Modern day Scrapbooking

Modern day Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking experts would probably pinpoint the Christensen family's display of 50 family albums at the 1980 World Conference of Records in Utah as the starting point of the modern day scrapbook. Marielen Christensen, the family's matriarch, had begun scrapping in 1976 with sheet protectors inside loose leaf binders. The Christensens quickly capitalized on the interest their scrapbooks had created by writing the first modern day scrapbooking book, 'Keeping Memories Alive,' as well as founding the first modern day scrapbook retail store, The Annex in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1981. 

The Christensens, as well as many other Mormon families, are required by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to document their family history, so modern day scrapbookers can thank, in part, this mandate for the quick rise in popularity in modern scrapbooking. Many scrapping companies began, and are still based, in Utah because of the large Mormon population located there.

The traditional values scrapping emphasizes falls into line with other religions as well. Many scrappers, including many on this site, are Christian-minded and documenting their history, as well as their spirituality or spiritual journey, by way of regular scrapping and faithbooking. The co-founder of the scrapping company Creative Memories, Rhonda Anderson, wrote a how-to book on faithbooking, layouts or albums which specifically detail spiritual moments, lessons, or anything else deemed important enough to pass down, and several well known 'scrapping CEOs,' including Lisa Bearnson from 'Creating Keepsakes' and Sandra Joseph of Memories Expo, are known for their religious beliefs.

 The creation of the Internet has also played a major role in scrapping's evolvement into the most popular hobby in the United States as you can attest to since you are reading this either on POTH's website or in your e-mailbox! Once the average family could afford a personal computer and a connection to the Internet, millions of scrappers could connect on a daily basis with other scrappers around the nation and world to share ideas, tips and articles, and photos of their LOs by way of scanners or digital cameras. Hundreds, if not thousands, of scrapping stores popped up with ways for customers to purchase paper, embellishments, and accents with a click of the mouse and have it sent directly to their homes. Other websites popped up to promote scrapping by way of message boards and LO postings with room for comments or suggestions like twopeasinabucket.com, scrapjazz.com, or pagesoftheheart.net.

The latest major divergence from what we would now term 'traditional' scrapping has been the introduction of digital, or computer, scrapbooking into the hobby in the late 1990s. An article in 'Ancestry' magazine from 1999 begins to describe the different methods and computer programs used in digital scrapbooking, and it has only ballooned in popularity since that time. While scrappers have used the computer to print out journaling or clipart to attach to their otherwise paper layouts for a few years, digital scrapbooking, in its most inclusive form, is completely computer-created. The top three programs are Adobe's Photoshop and its more affordable sister program Photoshop Elements, Jasc's Paint Shop Pro, and Microsoft's Digital Image Pro although other programs from Corel and Ulead are growing in popularity as well. These digital layouts are either burned onto CD-Rs, compiled into digital albums that can be viewed on television screens or computer monitors, or printed off at home or at professional print shops to store in traditional albums.

EVOLUTION OF SCRAPBOOKING: IMPROVEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY

 EVOLUTION OF SCRAPBOOKING: IMPROVEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY

In 1826, the scrapbooking craze really took off with the publication of John Poole's 'Manuscript Gleanings and Literary Scrapbook while the year previous had seen the publication of a serial titled 'The Scrapbook' which defined a scrapbook as a blank book which held newspaper articles and pictures for preservation. The actual term 'scrapbook' had been coined just a few years earlier because of the bright pieces of paper left over from a printing job, or scrap, that people had begun to paste into their albums for decorative purposes.

Scrapbooks of this time period would have included calling cards, the decorated name cards men and women left at their friends' homes at the start of their visits or to indicate they had stopped by with the intention to visit, national advertising trade cards, religious cards with Biblical inscriptions, rewards of merit for good grades and good behavior for schoolchildren, and carte-de-visite photographs which are better known to us as postcards.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest supporters of scrapbooking during the late 1800s was the author Mark Twain! He loved the hobby so much that he devoted entire Sundays to the creation of his personal scrapbooks and even patented a series of scrapbooks in 1872 to be sold by Brentano's Literary Emporium in NYC as well as through the Montgomery Ward catalog. His scrapbooks contained alternating gummed and non-gummed pages with perforations on the non-gummed pages for easy removal. An article from the St. Louis Dispatch in June 1885 states that Twain made about $50,000 on his scrapbooks. In comparison, the sale of all his novels combined had netted him about $200,000.

