Meaningful Memorabilia

For me, that item is an old pair of jeans. They were the most comfortable pair of jeans I've ever owned; I wore them all the time. I wore them the day my husband fell for me. I wore them on our first date. I wore them when we got engaged. I wore those jeans until they disintegrated, but couldn't bear to throw them out.

They sat on my dresser for six months until I got the idea to put them to good use in my scrapbooks. The pockets have been removed and used in layouts, while one leg was cut into the shape of a heart and attached to a page marking my fifth wedding anniversary and telling the story of these jeans.

Incorporating those pieces of fabric have opened up a whole new world of ideas for me and helped me realize that scrapbookers are really the original recyclers. Our creativity enables us to look at an ordinary, everyday item and see uses for it beyond the norm. There's really very little that can't be incorporated into a scrapbook somehow - products are available that will make the items acid-free and preserve them on your pages.

Don't limit yourself to ticket stubs and restaurant menus. Maybe the tie he wore on a special date will meet an untimely end a few weeks later and find a way onto a scrap page. Or instead of packing away a special shirt your infant wore, try making a layout with it!

Here are some ideas of easy things around the house you can use in a scrapbook page:

• Try incorporating Monopoly money or Scrabble pieces in a family game night layout.
• Spare buttons and snaps can find a purpose on a page.
• Aluminum foil looks gorgeous put through a Cuttlebug embossing folder.
• Save your garter belt and put it on a wedding layout.
• Fabric of any type can add dimension and texture to pages.
• Christmas cards - particularly the messages inside - can become great embellishments and a wonderful way to remember family and friends.
• Wool, ribbon, or fibers of any kind look amazing on a page.
• Pages from old books - particularly ones with meaning to you - can look great on a page.
• Add a little bling in the form of broken jewelry or lost earrings instead of letting them waste away in a jewelry box.

Don't be afraid to try something and see if it works - you just may be surprised what new doors open up for you!