Adoption Scrapbook Albums That Are Fast And Easy

By: Lisa Copen

When you are waiting to adopt a child, especially your first, it can seem to take forever, regardless of how long or short the wait actually is. One way to pass the time is to start your adoption scrapbook album now. As you begin to record some of your thoughts at the time you'll see why it's so important to still take the time after your child arrives.

Adoption albums don't have to be overwhelming. The best place to start is with a list of topics about the adoption experience. These can be found on a variety of web sites including my own which has over 150 topics.

Consider purchasing a pre-made adoption album. You can buy a hard-cover book at your favorite bookstore, or even hire a freelance scrapbooker to do a pre-designed book for you. One of the best is the Adoption Scrapbook Album which is twenty pages of overlays, where you get to choose five that specifically fits your child's experience. They make your book look like it was designed by a professional, but with the price tag of doing it yourself.

Go buy your stickers and other embellishments. Though few mention adoption, you can find a lot of stickers that mention family, baby milestones, love, and life events. These can be helpful to fill in spaces and add some style.

Get out your digital camera and snap photos around the house that first year of your child's life (and later too!) Photographs of that day-to-day stuff like spilled Cheerios all over the living room floor and the towering pile of laundry will give you interesting journaling topics. Down the road you will be so glad you journaled about and photographed the uneventful things as well as the vacations. Your child will have a terrific time reading about it too.

Be creative, but don't get obsessive about it. Don't go join "cropping parties" unless you want a new social group. Buy a nice paper cutter, stick with straight edges on your photos (no circles will save hours), matte photos using solid-color card stock and buy the patterned paper in bulk (craft stores have "slabs.").

Write it down. While it's nice to finish your adoption album soon so your child can enjoy it even as he or she is a toddler, at least start writing notes as you go to use for journaling later. You may use some in places other than the adoption album, but you'll have lots to choose from. Purchase a small notepad to put in the diaper bag so you can easily write things down as you think of them

My son turns five-years-old this month. I remember the first year of his life when I got so tired of strangers approaching me to say, "It goes so fast." But now I am one of those people, smiling at little babies and telling new moms, "Cherish this time. It goes so fast." Adoption is such an incredible experience. It's easy to believe that you will remember every emotion you beheld when you looked into your sweet one's eyes. But let's get real! Our brains can only hold so much. And our children do grow up so quickly. Record those treasured memories now before you forget.

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The Adoption Scrapbook Album is a fast, easy way to design a personalized lifebook. Use transparency overlays and friends will rave--even though you aren't crafty. Free poems and quotes from Lisa Copen at Scrapbook My Adoption

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