College Memories Scrapbook Ideas

How to Create a College Memories Scrapbook

Whether it's a graduation, birthday or Christmas present, everyone should have a college memories scrapbook that highlights their time in school. No matter how wonderful or challenging the time, it sets the stage for the rest of our lives and deserves to be remembered.

So, here are some scrapbook layout ideas for a college memories scrapbook (thank you Neal for being our inspiration)...

Title Page: Create a mosaic of pictures/embellishments. You can choose to put pictures of the same size (mat the embellishments on a mat that's the same size as the pictures)around the perimeter of the page OR select pictures of varying sizes and group them in an off-set pattern in the middle of the page.

Some picture/embellishment ideas you could use on the title page...

Graduate in his/her cap and gown

Various buildings on campus (bandstand where the graduate spent summers practicing with the marching band, residence hall where they spent their freshman year, etc.)

Local hangouts and landmarks

Events featuring the graduate (football game, dance team performance, jazz band concert, etc.)

As you would expect, you will use a similar group of pictures throughout a college memories scrapbook as well.

Embellishments: College seals/stickers, diploma sticker, tassel, etc.

Acceptance Letter Pages: This doesn't have to be complicated. Have the left-page feature the acceptance letter with a picture of the main entrance to the school (or a building that "identifies" the school like Hoover Tower at Stanford). Then, on the right-page write the story behind why you selected this school and what other schools you visited (see our 12" x 12" sketch below).

The Trip: This layout is for those students that drove to school... Those who were far enough away to not come home every weekend to do laundry, but not quite far enough to justify a plane ticket.

You know the route like the back of your hand. It seems like forever to get to point "x", but once you get there, it's all downhill after that (and for some more than others, if they have to go over the mountains).

Did you have traditional spots where you liked to stop and take a break, get some gas, a bit to eat or a bit of coffee?

Before you take that last drive down the road, make sure to snap some pictures of those spots, save your gas receipt or the receipt from your favorite fast food joint and use them in a college memories scrapbook.

If you like to make digital scrapbook layouts, go to Google Maps^® or to the maps section of Expedia.com^® and create your own patterned paper background by creating a patchwork of the images of the roads you would travel to get to school.

NOTE: Google Maps^® won't let you save the map image as a picture file, so you will have to take a screen capture (just hit the PrntScrn button - usually next to, or near, the Insert button - and then Paste [Control + V] into a blank Photoshop file). Expedia.com^®, on the other hand, will let you save the image. We just recommend that you put it in Print View Mode first to get the cleanest image.

Housing: No matter how you look at it, college housing is, well, different. Were you crammed in a two-person room with two other people? Did you have the good fortune to be in a room by yourself? Were you in a special interest house (e.g, foreign language or sorority/fraternity) or after a year of dorm life did you decide that off campus living was the place to be?

Everyone has a story about how they met and roomed with their best friend their freshman year or almost ended up on COPS because their housemate just wouldn't pick up after themselves (sounds all too familiar doesn't it...). As Charles Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...", and we say it deserves a scrapbook page or two (see our 12" x 12" sketch below) in your college memories scrapbook.

This One Time... At Band Camp...: Whether it's band, football or cheerleading, we all somehow managed to turn a 24-hour day into 25, so we could get all of our school work done AND still participate in extracurricular activities. So, don't let your memories stay hidden in a shoebox - showcase your talents in your college memories scrapbook.

Hanging Out: Where did you and your friends go to decompress? The local sushi bar, coffeeshop or pub... Create a scrapbook layout that features your favorite spots around town. If you went to school in small town, or a big city, this can sometimes be a study in architecture at the same time, as the buildings are very unique.

You may also want to include some journaling about the town in general. What did you like (and dislike) about it? What was it's history? Is the town associated with a well known personality (e.g., IUP is located in Indiana, PA - the childhood home of Jimmy Stewart), or was it important in the nation's history (e.g., the University of Mary Washington is located in Fredericksburg, VA whose history dates back to the Revolutionary War). The town is there for a reason, as is the school, so make sure to include a little bit of background.

Degree: Why did you select your major? Did you have the same major the entire time or did you bounce from Political Science to International Affairs to Economics to Finance to... (hmmm...this is starting to sound like someone I know).

Create a page for your college memories scrapbook featuring pictures of your laptop and stacks of notes, papers and books along the left-third of the page, and on the other two-thirds discuss the questions above as your journaling, as well as what job you are looking for with this degree.

No matter what you decide to include in your college memories scrapbook, future generations will cherish it for years to come.

Happy Scrapping!