Stories Matter: How to Tell Stories Through Scrapbook Embellishments
One of the main reasons we scrapbook is to preserve our memories. But those memories will mean nothing to future generations without context.
Looking back on my family's own albums from generations past, I'm struck at how little information and context is included with the photos and clippings. It's as if not much thought was given to providing information for future generations to know and understand their ancestors and what they did. And I admit, when I first forayed into the art of scrapbooking, it didn't think much about it either.
But after I came to to the realization that I could no longer ask any of my grandparents about the people in the photos because they have all since passed away, I understood just how important it is to leave more detailed information behind for future generations. Photos are just a way to capture a moment in time. But they are meaningless to future generations without some story or elements to give the photo context. That is what the art of scrapbooking is.
It is important to understand that you don't have to have at least one of these elements on every single page in a scrapbook. For example, if you are creating a wedding scrapbook, you don't need to have information about each person in every photo on every single page. As long as important information is included at least once in an album, that is all that is needed.
Now, let's take a look at some of the ways you can add important information about the stories behind the photos to your scrapbook layouts.
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| This layout was included in an album that was made to feature the basketball career of a young man. This was the first layout in the album and included a special note from the client who requested the album for the person the album is about. With this journaling along with other elements, you can really get a sense that basketball is very important to the subject in the photo and that his basketball journey has taken him to great places. |
One of the most sure-fire ways to add more detailed information about the story behind the photo is to include journaling on your layout. But sometimes, journaling just doesn't go with the "feel" of the page you are creating. Or, perhaps you don't like your own handwriting. For the later, I pull out my WeR Typecast typewriter. But for the former, there are other ways to add in details about the story through embellishments.
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| This scrapbook layout utilizes an envelope to "hide" or camouflage additional photos and information about why the tattoo on the woman in the photo is so important. This additional information is helpful to future generations but it is placed on the layout in such a way that it doesn't detract from the overall "feel" of the page. |
If you don't want your journaling distracting from other aspects of your layout, you can always "hide" it. Now you don't want the journaling to be so well hidden that future generations won't know it's there at all. Instead, create something that obviously holds stuff--like envelopes. These envelopes can hold journaling, mementos and additional photos without overwhelming the page with lots of "stuff."
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| Your title doesn't have to be blunt, such as the "Generations" layout below. It can be more creative, such as in this layout. The story behind this title is that my sister and her husband refer to their baby as their little wolf pup. By adding the title "Welcome to the Pack," along with other elements on the page that tie into the theme, the viewer gets an understanding that wolves are very important to this story. |
Adding a title to your your layout is not only attention grabbing, but can convey a theme of importance about the photo and it's story. Your title can be more to the point, such as "Generations" for a layout featuring photos of several generations of women in the family. Or, it can be more creative, such as "Welcome to the Pack" on a newborn layout where wolves are an important part of the backstory.
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| This layout uses multiple techniques to tell a story through embellishments. From a title, to journaling to name cards, this layout will allow future generations to understand the significance of these photos. With all of these elements, future generations will know who is in the photos and the significance of them. |
Name Cards
You don't need to label each person in every photo on every page, but including it when needed in album can help future generations know who is in a photo. The layout above uses several techniques, including name cards. But because this layout was included in an album about a particular child, who's name was placed on the front of the album, there is no need to add a name card for her. Instead, the focus is on the child's grandmother and great-grandmother.
Banners
I consider banners short little snippets that I place onto my layouts (often in the form of a banner!) that can be anything from one or two words to one or two sentences. These banners can give context to not only photos, but why certain embellishments were chosen.
Embellishments
Sometimes the photo itself is pretty good at telling a story. We all recognize wedding photos and newborn photos as big events in life and a wedding album can tell a story over multiple pages. However, there are a variety of embellishments that you can add to give additional context to the photo. In fact, this is the most common technique I use.
