Teen Scrapbooking

by: Katrina Simeck (with help from her daughter Hope)

As the mom of a teen & preteen, my days of scrapbooking first steps & favorite toys are over. Fortunately, scrapping for (and with!) teens is just as much fun as scrapping little kids! Here are some tips for keeping scrapbooking fun when you have teens as the focus of your crafting…

Let’s Hang Out…
Involve your teen in scrapbooking! It’s great to teach our children to preserve memories, and a great way to get their perspective on events & photos. Recently, my daughter & I sat down to scrapbook prom pictures….

Hope’s layout – Hope chose photos of friends to create her layout with. She wanted to focus on the colors of her & her best friend’s dresses. She dressed up the border of her patterned paper with the Fiskars Lacy Days of Summer border punch, and then added multiple flowers using the Fiskars May Flowers squeeze punch.

The result is a fun & youthful layout that really shows off her friendships.

My layout – I chose a single photo of Hope & her prom date. I chose a bright, fun color scheme, but grounded it with a dark chocolate brown. I added a fun border by punching 2 edges with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, and adhering them side by side.

I created my own flower embellishment by layering shapes…using the Fiskars Seal of Approval, the Round n’ Round circle, and finally...leaves created from the Comma, Comma Chameleon squeeze punch.

The next time you have a set of photos from an event in your teen’s life, hand them over! It’s a great way to spend some quality time crafting together.

A Place to Call Their Own…

Teens love to decorate their rooms. My daughter’s room is plastered with photos, advertisements, sports memorabilia, and…loads of laundry. I created this fun little décor piece to add to her collection. I happened to find this blank wooden sign with her name on it (I’m always on the lookout!). Covering wooden shapes is easy with the Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife. Two quick options – 1) adhere a scrap of paper to the front of the letter, then use the Fingertip Craft Knife to cut around the edges from the back.

The patterned paper that I chose (from October Afternoon’s Cherry Hill collection) has adorable little cherries, so I used the Fiskars Round n’

Round circle punch to add “cherries” to one of the letters. I added detail to the lower edge with the Fiskars Threading Water border punch.

A “Just Because” Card…

If you’re scrapping for & about teens, you’ll want to stalk up on some “cool” Fiskars tools. Some of my favorite funky punches for teens are the He Said, She Said squeeze punch, the Upper Crest border punch, and the That’s Amore squeeze punch.

I used these punches to create this colorful note card…perfect for telling your teen that you love them (I might just have to slip a gas card inside this one!).

Scrapbooking for, with, and about teens is pretty much awesome, don’t you think?!

By Katrina Simeck