Scrapbooking

Most all arts and crafts given as gifts are labors of love. For this reason, many prefer gifts that are made by others to things that can be purchased in a store. A gift made by someone else is intimate and personal. It means that someone cares enough about you to give a piece of themselves; something on which there can be no price tag; something priceless.

A scrapbook given as a gift can be profoundly meaningful. Just one page can represent devotion, friendship and even passion. Even a scrapbook page with a photo or collection of photos surrounded by fun embellishments and words from a shared memory will be treasured by the recipient.

Mail winter holiday cards to acquaintances, but for the special people in your life, you can make holiday scrapbooks. It doesn't have to take a lot of time. Visit a scrapbooking website and you'll find all sorts of fun and appropriate embellishments to make a personalized memory-filled page in as little as or even less than an hour.

What better end-of-the-year teacher's gift than a scrapbook of class activities throughout the year with wonderful quotes from each stud in the class? Teachers get so many gifts but a gift of great moments over the course of a school year will be more meaningful than another apple paperweight!

Scrapbooks make beautiful gifts that speak a thousand words. Consider making a special page for each family member and make it a tradition that every year a scrapbook page is made and collected in each person's book. What a wonderful way to remind someone of the loving devotion that only a family bond or friendship can provide.

The next time you're struggling with what gifts to give to the people in your life who have touched your heart consider taking a little extra time to make a scrapbook. A scrapbook can be many pages created over a long period of time or it can be just a few pages. Perhaps you have a new relationship that you want to be close and long-lasting. What better way to say that you want the relationship to have fond memories for years to come than by starting a scrapbook with the first page representing your first memory together?

There is no end to the possibilities of scrapbooking. A scrapbook can be a fun memento from a trip or vacation or it can be a representation of a couple's life together. Maybe a couple you love is having a 50th anniversary. You can get the family together and have everyone write a loving message and collect the best photos of 50 years and assemble it in a scrapbook.

What about a colleague who is retiring? Everyone at work can provide a favorite memory and small keepsake or photograph, each colleague having a page on which to express their working relationship and professional memories and assembled into a scrapbook to be given as a retirement gift. What a wonderful way to represent appreciated years of service.

There are so many times in our lives which a scrapbook can fondly memorialize. Each and every page of a scrapbook provides a meaningful treasured page of memories that will be cherished for years to come. A scrapbook is truly a perfect gift for anyone.

As the holidays near, you might be looking for some great ideas for presents for the scrapbookers on your list. But shopping for scrapbookers can be tough. You don't know if she's a digital, hybrid, or paper scrapbooker. Does she have a Cricut, a Silhouette, or a Revolution? Is she more "clean and simple" or "shabby chic?" Buying something for a scrapbooker when you're not familiar with the hobby yourself can be like trying to buy a new drill for your dentist. How would you ever know enough to choose the right one?

Sure, you could get her a gift certificate to a big-box craft store, but wouldn't you like to give her something a little more personal and thoughtful? There are some general presents (yes, some of them are gift cards!) that nearly any scrapbooker would love to have. Here are a few to check out:

1. An online class gift certificate. Companies like Get It Scrapped, Jessica Sprague, and Big Picture Classes offer terrific online classes for all levels and types of scrapbookers. Your scrapbooker can brush up on her photography skills, learn a new digital technique, or join in a month-long class exploring different styles of scrapbooking.

2. A magazine subscription. Even if your favorite scrapbooker already has a subscription to her favorite magazine, you can renew it for her, or sign her up for a new one. There are a number of fun and interesting crafting magazines that would be appropriate for any level of scrapbooker. Check the magazine racks at your local bookstore for ideas.

3. A new idea book. Fantastic idea books are released all the time! Online publishers like Ella Publishing Co. offer frequent updates on a variety of specific scrapbooking topics, and there are a number of new titles due out from traditional publishers just in time for holiday season. One favorite aimed at beginner scrapbookers is "Start Scrapbooking: Your Essential Guide to Recording Memories" by Wendy Smedley.

4. A gift certificate to an online community. Online scrapbooking communities are wonderful places for scrappers to hang out for ideas, support, and camaraderie. Two popular ones are Paperclipping from Noell Hyman and my own ScrapHappy.org. Membership has its privileges, with additional tutorials and resources.

5. A gift card to online photo developing sites. From Shutterfly to Scrapbook Pictures, every scrapbooker needs photos developed or, if they're a digital scrapbooker, pages printed. This ongoing charge can often be the most expensive part of scrapbooking, so a gift card to an online store would be very appreciated!