Scrapbooking What's it all About?

According to Wikipedia:

"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."

This is a great definition and a starting point to consider when first pondering what to collect in the beginning stage of starting a scrapbook.

It can be alot of fun to pull out the old photographs and to look through them. One of the wonderful things about the beginning phase is to get together with your extended family and enjoy time with them. "Hint" Bring over the photos that you put together and let Grandma or Grandpa take a look at them. The older people will remember people in photos that you might not have even had the pleasure to meet. In my own circumstances I've never had the pleasure to meet my great Aunts and Uncles and there families in England and regret that, however between my grandfather and my own parents they have been identified them in photos. So I feel like I know them! There's alot of power in photographs that brings back the memories and helps us to identify people we don't see much. It helps us to remember details about them even when we haven't seen them for years. These memories are imprinted in our minds and we need a way to keep the memories alive. Scrapbooking helps do just that since it's a way to collectively organize our memories so that we can tell the story visually and tactilely even after we aren't around. While we are around we can share these and have them speak for themselves. It's amazing how when the scrapbook comes out the room gets quiet till someone gets the warm fuzzies and starts recollecting things about the beautiful work you've done.

Have a wonderful day and may you get another step completed in your scrapbooking and enjoy the trip down memory lane with your fellow scrapbookers.