Autumn Layout Ideas

When I think of autumn, the first two things that come to mind are leaves and food, leaves because of their changing colors and food because of Thanksgiving. The changing season also brings with it new opportunities for scrapbook layouts and the natural colors make color coordinating a snap. The following are just a few ways for you to capture your memories of the season.

Fall Foliage

Get outside and experience autumn. Whether you're an avid hiker or you rarely venture into the great outdoors, don't forget to take your camera; use it as an opportunity for a family photo shoot or to practice taking outdoor photos. For example, you can use leaves to create the following scrapbook layouts (title idea in quotes):

• "Falling Leaves" - Once you have a nice pile of leaves out in the yard, take your children outside, as if they'll need encouragement, and have a family photo shoot.
• "Autumn Memories" - Do you have a favorite hiking trail? Does your family take an annual scenic drive to see the fall foliage? Snap some pictures along the way and make a bullet list of some of your favorite autumn memories.

Don't be afraid to think outside the proverbial box - one of my favorite fall foliage pictures is one where I was standing directly under the tree and just shot what was above me.

Scrapbooking Food

I'm a big believer that scrapbooking isn't just a fancy alternative to a picture book, but a way to preserve the people and stories of your time. During this season of family and togetherness, we often share gifts of food when visiting friends and relatives.

So, this Thanksgiving, when you prepare your famous apple-cinnamon cake, include a recipe card for the host, or, if you're the host, prepare recipe cards for your guests. The card doesn't have to be fancy, but some things to consider including are:

• Picture of the finished dish: I'm big on seeing the finished product, so I always like to include a picture of what the dish "should" look like.
• Picture of the main ingredients: A bowl full of apples, a mound of chocolate chips, etc.
• Picture of yourself (or the person that passed it down to you): It doesn't have to be big, but just remember that your great-great granddaughter may be leafing through some old recipes one day and that will give her a way to know whose they were.
• Why is this recipe special? Has it been in your family for hundreds of years? How have you made it your own (i.e., do you replace the nuts with extra chocolate chips in the banana-chocolate chip bread)?
• Of course, since we're talking about recipes, you would be hard pressed not to use a recipe card (store-bought or hand-made).

"Turkey Day Treasures" - If you're feeling particularly adventurous, and looking to create a true family heirloom, create an entire scrapbook designed to preserve the family's traditional Thanksgiving recipes. Just think of it as a bunch of recipe cards put together.

While these two happen to be my favorite autumn themes, don't forget about all the layouts waiting to be made based on pictures of football games, marching band performances, trips to the pumpkin patch and the homecoming parade.

Happy Scrapping!

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