by Krymzen Hall

Created on: October 30, 2008

I'm in Europe. My husband and I are pushing our infant son's stroller up the steep, cobblestone hill that leads to the entrance of the famous castle in Heidelberg, Germany. I realize that cobblestone for a sidewalk is only an attractive proposition if you're not fighting with wheels on a stroller that get stuck in the cracks every two seconds. It's funny now, but I'm out of breath, so I will turn the page and go to Alaska.

Now I'm on the Ferry, listening to the water whisk across the Inside Passage. It's nightfall, and from the deck of the ship, I can see the lights of Ketchikan, the small town that rides the shore of the small channel. There is a slight chill in the air, cool enough to be comforting, but cold enough to allow me to savor my blanket and hot tea when I return to my cabin for the night.

My trip around the world exhausts me. So I put my scrapbooks away, and will tour my memories another day, on my own time, because scrapbooks are those things that allow me to remember my life in a style all my own, at a pace all my own, and in an order all my own, without the expense of airline travel. Looking through a scrapbook makes me laugh, and also heals my pain. I have friends that value the power of scrapbooks too. Often, they treat this hobby as a high-price investment.

But scrapbooking doesn't have to be expensive to be fulfilling.

Some scrapbookies, as I've coined them, spend hundreds of dollars investing in perfectly bound leather books and crafted miniature clothes pins. But just like a fully-loaded automobile, the bells and whistles can get quite expensive. But fret not. I'm here to tell you how to preserve your memories on a shoe-string, literally and figuratively, so you can travel the world with me.

Since the events of life vary and are numerous, I'll focus on three major categories: Birthdays, Christmas, and oh yeah, having a baby. I'll throw in some cardinal rules too.

First cardinal rule: The scrapbook store is not your friend. You can find the commodities you need from the dollar store down the street or at another discount chain.

As a parent, I know there is no greater time to throw caution and the budget to the wind than at a child's birthday party. The decorations, the film, and the presents are expensive enough. Preserving the memories shouldn't add to the bottom line.

This brings me to cardinal rule number two: Planning.

Everything a parent needs to complete a few pages, or even a complete mini-book of memories, is on the table, next to the cake,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>