Cut, Paste, Post: Why the Scrapbook Aesthetic is Sticking Around

In a digital world obsessed with perfection, the scrapbook aesthetic is cutting through the noise—messy, nostalgic, and defiantly human. The reasons for this range from the nostalgic to the practical, making scrapbooking accessible to any and all types of creatives.

View of a worktable from above, an artist’s hands holding a piece of tan paper covered in a grid of small, white, oblong shapes, and the white table covered in layers of colorful decorative papers of red and purple florals, blue and brown paisleys and pinks with green leaves — You’ll be amazed at what you can create for a scrapbook when you curate them with your own creative flair. Still from Skillshare class: Making Collage Art Using Found Papers by Froyle Davies

First, if you’d like to read a little more about scrapbooking and the styles that contribute to it, check out these articles before moving forward:

This article will explore the origins of scrapbooking and its evolving aesthetic, and why it’s seeing a resurgence in the 21st century. You’ll get a sense of how to bring scrapbooking into the digital space, and the benefits of working with physical materials. Grab your favorite photos, a pair of scissors and some glitter glue, and read on.

What Is the Modern Scrapbook Aesthetic?

Traditional scrapbooks typically contain pages of photos, cards, text, mementos and embellishments like doodles or images clipped from magazines. They may include pressed flowers or pieces of cloth or ribbon.

Modern scrapbook aesthetics emulate the traditional look with 21st-century elements and tools. It might be a physical scrapbook that uses design concepts taken from websites and social media. Or, the whole thing might be created on digital platforms but mimic the look of themed styles and embellishments à la Creative Memories.

Whatever way you choose to style or create a scrapbook aesthetic, it’s likely to include actual (or the digital equivalent of) torn paper edges, layered textures and mixed typography. Think of a multi-media and collage vibe that is a little bit messy and entirely unique.

Where Did Scrapbook Aesthetic Originate and How Has it Evolved?

Among the most common elements of scrapbooks are pieces of paper–letters, snippets of text, magazine clippings, pictures, etc. Because of this, scrapbooking didn’t really exist as an art until the Renaissance, when more things were being printed and more people could read.

Renaissance Commonplace Books

Hundreds of years ago, people made “commonplace books” as a place to keep recipes, quotes and other memorabilia. While their creators didn’t usually incorporate the degree of artistic flair that scrapbookers do, the basic concept of keeping a personal book of essential and sentimental value has been around for ages.

Victorian and 20th Century Scrapbooks

In the 19th century, people started assembling volumes that looked more like late 20th-century scrapbooks, with photos, cards, pressed flowers and personal letters. In recent decades, the availability of everything from stickers and markers to specialty craft scissors made the scrapbook aesthetic about not only the mementos themselves, but the design and embellishments around them.

Scrapbooking as an Industry

Scrapbooking is so established that it’s now got its own retail and service industry. Craft stores have scrapbooking kits, and individuals offer scrapbook compilations. Interestingly, this relatively commercial approach sits in contrast to the cultural movements that have influenced scrapbooking.

Modern Scrapbook Influences

By their very nature, scrapbooks are deeply personal, expressive and unique. No two people will have the same collection of photos, concert tickets, and postcards that they received in childhood. And not everyone is going to have a highly curated and perfectly themed scrapbook; prioritizing memories over presentation is entirely valid.

Zine Culture

One influence on this individual and slightly messy aesthetic is zine culture. Zines (short for “magazines”) became a thing in the 20th century, and are typically made by hand, produced independently and locally distributed on a small scale for a particular community. The purpose is expression over profit, and the content may be artistic, political, or just about anything else.

Tumble Layout

Tumblr is another influence, allowing users to organize their content in a scrapbookish manner, using microblogs, images and notes and “pasting” it into their digital pages. Now, those who grew up using Tumblr are no doubt influenced by it in their analog work.

Now, with platforms like YouTube and TikTok dominating communication and entertainment, visuals, in turn, dominate artistic expression and political discourse. The amount of content we absorb in these formats is massive, and the responses to what we look at is almost as important as the content itself. No doubt, this influence is felt when you create a scrapbook aesthetic around any event or idea.

How Do Digital Tools Replicate Analog Collage Elements?

Digital tools like Procreate and Canva offer scrapbooking functions that let you bring in your own photographs as well as designer graphics. Each program does things its own way–the one you select depends on the process that appeals to you.

For example, in Procreate, you create layers of designs, almost the same way paper might overlap in a traditional scrapbook. You take items from a stash of scrapbook supplies, such as background paper, photos and designed elements, and drag them into your scrapbook page. You can move and resize pieces to your heart’s content.

Canva, on the other hand, offers a range of designer templates from which to choose. You can add your own photos and other elements within the templates and add a few personal touches, if desired. You can even invite friends and family to collaborate on the scrapbook for a fun and inclusive way to enshrine an event or the group’s history.

