Scrapbooking With Memorabilia

Scrapbooking with memorabilia

Here are some notes and resources as a follow-up to my presentation “Scrapbooking With Memorabilia”.

Scrapbooking With Memorabilia

Slide 1: Title slide.

History of scrapbooking

Slide 2: Paper ephemera was collectible in historic times. Scrapbooks were used to organize collections. In modern times, scrapbooking is a popular hobby activity that combines photos, decorative papers and other craft techniques. Route 66 fans can have a lot of fun combining the two approaches.

Collectible memorabilia is a great addition to a scrapbook.

Slide 3: Route 66 fans often collect things that would look great in a scrapbook, for example postcards, ticket stubs, antique maps, matchbook covers, restaurant napkins, menus, motel stationery and more.

Valuable memorabilia can be displayed in pocket pages.

Slide 4: Memorabilia that is historic, collectible or otherwise valuable should not be glued directly to the page. Following are some ideas for displaying items in scrapbooks without causing damage.

If the format of your scrapbook allows for it, you can purchase pre-made pocket pages to hold items such as postcards. Pocket pages come in different sizes for different types of items, for example there are versions designed for trading cards, business cards and popular photo formats.

If you want your pocket pages to be more integrated into your book and not a separate section for memorabilia like my example here, you can carry your journaling, decorative papers and other scrapbooking elements into the pockets to make a page layout that flows with the rest of your book. Pocket scrapbooking is a popular craft activity right now. Check out this Pinterest board for examples of pocket scrapbooking.

Make photo corners to display items that don't fit in pockets.

Slide 5: The postcard in this sample was too large to fit in a protective pocket page. I mounted this one by making large photo corners out of archival decorative scrapbooking paper. The postcard is not damaged and can be removed for viewing.

Archival plastic sleeves can display collectibles on a scrapbook page.

Slide 6: Archival plastic sleeves come in different sizes and can also be cut down to size to fit different kinds of collectibles. These sleeves are available where scrapbooking supplies are sold.

Make pockets to display items you want to be able to remove later.

Slide 7: A lot of Route 66 enthusiasts like to travel the road multiple times. When we do, it’s nice to be able to refer back to brochures, maps and other collectibles that are better left intact. Pockets for storage are easy to make with decorative paper and double-sided tape. Valuable collectibles can be stored in pockets without damage as long as the paper is archival.

Items that can be folded can be displayed with photo corners.

Slide 8: Some items like newspaper clippings are too large to fit on the page. If they can be folded, large photo corners are good for display and also allow for the article to be removed and read if desired. The newspaper clipping in this sample dates to 1999 and as you can see the archival storage has delayed yellowing of the paper.

Some paper memorabilia is not that valuable and can be mounted directly to the page.

Slide 9: This page features photos mixed with paper memorabilia from 2003 that was deemed of sentimental value only so I did not mind attaching them to the page permanently. I used archival mounting supplies so there will be little yellowing over time.

Make color copies of items that are not flat enough to mount in the scrapbook.

Slide 10: This page about Springfield, MO contains one photo and rest is all memorabilia. I have clippings from a brochure at the upper left, a business card at the upper right, a plastic motel room key which is held on the page with homemade photo corners, and at the lower left is a color copy of a motel soap bar from an old motel on Glenstone. This soap bar was found in my parents bathroom and was probably carried home from a trip to the Branson area when I was very young. Collectibles that are flat enough to place on a scanner or color copy machine but not flat enough to put in an album can be represented by copies to add atmosphere and history to your album. Examples of such items include motel key tags, coasters, ash trays, matchbooks, buttons, badges, bottle caps and more.

Cut up tourist brochures to decorate pages and make pockets.

Slide 11: On a trip I will often pick up a lot of free tourist information that I don’t necessarily have room to keep forever. Sometimes there are interesting bits I want to incorporate into the album. Here I cut up a brochure to get maps of areas that we drove through which I used as the page background and to make a pocket to store a driving map that we used. If you decide you want to keep some of the brochures intact, take two copies if you can so you can cut one up when you get home.

 

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