Scrapbooking for the Teenage Girl

Have a teen girl at home? Or simply looking for a way to scrapbook your own teenage years (no matter how long ago they might have been)? Look no further.

Scrapbooking the life of an average teenage girl can be somewhat difficult. Perhaps you can't find products to meet your needs. Perhaps your teen simply REFUSES to smile for the camera. Perhaps your teen wants nothing to do with your scrapbooks-or maybe she wants to create them herself. Whatever your situation, there is an answer.

If you're scrapbooking the teen life of someone else, such as your daughter, the first and most important step is to involve her in the process. If you show her a completed page, in your favorite colors (instead of hers), talking about how you feel about her, she's probably not going to be super excited. While those pages are certainly worth creating, why not involve her in the process to create a true-to-life statement of her life, through her eyes?

There are many ways to approach scrapbook pages featuring teen girls. Try one of these fun ideas to get started:

• Ask your teen to list her favorite things, including music, movies, and celebrities. Use the list on a page.
  
  
• Find out which photographs mean the most to your teen, and why. Perhaps that shot of her and her best friend laughing at school doesn't mean anything to you, but recalls a special memory for her. Use the photo on a page, along with her thoughts and memories.
  
  
• If your teen doesn't want to sit through a photo shoot, offer up a trade. Allow a special privilege or bonus if she cooperates. Some free time off from family chores can be the perfect incentive.
  
  
• Offer to scrapbook her photographs, not just yours. Chances are, she's taken many of her own photos, and seeing these in scrapbooks will mean more to her than any others. If she's up to it, offer to scrapbook them together.
  
  
• Create a page detailing your teen's daily schedule, from early a.m. to bedtime. (Teens often need a surprisingly small amount of sleep!)
  
  
• If you're scrapbooking about your own teen years, try writing a letter to your teen self from your adult self. What do you want her to know? What do you admire about her?

Note to Self by Allyson Bright

Once you've decided what type of page to make, it's time to choose your products. If your teen participates in a popular sport or activity, you may find that there are many choices available to you for those pages. However, when it comes to products for the average teen, the scrapbooking industry can be surprisingly lacking. While the choices are getting better, one comment I hear repeatedly from teens is that they don't like the pre-made products available for teen-themed pages. Often, teens find them too cutesy. One teen I know was frustrated by a "girls rule boys drool" sticker at a local store. "Is that what I'm supposed to be all about?" she asked me.

Basement Sleepover Tradition by Allyson Bright

Try letting your teen choose the products she'd like on her pages. If that doesn't work, do stick with her favorite colors. Use designs and patterns that complement her styles and tastes. Many teens love big and bold patterns, others may prefer a softer look. I recently asked a few teen girls about their favorite scrapbook products. After looking through products and papers both in stores and online, companies that got top marks were Heidi Swapp, cherryArte, KI Memories, Urban Lily, and Scrapworks.

Don't be afraid to take risks on your teen pages. That is, after all, what the teen years are all about. Try adding some bling or using a new technique.

Whatever approach you take, remember to include your teen in the project, be true to her style, and don't be afraid to go for broke. The results will be worth it in the end. I promise.