events, its magic is as much about capturing the everyday too. So much is changing that within a couple of generations everyday life can be very different. Your stories represent an invaluable history and a snapshot of your life story. Other people especially future generations will be interested in what you have recorded.


6. Journaling tips to get you thinking about your childhood
   Think about some snapshot moments and describe some of these in detail. What stands out to you about growing up? What are some of your most sacred memories about your childhood? What were some of the everyday things you did? Paint a picture in words of what it was like for you.
   
   Compare and Contrast
   Comparing and contrasting is a good technique to use in scrapbook pages and memory journals about childhood memories. How is what you did back then different from today? Was it better or worse and why?
   
   
   
   Who Was Important to You? Who Influenced You?
   Think people. Who were the most influential people in your life and why were they important to you? Usually these people vary depending on ages and stages but there might be several people who have been stalwarts in your life all along. What do you value most about these relationships with others?
   
   Add Sentiment Not Just Facts
   Don't be afraid to talk about the feelings you have about your life experiences. What has happened to you has shaped who you are today. Let others know about what has challenged you too. What achievements are you proud of. What would you do differently if you could do it all over again.


7. Journaling Prompts to Help You Write Stories, Sketches and Snippets from Your Childhood
   Scrapbooking is about a cohesive mix of photos, journaling and embellishments. Your journaling is a key element in presenting your own history or your family's history. Try not to focus too much on how something looks on the page at the expense of telling the story.
   
   Here are some journaling prompts to use as starters in scrapbooking childhood memories:
   
   

   Your earliest memory, your house(s), your room, holidays and vacations, schools, neighbours, family members, friends, favourite hobbies and pasttimes, achievements, clubs, sports, memorable people, favourite foods, favourite songs, favourite toys and belongings, favourite clothes.


If you want more journal prompts to help you record your childhood and growing up take a look at my mega list of 85+ journal prompts for scrapbooking childhood memories which you could use in scrapbooks, memory books, bullet journals, year books etc.




8. Bringing your childhood memories together on the page
   Once you have thought about journaling, picked out some photos on the same theme and have borrowed or purchased your scrapbooking supplies it's time to start putting these altogether in layouts.
   
   Consider the Mood You Want to Create
   Think about the overall theme of the photos and what mood you want to convey eg whimsical, retro etc. Select cardstock and papers that match your theme and the colors in your photos.
   
   Avoid Overusing Embellishments
   Choose your embellishments carefully. Usually 3-5 embellishments per page is ample. The job of embellishments is to enhance your photos and journaling not detract from them. As a rule of thumb simple is best.
   
   Consider doing a Dummy Run to Boost Your Confidence
   If you find it hard to get started perhaps because you lack confidence or are relatively new to scrapbooking then my advice is to just start somewhere and trust the process. If you are really unsure consider doing some practice runs by making a few mockup pages using photocopies or copies of your precious photos and keepsakes. This will help you to get a feel for how you like elements arranged on a page and give you rein to let your own personality and style come through.
   
   Photo Scan and Collage Apps
   Photo Scan is an example of one app for mobile that can be very useful in taking scans of your old photos so that you can print them out at a photo booth or order photos online.
   
   
   
   Collages can be a way of getting more photos on the page. There are plenty of photo editing and collage apps available to help you to make the most of displaying your photos effectively and attractively. The LiPix app is simple but useful app available for both Apple and Android users for creating collages for scrapbooking photos as you can set popular photo sizes and it offers a nice range of frames where you can add up to 9 photos in one frame.
   
   
   
   Extra Journaling Solutions
   If you find you need to do extra journaling consider adding a pocket to the page or adding an insert that gives you freedom to write more. There are some clever ways to get more journaling on the page such as attaching a photo with washi tape on one side only which can conceal extra journaling underneath.
   
   Extra Emphemera and Momentos
   If you have more emphemera than you can fit on your pages try adding a large pocket to the front or back cover of your album to store additional items or memorabilia that is too large to fit on your memory layout. Pockets on the pages are also useful if you don't have the room to display all your momentos.
   
   Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes - Perfection isn't the Goal
   Most importantly have fun with your scrapbooking childhood memories layouts. They do not have to be perfect. Remember it is the story they tell which is much more important.
   
   You will make mistakes and that is part of the process of scrapbooking. Give yourself permission to make mistakes right now or you run the risk of not starting or getting stalled in the process.
   
   

#scrapbooking #memoryjournal #easytoscrapbook #memorybook

This scrapbooking article has provided some practical information and advice to get you started on scrapbooking a memory album of your childhood. It has provided an overview of albums, scrapbooking supplies, photo storage, timelines, journalling tips and prompts, using momentos and scrapbooking memory layouts. If you enjoyed this article and want to see more like this consider sharing it and following me on social media or via email.

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