Scrapbooking Inspiration: ABC Albums

Submitted by rockester on September 20, 2002 - 22:00

Ahhhh! Fall is in the air. The sounds of children laughing fades into the distance as the school bus pulls away from the driveway. I look up and leaves are changing their color coats. The changing of the seasons from summer to fall has begun. After a busy summer of travel and fun, there is now time for me to concentrate on the house (EWW!) or maybe the scrapbooks. Yes! The scrapbooks! Those are more fun than cleaning house anyway! What shall we work on this month? I guess the sound of the school bus is still in my head because I keep thinking of ABC albums!

abc albums for scrapbookingABC albums can take many forms. Some people make them for preschoolers so they can learn familiar items and words. Others make them for beginning readers to aid in word recognition. Still others use them for themed school days albums. But ABC albums are NOT just for school themes. You can do a world of concepts with them. They are a versatile form of scrapbooking that also allows you to use up a variety of themed papers too! What a great time to dig out or purchase some of the cute themed pattern papers you have been hoping to utilize. Most ABC themes go with almost any photo too. That means you can use up some of those miscellaneous photos you have been trying to get into albums! Remember, there are only 26 letters in the alphabet too so you only have to do 26 layouts! Now that is a FAST album! And if you need a gift idea for the holidays or a special event, nothing brings a smile to someone's face like a gift ABC album!

Let's look at some ideas and ABC lists together. We will share lists here for every stage of family life as well as some even for those who are single, working, or retired, traveling, or elderly! Don't look now but there is an ABC album for EVERY occasion! Lucky for us! Break out the odd sticker letters, the Sizzix, the Accucut, the Ellison, the letter die cuts, and the lettering templates! Let's put them to use!

Let's start at the beginning! Baby ABC books make a great gift for a mother to be or for the baby itself. Remember that the letter and word or phrase by itself is often the title for each page in an ABC book. No need to think up elaborate and original wording! Personalization and dedication of the album is done on the title page. The rest is sentiments, letters and photos! So Simple!

BABY ABC's
author unknown from Scraplink>

A is for angel, sent from above,
B is for baby, smothered with love,
C is for cute as cute can be
D is for diapers and changing them on me
E is for everything baby and more
F is for father walking the floor
G is for glad you are finally here
H is for hiccups that are funny and dear
I is for icky sticky messing
J is for Jesus and His blessing
K is for Kuddle and kindness and keep
L is for Love, so wide and deep
M is for Mommy and her loving arms
N is for Never coming to harm
O is for oat cereal and later Cheerios
P is for precious little fingers and toes
Q is for quiet, baby is sleeping
R is for relatives, always come peeping
S is for sleep, but not for your folks
T is for tubby and all those long soaks
U is for unconditional as in love from your parents
V is for very active as you will soon merit
X is for the Xtra special light you brought to us all
Y is for youngster when you grow tall
Z is for zest for living that we now have in abundance because of
you little one,
You are our angel, our light, our sun!
Next in line chronologically is preschool or childhood in general. This list has a lot of different 'theme' words in it and would be a great one for using up all kinds of patterned papers! You know the ones! You love them and buy them and then can't figure out WHERE to use them? Here is the place! This ABC book would also make a great birthday gift for the child as it encompasses life lessons as well as the ABC theme.

CHILDHOOD ABC's
from N2scappin

A is for asking.
We ask when we pray.
God's happy to answer
And help us each day.

B's for behave;
It means doing what's right.

Be happy and helpful;
Don't argue or fight.

C is for crying.
It hurts when you fall,
But please do not cry
About nothing at all.

D is for doing
What needs to be done.
So please do it cheerfully;
Then you'll have fun.

E is for everyone.
God loves us all;
The black and the white,
And the short and the tall.

F is for forgive
If a girl or a boy
Is naughty or careless
And breaks your new toy.

G is for God;
He's your father above.
He made you and likes you
And shows you his love.

H is for helping
Your mother or dad.
It says in the Bible
That this makes god glad.

I is for illness,
It keeps you in bed.
But soon you'll feel fine
And be playing instead.

J is for joyful;
It means full of cheer.
Have fun and be happy
Each day of the year.

K is for kindness
To Grandpa and Gram;
Be helpful to others,
Be sweet as a lamb!

L is lying,
A thing not to do.
No matter what happens,
Don't say what's not true.

