Family Moment Monday - Messy Scrapbooking

Motherhood for Dummies hosts Family Moment Mondays, check her out to get more ideas on how to spend time together as a family!

Scrapbooking is something that it seems that every mother wants to try to do, at least while their children are young. The problem is that finishing (or starting!) that ever allusive baby book tends to get lost in the hustle and bustle of round the clock feedings/diaper changes/meal making and other general chaos that is life as a mom. It is actually a little bit ironic that scrapbooks are meant to be a way to record your children's lives, but at the same time are supposed to be perfect, beautiful creations that in no way reflect the hectic reality that we often live.

So I am a big supporter of messy scrapbooking. There are lots of ways that you can scrapbook, both in the traditional sense, and by thinking a little outside of the box, without having to sacrifice large chunks of time and energy (not to mention expensive supplies.) Here are a few ideas:

*If you don't have time to scrapbook now, but would like to try in the future, don't rely on your memory. Keep a running word file with all the things you would like to scrap, and any ideas for layouts you might have. This will make the actual task of scrapbooking much more manageable and enjoyable in the future.

*Instead of a scrapbook, try a scrapjournal. Keep a nice journal in an accessible area and whenever something important or cute happens in your family's life, record it there. Anyone can contribute: you, your husband, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents. You can even make sections for firsts, funny things family members said, etc. If you wanted to use a large 3 hole binder you could also insert page protectors to put in pictures and children's artwork or school certificates.

*If you want to use a traditional scrapbook, try simplifying a bit. There is no need to use a million little pieces of embellishment, in fact some of the most beautiful scrapbooks I have ever seen are simple layouts on white pieces of paper. Use special paper sparingly to add a decorative punch and remember that the most important things in a scrapbook are the pictures and the writing.

*Speaking of writing, for those of you who have horrible handwriting (like me), don't stress about buying stamps or sticker letters to keep your scrapbook looking perfect. Employ child labor and get your little ones to write headings or decorate pages. It will add a special touch and the messiness will be part of the charm.

There are lots of other ways to preserve memories with little fuss. Our blogs in a way are a great way to do this also. What is another way that you "scrapbook" your family memories?