by Kimberly H.

Created on: April 25, 2008   Last Updated: March 07, 2012

For special occasions, we often say it with flowers, candies, or cards. But we all have photos and special possessions hidden away in a shoe box somewhere, so why haven't we used them? There they lay - special memories of a significant day, collecting dust and kept in the dark. Have you ever thought of incorporating these findings into a mini scrapbook? All you need is a few materials, a little imagination, and some patience to create a one-of-a-kind gift for somebody you love and admire. A gift that will shine through the ages and last your lifetime and theirs, combined!

One of the easy things about scrapbooking is that you have the entirety of an album to create the look you are going for. You don't have to spend hours on one page in order to get compliments from your friends and family. Instead, the excitement is dispersed amongst ten, twenty, even thirty double-sided pages. As a whole, the scrapbook is looked upon as a piece of art and needs the addition of other pages to really "bring it together" as one piece. But a mini scrapbook is a little different.

A mini scrapbook doesn't contain many more than just a few pages, so this means that you need to get straight to the point and make the most out of the small amount of space that you have. Skip the straight and narrow and go for something completely bold and unique, as these are the only pages you have to work with. The fact that you are working on such few pages means that you can take more time than you usually do to make it a masterpiece, and makes a great little challenge as well.

Has your friend just celebrated a significant birthday? Perhaps she is "40 years young" and feeling a little overwhelmed. Let her know that you are there for her every step of the way, and make her a gift that will have her looking back and smiling at this milestone. On one side of the album, you could depict her as a child, and on another show her at her current age. Write something encouraging beneath the pictures, such as "Forty, and still beautiful!" just so she won't hunt you down later and lecture you on making such a comparison! Now, if your friend has a good sense of humor, than you can always write something witty like, "Oh my God, what happened?" beneath her current picture. Just don't tell her that I said so!

'Then and now' scrapbooks make a great short album for somebody making a transition or milestone in their lives. Like I mentioned above, it works great for significant birthdays (like turning 21 or 40), long-term

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>