Free Scrapbook Printables

Scrapbooking with Your Children

Although many adults enjoy using downloadable scrapbook supplies in their layouts, free scrapbook printables make it easy to enjoy scrapbooking with your children. Simply print the artwork on inexpensive acid-free cardstock to enjoy a fun alternative to expensive scrapbooking embellishments. Let your children practice their skills cutting and pasting as they use the printable artwork to create their very own layouts.

What should your child scrapbook? Children of all ages will enjoy designing scrapbooks about the family pet, a recent vacation, or friends from school. Other fun scrapbooking ideas for kids include:

• All about my family
• My favorite things
• Holiday traditions
• Colors in the world around me

Of course, since children are notorious for their short attention spans, don’t expect your child to spend hours creating the perfect layout. Most children will only enjoy scrapbooking for 15-30 minutes before becoming distracted. Pay attention to your child’s cues and quit before he or she becomes frustrated. The goal is to make the crafting experience as fun as possible!

Finding Free Scrapbook Printables Online

Finding free printable scrapbooking supplies online is easy. Many popular websites devoted to parenting and kid’s crafts have an assortment of scrapbooking downloads available. For example:

• FamilyFun has assembled a huge collection of printable artwork for young crafters. You can find printable photo frames, stickers, and background paper in holiday, sports, and travel themes. There are also step-by-step project instructions for creating theme albums such as a Father’s Day memory book or a small summer camp album.
• Activity Village has a number of free scrapbook printables for children to enjoy. Most are designed with a holiday theme, although some general embellishments are available.
• BillyBear4Kids, a popular children’s website, has a section devoted to scrapbooking downloads.
• Mom’s Break has compiled a collection of printable artwork for mothers who are interested in sharing their love of scrapbooking with their children. You’ll find dog bones, castles, crayons, balloon, snowmen, and other kid-friendly image choices.
• Scrapbook Scrapbook, a website featured in Creating Keepsakes magazine, has several printable designs that could work well for a child’s project.
• HP Activity Center has a number of printable scrapbooking crafts that you can do with your children. For your convenience, detailed instructions are given for many of the ideas.

Discovering the Fun of Paper Piecing

If you have older children who are fairly proficient with scissors, they may enjoy using free downloads to create paper piecing embellishments for their layouts.

The steps for this fun technique are easy to follow with adult supervision:

1. Choose a pattern that suits the theme of your layout.
2. Select cardstock or patterned paper that coordinates with your pictures.
3. Trace the pattern onto the paper.
4. Carefully cut the pieces out. (You can help your child with the smaller pieces if necessary.)
5. Use colored pencils and scrapbook chalk to add shading and dimension to the pieces.
6. Glue the pieces together like a puzzle. If you wish, let your child use foam adhesive to give the project extra dimension.
7. Add stickers, buttons, ribbon, or any other applicable embellishments.
8. Glue the finished design to the layout.

Websites offer free coloring book pages often have designs that can be easily adapted for paper piecing. Check out the following helpful links:

• Coloring Book Fun is a great place to look for patterns for holiday embellishments. This website features designs for Halloween, Christmas, Hanukah, Easter, and Thanksgiving.
• The Kidz Page has coloring pages with people, animals, and flowers.
• DLTK’s Coloring Pages has a selection of kids’ coloring pages featuring popular characters such as Scooby Doo, Shrek, Barbie, Batman, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Additional Information

For more great ideas for how to enjoy crafting with your children, visit LoveToKnow Crafts.