Christine Perry asked:
Scrapbooking albums
come in many sizes from 6×6, 8×8, 8 1/2×11 and the popular 12×12 format. Over the years as this hobby has become more and more popular, some album sizes have come and gone. The 8×10 album is much more difficult to find and so is the 12×14. Yet, the 12×12 has become the most common scrapbooking album available.
Why Are 12×12 Albums So Popular?
When the scrapbooking craze took off in the 1990s, Pioneer and Creative Memories, the predominant acid-free album manufacturers at the time, both offered 12×12 albums. This size gives you a square foot of space and seems perfect to give enough room for photos, journaling and a few embellishments. The most common size for snapshots is 4×6, and 12×12 accommodates that photo size very well. Yet, it can still handle portrait sizes like 5×7 and 8×10. Since this format is square, it works well with balancing page elements and creating 2-page layouts.
The Challenge of 12×12 Storage
For many years, 12×12 storage was nearly impossible. Containers seem to be cursed to hold only standard letter-size or legal-size paper. Before scrapbooking manufacturers responded to the needs of scrapbookers stocking massive quantities of paper and supplies, it was common to see crops and workshops filled with large Rubbermaid tubs filled with their supplies. Now, we have so many more choices, including totes on wheels and storage bins in the 12×12 size. You can even go to your local Target and pick up a rolling cart with 12×12 bins.
The Scrapbooking Industry Makes 12×12 A Standard
You certainly still can find a variety of scrapbooking album sizes, but the 12×12 album has dominated the scrapbook paper industry in recent years. In the beginning we had albums with paper pages in black or white. We added our photos and embellishments directly to these pages. Now, top-load pages are the most common. Using a 12×12 sheet of paper, a page slides into an acid-free plastic page protector that is then inserted into the album. You can find many sizes of open paper stock, but 12×12 is definitely the most widely available format for individual paper purchases. Most page kits also come in this size, and the majority of monthly scrapbooking clubs have stayed with this standard format.
12×12 and the Digital Age
Even digital scrapbooking, the newcomer to the craft, has taken to the 12×12 album. Scanners are available with flatbeds in this size. These scanners are still quite expensive in comparison to their letter-size counterparts. Printing the 12×12 size scrapbooking page is a challenge since most desktop printers use letter-sized paper. However, online photo processing services are now offering 12×12 prints in response to digital scrapbookers who prefer to use the that format.
The Future of 12×12 Albums
The 12 x 12 album is here to stay. It not only won over the traditional scrapbookers, but it has been embraced by the digital scrapbooking fans as well. Trends are moving towards album kits with coordinated papers and embellishments, and these are leaning towards smaller sizes like the 8×8. Yet, for everyday scrapbooking, 12×12 is still going strong.
scrapbooking albums
Scrapbooking albums
come in many sizes from 6×6, 8×8, 8 1/2×11 and the popular 12×12 format. Over the years as this hobby has become more and more popular, some album sizes have come and gone. The 8×10 album is much more difficult to find and so is the 12×14. Yet, the 12×12 has become the most common scrapbooking album available.Why Are 12×12 Albums
So Popular?When the scrapbooking
craze took off in the 1990s, Pioneer and Creative Memories, the predominant acid-free album manufacturers at the time, both offered 12×12 albums. This size gives you a square foot of space and seems perfect to give enough room for photos, journaling and a few embellishments. The most common size for snapshots is 4×6, and 12×12 accommodates that photo size very well. Yet, it can still handle portrait sizes like 5×7 and 8×10. Since this format is square, it works well with balancing page elements and creating 2-page layouts.The Challenge of 12×12 Storage
For many years, 12×12 storage was nearly impossible. Containers seem to be cursed to hold only standard letter-size or legal-size paper
. Before scrapbooking manufacturers responded to the needs of scrapbookers stocking massive quantities of paper and supplies, it was common to see crops and workshops filled with large Rubbermaid tubs filled with their supplies. Now, we have so many more choices, including totes on wheels and storage bins in the 12×12 size. You can even go to your local Target and pick up a rolling cart with 12×12 bins.The Scrapbooking Industry Makes 12×12 A Standard
You certainly still can find a variety of scrapbooking album sizes, but the 12×12 album has dominated the scrapbook
paper industry in recent years. In the beginning we had albums with paper pages in black or white. We added our photos and embellishments directly to these pages. Now, top-load pages are the most common. Using a 12×12 sheet of paper, a page slides into an acid-free plastic page protector that is then inserted into the album. You can find many sizes of open paper stock, but 12×12 is definitely the most widely available format for individual paper purchases. Most page kits also come in this size, and the majority of monthly scrapbooking clubs have stayed with this standard format.12×12 and the Digital
AgeEven digital scrapbooking
, the newcomer to the craft, has taken to the 12×12 album. Scanners are available with flatbeds in this size. These scanners are still quite expensive in comparison to their letter-size counterparts. Printing the 12×12 size scrapbooking page is a challenge since most desktop printers use letter-sized paper. However, online photo processing services are now offering 12×12 prints in response to digital scrapbookers who prefer to use the that format.The Future of 12×12 Albums
The 12 x 12 album is here to stay. It not only won over the traditional scrapbookers, but it has been embraced by the digital scrapbooking fans as well. Trends are moving towards album kits with coordinated papers and embellishments, and these are leaning towards smaller sizes like the 8×8. Yet, for everyday scrapbooking, 12×12 is still going strong.
