Scrapbooking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scrapbooking is a method for preserving a legacy of written history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabilia contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks. Historically, scrapbooking was a tradition similar to storytelling, but with a visual and tactile, rather than oral, focus.
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[edit] History and overview
Scrapbooking in its earliest form was a way to blend ephemera, memorabilia collections and journaling. People have been scrapbooking since printed material became available to the average person. Some of the earliest and most famous American scrapbookers include Thomas Jefferson[1] and Mark Twain[1]
Scrapbooking with photographs has been around since photos became available to ordinary people. Old scrapbooks tended to have photos mounted with photomount corners and perhaps notations of who was in a photo or where and when it was taken. They often included bits of memorabilia like newspaper clippings, letters, etc. Modern scrapbooking has evolved into creating attractive displays of photos, text, journaling and memorabilia.
As of August, 2006, the commercial scrapbooking industry celebrated 25 years of existence, as started by Marielen (pronounced "Mary Ellen") W. Christensen of Keeping Memories Alive, the world's first scrapbooking store (which then had a different name), headquartered in Spanish Fork, Utah, USA, in 1981.
Scrapbooking as an industry has its roots in 1976, when Christensen began designing creative pages for her family's photo memories. She inserted her memory pages into a new product called sheet protectors and placed them inside 3-ring binders. By 1980, she had assembled over fifty volumes of family memories, and was invited that year to display her albums and demonstrate her concept at the World Conference on Records in Salt Lake City. That conference opened the door to a massive interest in memory book design in the United States, and Christensen was invited to give seminars and teach classes to countless groups, including Brigham Young University's Campus Education Week and numerous church, civic and school groups. During the following 25 years, she lectured continually throughout the Intermountain West.
In addition to her many lectures, Marielen and her husband AJ authored and published the first how-to book on organizing and preserving family memories, called Keeping Memories Alive. Not only were they the founders of the first scrapbook store in 1981 and later name it after this book in 1993, the Christensens began a mail-order division in the back of the building. The business grew very quickly by word of mouth and had to move its warehousing to a larger facility in 1994, and its shipping department to a larger one in 1998.
During the fall of 1993, Keeping Memories Alive opened the first wholesale division in the scrapbook industry providing other stores with a source to purchase all of their scrapbook products at one place. This step helped move the industry forward as small scrapbook stores began opening up all over the United States.
As scrapbooking became more well-known, people were searching for new, fresh ideas on how to preserve their own memories. As a result of many requests from customers, Marielen Christensen authored and published the first idea book for scrapbookers in March of 1995.
In the United States, Scrapbooking as a hobby has taken off in recent years, possibly in part because of its first commercial website. Another reason may be the strong social network that scrapbooking can provide.[2] It is now a multi-billion-dollar industry with a large number of companies creating scrapbooking products. Across the world, "scrappers" or "scrapbookers" get together and scrapbook at each other's homes, local scrapbook stores, scrapbooking conventions, retreat centers, and even on cruises. Scrappers share tips and ideas as well as enjoying a social outlet. The term "crop," a reference to cropping, or trimming, printed photographs, was coined to describe these events. This hobby has in the US surpassed golf in popularity: one in four households has someone playing golf; one in three has someone involved in scrapbooking.[citation needed]
In the late 1990s, many scrappers in the US opened stores to turn their hobby into a business. Within approximately 5 years, many of those stores were forced to close due to a downturn in the economy and the fact that many store owners mistakenly assumed that loving to scrap was enough to run a retail store.[citation needed] Many owners simply didn't know how to run their stores. During this time, more multi-level direct sales companies were formed. Several were closed due to mismanagement, while others weathered the tough times. It also gave rise to a new breed of business - the home-based retailer. Companies arrived to provide information for women who wanted to break out of the direct sales mold and go out on their own. While vendors had traditionally stayed away from the home-based market due to fraud, they began to warm to the idea of the non-traditional sales channels as a way to get their products in front of more consumers through home parties and workshops. Working with a company like this enabled them to tap into legitimate home-based retailers.
Originally, it was hard to find scrapbooking supplies, but now most major discount stores and almost all major craft supply stores in the United States stock them. Local scrapbook stores (hereafter referred to as LSSs) are considered the heart and soul of the hobby of scrapbooking by some enthusiasts.[citation needed] LSSs are where one can attend classes and find out where the best "crops" are. Supplies can also be ordered online or ordered from a home-based retailer. Some of these sell products through a multi-level direct sales company while others are independent and may be part of a business group. Many local suppliers offer instructional classes.[citation needed] Scrapbooking is not only a hobby to create a place for one's keepsakes, but also has become a popular way to make gifts for weddings and other special occasions.[citation needed]
Many people opt to make their own gifts of scrapbook art, while others hire a [Professional Scrapbooker][2] There is plenty of online help for those who wish to go it on their own, while those with less time need simply do a google search for scrapbookers in your area.
[edit] Scrapbooking materials
The most important scrapbooking supply is the album itself, which can be permanently bound, or allow for insertion of pages. There are other formats, such as mini albums and accordion-style fold-out albums. Some of these are adhered to various containers, such as matchbooks, CD cases, or other small holders.
Modern scrapbooking is done largely on 12"×12" or 8½×11" pages. More recently smaller albums have become very popular. The most common new formats are 6"×6", 7" x 7", or 8"×8".