The invention of photography, and its direct ancestors, obviously changed the art of scrapbooking forever as scrappers now had the means to capture scenes of their lives in a way that wasn't possible before with only printed media. Louis-Jacques Daguerre invented the daguerreotype in 1837, but it wasn't until 1839 that this process was made public, so the latter date is often given for the birth of photography. Others quickly refined and added to the evolution of photography with the invention of halftone plates and photo engraving in the last half of the nineteenth century until George Eastman marketed his Kodak camera and photographic rolled film in 1888 and completely revolutionized the entire photographic industry up to that point.

There was a sharp decline in scrapbook popularity around 1940 as photo albums were being mass produced and people began to focus on photography as a hobby, but luckily for us, the publication of Alex Haley's 'Roots,' a story which alleged to tell his family's history and autobiography back to eighteenth century Africa, in the mid-1970s as well as a surge in genealogical research gave rise to a renewed interest in scrapbooking and preserving family history in such a fashion.

BEGINNINGS OF SCRAPBOOKING: THE EARLIEST HISTORY

BEGINNINGS OF SCRAPBOOKING: THE EARLIEST HISTORY

The earliest known reference to what we would now call a scrapbook is from 1598, but the use of notebooks to collect information started much earlier during the time of Aristotle and Cicero. These men, and their pupils, used this earliest form of the scrapbook for philosophical, religious, and rhetorical discussions. The word 'album,' in fact, comes from Greco-Roman times when a praetor's public notices were recorded on paper tablets or white tables.

During the Renaissance, which took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the soon-to-be termed commonplace book came into its own as the period's overflow of information and culture needed a place to reside. An intense renewal of popularity in the study of Greek and Roman culture as well as the rise of libraries and philosophical schools such as Humanism provided the perfect opportunity for the creation of commonplace books as scholars and other literary-minded people copied their favorite passages or poems into blank books to create personal anthologies of works that had inspired or touched them.

In addition, Giorgio Vasari, an Italian author in the sixteenth century, advocated in his book of Italian artists the saving of prints and drawings by placing them in albums, a recommendation that influenced the creation of museums and libraries during that time period and a practice that continued to be popular in Europe up until the 1900s. The philosopher John Locke focused enough attention on the commonplace book in his 'New Method of Making Common-place Books' manual, published in 1706, to create a new and separate genre. His book discussed the proper technique for the preservation of proverbs, quotations, ideas, speeches, and other forms of written or spoken word that paved the way for the modern day idea of journaling.

In 1769, one of the direct predecessors to our modern day scrapbook was created when William Granger published a history of England with extra illustrations of his text as an appendix. Later, he expanded on his idea by including blank pages which readers could use to add in their own illustrations or prints as desired. This process, known as grangerizing, came to mean any book that was rebound into a different edition with new additional prints, letters, or other memorabilia. These types of books were also known as extra-illustrated books and achieved the most popularity during the 1800s.

Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, was one of the first well-known American scrappers, in a manner of speaking, as he saved newspaper clippings from and during his presidency into a series of albums for future reference. Other people during this time period saved notes, news articles and other clippings, illustrations, craft instructions, and even diary entries into homemade albums with wallpaper and cardboard covers. Some folks who could afford to 'waste' books in their collections actually pasted their ephemera, printed paper memorabilia like tickets or playbills,    

onto old book or catalog pages.By the early 1800s, albums had evolved into ones resembling those of today with embossed covers, engraved clasps, and locks. Along with Granger books and commonplace books, people in the 1800s kept diaries, journals, and friendship albums. Friendship albums were almost exclusively owned by women and kept a lady's favorite quotes, poems, calling cards, and hair weavings in one place. Hair weavings, which started in Germany, were intricate weavings of pressed ribbons and flowers into a friend's cut strands of hair to display in an album along with a poem or remembrance of that friend

industry statistics

industry statistics

Some people attribute the increased interest in scrapbooking to a renewed passion for genealogy, while others say that it is an outlet for those interested in photography and graphic design.

