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Cut, Crop and Create

Birthing a Scrapbook Club

By Laura Cone

She says many women are more likely to join a scrapbook club when they are pregnant because they want to create a baby's first year scrapbook album. Smith, who hosts the scrapbook club meetings on Saturdays from 1 to 6 p.m., says pregnant women often create and decorate pages ahead of time.

After Baby is born, you may paste down photographs to pages based on predetermined themes. Some of the questions you may want to write on pages include who attended your baby's birth and what does your baby's birth mean.

"When you are pregnant, you can record ultrasound pictures [and] your thoughts when you first found out you were pregnant," Smith says. "We have women who put their pregnancy test in their scrapbook. Then, of course, right after the baby is born you put in all the pictures from the birth, who was there, a lock of the baby's hair, the baby's bracelet from the hospital, the baby's footprints and a copy of the baby's birth certificate."

Smith says pregnant women who are interested in starting their own scrapbook club might want to start one at their church or through a moms group. "If she has good friends who like scrapbooking, a lot of people start clubs that way," Smith says. "They start meeting at each others' homes." Smith says the scrapbook club might evolve into a playgroup after members have their babies.

If you are starting your own pregnancy scrapbook club, you need to decide whether you'll charge membership dues or whether members will share supplies. Dues may be used to pay for snacks or for guest instructors who teach advanced techniques.