Storytelling ideas for your scrapbooks
This page of storytelling ideas will hopefully spark some memories from your own life that you can include in your scrapbooks.
First let's look at what we mean by storytelling, in the context of scrapbooking. No, we are not talking about fairy stories, but an account of everyday events and happenings. Think of yourself as the family journalist, reporting on newsworthy snippets of real life.
I know that when I look back over the photos of my children as they grew up, I remember what was happening on the day I took the pictures, and why they were worthy of capture at the time. Memories come flooding back, some make me smile, others make me weep, but they all deserve to be shared, and what better way than creating a layout?
I am sure you have heard the expression a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a photo does not tell the whole story.
Shown to a stranger, a photo of a daffodil would have no meaning other than a pretty picture. For my family, however, it would remind us of when my daughter was a toddler.
For some reason she picked up on the word "typical" and considered it a really naughty word. If she was cross with us she would mutter "you typical!". She couldn't believe her ears one day, while watching a gardening program on TV, when the presenter told us, "and here is a typical daffodil."
Her jaw dropped, her eyes opened wide and she looked at us and said, "That man said typical! Naughty man!" We roared with laughter and it has been an inside joke ever since. We only have to glimpse a daffodil and we smile.
We didn't take any pictures at the time, but that doesn't matter. It is the story that is important here. A photo of Becky, taken around the same time, along with daffodil photos or embellishments would help illustrate this tale, making the significance of the flower apparent to all who view the page.
Storytelling ideas from everyday life
It isn't just the special occasions, such as birthdays and Christmas, that should have a place in your albums.
Read through the storytelling ideas below and see if any of these day to day events spark a memory that you could scrap.
Spring cleaning - did your mother have any annual chores she did at this time of year? Do you?
Laundry Day - has the way you wash your clothes changed from how your parents or grandparents did things? Do you dry the washing outside or inside?
Shopping - where do you shop? How much does it cost? What was your most expensive purchase? Do you hate shopping, and if so, what do you do to avoid it?
Weekend activities - what does your family do for fun at the end of the week? Do you all enjoy a bike ride or a walk in the country? Perhaps you take part in sports?
Collections - does a member of the family collect something? Is it a passion? Where do they display/keep their treasures? Where did they find them?
Weather - have you had any freak weather conditions? Storms? Floods? Droughts? Do thunderstorms frighten or exhilarate you?
Meal times - is it always you that does the cooking? Have you had any disasters? What are the families favourites foods, or least favourite? Does anyone have an allergy to certain foods?
Eating out - do you have a favourite place to eat? Somewhere you definitely WON'T go again? Why not?
Bedtime - do your children go through a ritual before settling down for the night? Do they have a favourite toy that they take to bed with them?
Some of the storytelling ideas above may seem strange to document. Doing the washing? Really? But think back.
I can remember my Grandmother rolling the sheets through the mangle by the back door, squeezing out the excess water before hanging them on the washing line. We do things so differently now. But our ways may seem quaint to our grandchildren when they grow up.
The moral of the story, therefore, is to keep a camera handy at all times. Take pictures of ordinary people doing ordinary things and tell their stories in your scrapbook pages.