For evidence of the early increases in interest of scrapbooking, consider the following facts:[citation needed]

Over 4 million women in the United States alone consider themselves to be scrapbookers.

Over 4% of all women in U.S. have done traditional scrapbooking. With millions of others who do various aspects of photo books but who are not scrapbookers.

Scrapbooking is one of the largest categories within craft and hobby industry and now considered to be the third most popular craft in the nation. From 1996 through 2004, sales of scrapbooking products increased across the United States. Then in 2005, annual sales flatten at $2.5 billion for the first time after many back to back years of double growth. From 2006 through 2010

Traditional Scrapbooking sales have had a decline while digital forms of scrapbooking have grown. Traditional scrapbooking sales for 2010 have declined to about $1.6 billion in annual sales. During that same time frame the number of independent scrapbook stores declined from a high of 4,200 store fronts to its current level of about 1,200 independent scrapbook store fronts. The number of scrapbooking manufacturers also decline in that same period from a high of 800 to its current level of under 250.

Scrapbooking Materials An Example of A Digital kit

An example of a digital scrapbook kit

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. When scrap artists started moving away from the "page" and onto alternative surfaces and objectives, they termed these creations "altered items". This movement circles back to the history of art from the 1960s when Louise Nevelson was doing "Assemblages" with found objects and recycled parts.

Modern scrapbooking is done largely on 12 inch (30 cm) square or letter-size (US Letter (8.5 by 11 inch) or A4 (210 by 297 mm)) pages. More recently, smaller albums have become popular. The most common new formats are 6, 7, or 8-inch (15, 17.5, or 20 cm) square. It is important to many scrappers to protect their pages with clear page protectors.

Basic materials include background papers (including printed and cardstock paper), photo corner mounts (or other means of mounting photos such as adhesive dots, photo mounting tape, or acid-free glue), scissors, a paper trimmer, art pens, archival pens for journaling, 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. A lot of time people who enjoy scrapbooking will create their own background papers by using the tools mentioned along with "fancy" textured succors.

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, lace, wire, fabric, beads, sequins, and ribbon. The use of die cut machines is also increasingly popular; in recent years a number of electronic die-cutting machines resembling a plotter with a drag knife have hit the market(e.g. The Circuit), enabling scrappers to use their computer to create die cuts out of any shape or font with the use of free or third party software. Scrapbook makers will also use magazine clippings to "decorate" their scrapbook pages.

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. They also use pigment-based inks, which are fade resistant, colorfast, and often waterproof. Many scrappers use buffered paper, which will protect photos from acid in memorabilia used in the scrapbook. Older "magnetic" albums are not acid-free and thus cause damage to the photos and memorabilia included in them. Gloves, too, are used to protect photos from the oil on hands.

An international standard, ISO 18902, provides specific guidelines on materials that are safe for scrapbooking through its requirements for albums, framing, and storage materials. ISO 18902 includes requirements for photo-safety and a specific pH range for acid-free materials. ISO 18902 prohibits the use of harmful materials, including Polyvinyl chloride(PVC) and Cellulose nitrate.

Digital scrapbooking

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. 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. Some web-based digital scrapbooks include a variety of wallpapers and backgrounds to help the users create a rich visual experience. Each paper, photo, or embellishment exists on its own layer in your document, and you can reposition them at your discretion

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 layout capabilities. Because of the integrated design and order workflow, real hardcover bound books can be produced more cost effectively.

Early digital scrapbooks were created from digital photos uploaded to an external site. Over time, this moved to a model of downloading software onto a personal computer that will organize photos and help create the digital scrapbook.

 With the growth of Web 2.0 functionality, digital scrapbooking is going back online, to avoid the hassles of having to download and install PC software. The availability of cheap online storage (e.g., on Amazon's S3 service), and the desire to leverage pre-uploaded online albums (e.g., on Yahoo's Flickr) make it more convenient for users to directly compose their digital scrapbooks online. Print on demand fulfillment enables such digital scrapbooks to effectively supplant traditional scrapbooks.

Digital scrapbooking has advanced to the point where digital scrapbook layouts may be made entirely online using Web-based software. Users upload their photos, create a digital scrapbook layout using a Web page and digital scrapbook graphics. The layout can then be downloaded as a low-resolution JPEG file for sharing on the Web or as a high-resolution JPEG file for printing.

