Real Men like to Scrapbook

I have a confession to make: I'm a guy and I like to scrapbook. When I tell my female friends, they usually think its pretty cool and are eager to look at my albums and crop with me. But when I share my love for scrapbooking with my guy friends, its not such a warm reaction. I've been made fun of on more than one occasion because I like to make photo albums. This article is my attempt to appeal to more of my male counterparts to pick up the camera, the scissors, and the pens and start getting your memories into archival quality albums. Read on...I promise I won't tell the guys at the bar...

The fact is, more and more men are taking an interest in scrapbooking. The Wall Street Journal recently published an articled called "Wanted: A Few Good Men (with Scissors)," which highlights the growing number of men that are actively pursuing this hobby. But let's get a few things out of the way first, okay?

One of the reasons that scrapbooking has traditionally been perceived as a woman's hobby is because most people's idea of a scrapbook involves lots of ribbons, stickers, and bright pastel papers. But guys, it doesn't have to be that way. The whole point of scrapbooking is to get your memories, primarily photos and paper memorabilia, into organized, photo-safe, archival quality albums.

So many of my friends, male and female, look at my albums and tell me that they really wish they had taken the time to get all of their memories organized. Many of my guy friends tell me about all the cool trips they've taken and experiences they've had, but they never even thought to take any pictures or save any souvenirs. Taking a picture every now and then does not make you less of a man, I promise, and if those pictures are worth taking, they're worth preserving.

Even the guys I know who do take pictures are content to just have them stored in a shoebox in the attic. If you're just going to leave them in a box, you might as well not even take the picture. Here's where scrapbooking comes in...the absolute safest place for your pictures to be are in a photo-safe album. The best "albums" out there are made by scrapbooking companies (my favorite is Creative Memories).

Why choose a "scrapbook" over a cheap, off-brand photo album from the discount store? Two reasons, really. First off, a lot of the albums out there on the market will destroy your photographs faster than you would believe. They contain chemicals and materials that will actually eat through your pictures, whereas scrapbooks made by reputable companies are guaranteed to be photo safe. Second, scrapbooks provide a space for you to write your memories down.

The hardest part of scrapbooking for guys is "journaling." My male friends have told me they don't want to get all "mushy" and write their feelings down. But do whatever you feel comfortable with. Did you go on a cruise with a girlfriend and buy one of those professional photos? Just jot down her name and a date underneath the photograph...something as simple as "Me & Mindy - June 2003." In 20 years, you'll have no clue what her name was and will be glad you wrote it down. Did you win a bowling tournament? Write 2 sentences about the practice you put in and how it felt to win. You'll be creating an album that will preserve your memories but that you won't be ashamed to show to the guys.

Even if you're not into designing layouts and using papers in your scrapbook, you may find that a trip to your local scrapbooking store yields some surprising finds. I've been able to find "beer" stickers, Penn State football paper, and a whole line of grilling/BBQ embellishments at my local store. These simple elements can make your pages more visually appealing without making your photo album any less masculine.

You can choose a darker colored album, like navy or black, and concentrate on earth tones inside to give your album even more of a masculine touch. Everybody has memories, and memories are worth preserving, even if you're a guy. Nothing beats the feeling of completing an album and realizing that years worth of your memories are safely preserved forever. Plus, I'll let you in on a little secret, chicks really do dig a guy who scrapbooks.