By Tracy Ballisager
You've seen them before. Adorable ABC baby scrapbooks with that extra special handmade quality satisfy any creative eye. Each page is its own entity, gleaming with color and style, displaying a memory from a child's life. Wouldn't you just love to have your own masterpiece of scrapbooking bliss? Read on to find out how easy it is to make an alphabetical scrapbook.
Getting Started
To begin any project like this, the best place to start is with the general idea or theme. The ABC concept may seem quite simple, but the greatest way to pull it off is to establish a list. Each page in your book will represent a different letter of the alphabet (and a different moment in your child's life), so you want to get the framework down before you start cutting and pasting.
The next step is gathering all of your materials. While the creation of your scrapbook may be daunting, the challenge will intensify if you leave out an important picture or memento. Browse through all of your pictures and decide which ones will fit best into each page of your book. This might also help you if you were stuck on page ideas! To keep everything organized, you can easily label Ziploc bags with each letter of the alphabet and store the items for each page in a bag. That will prevent confusion and help ease the whole ordeal.
Once you start attaching items to your scrapbook pages, think consistency. Because each of these pages will eventually go into one large book, you want to make sure that the side-by-side pages will match (lay them out next to each other, match the paper, etc.). You also want to be sure that your pages are all attached to one major theme: your child. If you're putting a large letter to represent the alphabet on one page, put it on every page. The same goes for any special writing or description. Putting a pattern into your design will give the book a more professional look - and it will be beautiful to look at!
The final step is to go with your heart. After all, this is a project that will be cherished for years to come. And, if your child is old enough, let them join in the fun by creating artwork for the pages.
- A- Animal Time
- B- Bath Time, Birthday
- C- Cuddle Time, Copy Cat
- D- Diaper Duty, Dance Time
- E- Easter, Entertainer
- F- Fun Time with Friends
- G- Grandma and Me
- H- 1st Haircut
- I- Itty Bitty, I Love You
- J- Jack in the Box, Jumping Bean
- K- Karaoke Time, King (baby's name)
- L- Larger Than Life, Learning to Read
- M- Mommy and Me, 1st Meal
- N- Newborn, Nursery Rhymes
- O - Oh Baby
- P- Papa and Me
- Q- Quirks and Quips, Queen (baby's name)
- R- Reading Time, Rub a Dub Dub
- S- Snack Time
- T- 1st Tooth
- U- Unique You
- V- 1st Vacation, Valentine
- W- 1st Words
- X- XS Package, XMAS
- Y- Yummy in My Tummy, Yuck (Foods baby doesn't like)
- Z- Zoo Trip, ZZZ Bed Time
About the Author:
Tracy Ballisager is a stay-at-home mum who writes about scrapbooking and gardening.