New Straits Times
09-18-2001
Scrapbook fun
Byline: Mariam Tan Abdullah
Edition: 2*
Column: School daze
Memo: (STF) - Mariam Tan
Abdullah writes about the
timeless value of a
scrapbook.
ABOUT 10 years ago, I was
surprised when my husband
told me: "It is so difficult
to buy a scrapbook. I
trudged to several book and
stationery stores before I
managed to get hold of one."
With the current
scrapbook revival in the
United States - it appears
to have acquired a
following, which macrame,
pottery and quilting have -
orders for materials for
making scrapbooks are
easily available through the
Internet.
This hot hobby of the new
century is more than about
chronicling family events
and milestones with
photographs, tickets,
yellowed newspaper
clippings, announcements and
invitations.
The scrapbook for
posterity is not always a
mere record of past events
but can be a lavish
production with elaborate
designs, artfully-cropped
pictures (works of art, no
less) created with acid-
free paper which does not
yellow, paper punches with
various designs and scissors
which make ripples, waves
and scallops.
The revival could not have
come at a better time for
parents of young children.
The path to adulthood is
obviously strewn with
numerous opportunities for
the recording of
achievements and special
events.
School alone provides many
milestones: the first day at
school, concerts, sports,
camps, music recitals and,
of course, graduation (from
preschool to high school).
But we really should not
limit ourselves to
school-related activities.
We should also record daily
happenings in scrapbooks.
Children will appreciate the
attention from the adults;
appreciate that parents are
concerned with what is going
on in their lives, and proud
of their talents and
creative efforts.
The next time you invite
your friends and family to a
send-off party - say, your
child is going to boarding
school - supply them with
scrapbook paper and ask
them to write their advice,
experiences or recollections
of your offspring's past
school years.
Long after the balloons and
decorations are taken down,
you and your child will have
something more tangible to
remember the day by.
When the fridge will not
hold anymore of your
children's cherished artwork
and the boxes which store
their art are bursting at
the seams, there is a way to
organise your home and still
enjoy their creative
efforts.
Take photographs of the
artwork! The artwork can be
thrown away but you still
have a record of them for
your
scrapbook. If you
use acid-free paper for the
scrapbook, the
photographs may even outlast
the original work!
And you would have solved
your storage problems as
well, for scrapbooks
are much easier to keep away
than bulky boxes.
Another novel way to
preserve artwork is to scan
or colour copy those works
onto paper for scrapbook
use.
Making scrapbooks can
be a fun family activity.
Children can turn
scrapbooks into
journals. They will have
extra practice in
handwriting, spelling and
composition. By recording
each entry's date and time,
they will be adept at using
a calender and clock.
When a dull, listless day
seems to lie ahead or it is
raining for days on end and
the children cannot go out
to play, work on a
scrapbook.
When the next rainy season
comes around or the children
are housebound because they
are sick, flip through the
scrapbook for hours
of fun.
* s.daze@excite.com
(Copyright 2001)