How to Make an Adoption Scrapbook

Scrapbooking an adoption story is a fun way to put your child's story down on paper for him or her to be able to look at photos and read in years to come. Too often, however, our best of intentions end up being a huge box of memorabilia in the closet, waiting until a chunk of time comes when we can do all the keepsakes justice by putting together the perfect album.

Don't postpone your child's adoption scrapbook any longer. It's important that they get to flip through this book and share in the photos long before they go off to the university.

Here are a few tips to assist you in your child's adoption scrapbook album (or as some call it, a lifebook.)

[1] Write down your precious memories because, believe or not, soon the new ones will overlap some of those early ones. Journal about both the little things like what your typical morning schedule is to what some of your deepest emotions are about being a parent.

[2] Record what you know for your child which is appropriate for his or her little ears. Perhaps you were able to spend some time with the birth mom and you have some personal reflections on how kind she was. Or maybe you have no information at all if your child was adopted from an orphanage. It's important to be honest but it also needs to be something that you can read from your book to your 5-year-old. If your child's birth mom has many other children which she is still raising, or your child was the result of an abusive situation, this isn't appropriate for the book.

[3] Arrange the photos you want to use in your album. You don't want to use every phot you own, but rather just choose the ones that are the most precious for this particular album. Make sure everything is in order if you are you arranging the book chronologically

[4] Decide what size of album to use. They are typically 8" x 8", 12" x 12" or 8.5" x 11". The 8" x 8" albums are a nice size for little hands to hold.

[5] Find whatever supplies you'd like to use. When I was unable to find more than a couple of stickers that mentioned adoption I designed my own 8" x 8" overlays. Overlays are an easy way to make your book look professionally done, crisp and clean (no glue or tape needed) and anyone can use them.

[6] Keep it simple. Start out by just getting the basics into the book and then you can add to it later. As you read through the story to your child and hear her questions, you may think of other pages to add or things that should be represented. For example, if you had a foreign adoption, you may want a page about "that year in history" from your child's country of origin.

[7] Use poems or quotes to fill in pages. If you lack information or are just feeling overwhelmed by writing your thoughts down, use a few adoption quotes. Just be sure to not rely on them completely. Poetry is nice, but your own thoughts will mean the most to your child.

[8] Use child-friendly language. For example, don't ever write, "Your birth mom loved you enough to give you to us." This could frighten your child into thinking that you will love him too much as well and soon give him away! Word things simply: "Miss Clara wanted you to have both a daddy and a mommy and she knew that we were really wanted to be your parents."

Too often we delay starting a book because we get have big plans to create that masterpiece of a baby album. We want it to have scrapbook pages for every bath, haircut, smile and tear. Rather than waiting until you can do it all just get the adoption story into a small book. Later you can add pages if you want. Remember, the sooner it's ready for your child, the more time of their childhood they will treasure it.

The Adoption Scrapbook Album is a fast, simple way to create a personalized lifebook. Use transparency overlays or digital files. Friends will rave--even if you aren't crafty. Free downloads from Lisa Copen at Scrapbook My Adoption