Baby Book Scrapbooking For New Moms
Sep 14th, 2006 by wwaddell
Baby Book Scrapbooking For New Moms
Author: Wes Waddell
Before the new baby is born, your tired, can’t sleep and never can get comfortable because of the weight and stress that the temporary second resident is placing on your body. Then, as new parents you are still sleep-deprived, exhausted and just so busy changing diapers and washing bottles to get the much needed rest your body is craving. I would guess that one of the last things on your mind would be to start your new child’s baby book scrapbook.
But, I feel it’s necessary to point out that time doesn’t exactly stand still even if it seems like you will never get a good nights sleep again when you are up for another 3AM feeding. But, the real truth is that your baby is growing up fast and all too soon, you will wish that you had preserved many more of those priceless newborn memories.
That said, here’s a few simple ideas on how you can start your first baby book scrapbook:
The first thing you will want to do, especially if you have never done this before is to join a baby scrapbooking class or club. If there isn’t one specifically for baby books in your area, then any traditional or computer scrapbooking group will do. You can even take scrapbook classes online now. If you decide to save time and money by taking advantage of the popular new online digital scrapbooking techniques, then the best FREE course I know of is at: www.ComputerScrapbookTraining.com. They have everything you need to go from beginner to intermediate computer scrapbooker. They even use totally free software in the course to teach you how to create the most beautiful scrapbook pages around. Like A lot of other online scrapbooking sites, they also have monthly newsletters with new techniques updates that can be delivered right to your email box. So, for only the cost of your time, you will learn the latest new digital or computer scrapbook techniques that will help you get a jump start on your new baby book.
Digital is sooooo much faster than traditional hand scrapping and you can start and stop on your own limited time schedule. Best of all, everything you need is contained on your computer, so there’s little or no mess to clean up.
Next, let’s talk about books and magazines. There are several books and magazines that can really help you get started and stay up to date with the newest trends and techniques. These books may be purchased online or at most any local craft supply store. I would recommend starting out with Digital Scrapbooking and Memory Makers magazines. They are a really small investment when you consider the knowledge they provide in each issue. You’ll also get some great ideas on layouts, color combinations and even journaling in your baby books. You can also visit digital scrapbook sites such as www.PrincessCrafts.com and www.TwasTheNightScrapbook. Their ideas and easy to use templates make fast work of your first custom baby book or holiday story book scrapbook projects.
If you haven’t started already, it’s time now to begin gathering your supplies. It’s preferable to do this well before your due date. That way, you can create the pregnancy scrapbook pages for your baby’s book and have them done before the baby is even born. You’ll also find that getting started before the new little bundle of joy (read: time consumer) is born, makes it possible to plan many of the pages ahead of time while you have the time to think clearly. If you happen know the gender of your child to be, start to purchase products that will color coordinate appropriately for that gender. Boys’ pages can be harder to find at times and starting early gives you plenty of time to look around and plan the themes you want and not just what you can find at the time.
You can purchase paper and accents before the baby arrives to make it easier to put your pages together. There are online stores that actually sell full kits that are geared to the gender of your child. You can purchase these and have them delivered right to your door. Better solutions in today’s world of digital scrapbooks are sites such as www.BabyScraps.com, a membership site. Sites like this let you purchase a single membership granting you full access to the entire site and all it’s templates. In this way you still get your computer scrapbook supplies in advance, but they have scrapbook page templates that work well with either gender at all times.
For those of you that haven’t quite gotten around to your first child’s baby book scrapbook yet and now number two is about to join you… it’s the perfect solution to getting both genders at the same time. You’ll also find that printing your own papers is also a lot cheaper than using pre-printed pages from the store. Depending on your printer, you can print your own papers on card stock for as little as 10 cents a page. But that’s a whole other subject.
Let’s get back on track here.
As you begin to document this historic event with photos, you’ll find that it will save hours of your time later if you begin sorting them now as you take pictures. Purchase a cheep album or file fold organizer if you are taking photographs and having them printed for hand scrapping later. This way, you can sort and keep you pictures in the file until you are ready to add them to your baby book scrapbook. You can choose to organize by season, month or what ever works for you. And, you’ll always know that they are at your finger tips and ready when you are ready to start.
