Every human being has a part of the brain dedicated to memories - a storage room for recalling facts, events, and feelings we have learned and experienced in the past. It is the way we retain information and gain knowledge, both about who we are and about the world around us. Essentially, scrapbooking is a way of preserving certain memories using a visual representation of moments we want to remember from our past.

Keeping visual elements of our past is important because as our short term memory shifts into long term memory, we sometimes lose many of the sensory details of those events, as our minds only tend to store the most pertinent and relevant information as time goes by. Our minds are therefore like a somewhat leaky sieve in that they can hold a lot of information for a long period of time, but much of the information that is “closest to the edge” slowly drains away.

If you want to create the most valuable scrapbook memories that you possibly can, it may help you in your design phase to try recalling some of the sensory details that you remember from whichever event you are scrapping about. For instance, a family day at the park - the picnic you had, what you ate, the way the freshly cut grass smelled, the feel of the cool breeze, the temperature outside. This is a basic example, but what I’m trying to get at here is that the more you remember while you are scrapping about your past, the more you’ll be able to include in your write-ups and therefore the more complete your scrapbook memories will end up being.

Use these techniques to help you create great scrapbook layouts and pages. Make a list of the first five things that come to your mind about the event or person(s) you are scrapping for. Next, make a list of the five most important things to you about that event or person, ie. the way they made you feel, etc. Combining those ten things, you might just have an easier time coming up with new and more fantastic scrapbooking ideas for your future projects.

The following scrapbooking ideas are meant to provide some inspiration and get you out of the “same-old, same-old” mentality that you might have gotten yourself into a rut with over time by scrapping the same events each year. I hope they get you on track toward a new phase in your scrapping!

1. The Birth of a Child
It doesn’t have to be your own; a grandchild, niece or nephew, godchild, or a close friend’s newborn can be a great subject for a scrapbook or page. Especially if it isn’t your own child, this can make a great gift for the proud new parents.

2. A New Home
You may be at your first home buying stage and wish to document or share the experience with others. Even if you don’t like the look of your home at first and want to make a lot of changes before you show it off to anyone, still take photos and get a good collection of images of how the place looks right when you buy it, before you have set your hand to the plow and made it into the home of your dreams.

These photos can serve as comparisons for your own benefit after the work is done, and they will also add a special touch to your home scrapbook pages so that your family and friends can see how far you’ve come with the place.

3. Weddings
What better present to give a bride and groom than a beautifully decorated and embellished scrapbook full of your best scrapbooking ideas? Yes, some people end up scrapping their own weddings, but in the hectic rush of starting a new life together, newlyweds may not have the time or desire to scrapbook right away and so their personal projects may get pushed to the back burner. Help them out by creating a couple of tasteful scrapbook pages for them and they’ll think of not only their wedding, but also you, whenever they look at them!

4. Minor Holidays
There are of course the standard birthday, vacation, and Christmas scrapbooking ideas, but most everyone who has been scrapping for awhile has done one or many of these. What about the less “extravagant” holidays that might not be as memorable? Cherish these memories of time spent with your loved ones by scrapbooking smaller events, which are no less special than the big ones! A day trip or road trip you took over the summer, a Memorial Day cookout, or a day stranded inside the house during a winter blizzard can all make great subjects for scrapbook pages about fun times that you may have otherwise forgotten about.

For a lot of scrappers, our busy day-to-day lives can often get in the way of our progress. By that I mean we’re so preoccupied running around in circles that we lose sight of our goals, and we end up having to prioritize and re-prioritize over and over again.

This in and of itself is not a bad thing, and in fact a little house cleaning that gets our heads clear and keeps our focus right can be a very useful tool for getting things done. Part of life’s blessing is the freedom to do that - to stop and self-analyze for a moment - to begin with. But often you may find yourself in a slump, not being able to get things done even when you feel like you’re trying your hardest.

I’ll admit I’m not the most flawless person in the world when it comes to making the best and most efficient use of my time; I fall prey to the occasional episode of american idol just like anyone else

It’s at the intersection of inspiration and timing that some of my best scrapbooking ideas have been brought to life. Often I’m inspired but have no free time to get into the right setting and mode for scrapbooking; other times I find I’m wondering what to do with myself and yet I feel unmotivated toward getting anything done.

Next time you run into either of these extremes, take a second to think about what inspires you. What stresses you out? Chances are that a combination of these factors have to do with whether you find yourself in the right frame of mind to let your creative juices flow. A little reflection can go a long way toward opening up the right channels for you to be at your best creatively and productively. This doesn’t just apply to scrapping or scrapbooking ideas, but to everything else you find yourself tasked with as well.

Scrapbooking can be a great way to show the moments of your friends and family history by making use of a creative medium and organizing them in an aesthetically satisfying way. For a lot of us crafty people, we are disorganized at heart and so the problem is getting organized to begin with!

A scrapbook is like an album of pictures on crack (or steroids, if you prefer to go with something less illegal. Or Red Bull, if less illicit). With a scrapbook, you’re not limited to photographs; anything you have that you want to save and/or display, as long as it will fit reasonably, can be included. All of your favorite knick-nacks, trinkets, and other memorabilia can make great additions to a scrapbook.

1. You Need Help (Or Could Use Some)
It might take hours to go through the items you want to include, but this can be one of the most fun parts of the process. You can make it even more fun if you manage to convince your significant other, spouse, parents or kids to help you.

2. Theme It!
The next step in scrapbooking (or “scrapping,” as some like to call it) is to design a theme or layout - there could be a recurring theme throughout the book with a different layout for each page, or you could theme every new page independently of the others - the beauty is that it’s completely up to you how you organize your scrapbooking ideas. Your theme can be as simple or as involved as you want it, but remember not to be overzealous; less is more in many cases.

3. Use Your Tools
Grab anything and everything you can think of that might be of help. Odd shapes make good stencils or borders, and trying several types of adhesives and writing implements will allow you to get the best results with your materials. You can never have too much colored paper, either!

4. Get A Second Opinion
This isn’t medical plan 101, I’m talking about actually asking for input from your friends on what they think. It’s hard sometimes to have tough skin and deal with any critiques or criticism someone might have, but I’m sorry to say that it’s part of being a designer! The visual appeal you are trying to create can always benefit from a second set of eyes, no matter what the application. The ‘net is a great place for this, and there are many scrapbooking ideas websites that will let you post your scrapbook pages for others to view and comment on.