Scrapping Green: Earth Happy Scrapbooking
One of the disadvantages of paper scrapbooking is that it requires a substantial amount of material. Each page requires a piece of paper or card stock for the background, plus paper used for die cuts, frames and other embellishments. Then there are the non-paper embellishments, and let’s not forget the scrapbook cover. The finished product is worth the money spent, but it can also have an impact on the environment.
Fortunately, there are environmentally responsible scrapbook materials available. Read on to find out how you can keep on scrap booking without feeling guilty about all of the materials you’re using.
Recycled Paper
When we think of environmentally responsible scrapbook supplies, the first thing that usually comes to mind is recycled paper. It’s certainly a step in the right direction, because recycling paper saves trees. But when you purchase recycled paper products, it’s crucial to know what you’re buying.
The most important consideration when buying recycled paper is how much of it is actually recycled. Each package should list the percentage of recycled materials that were used in the paper’s manufacture. The higher the percentage, the better. But it’s also important to know the percentage of post-consumer waste used. This is paper that has been recycled after it has hit the market and been used, as opposed to pre-consumer waste, which is scraps created when cutting the paper during manufacturing. Pre-consumer waste is almost always reused by manufacturers, so it’s not recycling in the traditional sense.
Another important consideration is the type of ink is used to print these papers. Many inks can be harmful to the environment. Look for vegetable or soy-based inks, which are environmentally safe.
Doing Your Own Recycling
Using recycled paper is an excellent start when you’re trying to be good to the environment in your scrapbooking. But using items that you would have otherwise thrown away can both help the environment and save you money. It takes some imagination, but there are lots of things you can reuse in your scrapbooks. These include:
- Maps - Maps are great for matting and backdrops. You can also cut out the states or countries you went to on vacation and incorporate them into memory pages.
- Wrapping paper and trimming - You can make all sorts of nice embellishments out of wrapping paper. And ribbons are a staple for most scrapbookers, so hanging onto the ones you receive with gifts makes a lot of sense.
- Greeting cards - Not only can you cut out the handwritten notes and add them to a page for a personal touch, you can also cut out pretty illustrations and verses to use like die cuts.
- Used containers - Boxes, paper cups, and other containers that would normally be tossed in the garbage can be reused in scrapbooking with a little creativity. Gift boxes with pretty designs can be cut to make photo mats, and paper cups from fast food restaurants often have promotional designs that you can cut out and use.
Reusing items and buying recycled scrapbook materials can greatly reduce your scrap booking hobby’s impact on the environment. But it’s also important to recycle everything you can, including your waste paper. Doing these things might require a little more time and effort, but the benefits to Mother Earth are worth it.
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Scrapbooking Ideas For Your Kids Artwork
If you are like me, you have lots of great pieces of artwork your kids created espacially for you. And while you’d love to keep them all, they are just too hard to store. If this sounds like you, it’s time you devised a plan to incorporate all of them into one neat and compelling work of art. Here are some ideas for all that artwork your kids made for you.
If you can find a larges enough to accommodate the artwork, why not set up a collage and frame them proudly? You can also set up a portfolio of your child’s artwork by purchasing an artist’s book. In this way, the artwork will not become damaged over the years, and can be stored in a safe area in your home.
Another idea is to develop a theme scrapbook based upon your child’s artwork. You can organize the album alphabetically or by genre. Whichever you prefer, this will be a fun project for both you and your kids.
Perhaps you’d like to start scrapbooking your child’s artwork by incorporating his or her picture on the front of the scrapbook, and have your child write a few words about each piece of artwork. If you have a scanner, you can reduce the size of the artwork to fit the scrapbook as well. In any case, always use page protectors to ensure no damage will come to these special works of art.
If your child is much older, and you can’t find space for all of his artwork but nonetheless want to preserve it, how about buying those mailing tubes. You can label each one by year. This is another great way to keep this precious artwork from becoming stained or accumulating damage through the years.
Whatever scrapbooking ideas you come up with, you and your kids will have a lifetime of memories to look forward to. They, in turn, will be able to show their kids and start their own traditional scrapbooking ideas as well.
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Holiday scrapbook preserves your memories
Every is unique. Some are specifically for school events, others for vacations, and many are a family history. They preserve the cherished memories of children growing up and of holiday celebrations.
The most important thing is that the stories of the lives illustrated in the book are not lost.
Parents often feel pressured to be creative or artistic with scrapbook pages, but the simple design that gets the job done always beats the fancy one that is left unfinished. It will be a gift to your children as they look back on their growing-up experiences. Here are some other tips from suppliers of scrapbook materials.
- Save original art and stories. Don’t save
pages and worksheets.
- Reduce the size of artwork. Make a color copy or scan them into smaller versions, preferably on acid-free paper.
- If your child has made many Christmas drawings, tape them to the refrigerator and take a photo of the collection. Keep that in the album.
- For the holidays, take plenty of photos and include the best, most colorful ones.
- Make a title page in an album with small school pictures from each year. It will let you see how kids changed from one year to another.
- Don’t wait too long. Make scrap book pages as events occur rather than waiting until the end of a year.
- Include party napkins, flattened gift bows, ticket stubs, and other mementos.
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