Pets and Scrapbooking

One of the fun parts about writing about pets is the chance to become immersed in a subject and, at times, go off on wonderful tangents that lead to surprising places. This is what happened when I came across “Pet Pages Unleashed! Fetching ideas for animal-inspired scrapbook pages” From the Editors of Memory Makers Books. (ISBN 978-1-892127-72-3).
This is an inspiring book, 8.5 x 11, paperback with color photographs, that offers readers dozens of ways to incorporate the family pet into memory books or collages that can be framed and displayed on the wall. The book is divided into four chapters: 1) Welcome Home, pages dedicated to new pet additions to the family; 2) Animal Behavior: pages that capture quirky pet antics, habbits, activities, and mannerisms; 3) Pet Personalities: pages that portray the unique characteristics and qualities of pets; and 4) Pets and Their Favorite People: pages that pay tribute to the bond between pets and the people who love them.
I appreciated the variety of pets represented in this book. Beyond cats and dogs, there are lizards, rabbits, turtles and even a beautiful crab. The page / collage examples are large enough to see just how things were put together, plus the book gives the materials used in each collage, the brand name of materials whenever possible, plus there is a resource list at the back of the book with websites of where to get materials.
The “Pet Page Topics” offered to help readers know where to start includes commemorating:
• How your pet joined the family
• adoption day or lineage
• Growth Chart
• Personality traits
• Special talents and tricks
• A day in the life
• House rules according to your pet
• Favorite possessions
• Holidays with your pet
• Pet Birthdays
• Childhood/past pets

I recommend “Pet Pages Unleashed!” to anyone who wants to undertake creative activities that will strengthen the pets bond within the family. This book would also offer ideas for parent/child or classroom activities. And, the samples include old-fashioned cut-and-paste collage along with samples created using the computer and software such as Photoshop.
I came across this book at my local library. You might find it at yours, or on Amazon. There is still time to use the ideas in it to make a great holiday present for the pet lover in your life.... or for you!
--Janice Phelps, Author of “Open Your Heart with Pets: Mastering Life through Love of Animals” 12/5/07