Do you remember the TV series, “A Year in the Life” starring Adam Arkin and Richard Kiley? It aired for a short time in the late 80s on NBC. I liked that show, but apparently I was one of only a small number of people who did because the network pulled the plug on it after just a couple of seasons. Still, I always think about the show, especially its title, when I’m scrapbooking a timeline of events.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, my neighbor’s tween daughter is scrapping her favorite years as an elementary school student. I made a similar scrapbook when I was in school, but instead of scrapping multiple years in the same album, I concentrated on a single year—-my senior year in high school.
Timelines work especially well for “year in the life” scrapbooks. What’s more, the theme is extremely versatile. For example, you could create a year in the life scrapbook for your first child, your first year of marriage or your first year in your new home. All you need to do is collect keepsakes and photos and display them in layouts that are formatted chronologically.
For my senior scrapbook I made a timeline featuring photos of my first day of school until graduation day. I also included:
*Handwriting samples
*Drawings
*Copies of report cards
*Special awards (ribbons and certificates)
*College acceptance letters
*High scoring tests and papers
*Newspaper clippings of my achievements
*Graduation announcements
*Prom photos
*Pressed flower from prom
To further the timeline theme I cut out newspaper articles and ads that showed the average price for common items such as bread, milk, gas, movie tickets, and jeans. Then, I Xeroxed lyrics from some of the most popular songs of the time, including the ones I danced to at Homecoming, Prom and Winter Ball.
A year in the life or timeline-themed scrapbooks make wonderful keepsakes that can be enjoyed by future generations regardless of subject matter.