Top Ways To Decide Between Traditional And Digital Scrapbooking

These days lots of people across the globe are into scrapbooking, preserving the memories of happy times and making keepsakes to pass onto their children. Although the art of scrapbooking has been in existence for a long time, there really is no particular way that can be said to be the “right” way of doing things. It is just a matter of your own tastes and choices. In the modern day, there is even a choice between traditional scrapbooking the “manual” way, or digital scrapbooking using specialized computer software. Personally I’ve experimented with both methods of doing things. For me, the method I prefer, is to do things by hand. The very act of sitting down, sifting through old pictures, combining and harmonizing decoration and color, creating unique pages, allows me to unwind and stimulates happy memories from throughout my life.

I have been a very keen scrapbook enthusiast for a long time. Over this times I have come to know which scrapbooking products are worth using and which are best avoided. Myself, I always think it is a good idea to purchase slightly more expensive cardstock, scrapbooks, tools, decorations, etc. As many people do, My drawers are littered with useless, cheap, scrapbooking products I’ve bought over the years, which I’m certain I’ll never even look at again. If I get round to it, I could probably make some money selling these online. In these times of economic challenge quality will always win, and not quantity.

If you are in the process of choosing which type of scrapbooking, traditional or digital, you’ll need to think about the following things.

Is speed of the essence? If so, maybe a piece of software would be the right choice.

Is individuality a key factor for you? Digital software usually has a finite number of templates, themes, designs, layouts for pages, and so on. For full control of personal touches, individual customiztions, extra embellishments such as labels, you should maybe opt for the traditional approach.

Are you interested in evolving your technique over time? I love to go back over my early work from time to time and compare it to the work I come up with now, after years of practice.

I love to browse my scrapbooks with my daughters. The pages evoke powerful memories that by sharing allow us to connect to each other and to past times. Pictures, awards, simple things like train tickets, all make events from years ago clear once again in our minds. Sometimes, my girls even like to show the albums off to their friends, which shows how much they must hold them dear.

Recently for my parents’ anniversary, we created a scrapbook using some digital software. My mother in particular absolutely loved it. It was quite a work of art – very professional looking leather cover, nicely bound with colorful, striking pages. Along the edge of the book, was inscribed my parents’ names and the date of their wedding, so that on a bookshelf it has the appearance of a regular book. Whilst putting the album together, my family learned a number of things about my parents that we never knew before, which was an added and surprising bonus.

As a parting thought, if you are choosing which method of scrapbooking is best for you, give both methods a proper go. It is only by trying both methods for a period of time (so by creating at least three scrapbooks using both approaches) that you can really get a feel for what is right for you.