A scrapbook for Mother's Day

Looking for a new way to show Mom how much you care? Instead of relying only on their usual Mother's Day gifts and cards, an increasing number of people are starting a scrapbook in her honor.

"When recipients receive a scrapbook, the emotions are often overwhelming," says Lina Serpico, owner of Scrapbook Cottage in Levittown. "A gift made with the hand is made from the heart."

Scrapbooking is growing in popularity, with more than 25 million participants in the United States, according to the Hobby Industry Association. Sales of supplies topped $2.5 billion last year.

Putting together a scrapbook is something of an art - and can be a fun way to capture fond memories and convey loving thoughts that aren't always easy to express verbally. And it's not as difficult as it may sound to combine photographs with decorative paper, embellishments, fancy typefaces and interesting fabrics and fibers.

"For a mother who watches her children grow up so quickly, it's nice to freeze a few of those moments in an album for them to remember," says Andrea Steed, owner of Scrapjazz, an online learning resource and community of scrapbookers from across the country. "It's also a great way to say thank you and show appreciation for a lifetime of devotion that can't be repaid."

Connie Costanzo of Wantagh is putting the final touches on a scrapbook that tells the story of her mother's life. She'll present it to her mom, Eleanor Roland, in celebration not only of Mother's Day but also of her parents' 50th wedding anniversary at a surprise party Sunday.

"I have pictures of my mother's early years, celebrating who she was as a girl and a young woman, and who she became as a mother," Costanzo says. "She is now 70 years old. There is a lot to tell."

The journey begins when her mother was a young girl and travels through time, showing her parents' early life together, the births of their children and cousins, holidays, birthdays and anniversaries, all the way to this year (photos from Sunday's celebration will be added). Her mother is a twin, so there are side-by-side photographs of her and her sister. Roland worked at The Saturday Evening Post, so Costanzo incorporated Norman Rockwell illustrations as well.

"One of my favorite pages is a picture of my parents on the streets of Brooklyn in their early years," she says. "Last May I took pictures of them walking the streets of Manhattan looking like a retired couple 50 years later. To see them then and now is remarkable."

Using computers

Computers, digital cameras and the Internet can simplify the process of creating personal pages that tell stories about a moment in time, a relationship or a special celebration. Different typefaces make you an instant stylist or calligrapher; graphics and backgrounds add color and dimension. Scrapbooking software lets you add elements or create the entire page on the computer. With photo-editing software, you can repair old photos, add colorful borders, crop people out - or insert them where you want them.

"The computer lets you print out copies of things rather than sacrificing your only prints," says Carla Rose, author of "Digital Memories: Scrapbooking With Your Computer" (Que Publishing). "You can fool around with colors and textures without wasting [costly] sheets of paper. At the end, you've got a professional-looking page with good photos, beautifully set type and something that is your own, from your heart."

Melissa Partridge, 22, of Hampton Bays creates her scrapbook pages by hand, then scans the finished products into her computer. She e-mails the images to her mother in Berlin, Md., or shares them with her on www.scrapjazz.com. "If I do a scrapbook page and put it on the Web site, she can log on under her user name and leave me comments about how she feels about the layouts," Partridge says.

Now Partridge is creating tags - a type of embellishment for the photos - to give her mother on Mother's Day. She hopes her mom will use them in her family history scrapbook.

Tags are "meant to bring the focus onto the pictures themselves," says Dina Traube, owner of Craftique in Brooklyn. Embellishments include basic decorative papers, elaborate buttons, stickers, acetate overlays, fibers and metals.

Getting started

Here are some tips to get started scrapbooking:

Decide what you want to create. Scrapbooks, typically 12 inches square, can be as complicated as a heritage album, which records your family's entire history with photographs, memorabilia and words. Or a "scrapbook" can be as simple as a single page, which could be framed and hung on a wall.

Other possibilities include a mini-album, shadow box, recipe book or blank journal with pictures and embellishments on the cover. Photographs and other scrapbook elements also may be used to decorate everything from a candle to a paint can.

Determine how digital you should be. If your mother is technologically savvy, you might want to create a collage- style wallpaper image for her computer desktop, a slide show of photographs or a digital scrapbook full of pages, journaling and photographs that you present on a CD-ROM with a custom label.

But before going that route, think about whether your mom would prefer to turn the pages of a book rather than sit in front of a computer monitor.

Organize your pictures. You don't have to adhere to chronological order, but you may want to group photos by the event or activity.

Choose a theme, such as "20 reasons I love you," "Thank you for," "I admire you because," "I remember when," "We love Grandma because," "Then and now," "Generations" or "Favorite recipes you taught me."

Illustrate the theme with photographs and personal sayings, keeping in mind that a scrapbook "is almost like a permanent record to let parents know you really do appreciate them," says Michele Gerbrandt of Denver, founding editor of Memory Makers magazine.

Plan your pages. Many scrapbook magazines, such as Memory Makers and Creating Keepsakes, offer templates. Each page should have a focal point, which often is a photograph, plus a select number of embellishments, including titles and personal notes. Sketch a layout before you begin.

Visit a specialty store for ideas. Many offer classes to help you get started.

And even if you can't complete your project in time for this Mother's Day, scrapbooking can be a way to involve the entire family in a new tradition that will preserve your family's story. Plus, Gerbrandt says, "it might inspire you for Father's Day!"

TO GO DIGITAL, YOU'LL NEED:

* Computer
* Digital camera (although you can scan in film
* photographs as well)
* Scanner
* Color printer
* CD or DVD writer
* Photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop
* Elements 2.0 ($80.99) and Jasc Paint Shop Pro ($21.99)
* Scrapbook-specific software such as Art Explosion
* Scrapbook Factory Deluxe ($39.99) or Print Explosion Deluxe ($59.99)

SOURCE: "Digital Memories: Scrapbooking With Your Computer" (Que Publishing, $18.95)

What you need to get started

* Photographs
* Tool kit with the basics, such as an X-Acto knife, paper trimmer, scissors, wet and dry adhesives. They typically run about $65.
* Scrapbook album (if you're going that route). Albums are $15 and up.
* Embellishments include printed specialty papers, frames, tags, sayings, stickers and acetate overlays. Prices range from 50 cents to $10.

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