Many mothers that scrapbook are discovering that creating scrapbooks together is a great craft for the entire family to enjoy, including young and old. But as with any other activity, it’s important to remember that scrapbooking for kids is not like scrapbooking for adults. You mght have to make some adjustments in how you scrapbook to accomodate the abilities and attention span of children or they may get bored just like they would with any other craft or hobby. So how can you improve scrapbooking for kids so that they enjoy it just as much as you do? Consider these easy and simple tips before you start scrapbooking with your children.
Getting them involved and excited to make their own choices is essential to scrapbooking for children. Have the kids choose their own photo or other main subject that you will be using, and have them pick the theme and colors of the layout as well. You may think that soft pastels or primary colors or another design would look better on a particular page but this isn’t about doing things “right,” it’s about letting the children express themselves. Give them as many choices and options as you can and you’ll see that they’re more involved and will enjoy scrapbooking projects with kids more often, as opposed to just dictating to them what you’ll be doing or working on. Their layouts may get better over time but be patient with them and encourage their own creativity.
Another good thing to remember about scrapbooking for kids is that you want to keep things simple and basic. You may be skilled at working in various elements and designs when it comes to your pages, but think of coloring books for children. The drawings in coloring books are very basic in their shapes, colors, designs, and so on. You don’t want your pages complex when you are considering scrapbooking for children. You will want to stay with basic shapes like diamonds, hearts, squares, circles and triangles, and basic designs like flowers, suns, stars and boats, for example. You can use stencils or templates or maybe just have them draw things freehand, but be sure to avoid being too critical of their work.
Scrapbooking is an enjoyable craft for everyone. It’s affordable, creative, and something to do when you can’t go outside! But when you’re enjoying scrapbook tips & techniques with kids it’s a good idea to let them take the lead in their own work and really express themselves so they enjoy it as much as you do!