A Vocabulary Guide To Scrapbooking in Spanish

El album de recortes, or scrapbook in Spanish, is an art and craft activity that can be described as creating a book or an album with scraps of photographs, memorabilia and small things.

While scrapbooking was a popular way of customizing your own family photo albums, this activity is so popular it has transcended languages, nationalities and even politics. 

Scrapbooking is a great way of turning your memories, thoughts, ideas and ideals into masterpieces for you and others to admire. It is more than just mashing pictures and pretty papers together as it has its own balance, and those who call themselves scraperas o scraperos (scrapbookers) have mastered it. 

Today you will learn all about how to do a scrapbook in Spanish, what are those elements you have to use, what are some common techniques for scrapbooking in Spanish, how you can initiate this hobby, or give you some ideas if you already practice it. 

Let’s begin! 

All About Scrapbooking in Spanish

What does scrapbook in Spanish mean? Is there a word for scrapbook in Spanish? As it was stated at the beginning, álbum de recortes is the translation of scrapbook in Spanish. But, the scrapbook community of Spanish speakers prefers the term “scrapbook” more than the scrapbook translation in Spanish when talking about their craft and hobby.

And it is a really popular hobby! Making a scrapbook in Spanish speaking countries, as well as other parts of the world, is an activity that is enjoyed by adults, kids, and even older people because of how easy, relaxing, and creative this activity is. 

When this hobby appeared during the 15th and 16th century it was more like a collection of memorabilia than actually making a book or an album. Since then, it has consistently evolved, but the largest change happened during the 1980s, when Mormon families wanted to preserve their family and religious history. Slowly, this idea reached different audiences who liked the idea to do something to preserve their own personal and familial history. 

Today, scrapbooking goes beyond family history. Is a way to make our memories even more special by making them pretty to share with others. 

Materials for Scrapbooking

Now that we are excited to begin with this scrapbooking adventure! 

What do we need? 

While making a scrapbook looks like an easy task, the idea of these projects is for them to be durable for years and years to come. This means that you might need good quality materials so your memories and photographs are safe inside your albums. 

But before getting to a more specific list of materials and its characteristics, here is a vocabulary list of all those “must have” that you need for your scrapbook in Spanish.

Must Have Materials For Your Scrapbook in Spanish

Now that you know about all the general materials you need for scrapbooking, is time to learn all about the general characteristics of these materials:

• Paper – papel
• Cutting tools – herramientas para cortar
• Adhesives – adhesivos

1. Types of Papers for Scrapbooking

El Papel (paper) is a fundamental material for making scrapbooks. 

There are so many types of paper you can use for scrapbooks. All of them are important depending on the vision you have for your projects. 

Solid colors can be perfect for a simple and clean take on your memories, and patterned papers are amazing to give life to your project. Paper is the base for the structure of your books, and your decorations. 

There are stationary companies that actually make sets or kits of papers for almost any imaginable occasion and theme. 

Here is a list of the different types of paper you can use to make your scrapbook in Spanish.

Types of Papers for Your Scrapbook in Spanish

If you are interested in learning more about the different types of scrapbook paper and its characteristics, and practice your fluency at the same time, check out this post of a manualidades (crafts) blog.

2. Cutting Tools for Scrapbooking

Now that we know all about paper, it is time to learn about the tools we need to shape that paper, because while the word retazos (scraps) may suggest a rough approach to this craft, it actually involves a lot of precision and care.

Scissors are a must have when doing a scrapbook project, but you can use a lot of other cutting tools so you have a wider range of possibilities at the moment of cutting your materials. You not only cut but give form and even shape your scraps for them to adhere to your chosen theme.

Here are some of the most common cutting tools you can use to make a scrapbook in Spanish.

Cutting Tools for Your Scrapbook in Spanish

3. Types of Adhesives for Scrapbooking

Paper and cutting tools are important, but it doesn’t matter how good your paper is, or how cute your paper shapes are if you can’t place them safely in your scrapbook.

