If you are like most people, you have many photographs of wonderful vacations, major milestones in your children’s lives, and times you want to remember and treasure.  So often though, those pictures remain hidden from view, whether on a memory card or printed out and stashed away.  Why not feature them?  Scrapbooking has become a great escape for many busy moms and a creative way to document their family life.

Scrapbooking is a fun, rewarding hobby to have.  There are no strict rules on how to preserve your cherished postcards, pictures, notes and other treasures and there is no need to break the bank to do so.  Stickers remain the easiest and cheapest means of sprucing up pictures, which can be cut into a variety of shapes using fancy cutting scissors. Don’t be afraid to use quotes from magazines, or rubber stamps to create a unique display of your memorabilia.  Craft stores are filled with unique, themed scrapbooking paper.

To get started, take a few moments to organize yourself.  One trick is to separate memorabilia into envelopes with notes jotted on the envelope to be included later when working on your project.  Envelopes can be stored in a shoebox until you are ready to work on that page. 

Scrapbooking clubs abound!  Think about joining or forming one for some inspiration, socialization, and motivation.  Working with others can improve your skills, increase your repertoire of techniques and allow you to share materials. 

Want to get started but not sure how?  Locally, Marilyn SanClemente runs Stamping Up!  which has many different options for beginners and experts alike.  Drop in to “Open Stamp and Scrapbook” on Wednesdays from 10 am to 3pm while the kids are in school or join an evening group.  For more information regarding scrapbooking, check out the local site, www.stampwithmarilyn.com.