Why Does the Scrapbook Aesthetic Resonate Now?

After a couple of decades of everything being online, why is scrapbooking and the scrapbooking aesthetic suddenly regaining popularity?

Embracing the Rough Edges

The obvious answer is a cultural swing away from the highly organized, clean and polished look of so many online projects. It’s challenging to create digital content that truly stands out, especially without the literal rough edges and wrinkles of physical paper. Whether you’re creating online or off, the scrapbook aesthetic makes it easier to break out of the mold.

Welcoming Nostalgia

Another reason is nostalgia. With the internet, things move at a rapid pace, and content creators spend almost as much time managing platforms as they do… well, creating content. Traditional scrapbooks can’t be rushed. Gathering materials, cutting things out and waiting for glue to dry are time-consuming and reminiscent of a simpler time. Even digital versions of the aesthetic evoke a quaintness that TikTok videos simply can’t achieve.

Appreciating Physical Materials

Finally, it’s the materials themselves. Electronic devices and digital platforms are incredible, but they can’t compare to handling actual paper and photos or getting to know an image intimately as you snip it from the pages of Nat Geo. Many creatives love using their senses of touch, sight, smell and sound as they cut, arrange and glue beloved items into an attractive book.

Who Is Popularizing the Scrapbook Aesthetic?

The people popularizing scrapbooking do so in a myriad of ways. Some turned their designs into a whole brand. Others promote the idea of scrapbooking to a young audience.

Ali Edwards

Ali doesn’t want things to be more complicated than they have to be. She’s known for her skill of capturing memories and photos and words and using projects to make those memories more solid. Ali Edwards’ blogs and workshops inspire many, and her line of stamps, kits and notebooks make scrapbooking accessible to novices and veterans alike.

Jennifer McGuire

Jennifer is a crafting instructor and stamping enthusiast who uses handmade art to spread kindness. Her career actually began in scrapbooking, and has extended into other papercraft areas that all contribute to the scrapbooking trend. Jennifer McGuire’s books and online classes continue to inspire her followers.

Tazhiana Gordon

Tazhiana uses scrapbooking as a way to keep memories and tell stories. Her art and activism gained visibility in the early 2020s, as the Black Lives Matter Movement was gaining national recognition. While she’s not been as active in the scrapbooking space recently, her work showed how scrapbooking was not an inherently white hobby.

Doris Sander

Doris took a love of digging through her mother’s old photos, mixed in her own experience with travel and desire to share stories with her son, and turned it into scrapbooking that built a community.

A quick search on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok will return a wealth of scrapbooking images and videos. You'll find it easily on your favorite social platform, whether you’re looking for how-to, inspiration or community.

How Scrapbooking Reflects Broader Trends in Mental Health, Environmentalism and Authenticity

Scrapbooking isn’t just a pastime or hobby–it’s a way to live out the things that are important to you.

Mental Health

It’s well known that the excessive use of screens isn’t great for mental and emotional health. The rapid pace of content input, as well as the constant pull of different options and too much blue light, stresses the brain and makes it harder to focus for extended periods of time.

Take some of the nervous energy and put it into a project. Even if you’re working on a digital scrapbook aesthetic, the focus on something slower than social media can slow the brain down and reduce the need for constant dopamine hits.

If you create a physical scrapbook, the use of your hands will stretch your brain in other important ways. Having to gather materials you can touch and smell forces you to slow down a bit and enjoy the process of directly interacting with the art.

Environmentalism

Unlike many other projects, scrapbooking doesn’t necessarily require a whole bunch of new supplies. If you have an empty journal or notebook laying around, you can easily turn it into a scrapbook with things you have on hand!

You don’t have to limit yourself to photos and bits of paper. Look around for pieces of fabric, postcards, pressed plants and flowers, playing cards, ribbon, or even small beads. As long as you can secure the item to the page and close the book, include whatever strikes your fancy.

Better yet, think of how you’re creating art with things that might wind up in the trash, and not contributing to mass production and shipping costs by using items you already have.

Authenticity

When we have access to such a range of ideas and designs, it can be tough to feel like your ideas are authentic. Creating your own scrapbook and implementing the scrapbook aesthetic online gives you a way to combine artistic elements and styles in a way no one else can. You don’t have to reveal all the details behind your work; others will see the authenticity shining through.

Skillshare Classes for Your Scrapbooking Journey

At Skillshare, experienced and helping instructors love to share how they do what they do. No matter where you are with your own projects, check out classes like:

Enjoy making art from your beautiful memories!

Written By

Katie Mitchell

Katie lives in Michigan with her husband, kids and pets. She enjoys cooking, travel and live music.