Scrapbooking Pet Memories -Tips to Help

If your pet is a valued member of your family, you probably have a collection of photos and keepsakes of your furry friend which are dear to your heart. Through scrapbooking you can preserve these memories and have them to share in a creative display which you lovingly crafted.

Supplies Needed

If you are new to the wide world of scrapbooking, you will need to purchase a few basic supplies before you get started. When shopping for supplies, check the packaging for the "acid-free" label. Also, look for "lignin-free" paper. These qualities will increase the life of your scrapbook, as acid and lignin cause discoloration and dinsintegration.

1. The album – these come in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes. Some even come with pet-related designs.

2. Markers, pens, and other writing utensils – You will want these to write thoughts and memories on the pages of your scrapbook. If you're unsure of your penmanship, you may choose to use a computer and printer for this step.

3. Paper – There is a lot to choose from when shopping for scrapbooking paper. It comes in prints of numerous themes and solids of every color. The paper will be used as backdrops to the pages' designs, to mat pictures, and for cut patterns.

4. Scissors – A pair of straight-edge scissors are necessary and patterned-edge scissors are also useful for fun designs.

5. Adhesives – Glue sticks, photos tabs, and / or specially designed scrapbook adhesives are needed to attach your memories to the pages. Runner cement is not recommended.

6. Sheet protectors – These are transparent, plastic sleeves that protect the pages of memories you've worked so hard to design.

7. Photos and other memories – These are the heart of the scrapbook. Later in this article are ideas of pet memorabilia to use.

8. Embellishments, stickers, and other extras – There is a whole array of fun, pre-made, subject-specific decorations to add to your scrapbook designs.

These items and many other scrapbooking tools can be purchased at specialty scrapbooking stores, craft stores, scrapbooking catalogs, and online stores. Many specialty stores and craft stores also offer classes on scrapbooking techniques.

Basic Scrapbooking Techniques

Choose the theme of the page you are creating. Select the photos, paper, and extras that match this theme. A printed background paper gives the page depth and interest. If you use a printed background paper, use solid colors for picture matting.

Arrange the page before gluing anything. The center of the page will be the focus, so do not leave a blank space there. A less crowded page is generally more appealing to the eye than a busy page.

You may want to include a title or headline on the page, perhaps with letters you have designed and cut or with pre-cut letters you have purchased. Captions, quotes, memories, and stories are also fun to include on the page. If handwriting these, it may be easier and less-stressful to write on a separate sheet of paper and attach to the scrapbook page, rather than writing directly on the design.

Themes for Pet Scrapbooks

If you collect many memories and memorabilia, you may want to design a very detailed scrapbook, highlighting specific moments in your pet's life. For example, the entire scrapbook may be devoted to only your pet's first year. Individual page themes might include the pet's first day at home, first trip to the vet or groomer, puppy-training class, a day at the park, a look at your pet's growth, etc.

If your memorabilia collection is not quite as extensive, of if you are a beginner scrapbooker, you may want to design a scrapbook that takes a more concise look at your pet's life. If you don't have photos of events such as of your pet's first trip to the veterinarian, but you have some snapshots of your pet with the family, you might make the scrapbook a general overview of your pet's life.

Pet Memorabilia

For scrapbook decorations, use items you have around the house that bring back memories of your pet. Adding these items to a scrapbook helps give interest to the pages and is a great way to hang onto these special memories for a long time. Listed below are examples of memorabilia you may already have or that you can produce and use to decorate your pages of memories.

1. Pet ID, rabies, and license tags
2. Hair clippings
3. Whiskers
4. A paw print (push your pet's paw on an ink pad and print it onto a piece of scrapbook paper)
5. Copies of veterinary records
6. Copies of AKC registration papers
7. Puppy class graduation certificate
8. Any other achievement certificates your pet may have earned
9. Letters written by a child to your pet
10. Children's drawings of the pet
11. A pet-related poem
12. Puppy or kitten teeth (if you find them laying around)

Have Fun with Your Scrapbook

Be creative with your scrapbook memories. If you know that one day you want to scrapbook your pet, you can always be on the lookout for items to use in it. For example, if you are scrapbooking a kitten's first day at home, you might want to save part of the label from the first can or bag of food the kitten eats, and snap a photo of her enjoying her first meal. Or if you had a particularly special day of fetch with your dog, you might incorporate a small piece of the stick he chased.

Keep all your scrapbook memories in a box until you are ready to put it all together. You might decide to collect until you have enough to complete the entire book, or perhaps you will design a page here and there and gradually build the book of memories. Because you are reflecting on memories of a pet you love so dearly, spending the time to build a scrapbook will be quite enjoyable and perhaps even relaxing.

Building a scrapbook of pet memories will have you celebrating the joys your pet brings you and appreciating all the moments you spend with your furry friends.