For those of you that have a new digital camera and are choosing to take advantage of digital scrapbook pages, you can do the same sorting in advance by placing your images into file folders on your computers hard drive or on a CD. As important as these new photo images are, you may want to even consider doing both… just to make sure they are safe.
The key to a perfect baby book scrapbook. Keep a personal journal handy. Keeping a journal within easy reach at all times is the best way I know of to accurately remember why each photo memory moment was so special. In this way, you have an easy way to remember the smallest little detail when it’s time to finally create your new baby scrapbook page.
Here’s what I recommend you do. Jot down little notes in your journal as life’s little moments occur, especially if you weren’t able to capture the moment on film or digital photo card. Next, as soon as possible after you get your pictures back, right a few things down in your journal that you remember or put them right on the back of the photo print with a felt pen (acid free). If you are taking digital images, you can comment on the image file itself or use the file name and your journal to take a few more key notes for later use in your baby book scrapbook. This way, there’s a lot less chance of forgetting the any of the little memories that so easily get away from us.
As you begin to plan and actually create your new baby book scrapbook, look for little shortcuts. Again, remember that there are several online sites and stores that sell ready-made scrapbooking kits. Even better are the new digital scrapbook page template membership sites such as www.BabyScraps.com that we mentioned before. Everything you need at one low price no matter how many baby book pages you end up creating. And, unlike pre-printed baby books, the page you create yourself cover all the events you want to remember. Nothing is left out and there is nothing extra to leave blank. Then, should you want it as a real hardbound book, BabyScraps.com is affiliated with www.RealBook-Scrapbooks.com. Together, they are teamed to give you the perfect custom baby book scrapbook as either your own hand made heirloom or as a real heirloom quality hardbound book. All you need is a few pictures and embellishments to make a wonderful layout that you and your child will treasure and pass down for generations to come.
Time is your most precious asset. You will need to carve out some time to actually make this baby book a reality. You should always classify your baby book scrapbooking time as your personal investment in preserving your family memories. You’ll treasure all the rest of your life having those special moments captured and preserved! Especially when they are finally grown and leaving the nest to be on their own for the very first time.
Last, but also most important, it’s time to put it all together. You should, by now, have all your digital or hand scrapped supplies, pictures (printed and/or digital) and your journaling notes all ready to go. Now take them and experiment a little… have some fun. Remember, the cutting, pasting and layout (if you are doing slow traditional hand scrapped pages) does not have to be perfect - your memories are what’s important here. And, if you are using the new digital scrapbook capabilities… it costs nothing to experiment and play all you want. Because until you hit the print button you have nothing to lose. Not to mention that multiple copies of each baby book scrapbook are just another print button away when it’s digital.
Digital or Computer Scrappers will also find that they can place the books on CDs and DVDs to share with family and friends. You can even put your digital baby book scrapbook pages up on the internet if you choose to. I personally can’t wait to see what else technology comes up with for digital scrapbooker in the not to distant future.
That’s it… as you might have noticed, I’m a digital scrapbook fan. While my wife, Kathy, and I have in the past created scrapbooks the old traditional hand scrapped way, we haven’t hand scrapped a page in more than three years now. There’s just so much more we can do when it’s digital. And, with our Cannon i9900 large format printer, we can create pages up to 13×17 inches with no borders. If you haven’t given digital a try yet, you’re really missing out on some great ways to share your families best memories.
One last note: Digital isn’t an all or nother proposition. It’s anything you need it to be and it’s the best of both worlds if that’s what you want it to be. Print your journaling and embellishments or just your background papers and then hand scrap the rest. It’s totally up to you how far you take it. It’s what scrapbooking has always aspired to be. Easy, fast and no mess to clean up when you’re done.
About the author: Wes and Kathy own and operate multiple digital scrapbook membership sites, including: BabyScraps.com Membership offers much more than just scrapbook templates, it’s help when you need it and a friendly push to keep you on track. Visit MyPrincessCrafts.com for details on all our Scrapbook membership sites.
Wes
www.TwasTheNightScrapbook.com
www.ComputerScrapbookLayouts.com
5505 Whipshaw Rd.
Peyton, CO 80831
(877) 751-6368
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