Budget Scrapbooking Ideas: How to Make Cute DIY Scrapbooks Without Spending Too Much Money by Dawn Taylor

Since coronavirus stay-at-home orders began in the middle of March, I have been completing things that I just never had time for. One of those things is finally getting scrapbooks done for my four kids. They range in age from almost 30 to almost 15. Life is busy, and I have baskets and boxes filled with photos, school papers, artwork, etc., from so many memories! While making those memories, I just never had time to make scrapbooks.

I quickly realized this was going to be a pricey project if I wasn't careful. I came up with ways to keep the cost down wherever I could:

• Scrapbooks: I purchased four jumbo scrapbooks that were very basic. Instead of getting the ones with the sleeves, I opted for the pages that the paper resembles thick construction paper but are not as stiff as cardstock. These are great for gluing pictures, artwork, stickers, cardstock, etc.,  without ruing the pages. You can also make every page different with your own writing and drawings which will make it extra special and meaningful to my kids. Best part is they are under $20 each!

• Sticker Books: I bought about 10 sticker books at the dollar store with a variety of themes (birthdays, love, food, etc.) and even bought some coloring books for little kids because guess what they always have in the middle of these books – stickers! Trust me, if you buy sticker sheets anywhere else they will add up! Fancy stickers can cost $12 a sheet!

• Unique Drawings: I got more creative as I went on and started using pieces of cardstock to draw my own cute pictures and then cut them out to decorate the pages. I am not artistic, but googled "how to draw a teddy bear," for example, and it was so easy! Cardstock and plain paper also are great for making picture frames for photos. One package with multiple colors goes a long way.

• Markers: A package of 24 markers can be purchased for a dollar, so I grabbed a few. I used them to outline the photo frames I made and throughout the books to write things.

• Old Magazines: Magazines are also great for finding letters and pictures that fit a theme. Cut out random words and splatter the pages with cute phrases. Think back to high school when you did an art project and you used stacks of old magazines to make a collage or picture frame. Works well for scrapbooking, too!

• Saved Memorabilia: And last but not least, you know those bins full of your children's birthday party invitations, cards and their amazing artwork that you saved and don't know what to do with? I first set aside the most precious things that I plan to put in binders (another project) and anything else was cut and used for the scrapbooks. The fronts of greeting cards, cute flowers and hearts the kids painted or drew, and the kids own handwriting now would be set alongside their memories forever. This meant that I don't have to keep multiple large bins for storage, and a piece of their childhood is part of each scrapbook and unique to each of them.

Can't wait to give them to my kids!

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