There's good reason why the scrapbooking craze is taking North America by storm. It's a creative, fun way to preserve memories for future generations to enjoy. But first, understand that scrapbooking today is nothing like the scrapbooks we made in school years ago. Contemporary scrapbooks mix and match photos and prints with digitally altered effects, memorabilia of all sorts, journaling and special embellishments. The scrapbooks themselves may be beautiful, elegant albums or cute, pop culture albums made of decorated chipboard or clear acrylic, or even albums hand made by the scrapbooker or scrapartist.

The memorabilia is not limited to photographs, but could also include such keepsake items as letters, greeting cards, passports, travel brochures, concert programs, invitations, menus, jewelry, pressed flowers from a corsage or perhaps even a small item such as a hand made doily or baby bib that you would like to preserve for posterity. If it's flat enough to attach, it's suitable to scrapbook.

Journaling is a key element in scrapbooking. Journaling refers to the title, words, explanations, thoughts and feelings that you record about your layout. You can journal by hand with special pens and pencils, you can print from your computer, you can stamp messages using alphabet stamps and inks, or you can use die cuts or stickers to put words together to form your message.

Embellishments are the items you use to decorate your page. Aesthetic rather than functional, they contribute to the page's beauty or mood that you are trying to achieve. Typical embellishments include eyelets and brads, fabric, ribbon, beads, lace, stickers, die cuts, paper flowers, metal hardware or frames, glitter, decorative objects created by techniques like quilling or iris folding, or any array of ready made embellishments available for purchase at any craft store.

Scrapbookers today tend to be a versatile bunch, choosing among traditional, paper scrapbooks, completely digital scrapbooks, or hybrid scrapbooks which combine both traditional and digital elements.

Preserving Your Photographs

Heats, humidity, light, smoke and time are natural enemies of photographs. Although the black and white photos that our grandparents produced had great lasting power, the colored photos popular today are less likely to survive the test of time.

The best solution is digital storage. So long as your storage media doesn't crash, burn or become obsolete, digital is forever. Even if you are using a film camera, most development services offer a digital disk along with your pictures. Storing digital photos has never been easier. Remember to backup and keep a spare copy.

If you have heritage photos, save the originals in a dark, dry storage area, and work with copies. Simply scan the original into the computer then print it out on glossy photography printer paper. Alternatively, take your originals out to a service offering laser photocopying .Photocopy the originals onto high quality glossy paper, and use these copies in your layouts. They duplicate the originals, plus you can enlarge them at the time of photocopying if desired.

If your snapshots are damaged and faded, technology has the answer. Scan your photograph into the computer, then use your image editing software to remove redeye, adjust the color tones and adjust brightness and contrast. You can also remove any unwanted objects that are marring the picture. If editing can't fix the color, simply convert the entire image to black and white, and then adjust the contrast as needed. You now have an elegant photograph that fits well with any color scheme you want to use in your scrapbook layout.

Remember to resize and crop your photographs digitally before printing them out. Why waste costly photographic paper and printer inks on photos that you later crop (cut and trim) by hand?

To preserve the life of your photographs substantially, spray the prints with a photographic preservative, available where photographic equipment is sold.

Journaling

Traditionalists argue that journaling should be done by hand, since your hand writing and hand written message is a significant aspect of the scrapbook project. Others say that digital journaling is a good solution for those whose handwriting is less than flowery. It's an individual choice.

Layouts

Whether your design your layouts personally, or whether you "scrap lift" ideas from scrapbooking magazines or blogs, your layout represents the scrapbook page and how you have chosen to incorporate the elements.

Unlike a photo album that contains miscellaneous photographs on a page, a typical scrapbook layout has a theme or focus. Whether it is introducing the new puppy or memories of your summer barbecue, the layout tells a story. The theme could also represent changes over time - such as Halloween costumes of the nineties, etc.

Your color choices play a key role in setting the mood of your layout. Scrapbook artists select papers, cardstocks and embellishments that compliment the colors in the photograph or alternatively, that represent the theme, such as using purple and yellow for an Easter layout. Another possibility involves converting the photos to black and white or sepia, then using any color selection desired, since these neutral colors work with everything

And finally, after scrapbooking your page, digitize it so you always have a record. If your scanner doesn't accommodate the layout size you've chosen, try taking a picture with your camera or web cam. Remember, digital is forever.