Displaying Family Memories Through Scrapbook Frames

Scrapbook frames make for great opportunities not just to display treasured family memories but also your creativity. With a single page of patterned paper, you can highlight a single picture or tell a story with a number of pictures and insert your own notes and sense of design.

Display family memories through scrapbook pages that are framed as homage to your family’s history. These memories include special occasions such as graduations, birthdays, family holiday celebrations and weddings. These can also include your family’s everyday life – your children’s hobbies or sports activities. You can make this yourself or have the kids help out.

Here’s how you can create your own scrapbook frame:

• Decide on the theme of your page. What would you like to capture in a single scrapbook page? It should be simple enough so that a page can tell a cohesive story. As mentioned above, this can feature a special family occasion, or, you can feature a specific member of the family, showcasing his personality, likes, pets and passions.
• Choose your frame. Depending on the theme of your page, choose a simple frame or one that complements your scrapbook page. You can get a vintage picture frame, ideally one that has a rectangular or square shape. The frame should be wide enough to accommodate the page and so that you do not have to cram your design elements in a small space. If you are planning on using some 3-dimensional design elements, you can also use display cases or shadow box frames. With shadow box frames, you can include precious mementos with your photos.
• Choose your pictures. When you have decided on the theme, it is much easier to choose your photos. You can decide to have just one picture and add embellishments and your notes. You can also choose at most four pictures for each page. This allows you with enough space to provide each photo with its own paper frame and decorations. When choosing the pictures, consider how they can be pieced together. The pictures should also possess qualities that make them good pictures – composition, color and impact.
• Pick your scrapbooking materials. The great thing about scrapbooking is that there are a lot of materials available. This includes patterned papers, matting boards, cut-outs, stickers, sequins, beads and buttons, as well as equipment to cut and design paper – plinking scissors, cutters and embossers. Select materials that complement it each in terms of color and design. You can also include matting for your photos to delineate it with the rest of the page. This matting is ideally made from a solid color that complements the page as a whole. The matting can have one layer or more. An additional decorative element would be your journaling, which can add clarity to the story and add a personal touch to the scrapbook page, especially if the journaling is made in your own handwriting.
• Plan your page. Move your pictures and embellishments about to get the ideal layout. Do not glue anything before you have planned the whole page. The photos can overlap, as long as the page as a whole is visually connected. Also, be sure to fill the center of the page, where the eye naturally goes to.
• Hang the framed scrapbook page. Because of the size needed for the frame, the finished work is usually hung from a wall. Be sure that the hanging mechanism is strong enough to support the weight of the frame and its contents.