scrapbooking albums
Christine Perry asked:
Most beginners start their first scrapbook as a chronological album. They have sorted their photos according to date, and start scrapbooking each event in order. However, there are so many other scrapbooking album themes you could use. Don’t limit yourself to just a chronological album. A themed album centered on one topic can inspire you and create a wonderful keepsake for years to come. Scrapbook album themes are nearly limitless when you consider all the topics available to choose from. You could create an album on something as universal as a wedding album, or you could get even more specific to your life and create one centered on a family member, such as, your mother or grandmother. Let’s look at a few of the more common album themes.
Chronological Album
This is by far the most common theme for scrapbooks. Each page focuses on the photos from a specific date or event, and the album usually progresses from earliest dates to later dates. The tendency to start with older photos when scrapbooking comes from seeing all those old photos and realizing how overdue they are to be placed in an album. However, choosing to scrapbook with your most recent photos first and work your way back in time has a distinct advantage. These memories are the freshest in your mind. The older photos get the more likely you have already forgotten details about the event. In addition, working from your most recent photos gives the feeling of being up-to-date. You can work your way back through the old photos when you have time, but the most current photos continue to be placed in your album without creating an additional backlog.
Baby Album
It’s surprising how many scrapbookers first start scrapbooking as a hobby when they have their first baby. Following a baby’s development with photos is a natural thing to do. The photos start stacking up, and you realize that putting them in a photo-safe album is the best way to preserve those memories. A baby album can also be a chronological album. You might start from pregnancy and birth and then baby’s progress from month to month. However, you could also make a baby album of all baby’s firsts. Baby’s first smile, baby’s first word and baby’s first step are just a few ideas.
Wedding Album
Photographs are an important part of any wedding. You have the professional photographs, as well as those taken by guests. A wedding is such a significant event in our lives. Even though it lasts for only a day, we want to preserve those memories for a lifetime. An album theme for a wedding is often more elegantly embellished than other albums. You might consider making a more casual and personal wedding scrapbook, include your own thoughts and feelings about the day. Scrapbook a page about your favorite moment during the wedding, and don’t forget to include those things that were unplanned as well.
Holiday Album
Holidays are great photo opportunities. We gather together with family and friends to celebrate and taking pictures is always a part of the festivities. The more common holiday albums are Christmas and Halloween. However, maybe you have a family reunion every Fourth of July and want to create a photo album specifically for those photos.
School Days Album
An album that follows your child through his school years is really just a more focused chronological album. However, it is unique in that it often holds more memorabilia than most albums. They include art projects, essays, report cards and other mementos from each school year. You can have a school days album for each of your children.
Heritage Album
All scrapbooks are really heritage albums. When the scrapbook is made of archival-safe materials, it preserves your memories for future generations. However, heritage albums usually refer to scrapbooks made from very old photos. You might have photos of your great grandmother or your grandmother’s baby pictures. Having these photos all in one album can be a wonderful conversation piece when family visits. Remember to ask your family to contribute to the journaling in a heritage album so as many memories as possible are documented.
These are just a few ideas for album themes. Begin to think about your photos and reoccurring themes in your pages. Has your teenager son played hockey since he was seven? You might create a hockey album specifically for his team photos and his progress in the sport. Did you take a trip to Europe this year? The number of photos taken on a vacation can easily fill an album.
