Scrap Mania

Digital scrapbooking is the easy, new way to preserve your memories—and adoptive parents are leading the way!

By Colleen Corley

“I felt I had to do something with them, to incorporate them into my life,” Ann explains. So began her scrapbooking obsession: first, a 10-page album, with the referral photos of Katie mixed with pictures of Ann and her husband filling out forms, waiting in line at the immigration office, and smiling as the guests of honor at a baby shower. “I wanted Katie to get an idea of what it was like before she came home,” Ann says.

As Katie's homecoming neared, Ann realized that working on a paper scrapbook—with supplies strewn for weeks across the living room floor—wouldn’t be practical with a child wandering around. “But digital scrapbooking never appealed to me,” she says, until one night, after chatting online until 3 a.m. with a fellow adoptive mom and scrapbooker, Ann decided to give digital a try. “From that moment on, I was hooked.”

And she’s not the only one. The consummate “mom craft” has dived headfirst into the 21st century—and adopters are at the head of the pack. Adoptive parents are creating digital parent profiles for birthmothers, lifebooks, welcome home books, heritage scrapbooks, and travel books—all of which can be shared online, via e-mail, or in print.

Layout: Digital Designs by Randi OH Designs

“It’s absolutely the hottest new craft,” says Randi Oh, an adoptive mom-in-waiting, who runs randioh.com. Internet sites are popping up everywhere to meet the needs of digiscrappers, who have forgone scissors, glue, paper—and paper cuts—and the tedium of traditional scrapbooking for the ease and economy of a digital version. And while it’s true that digital scrapbooks don’t have textured papers and objects that give them a three-dimensional feel, digital technical effects (such as shadowing) lend a convincing illusion of texture, notes Katie Bodiford, mom to Daniel, four, adopted from Russia.

“There’s been an immense number of converts,” adds Oh. “There are people who still do traditional, but I don’t know why.”

Digital Scrapbooking 1-2-3

If you’ve got a computer and the urge to create, you’re almost set. Here’s what you need to get started.

Photo Editing Software

Whether you take photos with a digital camera or scan prints, an integral part of the layout process involves editing your photos. Let’s face it—as much as you love Uncle Eddie, the sight of him talking with a mouthful of food, oblivious to your camera, could ruin even the cutest picture of your child.

For complete freedom to crop any unwanted element—like Uncle Eddie—out of the picture, scrapbookers recommend digital imaging software, like Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel Paintshop Pro. The cost of the programs varies widely; depending on the sophistication of the one you choose, you’ll spend anywhere from $20 to $600.

You can also use free online programs, such as Kodak EasyShare, Shutterfly, or Snapfish, though their editing options are limited (you’ll forego adjusting color balance, for example). When choosing editing software, consider its layout capabilities. Often, the software will have functions you can use for page layout, as well.

Publishing Program

Layout: by Kim Ruettgers

Just like the paper version, digital page layouts are created by layering backgrounds, photos, mementos, and embellishments on top of each other. Scrapbookers have several options to choose from:

Creative Elements

A number of sites sell inexpensive packages of high-resolution images you can use to decorate your pages—and some graphic designers even give them away. As the population of adoptive digiscrappers grows, so does the selection of adoption-related images and kits, including country-specific ones for parents of kids from Asia, Eastern Europe, or Latin America. scrapandtell.com has a great selection of these kits.

Layout: by Katie Bodiford

If you think you might want to create more than one album, good news: Digital images can be modified and reused as many times as you’d like to use them. “That’s the beauty of digital scrapbooking,” explains Ruettgers, the owner of digiscrappingmoms.com, an online gallery, store, and gathering place for scrapbookers. The terms of use vary—for example, certain graphic designers restrict what their images may be used for—but once you download an image, its color, size, and special effects are up to you to change.

Want to include images of official documents, mementos, or art that’s not digital? A scanner is what you need. “I have scanned my daughter’s passport, country stamps, money, and other fun stuff,” says Nicki McGuill, mom to Aliya, two, born in Kazakhstan. McGuill reminds scrappers that it’s important to make sure there are no copyright restrictions on the paper items you use.

Sharing Your Scrapbook

Once your masterpiece is done, you’ll want to share it with the world. Pages created with publishing software can be saved as jpgs, gifs, or any kind of photo extension, and e-mailed as an attachment or uploaded to a website. No matter what program you use, you can also save layouts as PDF files and e-mail them, says Katie Bodiford.

Given a scrapbook’s sentimental value, you may also want something tangible, that your child can keep forever. In that case, print your pages. Here are three options for printing:

Colleen Corley is the assistant editor of Adoptive Families.

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