Scrapbooking Personal Ephemera

You’ve probably heard the word “ephemera” before. Usually, in the scrapbooking world, it’s used to talk about reproductions of things like vintage labels and stamps that can add to a scrapbook page.

The word “ephemera” has a bigger meaning, though, and can be used to describe things like ticket stubs, notes and letters, newspaper clippings, any items that we’ve saved because they have special significance to us. All of these make a great addition to your scrapbook and can help you remember events in a unique way.

Scrapbooking ephemera can be a little bit tricky, since we’re so used to scrapbooking photographs. But once you give it a try, you’ll realize that it isn’t too difficult. You could either use your ephemera as the focal point of your page the way you’d use a photograph, or downplay it. Either way you incorporate it, here are some ideas to get you started.

Kinds of Ephemera
There are many different kinds of ephemera that you could save to scrapbook. Here are some ideas of ephemera to use:

• Make a layout using ticket stubs. These could be any kind--movie tickets, tickets for sporting events, tickets to plays (from school plays to Broadway shows), concert tickets, plane or train tickets.They are great reminders of a fun, special occasion.


• Save brochures, the kinds that they have at the visitor center when you go on vacation. Collect a bunch—they’re free—and then pick your favorites to use on your vacation pages.


• Take the napkins, coasters, and matchboxes from restaurants with the name and location of where you went to dine. Whether you’re on vacation or dining locally, they can add to a page about that event.


• You can also save ephemera from your daily life, things that you’d normally throw out without thinking about it. Keep the sleeve from your Starbuck’s coffee and scrap about your caffeine addiction. Save the colorful boxes of cereal and do a page about your kid’s favorite foods.

Making Ephemera Archival
Before you start to scrapbook your ephemera, there is one hurdle to get over: the fact that most things not originally intended for a scrapbook aren’t acid-free. Luckily, there are many ways to get around this; all you need is a little creativity. Here are some ideas for solving this problem:

• Use a product like Archival Mist to neutralize your ephemera and make it archival.


• Take it to your local copy shop and have it color copied onto non-acidic paper.


• Make a copy of it yourself by scanning it into your computer and printing it on photo paper. Or, scan it in and use it on a digital layout.


• Take a picture of the ephemera, or incorporate it into a photo. For instance, take a picture of everybody standing outside a theater holding their tickets for the play.

Creating the Layout
Once you’ve made a copy of your ephemera or treated it with Archival Mist, you’re ready to start scrapping! There are many ways to attach, contain or otherwise incorporate it into your page. Here are a few ideas:

• For a layout with several similar pieces of ephemera, try making a “French message board” type layout. These can hold a number of items, and since you don’t need adhesive to keep them on the page, you can add, take away, or rearrange the ephemera as you feel like it.


• If the main focus of your page is going to be a photograph, but you still have ephemera you’d like to include, try hiding it in a pocket or envelope. You can find quite a variety of these, some intended for scrapbooking and some not. Envelopes can be altered and decorated to match your layout. Another idea would be to hide an envelope on the back of your layout if there isn’t enough room in the layout itself.
  
  


• Attach ephemera to your layout with decorative pins or clips. That way, it can be taken off the layout and examined closer. This is especially a good idea for things like letters that you’ll want to be able to read again.

Easily overlooked, ephemera can be creatively incorporated into scrapbook pages. Once you start looking, you’ll discover many unique items that would be perfect on your scrapbook pages. And who knows, maybe someday in the future our ephemera will seem as charming to people as vintage labels seem to us today.

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