Working on a scrapbook album theme allows you to choose which album and photos you want to work on today. You aren’t limiting yourself to working in a chronological order. You might want to scrap your daughter’s first smile in a baby album or maybe you want to scrap her first day of kindergarten in school days album. There are no rules to follow. Themed scrapbooks can be completed at one time, like your vacation to Hawaii album, or they can be an ongoing album like a Christmas album. Think about what kind of album theme fits into your life, and start scrapbooking outside the chronological limits.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Most beginners start their first scrapbook
as a chronological album. They have sorted their photos according to date, and start scrapbooking each event in order. However, there are so many other scrapbooking album themes you could use. Don’t limit yourself to just a chronological album. A themed album centered on one topic can inspire you and create a wonderful keepsake for years to come. Scrapbook album themes are nearly limitless when you consider all the topics available to choose from. You could create an album on something as universal as a wedding album, or you could get even more specific to your life and create one centered on a family member, such as, your mother or grandmother. Let’s look at a few of the more common album themes.Chronological Album
This is by far the most common theme
for scrapbooks. Each page focuses on the photos from a specific date or event, and the album usually progresses from earliest dates to later dates. The tendency to start with older photos when scrapbooking comes from seeing all those old photos and realizing how overdue they are to be placed in an album. However, choosing to scrapbook with your most recent photos first and work your way back in time has a distinct advantage. These memories are the freshest in your mind. The older photos get the more likely you have already forgotten details about the event. In addition, working from your most recent photos gives the feeling of being up-to-date. You can work your way back through the old photos when you have time, but the most current photos continue to be placed in your album without creating an additional backlog.Baby Album
It’s surprising how many scrapbookers first start scrapbooking as a hobby when they have their first baby. Following a baby’s development with photos is a natural thing to do. The photos start stacking up, and you realize that putting them in a photo-safe album is the best way to preserve those memories. A baby album can also be a chronological album. You might start from pregnancy and birth and then baby’s progress from month to month. However, you could also make a baby album of all baby’s firsts. Baby’s first smile, baby’s first word and baby’s first step are just a few ideas.
Wedding Album
Photographs are an important part of any wedding. You have the professional photographs, as well as those taken by guests. A wedding is such a significant event in our lives. Even though it lasts for only a day, we want to preserve those memories for a lifetime. An album theme for a wedding is often more elegantly embellished than other albums
. You might consider making a more casual and personal wedding scrapbook, include your own thoughts and feelings about the day. Scrapbook a page about your favorite moment during the wedding, and don’t forget to include those things that were unplanned as well.Holiday Album
Holidays are great photo opportunities. We gather together with family and friends to celebrate and taking pictures is always a part of the festivities. The more common holiday albums are Christmas and Halloween. However, maybe you have a family reunion every Fourth of July and want to create a photo album specifically for those photos.
School Days Album
An album that follows your child through his school years is really just a more focused chronological album. However, it is unique in that it often holds more memorabilia than most albums. They include art projects, essays, report cards and other mementos from each school year. You can have a school days album for each of your children.
Heritage Album
All scrapbooks are really heritage albums. When the scrapbook is made of archival-safe materials, it preserves your memories for future generations. However, heritage albums usually refer to scrapbooks made from very old photos. You might have photos of your great grandmother or your grandmother’s baby pictures. Having these photos all in one album can be a wonderful conversation piece when family visits. Remember to ask your family to contribute to the journaling in a heritage album so as many memories as possible are documented.
These are just a few ideas for album themes. Begin to think about your photos and reoccurring themes in your pages. Has your teenager son played hockey since he was seven? You might create a hockey album specifically for his team photos and his progress in the sport. Did you take a trip to Europe this year? The number of photos taken on a vacation can easily fill an album.
Working on a scrapbook album theme allows you to choose which album and photos you want to work on today. You aren’t limiting yourself to working in a chronological order. You might want to scrap your daughter’s first smile in a baby album or maybe you want to scrap her first day of kindergarten in school days album. There are no rules to follow. Themed scrapbooks can be completed at one time, like your vacation to Hawaii album, or they can be an ongoing album like a Christmas album. Think about what kind of album theme fits into your life, and start scrapbooking outside the chronological limits.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Top Commenters