Photo albums have come a long way since the days of black and white photographs and albums with simple white pages. These days photo albums have become almost a form of art with decorated and themed pages and a variety of things that can be done with pictures. Scrapbooks are the photo albums of today and many individuals are joining in the fun of making each of their special moments a work of art to be enjoyed for years to come. For those who have not yet taken part in the joy of scrapbooking here are few tips to get you going on making a beautiful book for yourself, a loved one, or even to put away as an heirloom.

The first thing you want to do when you're getting ready to make your scrapbook is gather up all of your best, most prized snapshots of your family and friends. You may want to separate the pictures based on what side of the family they are, what kind of event they were taken at or what parts of the world or even which year they were taken in. The possibilities are endless, you just have to know what direction you plan to go in with your scrap book and make piles of pictures based on that.

Once you separate all of your photographs you will want to decide what the theme for you want to make your scrapbook or books. You may want to do one scrapbook with a beach theme and fill it with pictures of beach trips or vacations. You may want to do a scrapbook with a vacation theme and fill it with all of your vacation pictures, or a outdoor adventure theme with pictures from camping and hiking trips. Or you may just want to do a scrapbook with a family theme and add a variety of family pictures. There are so many creative possibilities that you may find it hard to choose just one which is why scrapbooking has become so popular. Once you start you will keep coming up with more ideas and we all no that there is never a shortage on pictures to fill the many scrapbooks that you have ideas for

Next you want to collect the materials you will need for your scrapbooking. Often people will buy kits with the materials in them but if you would like to get really creative you can choose your own materials. Items such as ribbons, old cards, children's artwork, old wedding favor cards or programs, and vacation items make great additions to a scrapbook and can be found right at your own home too. Additionally these kind of items add a certain sense of nostalgia and history to your scrapbook. Once you have collected all of the materials you will need you are ready to begin making your memories last a lifetime. The joy that you get from your scrapbooks is something that your family will continue to enjoy even well after your gone.