Scrapbooking

This piece of my own writing, taken from one of my notebooks, describes a routine or ritual activity. In this case, I’ve chosen to write about my papercraft hobby of modern scrapbooking.

By ‘modern’ I’m referring to bespoke products that conserve photographs and memories within a set of pages that will not cause everything to turn yellow-brown over time. The acid and lignin within paper and card causes the images to break down. It’s not an attractive way to keep your memories. Remember those sugar paper scrapbooks that are cheap and, not altogether, cheerful?

What matters with this piece of writing is whether the reader comprehends the activity from the description given.

Papercraft Rituals

My love affair with scrapbook papers began when I got married, the second time around. I loved the clean sheets of 12"x12" or 30cmx30cm, plain and decorative papers, available from places like Hobbycraft and online papercraft dealers (not an affiliate link).

Select your photograph first. Monochrome or full colour. (Tip: print or photocopy a copy of your original precious photo). Note the tones, the shapes, the theme. Study closely, miss nothing.

Select your scrapbook, and your papers. Add embellishments such as ribbon, buttons, brads, chipboard shapes - anything that can be used safely from acid and lignin-free bespoke items. NB your adhesive must also be special - I use dry adhesive tape runners and crafter's double-sided tape.

For our wedding album, this process took the first two years of our marriage and was completed just before we moved to another city. I began to collect my materials soon after the wedding in 2005. When I felt I had everything I needed, I was ready to complete a 20-page 12"x12" / 30cmx30cm album. Each of the polythene sleeves or folders within the covers will hold 2 pages back-to-back.

I began my album with "Me" and moved through the story of "Us", and the family & friends assembled for our special day. Our wedding day was also a significant birthday for me! We hosted a wedding reception and party in one day, at a local Chinese restaurant (a Chinese Pagoda on a lake!).

The album is unique and reminds us each year on the "Annibirthary" (sic) - the first day of the rest of our lives.

Write Your Own Ritual

Think about something you do repetitively. It might be as mundane as getting up each morning and getting out of the house. It might be a routine cooking or gardening task like pruning the roses or edging the lawn. You might write about a journey you often make or a holiday you often have.

Something as simple as how you make a cup of tea for yourself is surprisingly tricky to write – describe every single detail and step as though an alien for Planet Zog has arrived and has loads of questions!

You can time yourself (5-10 minutes) and you must switch off your dratted Inner Critic. Have fun. This exercise will help you note visual and memorised details as well as choose words that fit the brief precisely.