The “scrapbook” I made from my grandma’s old photos used photo corners and placed details about the photos and what feelings and thoughts came to my mind around the photos. The book and pages are black and it has a photography/art feel. It is not cutesy in any way. My grandfather was an artist and I wanted to keep it in line with what was done in the past and his art background. No photos were cut or damaged and I can remove them if I want. I love the album because of the story it tells. The picture of my great uncle Sidney has next to it a copy of a letter he sent to his sister, her husband and daughter (my grandma, grandpa, and toddler mother) during WWII when he was stationed in Europe. Photos of my grandmother taking the Queen Elizabeth transatlantic and I wrote up the stories she used to tell from her voyages. You can make the book look as formal or informal as you want.

Aha…a compromise. Excellent!

Glad you like it. By the way a small hint: put all four photo corners on the photo before attaching it to the page. Good luck.

Scrapbooking isn’t art but it’s fun.

It is now possible for photographers themselves to get away from the traditional square photos and actually take round pictures, or ultra wide angle, wrap around photos, and I have even seen triangle photos. There is no constraint on what shape a photo should be.

By the way, scrapbooking is not only for photos, but also for mementos such as pressed flowers, invitations, ticket stubs, and various other items, artfully arranged.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic it is too art

Thank you all for making me realize that making a scrapbook doesn’t mean I have to use glittery stickers and sayings like “Life’s a Beach”...Even though I may secretly hoard those glittery stickers for another time. heehee

You totally don’t have to do ANYTHING to your photos to scrapbook them. You can use traditional 3D photos or even do it digitally, as I do. Glittery stickers and patterned scissors are so 20th century – you can do SO MUCH more now than you used to be able to.
Here is my online layout gallery that you can peruse to see what digital scrapbooking is today and how versatile it is.
As far as whether or not scrapbooking is “art”, take a look at this gallery and tell me that ain’t art.

@maggiesmom1 very nice, thanks for the link

I usually write the date on them,sometimes where,what ,who.That’s it.

i have a book on the history of scrapbooking and as @YARNLADY said (i’m the one who GA’d her), historically, scrapbooks were not just used for photos, as 100 years ago photos were not as plentiful as they are today. they were used for ticket stubs, hotel keys, greeting cards, invitations to parties, pieces of hair, pieces of fabric from wedding dresses and the like, candy wrappers, and so many other things that we often discard today. these are the things that can make a scrapbook come alive. imagine if you had a piece of fabric from your great-grandmother’s dress, or something else really incredible?