There’s something soothing about scrapbooks. Well, the soothing feeling not only comes from reading, but more from making it — getting the scrapbook together. I learned a scrapbook technique from B, a good friend. She said it truly relaxed her and gave her peace. I wanted to try it myself, too. Here’s the technique she shared with me:
1. Get old magazines.
2. Cut out anything that interests you. It could be an article, a picture, a quote, a word, ANYTHING. If you like dogs, cut them out. If you like flowers, cut them out. If you like mushy quotes, cut them out! Just keep on cutting!
3. Cut in waves, curls, whatever. The fun thing is you don’t have to worry about cutting in straight lines (unless you’re really obsessive compulsive!). Flip through the pages, read a bit, then cut some more!
4. After cutting each piece out, I place it in a box so they won’t fly away or get lost among the magazines.
5. When I’ve had my fill of cutting, I take out all the pieces from the box and lay them on the table.
6. I get my scrapbook (I got mine from National Bookstore) and my glue. I randomly grab cutouts and glue them onto the scrapbook. If you want to put things together, like if you want to create themes, go ahead. My style is to just grab a cutout and paste, grab a cutout and paste.
7. Feel the relaxation and that smile pasted on your face. It feels goooooood!
It doesn’t matter if it looks like there’s no synergy among the pictures or words. You’ll probably end up pasting a picture of a pitcher next to a quote about marriage (like I did!). It doesn’t matter! Remember: you cut these pieces out because they’re things you’re interested in! They’re things that probably make you laugh, smile, blush, dream, sleep peacefully, sigh romantically, etcetera etcetera etcetera.
It would be a fun read, especially if you’re in a nostalgic mood, want to be perked up or you’re just plain bored. The scrapbook will transport you to a place where only you dance in that cutout meadow, where only you can meditate in that cutout seashore, where only you can imagine what’s going on between you and the cute pic of a guy you cut out, where only you can feel the sensuality and comfort of Indian silk pillows. It’s a scrapbook filled with your desires. All the words, all the pictures there are YOURS.
I’m glad I took on this little hobby. It relaxes me after a long day of work. It really soothes my nerves and somehow revives me. Here, some samples of what I’ve done so far. Click on each for its slightly bigger version.
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I always thought that scrapbooks were a great way to keep trinkets and reminders of the past, but now I understand that scrapbooks are an even better way to keep dreams and pictures of things that give you happiness and inner peace.
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.