Making a baby scrapbook is a beautiful way to remember your child when he or she was so little. Scrapbooks are more personal, detailed, and elaborate than traditional photo albums. If you have more than one child, each one’s baby scrapbook can be a reflection of their unique personalities. If you are inspired by the idea of creating a baby scrapbook, here are some tips.
Gather Your Supplies
For those totally new to scrapbooking it’s necessary to gather supplies, and you might not know where to begin. You really don’t need anything terribly elaborate to get started; just paper, photos, scissors, and glue. But as you work, you may want to add some other supplies, such as:
* 3-hole punch
* Yarn or ribbon to tie the scrapbook pages together
* A commercially available scrapbook
* Card stock
* Stickers
* Calendar (to mark down when certain things happen so you have that information when you put the scrapbook together)
Make It Personal
Of course, marking milestones like first steps and first haircuts is fun and important; but don’t forget to make your baby scrapbook personal and unique. Dancing, funny facial expressions, and amusing phrases are just some of the things you can watch out for and document.
Choose a Theme and/or Design
To give a sense of unity and cohesion, it’s nice to pick a scrapbook theme. You can create this yourself, or choose a theme and template online or from a commercial scrapbook. Here are some ideas for a baby scrapbook theme:
* Flower garden
* Dance
* Animals/Pets
* Cars and Trucks
* Sports
* Princess
* Family Tree
* Nature
* Zoo
* Circus
* Religious
Be Choosy
When putting together your baby scrapbook, you will undoubtedly have more keepsakes than you know what to do with. A scrapbook can easily look messy and cluttered if you try to cram everything into it. Choose the most important items – you don’t need to put in notations from every doctor visit; maybe include information from the 6-month check-up and the 1-year check-up.
If your baby had/has special challenges, such as requiring physical therapy or overcoming a medical event, you may want to make notes of his or her progress in this regard. But again, be choosy and include only key memorabilia and milestones.
Set Aside Time to Work on the Scrapbook
Many times, creating a baby scrapbook is something you intend to do, but never quite get around to. Because babies require a lot of time, this is bound to happen if you don’t make some time each day or week to work on the scrapbook. Regularly working on the scrapbook also means you will be able to note details before you forget.
