If you are bored and you want to do something, but are actually fed up of chasing aliens on your computer or watching TV, then here’s something that can occupy your time, pleasantly, and often with very good results. Make a scrapbook.
Scrapbooks are no longer those horrid brown paper sheets where we used to cut out pictures and stick them, or paste newspaper clippings. Scrapbooks come in a variety of shapes and sizes today, but are more fun if you can make them on your own.

For this, you will need:
Sheets of white paper/thin cardboard/handmade paper (whatever suits your fancy and your pocket actually!)
Glue
Safety Scissors, Pencils, Erasers Glitter/Glitter pens/Glitter tubes Beads/buttons/small glittery thingies that you can pick up at a craft shop for ten rupees Satin Ribbons -any kind will do, broad, narrow, its all up to you
Photographs – are most important here. We will discuss this in detail later, Small notepad and pencil for ideas

Theme

Grab that notepad and jot down some of your favourite things. For instance, are you fond of any particular season like winter or autumn? You could make that your theme. Or maybe you like animals and pets a lot. That can make a very cute theme. Even something like ice cream can make a really neat theme. Once you have written down all your ideas, you can decide which one to select and then start working on the scrapbook. Or maybe you just had a fantastic vacation with your family and you want to create something really memorable.

Size

Size is important. Do you want this to be a really big effort or do you get bored easily and you won’t finish something so big? Go moderate. Opt for a minimum of 5 pages for your scrapbook, excluding the front and back covers. You can choose to have more pages too.

Photographs

Select the photos that will be most suitable to your theme or occasion. Do take your parent’s permission before using the photographs, and make sure that you have either copies of the photos on the computer or as negatives. Make sure you have at least two photographs per page.

Layout

The layout is extremely important in making your scrapbook from ‘nice’ to ‘wow!’ To get this right, you have to concentrate on your theme and look at relevant ideas. If for instance you have chosen a theme like autumn, then you can make a slightly big outline of a leaf and then paste your photographs in it. The layout however involves in deciding how you will place the photographs, and which photo you will place at which position. Juggle around with the photos and keep placing them at different angles on different pages to see which is the best layout.

Borders

Once you have selected a layout, start working on the photos page by page. To make the photos stand out, you can cut out only what you want from the photo and discard the background. After sticking the photo, you can use the glitter tubes to squeeze out glitter to surround the borders. Do not overdo. Just add the borders for emphasis.

Captions

The most important part! Write down appropriate captions near the pictures. They could just be the names of the people in the picture or an explanation about the circumstances in which the picture was taken.

Other Decorations

Use your imagination to spruce up the scrap book with the other items you have. Work with the theme in mind at all times, and your scrap book will look unified and not chaotic. If your theme is ice creams, then use the small glittery beads to fill in the shape of an ice cream cone on one of the pages. Make sure you use different coloured beads for the cone and the ice cream. The ribbons can grace the borders of the pages or you can even fold the ribbons along their length and stick them on the edges of the page. That way, your pages will look very classy.

Final Touches

Now assemble the pages together and get them spiral bound. Remember, your cover page should have a title that says something about the scrapbook. If you have done a scrapbook for your parent’s anniversary, then it can be called ‘Happy Anniversary’. Obviously.

Remember, scrap books make fantastic gifts because it’s almost as if you are giving a book full of memories. But make a scrapbook for yourself too. You won’t regret it!