6 Easy Ways to Incorporate Memorabilia in your Scrapbook Layouts

6 Easy Ways to Incorporate Memorabilia in your Scrapbook Layouts

Have you found yourself collecting little tidbits here and there that remind you of your travels?  Of course, not all memorabilia is from vacations. I’ve saved baby's first curl, newborn hospital bracelets, school report cards, etc. If you’ve ever wondered how to include  these types of extras in your scrapbooks, here are some ideas.

From Dictionary.com: 

Memorabilia: mem·o·ra·bil·i·a [mem-er-uh-bil-ee-uh, -bil-yuh]  plural noun, singular mem·o·rab·i·le

 1. mementos; souvenirs.

2. matters or events worthy to be remembered; points worthy of note.

Here are 6 simple ways you can bring your memories home with you and include souvenirs to liven up your scrapbooks.

• Include a map as your page background. This can be done, either by cutting parts of the map out and including it in the background, or even by trimming a full size map so that it is the background. I’m always grabbing map when we visit various tourist destinations – not only are they useful while you’re there, but they are free and make a great souvenir!

Go ahead and laugh (not too hard) at my scrapbooking skills! This was literally the 2nd page I ever scrapped back in 2000! Ahhh, when all of my supplies fit in a Rubbermaid container!

• Make a pocket to hold brochures, maps, tickets. In the example above, I used a purchased pocket to hold my room key/Park Hopper, but there are several great pocket & envelope dies on the market that would be great for holding your treasures!

• Attach your memorabilia directly to the page as you would any other embellishment. This may add some bulk to your pages so be careful how the albums are stored so that you are not denting the pages/photos on either side.  I’ve included the newborn hospital bracelets on baby’s first scrapbook page,  an old dog tag from a dog we fostered and even our “Just Married” pins from my Disney vacation! As you can see in the layout below, postcards are another inexpensive souvenir that can be easily added to a scrapbook layout. 

• Create a hinged photo to add another spot where memorabilia can be placed. For example hinge a photo and put your memorabilia on the other side. For example, when I travel to Disney World, I love to save the receipts from our meals. It not only (sadly) gives me a glimpse into the ever-increasing prices, but more importantly it gives me another way to remember a special meal and what everyone had (and yes, I’m a bit of a food geek when it comes to my meals sat Disney World!) Just be sure to leave an opening in your page protector so that you (and future generations) will know to look for the hidden memorabilia!

• Take a photo of your souvenirs and include the photos in your layout. Ok, so not all memorabilia can be attached to a scrapbook page! But you can take a photo of what you purchased and tell the story of why you bought it. Or maybe there was a souvenir that you didn’t buy – take a photo and it’s almost like you brought it home with you. And how did it take me so long to see that I spelled it incorrectly???

•  Use hotel stationary for your journaling. You not only remember exactly where you’ve been, but this is a great way to make your journaling stand out on the page. Even better, after returning to your room each day, write what you did that day and include that sheet for that day’s layout. The layout will come together seamlessly once you are home.

Ok, not technically the stationary in the layout below, but I did use a card that the concierge staff left in our room to welcome us back (as well as a postcard left in our room).

How do you incorporate memorabilia into your layouts?