Scrapping Events You Didn't Attend

As a scrapbooker do you ever get handed photographs to scrap even though you weren't at the event? This happens often in my house. My children or husband will do an activity or take a trip without me. I am then left to detail the event I never attended. Here are some thoughts and examples of what I do in those cases.

Topics.

Various events or trips might occur for a significant person in your life without you being there. These events might involve someone going on a vacation, playing in a sports game, or attending a school event. You will have to decide if you want to make scrapbook pages or a mini album about it. Consider the person involved. Would he or she like the event documented? Is the person willing to cooperate in getting it documented? Also consider your interest. Do you think it is something worth documenting? Have you documented something similar? Do you have time to do it? If you decide to scrapbook the event, read on for some tips.

Photographs.

While photographs are not essential to a layout, they do help to visually tell the story. If you can get photographs, do so. If you can plan ahead of time, designate someone else to take photographs for you. That way you are assured of getting some photographs. If the event has already occurred, think of who may have taken pictures of the event. Check with other people such as parents, your spouse, or a teacher.

Once you know who has taken photographs, you will need to acquire them. If a photographer has a traditional camera, ask for reprints. If he or she has a digital camera, give him or her a CD to load the photographs for you. Alternatively, ask him or her to e-mail you photographs. Another digital option is to get a link to a photo service where the photographs are stored online.

If you have access to photographs that someone else took, have the participant in the event look through the photographs and chose the ones to use. When my husband goes on a business trip he will take lots of photographs. When he returns, he tells me about the photographs and he lets me know which ones to print. I write down the basic information while it is still fresh and order the photographs that correspond.

Sometimes you cannot get a photograph of the event, but a photograph from a different time may be useable. For example, when my daughter did a formal presentation for a mural her class did, I missed the event. When I scrapped the page, I included a picture I took of the mural after the event.

Also consider using a newspaper clipping if the event appeared in the newspaper.

Once you have the photographs chosen proceed to use them on a layout. If you were given prints, you will have to work with whatever size you were given. You may need to crop them for your specific design. When I was given photographs of my daughter with her friend, I cropped the photographs and designed a layout to accent those pictures.

If you really want a different size for a photograph and own a scanner, you can scan the photographs. Open them in a photo editing software and adjust them to your desired sizing.

Journaling.

Any type of journaling for the event will be helpful. From a long journaling description to a short list of the basic facts, consider what you can do with the information you have available.

The best journaling would be a personal account of the event from the person who participated. If you can interview the person or have the person write down the journaling for you, take advantage of that. Personal accounts and stories will enhance the layout. Sometimes those will be long-winded accounts and other times they will be short accounts. When I asked my husband about a site he visited he commented, "It was cool!" and one other sentence. At other times, I can get him to write several paragraphs. The amount of journaling will depend on the person and the event.

If you know of a story surrounding the event include it. Ask the participant for particular details or have them review your writing to make sure you have the story correct. My husband was out of the country during St. Patrick's Day but his mom sent him an e-mail asking if he was wearing green. He replied yes and had a picture to prove it. I used this story and the photograph as a backdrop for a layout.

If there are notes, e-mails or memorabilia surrounding the event, use it for information in your journaling. When my husband travels, he sends e-mails about the placing he is visiting. I save those e-mails and dig them out when looking for journaling about a trip.

For travel photos or a big event, check the Internet for information. When my husband traveled to Lisbon, I was able to pair a series of photographs he took with information about the particular site garnered from an informative website.

Even an event without a large amount of storytelling can include the basic information. When my daughter traveled with her Girl Scout troop without me, I got photographs from the leader. I included the basic details of when, where and what they did in the layout.

In other cases you may be given journaling for an event you didn't attend. Use that journaling. When my daughter wrote a note about something that happened at school, I paired it with a photograph of her from around the same time frame, including her note in the layout.

Layout Design.

With photographs and text, assemble your layout in your usual style.

If you are missing photographs, you may have to compose the page without photographs. Consider notes and memorabilia that may be included on the page.

If you still need journaling text, consider assembling the layout minus the text. A simple title and layout design can be assembled with a boxed area saved for the journaling. While working on layouts about a trip my husband took, I assembled the layout, leaving a space for the journaling. To encourage him, I let him know what photos were on the page and how much space he had for journaling. Here is an example of a layout in progress with a block of journaling ready.

Store the incomplete layout in a page protector until the journaling text is ready.

No matter how much text or photographs are available, use a title that will capture the reader's attention. This is especially true when you are low on photographs or text. In some cases a large title with a sub-title may be all that is available. Done correctly, it will get the message across just as well.

As always, consider which embellishments would accent the layout theme. Use products and colors that coordinate effectively.

So, don't hesitate next time there's an event you can't attend. You can still document it and have fun in the process.

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