Using Colour

Using Colour

Using colour is one of my favorite parts of scrapbooking. Yet new scrappers often tell me they feel intimidated by it. They hear a phrase like “tertiary colors” and feel they need to take an art class or consult a color wheel before choosing their papers. That’s simply not true! If you can get dressed in the morning, you can choose the right colors for your page.

It’s All Personal

Part of picking colors will depend on your personal taste. I LOVE red, and choose it often for my pages (and for my cards, and clothes and throughout my home). You might be partial to blue, green or brown. You may love bright colors, or prefer more subtle earth tones. Go with your instincts. You’ll find the colors you love are easier and more fun to work with—and scrapbooking is, after all, about having fun.

My Colour-Picking Process

I always choose my paper based on colour. Don’t worry about finding a paper patterned with the perfect theme. I know scrappers who drive themselves crazy because they feel they can’t scrapbook those gymnastics photos on anything other than paper patterned with little gymnasts. It’s a very limiting way to approach scrapbooking, and will make the process very slow!

Instead, I choose a paper color that looks good with my photo. I’ll pick a few papers I like, then place the photo on top and see how it looks. Some papers automatically look great, and others don’t. If you can’t decide, stand up and look down at your paper and photo to get a different perspective, or walk away for a few minutes and come back to it.

The Importance of Photo Mats

I always mat my photos before putting them on my background paper—even if my background is a solid color, and especially if I’m using a patterned paper background. A mat is just a paper frame for your photo. Here’s how to do it: Glue your photo onto a solid paper, then trim a border around the edge of the photo. I leave anywhere from a 1/16” border to 1/2” border. A white or cream mat can help lighten dark photos, while a black or navy mat brightens light photos. You can use a colored mat, too—but when in doubt, black and white are always a safe bet.

Make Sure the Photo Stands Out 

Placing a dark photo on a dark background can look, well...dark. Slip a piece of light paper or cardstock underneath the photo as a temporary mat and see if that makes a difference. If not, opt for a lighter paper—and vice versa. If the colors in the photo are light, a dark background paper will make the picture stand out.

Match or Contrast the Background Colours in the Photo 

A child sitting on the grass will always look good on a green background paper. A photo with lots of blue sky will look great on a blue or gray paper. Conversely, another option is a paper that contrasts those colours.

Match or Contrast the Clothing Colours in the Photo

This tip follows the same principle of matching or contrasting. For example, a bride in a white dress will look beautiful on a white or a black background paper. If your photo has a lot of different (or clashing) colors, you can always change your color photo into black and white and put it with any paper you want! Changing color photos to black and white also helps minimize patterns or graphics on the subject’s clothing—it’ll tone down your brother-in-law’s Hawaiian shirt and the Little Mermaid on your daughter’s bathing suit.

Match the Mood of the Photo

Color is about conveying a message. A formal wedding looks terrific when scrapbooked with subtle colors, as do older heritage photos or formal portraits. Kids pages, however, are perfect on bright, colorful backgrounds that convey energy and excitement.

Colour Associations

Weave all experienced color association: Baby boys wear blue, little girls wear pink. Color association can make it faster and easier to choose scrapbooking paper, too. Don’t have Christmas paper for your holiday layout? Then pick a red and green plaid paper to evoke the theme instead!

Getting Warm, Staying Cool

When you start to feel comfortable with colours and patterns, you might start using “warm” and “cool” colors. “Warm” colours include red, orange, peach and yellow, while “cool” colors are blue, purple and teal. Warm colours generally look good together, as do cool colours.

If your background paper is brown, try a cream coloured paper as a photo mat instead of a stark white. Mat with the white when your background paper is a cool blue. And yes, you can combine warm and cool colours—there are exceptions to this rule! For example, red, white and blue look great together!

Naturally Neutral

Neutrals are the great basics of colour—those colors which don’t compete with other colors. White, off-white, grey, black and beige are all neutral colors and you can use these for just about any look or theme.

So you see—using colour is really just about what makes your photo look best. And you, after all, are the judge of what looks good on your page. Have fun, experiment and enjoy using color!