M is for messy,
With toys on the floor;
So pick them up neatly
When playtime is o'er.

N is for nice;
It is always worthwhile.
Be pleasant to others
And give them a smile.

O is for obey.
When you do as you're told,
It makes parents glad;
They won't spank you or scold.

P is for polite,
Saying, "Thank you" and "Please."
It's easy to do
And puts others at ease.

Q is for quarrel;
Each wants the first turn.
But waiting for others
Is not hard to learn.

R is for resting,
Like taking a nap,
Or sometimes just sitting
On mother's soft lap.

S is for singin;
We sing when we're glad.
It might even help you
To sing when you're sad.

T is for thankful;
Thank God for your lunch,
And thank him for dinner
And breakfast and brunch.

U is for unselfish;
Be willing to share.
Be thoughtful of others
And always be fair.

V is for visitors;
Help them have fun,
And play and be friendly
With all, not just one.

W is for worship--
That's giving God praise
And telling our love for him
All of our days.

X is for xylophone--
Use it to play
Happy songs about Jesus
Throughout each new day.

Y is for yelling--
It's all right outdoors;
But please be more quiet
In houses and stores.

Z is for zebra
or zoo.
God made all the creatures,
And he made you, too.

The High School years need their own special tribute as well. Don't stop scrapping just because the kids are past the "cute" stage! The fun is just beginning! This is another great list that works well with themed papers of all types.

HIGH SCHOOL ABC's
author unknown

A - Annuals, athletics
B - books, band; ball games;
C - college prep classes; computer lab; calculators
D - Driver's Ed; diploma; dances, deadlines
E - education; essays; entrance tests;
F - Fine Arts; field trips; fabulous friends; freshman;
football
G - grades, goin' out; gym; graduation;
H - homeroom; honor roll;; hairstyles; homework; holidays
hangin' out; Homecoming
I - intelligent, interests; Internet, Instant Messaging
J - journalism; joking;
K -keyboard, knowledge; kids
L - laughter; late nights; library; learning
M - math; MTV; music; mascots; movies;
N - new kids; no parents!; new clothes; newspaper
O - Open House; oh no!; Oh Darn!
P - pom poms; parents; pet peeves; plays; principal;; prom;
Q - queen of the crowd
R - report cards; rules; riding around with pals
S - school; Student of the Week; School's Out , school pride;
Student Council; spring break; study; scholarship; SATs
T - team spirit; teachers; Talents, T-shirts; Tests
U - underclass; upperclassmen; University tours
V - Valentine's Dance; vacation
W - win; "Who's Who"; What's next?
X - X-tra Special Student: X-ellent; X-rated
Y - yearbook; yahoo!
Z - 'Z end' or zzzz's

Mom's and dads need special albums and this would make a great Mother's Day or Father's Day gift. The bonus here is the sentiments are so universal that you could use almost any photo with any letter!

ABC list for MOTHERHOOD

Accept your children for who they are and not so much what you
want them to be...
Believe in your natural instincts and abilities...
Care about everything your children have to say...
Devote quality time to each of your children individually...
Enjoy every moment...
Follow your heart when in doubt...
Give in sometimes...
Hug your kids every day...
Insist on respect...
Jump for joy at your kid's accomplishments...
Kiss your children often...
Love your kids with all your heart...
Manage your time wisely...
Never abuse your children in any way...
Open your heart and soul to your children...
Practice what you preach...
Quality time is more important than quantity...
Remember that you too were once a child...
Satisfy your own cravings sometimes...
Teach your children what you have learned from experience...
Understand that no two kids are the same and they all have
different needs...
Verify the facts before making accusations...
Welcome suggestions and ideas...
X-pect that there will be some bad days...
You are the one in charge, not your kids...
Zoom in on your hopes and dreams for your children, they are our
future...

