Scrapbook Theme Ideas

Written and Created by PaperCraftCentral Susan

Scrapbook theme ideas help make your albums tell a story, be more cohesive, and they help you pick embellishments and designer series papers to fit in with your intent. I put together some ideas for you to get you started.

"Blessed are the children of scrapbookers,
for they shall inherit the scrapbooks."
~Author Unknown

I have some album topic suggestions for you, though there are hundreds more scrapbook theme ideas. You will probably think of some yourself as you read through this list, and that will mean my job is done!

You can make your album theme as simple or as complex as you like. If it is a simpler album you are after, just use a major idea or two to add interest to your pages.

If you want to make an entire scrapbook, then a theme can help you to make sense of the pages you want to put in, the order you want to place them in and even the colours that are appropriate for your theme. Who could imagine an entire traditional Christmas album without the colours red and green with touches of sparkle, silver and gold, for example?

Maybe you want to make an album about, say, the life of Auntie Maud. What were her favourite colours? What were her favourite flowers? Ah! I sense the beginning of a scrapbook theme idea if you can answer these questions!

If you do not know the answers to some of the questions you have about the person in your scrapbook, it could be time for some research. Then the theme may emerge quite naturally. Go talk to Auntie Maud and ask her questions about her life, her favourite things, and her favourite memories. See if she has photos of her own that you could have or that you could copy to make the pages tell the story.

Here are some Scrapbook Theme Ideas for you to consider:

Think about a particular person and make an album just about that person. The theme would be their life events. You could do an album of chronological events in that person's life, or highlight a special time they had. People make albums about their children, their spouses, their special friends and relatives. You could also make an album that tells about how you saw that person yourself. Ask yourself questions like this:

• How do/did they make you feel?
• Why are/were they important to you?
• What special times did you have together?
• Have you known them for a long time or a short time?
• Are you planning a special trip or event with the person? 
• Do you have other future plans together?

Baby albums are favourites with new parents, grandparents, and of course many other family members and friends. Take along your camera when visiting the new mother and baby and take your own unique pictures, or if you are the parent you will probably have some special and precious photos of your own to use. Include such details as the date and place of the birth, the child's full name and perhaps things such as sayings for the day the child was born, the meaning of his/her name the 'first times' such as first bath, first car ride, first time meeting parents/grandparents/brothers/sisters.

You can journal throughout the album or include sayings, poems and the like.

Think about a particular year in the life of your friend, family, sibling, or other relative:

• Was it a turning point for them? 
• A learning time? 
• An event they never want to forget? 
• Make a theme of that year and look up other events or things that will remind you of that year what was happening then what were the popular songs, the fashions, the best read books or TV programs, the new inventions etc, and incorporate these into your scrapbook theme.

What about a special event in someone's life such as the journey of a pregnancy, the birth of a child, graduation from primary or high school or university, your honeymoon, a wedding, a special anniversary, a birthday that was significant? These are all cherished scrapbooking themes to choose from.

Think about a season in a family's life or in the life of a person (maybe their springtime!) or even just because you love that time of year.

I love using seasons as a scrapbook theme idea.

Maybe you are an avid gardener and want to show

• the changes in your garden over the course of a year? 
• Did you go to a place where it snowed in winter? 
• Or did you go to the other side of the world where the seasons were the opposite of what you would be experiencing at home? (E.g. a hot, summery Christmas in Australia would be a novelty to a northern hemisphere dweller)
• What about the gardeners who made the garden? Can you get photos of them too?
  

Travel albums are great if you have just been to a new town, state or country. Maybe it is

• your first journey away from home, or 
• your first journey overseas? 
• Collect paper memorabilia of your stay such as post cards, menus, tickets to events, even your airline tickets. 
• Look for things as you travel that you could make into a feature on a layout. 
• Take photos of landmarks and special places with friends and family enjoying them. The above photo was made by a friend who went to Holland, for example.

Christmas. Have you ever thought about having an album just for the Christmases you have had? Now there's a scrapbook theme idea!

Easter. What about the special Easters in your life? Of course, there are many other holidays you could think about too that could become your scrapbook theme.

A Heritage album of your ancestors. Do you have some pictures and stories that the rest of the family would like to see? This could be a very special treasure.

A sporting event. What about the kid's school sports days, or your own? Do you have an athlete you would like to scrap about, or did you go to the Olympic Games? Do you have a Master Sportsman in the house? Or is there a darts champion or bowling addict there? The sports suggest their own themed embellishments!

A School Memories Scrapbook for you, your children or parents or grandparents. If you are like me, you will have many pictures of the events your child attended, and these events can definitely make up a scrapbook theme idea. You will also have your school colours, the school sports cries/chants, the school play, the winners' circles, and friendship groups or teams to scrap about.

A Special Pet. Get out those cute photos of your cat, dog, guinea pigs or goldfish!

Include  punched shapes of doggie bones, fish, balls of wool, bubbles,  make hay stacks with little pieces of cardstock.

If you clip your pet, use some of the clippings of their fur, or use feathers if your bird has shed a pretty one. Don't forget a wet dog photo!

Scan in their collar and use it as a background for the page, or take a photo of it, or of their dishes/house etc.

If your pet is a Show animal, include their ribbons, pictures of their trophies and their certificates to go with photos of lead up to events and actual events.

The History of a place, building, or event If you have a special home,

• When was it built? 
• Who built it and when? 
• Do you have a special place in it that you like to visit? Why? 
• What is attractive about the place for you? 
• Have you taken part in a significant event or happening at your special place? 
• What were the milestones? What changes happened because of it?

More scrapbook theme ideas are to use Scrapbooking as therapy for  dealing with the loss of

• a time, 
• a place, 
• a pet, 
• a loved one,
  
• a country.
  
• even of a relationship or an ability you may once have had but have now lost. 

It can help to collect your thoughts, pictures and memorabilia and make a special book about the loss you experienced.

Only do this when YOU feel ready and willing to do it.

Another idea I have heard of is for people to make special albums for people with Dementia or Acquired Brain Injury, to help them remember the events, people, places and pets of their own life.

Make one scrap book for every year of your family's life. Choose only the very best pictures you have for each month of the year and make a double page layout or two for that month. This way you will have a printed out your best digital photos without feeling the need to scrap ALL photos you took for that month, and you will have a wonderful book of memories with the scrapbook theme idea based on any given year.

Make a scrapbook about a feeling like gratitude, joy, growth, love, loss, and add photos and journaling that fits with your thoughts and reflections about this feeling.

Make a technique scrapbook, showing all the special papercrafting techniques you have learned about, such as stamping on your pages, making particular kinds of borders, making paper flowers, creating a background with various mediums like paint, glitter, or scrapbook paper, show examples of punch art and Origami you have learned about and so on. Then you will have inspiration to add a particular treatment to your page when you feel stuck for ideas.

Tip: It's a good idea to have hard copies of your best photos printed out just in case technology fails and (heaven forbid!) something happens to your digital photos.

I hope some of these scrapbook theme ideas have given you food for thought and that you are now ready to create your very own project! 

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