For example, when I create wedding albums, I like to incorporate the wedding colors as often as possible. Or perhaps the bride wore pearls for her wedding day. Then I'll include pearls often throughout the pages of the album. For my niece's newborn photos that I have scrapped so far, I've included elements that are important to my sister and her husband--wolves and nature. Or perhaps your layout features a close up photo that doesn't show the big picture. Close up photos are important and allow you to see details you may otherwise miss in a photo with a larger view, but you can also lose other information at the same time. This was the case in the "Welcome to the Pack" layout I created of my niece above. In the photo, my niece is lying in a crescent moon dreamcatcher bed, but you can't tell from the photo. So I added in embellishments that hint at what else may be part of that photo's story.
Your embellishments can be as simple as chipboard stickers with sentiments that may have been felt that day or they can be as simple as paper flowers that match the wedding bouquet or die cuts that match the subject of the photo.
Whenever you design a layout, go into it with intention. Remember to think about the story behind that photo. What would a viewer who is unfamiliar with the event need to know that the photo doesn't portray? What part of the story do you want to highlight or draw the most attention to? Scrapbooking isn't just about putting pretty things around our photos. It is about telling stories through images and words that we intentionally place on our layouts.
Happy Scrapping!
Adrienne
You don't need to label each person in every photo on every page, but including it when needed in album can help future generations know who is in a photo. The layout above uses several techniques, including name cards. But because this layout was included in an album about a particular child, who's name was placed on the front of the album, there is no need to add a name card for her. Instead, the focus is on the child's grandmother and great-grandmother.
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| This wedding layout utilizes banners to add context to the photos. This client, who ordered an album for her daughter, mentioned that her wedding was located in Cape Cod and that the reception was a lobster bake. To add this story to the page (because it was the only wedding layout in the album), I added some embellishments along with banners to add context to those embellishments and photos. |
I consider banners short little snippets that I place onto my layouts (often in the form of a banner!) that can be anything from one or two words to one or two sentences. These banners can give context to not only photos, but why certain embellishments were chosen.
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| There are several elements that are important to the wedding layout. The bride's dress had lace appliqué all over it, so lace flowers were included. The paper flowers match the flowers in the wedding bouquet in the photo. Pearls were included on the page because the bride wore pearls for the big day. Birds were also an element in the wedding decor, so a faux mini nest was added as an embellishment. As the viewer flips through the album, they will see these elements of the overall story told throughout the album, making for a cohesive and immersive experience. |
Sometimes the photo itself is pretty good at telling a story. We all recognize wedding photos and newborn photos as big events in life and a wedding album can tell a story over multiple pages. However, there are a variety of embellishments that you can add to give additional context to the photo. In fact, this is the most common technique I use.
For example, when I create wedding albums, I like to incorporate the wedding colors as often as possible. Or perhaps the bride wore pearls for her wedding day. Then I'll include pearls often throughout the pages of the album. For my niece's newborn photos that I have scrapped so far, I've included elements that are important to my sister and her husband--wolves and nature. Or perhaps your layout features a close up photo that doesn't show the big picture. Close up photos are important and allow you to see details you may otherwise miss in a photo with a larger view, but you can also lose other information at the same time. This was the case in the "Welcome to the Pack" layout I created of my niece above. In the photo, my niece is lying in a crescent moon dreamcatcher bed, but you can't tell from the photo. So I added in embellishments that hint at what else may be part of that photo's story.
Your embellishments can be as simple as chipboard stickers with sentiments that may have been felt that day or they can be as simple as paper flowers that match the wedding bouquet or die cuts that match the subject of the photo.
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| This layout features a photo of a tidal pool along the coast of California. The embellishments add to the feeling of ocean tidal pools by including die cuts of things you might find in a tidal pool, such as starfish, coral and shells among other things. |
Whenever you design a layout, go into it with intention. Remember to think about the story behind that photo. What would a viewer who is unfamiliar with the event need to know that the photo doesn't portray? What part of the story do you want to highlight or draw the most attention to? Scrapbooking isn't just about putting pretty things around our photos. It is about telling stories through images and words that we intentionally place on our layouts.
Happy Scrapping!
Adrienne
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