And of course we believe in ABC's for Dads too! ;) This one was found at CreativeScrapbooking.com

FATHER'S ABC ALBUM LIST
from Creative Scrapbooking

A- admirable, available, affectionate, amazing, adventurous,
athletic, awesome, award winning, authentic
B- brave, best there is, believable, buddy, bonding, born to be
wild, boots, beer, beer drinker, beer belly, brawny, basketball,
bread winner, breakfast in bed, ball & bat
C- caring, concerned, comforting, contributions, charitable,
cash-provider, courageous, cheerful, coach, confident, chipper,
cooperative, capable, cars, computer, couch potato,
cuddly/cuddling
D- dashing, debonair, delightful, daddy, darling, dependable,
dear, devoted, diligent, determined, dutiful, dynamite
E- encouraging, effective, enlightening, excellent, enthusiastic,
exciting, emotional, electronics, ethical
F- fun, funny, fantastic, friendly, fuzzy, forgiving, full of
life, fun loving, food, fixit man, friendly, football, fishing,
father, father and friend, faith
G- good, gifted, great, generous, go-getter, genius, golf,
gorgeous, gracious
H- honest, helpful, hopeful, happy, hero, haggle, hug, head of
household (or at least we’ll let him think), healthy,
hearty, heavenly, hobbies, hunting, hilarious, handsome
I- incredible, important, imaginative, intent, industrious,
ideals, intelligent, ice hockey, integrity, insight,
invincible
J- joyful, jolly, jack-of-all-trades, jazzy, jokester, jock,
joker
K- kissable, keen, keeps his cool, kindhearted, knowledgeable,
know-it-all
L- lovable, likable, luscious, laughs, loving, loyal, linebacker,
lover, lively
M- manly, masculine, magnanimous, mature, muscular, mischievous,
mellow, mowing the lawn, morals, macho, miraculous
N- neat, nice, noble, nutty, naturally fun (or other word), not
judgmental
O- original, optimistic, outgoing, oodles of outstanding things
you do
P- pleasing, papa, perfect, Pa, Pops, Pappy, paternal,
perceptive, patient, packrat, party animal, pleasant, positive,
practical
Q- quite, quick, questioning, quiet, quite impressive,
quality
R- reliable, reasonable, radical, remote control, remarkable,
responsible, ready
S- smiling, sensitive, super, sensational, stable, skillful,
strong, sensible, sympathetic, suave, sharing, soccer, snoring,
superduper, sacrifices
T- truthful, terrific, trustworthy, thoughtful, tender, tools,
tie, thrilling, TV-aholic, toy fixer
U- useful, upbeat, unselfish, understanding ways, unique,
unusual
V- vain, valiant, vicarious, volunteer, values, video gamer
W- wonderful, wise, witty, worthy, warm, whimsical
X- x-tra special, x-traordinary, x-cellent, x-pert, eXperience,
relaXation,
Y- young at heart, youthful, yard work
Z- zany, zealous, zippy, Zillions of reasons that I love you
Dad!

And no matter who we are, we all have at least one good friend in the world. Celebrate the concept of friendship.

FRIENDSHIP ABC's
found at remembermesb.com

A Friend....
(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in "you"
(C)alls you just to say "HI"
(D)oesn't give up on you
(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over
(J)ust "be" with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life
(N)ever Judges
(O)ffers support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits
(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you
(W)alks beside you
(X)-plain things you don't understand
(Y)ells when you won't listen and
(Z)aps you back to reality

Getting tired of the hoho humm holiday pages year after year? Need a place to put those great photo cards you get? You might want to make a ABC album for the holidays.

CHRISTMAS ABC's
found at Scraplink

A is for Angels on high, proclaiming the miracle of His birth
B is for Bows which adorn our gifts and fill our hearts with
mirth.
C is for Carols sung by a children's choir
D is for all the Delicious treats and the pounds we acquire!
E is for Evergreen trees, wreaths, and bough,
F is for Family who gather to celebrate the season now.
G is for Golden Garland and the decorations it inspires,
H is for Hot Chocolate to sip by the fire.
I is for "It's a Wonderful Life" and the kindness
of a stranger,
J is for Jesus, laying in the manger.
K is for Kris Kringle, that sneaky office Santa Claus,
L is for the Love of God and family, for which we all must give
pause.
M is for Mistletoe over doorways for kissing,
N is for Noel which we wish to friends we are missing.
O is for Ornaments which decorate the tree,
P is for Presents for you and for me.
Q is for Quiet times spent with family that's near,
R is for Rudolph and the other eight reindeer.
S is for Santa Claus to our children's delight,
T is for Tradition on Christmas Eve night.
U is for Unwrapping presents - its doesn't last long!
V is for harmonious Voices joined together in Christmas song.
W is for Wreaths on windows and doors,
X is for eXtra special memories we all adore.
Y is for Yule logs burning so brightly,
Z is for a Zestful season - just don't take it lightly!!

Here are some for our wedding albums! What a special time in life to celebrate! Let's buy some vellum and some special pretty papers and make this one!

