Preserving Pictures Using Digital Scrap Pages

This post was updated 2022.

One big myth about pictures is that “scrapbooking” is required for preserving them.  (Spoiler:  it's not.)  This month on #familyhistoryfriday, we’ll focus on various ways to preserve photos.  Because guess what.  Your life story told through {your pictures and memories has tremendous (research-proven) benefits}, including mental health wellness and family connections!  Each Friday this month we will look at a new way of preserving photos, so there’s bound to be something that works for you!

There are several ways to preserve pictures and memories, and I always tell people to use what works for THEM.  Ignore trends and what’s currently popular and do what works for you.  If you don’t love it, you won’t do it. 

We'll start off this Preserving Pictures 5-week series by this week looking at my personal favorite way of preserving photos:  digital scrap pages.  I’ve been using them for almost 10 years now, and I’ve used the same company the entire 10 years because there’s nothing else like it out there.  So without further ado, let’s look at preserving pictures using digital scrap pages.

You Might Love Digital Scrap Pages If…

I’ve found that digital scrap pages are preferred by:

• people who like a loose-leaf album so they can include kids’ artwork, class pictures, ticket stubs, etc.
• people who are transitioning out of paper scrapbooking since they can create digital pages quickly while using up their stash of scrapbooking paper, stickers, etc.
• burned-out scrapbookers–those who want to preserve their memories and photos but either don’t have time or are just plain tired.  (You can read {my open letter to beloved burned-out scrapbookers here}.)

If any of those sound like you, you should give digital scrap pages a try.

If you’re not sure what creating digital scrap pages would look like, you can actually watch me do it--just the basics--right here:

And since there's so much creativity and flexibility available in this software program, Artisan, I've made a whole video series called Artisan Quick Tips with Jennifer where I show one cool thing you can do in each video, like adding a drop shadow, "cutting" digital papers, adding masks and frames to photos, and much more.  See them all at this link.

What I Love About Digital Scrap Pages

I adore the "copy page" feature!  I can copy whole pages with the click of a button.  That means rather than re-building each page of a Disneyland trip, I make it once, click “copy” 16 times, and then add pictures to each page.  It also means I can make copies of pages and adjust them for individual kids.  It makes my memory-keeping go fast!

So I am a looseleaf-style gal.  It means I have to buy binders and page protectors and such, but I am a saver of plane tickets and movie tickets and valentines.  I love having the whole story, so to speak.  Old things are extra special when you look back at them, so I think it will be neat in 20 years to look back and find that a movie ticket “only” cost $10 in 2018. ha ha

scrap pages are available in 12x12, 8.5x11, and 8x8.

If digital scrap pages sound like your thing, you can follow the directions in the video above to get started, or {the steps here}.

What Are Other Options for Preserving Pictures?

If digital scrapbooking doesn’t sound like your way to preserve photos and memories, don’t worry.  I’ll share more options all month long!  On #familyhistoryfriday.  Whatever you choose, #dontletyourbabiesgrowuptobejpegs!

UPDATE:  Links to all five posts in this series can be found here: {Think Outside the Scrapbooking Box}.

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This post was originally published at www.livegrowgive.org on March 2, 2018, by Jennifer Wise.  More #familyhistoryfriday posts can be found below by clicking the hashtag next to Labels.