Scrapbooking photos or memories?

This might sound like a pretty odd question, since it is obvious that we scrap photos to keep memories, right? Maybe not always. Different people will have a different approach to their own scrapbooking process and might also aim at different goals altogether.

At first glance, it seems that the photos we have are the reason we create layouts, whether it is digital scrapbooking, on the computer, or traditionally with paper, scissors and glue. Many tutorials will have the steps spelled out starting with a variation of “gather your photos”, or “choose the photo you want to scrap”. This is a very common approach, and probably what most people do, most of the time. But there are exceptions.

Memories with photos

Layout by Cassel – For full list of credits, see here.

Photo albums have long been a way to remember people, places and event and share about them. Decades ago, they were little more than a collection of photos, fastened on pages, or slipped in plastic sleeves. We would flip the pages, one by one, pointing at Aunt Suzy, or Cousin Paul. We would remember that brand new car our parents had purchased. We would also talk about our vacation at the beach, the birthday party for Anna, or the first day of school. The photos were the support for those memories and even in this newer format, photos play a big role. The majority of our layouts are probably reaching out in the same way: we have a photo (or several) and they become the focus of our layout, where we will add some text related to the person, place or event.

Remembering without a photo

Layout by Tree City - for full list of credits, see here

There are many situations where we have a great story to share but no photo to show. Maybe we lost the photos we had. Maybe we just didn’t have a camera handy at the time to take photos. Maybe they are memories of event before it was convenient to have photos taken. Or maybe it is a story, a thought, a dream, that never had any photo with it. Can you still make a layout without photos? Of course you can. Your layout can become a sort of diary where you would write your story, your feeling, your memories, and more. You can use an array of papers and embellishment to turn a simple text into great layout. Those layouts are definitely a way to share memories, without the need of a photo. A heartfelt story, whether it is sad, happy, mysterious or unusual can still touch the viewer just with words.

Photos to embellish a layout

Layout by Cassel – For full list of credits, see here

Once in a while, you have a story to tell and a photo (or several) could be used as an embellishment instead of a focus. In that case, you can either find some photos in your collection and use sections of them like a building that was in the background, or you can browse through stock photography sites to find something that can accompany well your theme or your story. In both instances, the photos will only serve as decoration or some reminder of the content without too much emphasis on them. These layouts will focus mostly on journaling. That will be the heart and soul of your page.

Do you have ideas for a layout but no photo for it? Don’t let that stop you from creating that scrapbooking page. Even if you have thousands of photos, you probably have more memories, and stories than you have photos. They still deserve to be showcased as beautifully as all your projects. Go for it. Scrap those memories.

Now, you can create your first scrapbook pages for free. Click here to get started.