WEDDING ABC's
Author Unknown

A- Announcements, Aunts
B- Bride, Bridesmaids, Best Man
C- Church, Cake, Clergy, Caterers
D- Dating, Dance, Delightful, Deadlines
E- Engagement, Engagement Ring, Entertainment
F- Family and Friends, father
G- Groom, Groomsmen, Guests, Gifts, Garter
H-Honeymoon, Happiness
I- Invitation, Infinite Love
J- Justice of the Peace, Joined in marriage
K- Keepsakes, Kisses
L- Love, Legs (bridesmaids garters)
M- Marriage Certificate, Minister, Maid of Honor, Matron of
Honor, Mothers, Mother in Law
N-Newlyweds, New Family
O- Opening the gifts, Open Hearted
P- Priest, Presents, Parents, Pastor, Personal Attendants
Q- Question (the Big Question), Quotes from friends
R- Rehearsal, Relatives, Reception, Rings
S- Showers, Songs
T- Toss (bouquet and garter), Traditions
U- Ushers, uncles
V- Vows, Vacations
W- Wedding
X- Xtra Special Memories, Xtra Special Moments, Xtra Special Guy
or Gal or Friends
Y- Youth, Say Yes
Z- Zoom in, Zoom off

And we can't forget those we work with! Make an album for a co-worker or about your workplace. What a treasure!

WORKING ABC'S
by Kathleen Aho

A- attitude, ambitions
B- business, Boss, bus stop
C- careful what you say! LOL, clothing
D-deadlines, desktop, Dilbert, day planner
E-entertaining, employed
F-Food! foresight, filing
G-Good Grief!, goals
H-Hats, humor
I-Internet, Instant Messages, interns, incentives, insurance
J-jerks, janitors, just rewards
K-knowledge, kindness
L-lively discussions
M-meetings, mentor
N-news bulletins
O-officemates, optimism
P-post it notes, perks, printers, partners, phone, proofread,
planners
Q-quarters for the machine
R-radicals, rascals, raises
S-shipping, sorting
T-talent!, telephones
U-underwriters, unions
V-vending, vexing, very special, vacation, vision
W-wisdom, weather channel
X-xerox machines, x-tra special
Y-you! your office, your desk
Z- Zboss (they are Z boss!)

Retirement and Our Older Years
This is a great one for an elderly adult's birthday gift or a retirement party album. Imagine their eyes lighting up as you go through this album with them with photos from the
past!

PRACTICE YOUR ABC's
found at Helen Harrington's site

Practice your ABC'S -DONT FORGET TO:

Act silly
Believe in Magic (or Believe in Yourself), Be Happy
Create adventures
Daydream every chance you get
Enjoy life as much as possible (Or Enjoy the little things)
Find time for fun
Goof off (or Go to Unexplored places)
Hang upside down or Hug Somebody)
Imagine...again
Join clubs
Keep it simple
Love all creatures
Make time for friends
Nap when you can
Open you mind to new ideas!!!
Play when you feel like it (or Play Every day), Pray Everyday
too
Question the answers (or Quiet your mind)
Run with the wind (or try to!) , Remember the working days with
fondness
Sing your favorite songs no matter how old they are or how off
key you are!, Smile!
Take days off from doing nothing and volunteer
Uncover your talents
Venture out (or voice your opinion)
Walk on the wild side or at least walk sideways!
X-pect the best
Yield to the moment, be YOU
Zzzz peacefully at night

Need more ABC ideas? Just go to href="http://google.com/">Google.com and type in " ABC lists scrapbooking " as your keywords. This search engine will turn up lots of great links to fun new ideas and lists. There are ABC lists available for careers, cruises, Native Americans, Disney pages, Hannukka, the Millenium gardening, recipes, and every other topic you can imagine!

There are hundreds more ideas for ABC albums. I would love to share them ALL with you but I am out of room! Take these great lists and create your own ABC album for yourself or someone special very soon. These ABC albums go quickly because they are generally only 26 layouts long, have the quote or title preset from the list. These are the kinds of albums that use up those miscellanious photos AND supplies so well! You will get a triple dose of "feel good" when your ABC album is complete!

And if you are giving them as a gift for a special birthday or holiday, the recipient will treasure it forever! They are fast to create, use up that scrapbook and photo stash, and are oh, so praiseworthy! What is better than that?