The adhesives are all those elements that help you keep your memories in place. If you use good adhesives, your scrapbook elements will stay in place for years to come. On the other hand, if your adhesives aren’t as strong, you can not only lose the structure of your projects, but also, even your memorabilia.

Here is a list of the different adhesives you can use when making your scrapbook in Spanish.

Types of Adhesives for Your Scrapbook in Spanish

4. Verbs Related To Scrapbooking

Now that you know all about the different materials you need and the importance of choosing them wisely, it is time to learn some verbs you can use when making and talking about your scrapbook in Spanish with other Spanish speaking people. 

Verbs Related To Scrapbooking in Spanish

Styles of Scrapbooking

There are no rules when making a scrapbook, but you can take inspiration for your projects with all the different styles that the scrapbook communities have developed to do this craft.

Natural Scrapbooking – El scrapbooking natural

It is when you decorate your photographs with natural elements like dry flowers, leaves, and nature elements. 

Vintage Style – El estilo vintage

This technique imitates antique elements to make your scrapbook materials look older than they already are. You can achieve this by imitating the sepia color in pictures and photos, or ripping the sides of your papers to make them look “used”.

Heritage Style – El estilo herencia

This style is for all those projects that you make to conserve your family and personal history. This style actually uses old photographs and memorabilia, instead of imitations. 

American Style – El estilo americano

This is the “classic” scrapbooking style. Is the easiest to do and usually the first style people try when starting this craft. You can use whatever material you want for this one, but the center of the project has to be the photographs.

Clean and Simple Style – El estilo limpio y sencillo

This style is elegant and simple. The most important elements are the photos and some text to describe what you are trying to remember. The paper is usually a solid color and the decoration is minimal. 

Tips To Get Started With Scrapbooking

Interested in getting into scrapbooking or looking for ideas to put to practice? Do you want to discuss these ideas with Spanish speaking scrapbookers? Don’t worry, I got your back. 

Here is a small list of different tips to start your scrapbooking journey in Spanish:

• Choose your topic – escoge tu tema.
• Choose your album size – escoge el tamaño de tu álbum o cuaderno de scrapbook.
• Choose your photos – escoge tus fotos.
• Choose your layout – escoge tu diseño.
• Get your working supplies – recolecta tus materiales de trabajo

Please check out this amazing post on the best tips to begin scrapbooking.

Can Making a Scrapbook Help Me Learn Spanish?

Short answer: Yes you can! 

While making a scrapbook is a relaxing and entertaining craft, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to learn Spanish.

You can write about your memories and good times in Spanish, or you can make a scrapbook to remember all the things you learn in your Spanish classes. But maybe, the most effective way to learn Spanish while doing scrapbooks is joining the Spanish speaking community of this art, talk to them about this, make friends and practice your fluency with them as much as you can while enjoying the amazing friendliness of this community.

It Is Time to Piece Your Spanish Together! 

Any new art or technique you want to master depends on how much effort you invest in them. Just like you can invest hours and hours piecing together your scrapbook memories, you can do the same while learning Spanish. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring, learning can also be a creative experience!

Learning Spanish helps you to improve your cognition and decision-making abilities, something that definitely helps you to create art. And, something we all like: having fluency in Spanish will help you to, not only to get better and cooler jobs, but also to earn more money, so you can get more stationary and art supplies! It all works together! 

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today for a free 1-to-1 class with a certified native Spanish-speaking teacher at Homeschool Spanish Academy and begin to build your knowledge! Check out our programs and take a peek at our affordable prices and begin this new adventure with us! 

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Carmen Rizzo

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I’m a native Spanish speaker from Guatemala with a B.A. in Psychology. I have a passion for teaching Sunday school in my spare time and for learning and sharing valuable information. I'm a cat lover who gets excited over cartoons, anime, and video games. I dabble in digital illustration and animation. I'm inspired by sharing my culture, traditions, food, and beliefs with others, while learning about theirs in return.

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