Basic materials include background papers, photo corner mounts (however, there are many more choices than just photo corner mounts - zots, sticky dots, glue sticks that are acid-free, etc...), scissors, art pens, and mounting glues (like thermo-tac). More elaborate designs require more specialized tools such as die cut templates, rubber stamps, craft punches,stencils, inking tools, eyelet setters, heat embossing tools and personal die cut machines.
Various accessories, referred to as "embellishments," are used to decorate scrapbook pages. Embellishments include stickers, rub-ons, stamps, eyelets, brads, chipboard elements in various shapes, alphabet letters and ribbon. The use of die cut machines is also increasingly popular; in recent years an electronic die-cutting machine, similar to a printer, can be connected to one's computer to cut any shape or font.
One of the key components of modern scrapbooking is the archival quality of the supplies. Designed to preserve photographs and journaling in their original state, materials encouraged by most serious scrapbookers are of a higher quality than those of many typical photo albums commercially available. Scrappers insist on acid-free, lignin-free papers, stamp ink, and embossing powder, and pigment based inks, which are fade resistant, colorfast, and often waterproof. Older "magnetic" albums were not acid-free and thus caused damage to the photos and memorabilia included in them.
In addition to the collection of photographs, tickets, postcards, and other memorabilia, journaling is an essential element in modern scrapbooks. More than just dating photographs, contemporary journaling is often reflective and story-like, or can take on a more reportive tone. Whatever the style of journaling that the scrapbooker chooses to implement, journaling is considered a priority in the completion of a scrapbook layout, second only to the photographs themselves.[citation needed] The importance of journaling lies in the fact that they provide an accounting of family histories that may otherwise not be preserved.
[edit] Digital scrapbooking
The advent of scanners, desktop publishing, page layout programs, and advanced printing options make it relatively easy to create professional-looking layouts in digital form. The internet allows scrapbookers to self-publish their work, even if it is just for a readership of one. Scrapbooks that exist completely in digital image form are referred to as "digital scrapbooks," or "computer scrapbooks."
While some people prefer the physicality of the actual artifacts they paste onto the pages of books, the digital scrapbooking hobby has grown in popularity in recent years. Some of the advantages include a greater diversity of materials, less environmental impact, cost savings, the ability to share finished pages more readily on the internet, and the use of image editing software to experiment with manipulating page elements in multiple ways without making permanent adjustments. A traditional scrapbook layout may employ a background paper with a torn edge. While a physical page can only be torn once and never restored, a digital paper can be torn and untorn with ease, allowing the scrapbooker to try out different looks without wasting supplies.
Furthermore, digital scrapbooking is not limited to digital storage and display. Many digital scrappers print their finished layouts to be stored in scrapbook albums. Others have books professionally printed in hard bound books to be saved as keepsakes.
Professional printing- and binding-services offer free software to create scrapbooks with professional layouts and individual layouting capabilities. Because of the integrated design and order workflow, real hardcover bounded books can be produced very cost effectively german scrapbook manufacturer.
Many digital scrapbook hobbyists employ kits, or collections of matching backgrounds and other coordinating elements. Those who create the kits are considered by scrapbookers as digital artists. Some of the more elaborate kits are available for purchase, while others can be downloaded for free.
Many paper scrapbookers make their first foray into digital scrapbooking by printing out digital elements to use in their layouts.
[edit] Journaling
Journaling is the term that refers to the writing that describes, explains, or accents the photographs on a scrapbook page. Many consider journaling one of the most important elements of any scrapbook. There exists a love/hate relationship between scrappers and journaling, although capturing cherished memories is the desire many have difficulty expressing themselves or simply hate their handwriting. Journaling is a personal choice and it can describe the event, the photographs, or relate feelings and emotions. Additional ideas for journaling include song lyrics, quotes, poems. Handwritten journaling is considered best by some scrapbookers, but in this digital age, many people journal on the computer and print it onto a variety of surfaces including vellum, tape, ribbon, and paper.
[edit] How to scrapbook
There are no hard and fast rules to scrapbooking as it is considered an artform. Typically, the more creative and resourceful the person, the better the page. Some prefer pages where the photograph is the central element and embellishments are minimally applied, others include a variety of embellishments to add to the design. This is a personal choice, each can be effective and create stunning designs. Embellishments may include small, two-dimentional items such as ticket stubs from the theater, love notes from a special someone, or newspaper clippings. Items such as brads or eyelets can be used instead of tape or glue to adhere pictures or papers or be used decoratively. Additional elements may include quilling, decorated die cuts and flowers (punched, dried, and artificial).
Generally, the focus of the page is the photograph or photographs. It is best to stick with one to three good photos when starting out. The page is then decorated and embellished with items only limited by the creator's imagination.
Some of the basic scrapbooking tools include:
- Acid-free and lignin-free papers
- Acid-free tape
- Acid-free glue
- Archival marker or pen
- Scissors, or some cutting instrument
- Photographs
With the popularity of scrapbooking growing every day, there are more and more resources available to the amateur and professional scrapbooker alike. Digital scrapbooking is in its infancy, but shows great promise as the medium of the future for scrapbooking enthusiasts. Scrapbooking can be very easy to anyone who wants to give it a try. Acid-free products are encouraged to prevent the pictures from turning brown.
[edit] References
- ^ Turner, Emily (1999, Sep 30) Scrapbooks Shed Light on Jefferson. The Cavalier Daily.
- ^ Murphy, K. (2003, December 28) Catering to a Love Affair with the Past. New York Times, p. BU4
