What makes a Scrapbook?

I have three young children and as a result, I have many friends also with young children. As mothers do, we will often exchange stories about something funny or frustrating one of those young charges did. Or we will share photos. I'll sometimes ask if the mom has scrapbooked it. Generally, I get a reply something along the lines of, "Oh, I can't scrapbook. I'm not creative or patient enough."

A scrapbook doesn't have to be a traditional paper, embellishments, journaling one. It can really be anything you want to capture the memories. I have spent time the past few years going through photos of my mother's and of my two grandmother's. Thankfully someone is around to tell me some of the stories, but it would have been very cool to have a book with that. I know my kids love to go back and look at my scrapbooks; not because they are entranced with the brads and ribbon, but because they want to see the pictures and read the stories. I figure it is one of the best gifts I can give them. I enjoy remembering some of these things too, as our memories fade and we forget details.

So, even a little coil book with plain paper where you glue a photo or two and write a story is a great gift. Or they have those little photo albums with the sleeves that hold 2 four by six photos. You can put the photo in the top slot and write a small journaling blub on an index card and slide it in the bottom one. It doesn't have to be fancy to record the memories and mean a lot to someone else.

With that, I will leave you with a layout I did about Nathalie and BJ, my old cat (we recently had to put her down although at 18.5, she lived far beyond what anyone expected for a little barn cat). I don't love the layout, but in years down the road, that won't matter. It will just be cool that I can see the photos and that Nathalie will one day have a pictorial memory and notes about the cat that once adored her.