Scrapbooking Without Pictures

My daughter's sixth birthday party.
The day our apartment flooded.
My husband and friends' impromptu football game.

Even an avid scrapbooker like me can be caught without a camera at a memorable moment. Sometimes I participate in a conversation or experience an emotion I want to capture on paper. Here are a few ways to scrapbook your precious memories when photos aren't available.

Use Memorabilia:

For this layout I used the actual sticker my daughter gave me, in the same way I would if I had a picture of the event.

Journaling: You are the best kid EVER - do you know that?! It was a really rough morning, and I was leaving in a rush when you gave me this sticker. I almost broke down! You made my day!

Some other memorabilia items you could include on your photo-less layouts:

• Movie ticket stubs
• Restaurant menus or matchbooks
• Pressed flowers from a bouquet
• Ribbon or trim cut from an outfit
• Bills for service or receipts

Use Pre-made Embellishments:

Scrapbooking manufacturers have created embellishments for almost every situation imaginable. A glance through your supplies or a local retailer may have just the item you need to share your story.

Check out:

• Jolee's Boutique by EK Success
• Doodlebug Designs
• K&Co. Danny O series

Use Printed/Scanned Images:

For my layout about my husband's and my "song" I found a picture of the album cover and a digital CD image online. Find pictures online using an image search engine like www.google.com or a free/low-cost stock photography site such as www.sxc.hu/index.phtml. You can also scan images and dimensional items for your layouts.

Don't leave a special memory out of your scrapbook just because you don't have a photo to adhere to a layout. Remember, it's the story of life that you are preserving, not just pictures.