Make a Retirement Scrapbook

Scrapbooking is an artful way to create a lasting depiction of memorable people, events or places. It uses paper, stickers, photos, envelopes and more to form a 3-D map of life. Scrapbooks are often given as a gift to people at their retirement. They can be filled with pictures of colleagues, family members and work environments. It can take some planning and collecting to gather memories from a lifetime of work. Ask friends and colleagues to help you communicate a powerful message about your time together. Learn how to make a retirement scrapbook.

Steps

  1. Gather photographs and mementos from the person's career. The number of photos you have is likely to decide the size of your project. Ask your colleagues to donate photos of the person to the project.
    • Scan old photographs into the computer. Print new copies of your digital version so that you don't ruin the originals. Return the old photographs to friends or family members.
  2. Choose your scrapbook binder. For a large scrapbook, choose a 12 by 12 inch scrapbook binder. However, you can choose a much smaller format.
  3. Request quotes or signed notes from colleagues and friends of the retired person. You can either type up these quotes or use the signed notes as a heartfelt memento.
  4. Arrange your photos and mementos into pages. Place them in piles according to a theme, event or chronological period of the person's life.
  5. Write your titles. Each page or group of pages will need a title to place the reader in the correct setting or time. Writing titles is a big part of artful scrapbooking.
    • Some sample retirement scrapbooking titles include: "The Golden Years," "Over the Hill," "The Age of Innocence" or "Aged to Perfection."
  6. Ask colleagues to help you make pages. Scrapbooking can be an intensive project, especially if you want to fill many pages in a 12 by 12 inch binder. Invite others to glue and arrange pages, while sharing the cost.
  7. Buy scrapbooking paper, stickers and supplies for your project. Scrapbooking stores, craft stores and online craft stores all carry themed paper that you can use to illustrate your theme. For example, if the retiree likes wine, you can buy a wine themed paper to use behind your photographs.
  8. Start constructing pages. Use acid free glue for all photographs and paper. This will help the project to last longer. Allow the pages to dry after you glue paper, mat, photos, titles and other elements to the page.
    • Avoid using large amounts of glue, because it can wrinkle your pages. Some people prefer quick drying spray glues to avoid wrinkles.
  9. Add finishing touches, such as creative lettering for your titles. Use a calligraphy pen to get a permanent and bold letter quality. You can also buy letter stickers, if you prefer a "printed' look.
    • Practice writing your titles on scrap paper before you write them directly onto your scrapbook pages. You can try a number of different styles before settling on the 1 you like. You may choose to keep this lettering style for a more uniform project.
  10. Place the pages inside your scrapbook binder in the order you prefer. Decorate the outside of the binder with a title and a picture of the retiree.

Tips

  • You can also produce professional looking retirement scrapbooks using a digital scrapbook creator. You can download a software program or upload pictures to the site. Add text and choose wallpaper or other embellishments. Order 1 or more copies of the book to be printed and sent to you before the person retires.

Things You'll Need

  • Photos
  • Letters or quotes
  • Scanner
  • Scrapbook binder
  • Titles
  • Acid free glue
  • Decorative paper
  • Stickers
  • Calligraphy pen

Related Articles

References

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Make_a_Retirement_Scrapbook&oldid=328544"