How to preserve greeting cards in a scrapbook
Choose the cards you want to revisit, keep the inside readable with photo corners or a pocket, and scan fronts and messages before making irreversible cuts. Test the album's thickness as you go.
Sort cards by what you want to keep: the handwriting, the picture, the whole object or a record of who sent it. A signature can matter as much as a long message.
The handwriting is usually what you will want later, so choose a method that keeps the inside readable without taking the card out of the book.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
| Method | Best for | Space on the page | Inside readable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back panel hinged to the page | Cards with long messages | One card, plus room to open | Yes, opened in place |
| Photo corners on the back panel | Cards you may want to take out | One card | Yes, lift the front |
| Pocket or envelope page | A stack from one occasion | One pocket for several cards | Take each card out to read |
| Front cut off | Signature-only cards with good pictures | Front panel only | No, keep a scan of the inside |
| Front and inside cut, side by side | Cards with short messages | Two flat panels | Yes, though the card is no longer whole |
| Clear sleeve | Glitter, sound chips, raised decoration | A full pocket | Take out to open |
| Separate front and inside scans | Cards you prefer to keep digitally | A file set, with thumbnails if wanted | Yes, in a separate inside image |
| List of senders | A large number of cards | A few lines | No, only who sent them |
Decide which cards stay whole
Keep a card whole whenever its shape, handwriting or sender matters to you. A scan is a copy, so make that choice before cutting or discarding anything.
- Cards with a written message, not just a name.
- Handmade cards and children's drawn cards.
- The last card you had from a particular person.
- Cards that mark a first, such as a first birthday or first home.
Fix the back panel, not the front
Attach only the back panel to the page so the front lifts like a door and the message is read in place. Leave room beside the card for the front to swing open.
The Library of Congress advises against self-adhesive tape in albums and suggests wheat-starch paste or photo corners instead. Four corners on the back panel let the card come out again.
Pockets for a stack
A deep pocket holds the cards from one occasion when you want to take them out and reread them. Write the occasion and year on the pocket, not on the cards.
Keep loose decoration away from facing pages. For a sound card, save a recording if you want the audio; remove a battery only if it can be reached without forcing the card.
When to cut a front
Cut a front only when the inside is blank or already scanned. Trim along the fold and keep the cut edge straight, so the panel sits flat against a mat.
Fronts work as page backgrounds, title panels and pocket faces. Nine Christmas fronts trimmed to 3.5-inch squares make a grid on a 12-inch page with quarter-inch gaps.
Scan the rest open
A card's front, message and back may need separate scans. Opening the card flat usually shows either the outside or the inside, not both in one image.
File the images by year and occasion, with the sender's name in each file name, so a search finds every card from one person.
Steps
Birthday spread
The year's birthday cards with messages, hinged in two rows with fronts closed, and a list of every sender down the right edge.
Christmas grid
Dry-fit cut fronts on the page before trimming. A three-by-three grid of 3.5-inch squares uses 10.5 inches plus gaps, so check the remaining margins and binding area.
One person's cards
Every card from one grandparent across the years, hinged in date order, with the year written on the page beside each.
The pocket page
A deep pocket for the cards from one occasion you want to lift out and reread, labelled with the occasion and the year.
Questions
How do you put greeting cards in a scrapbook?
Fix the back panel to the page with a hinge or photo corners so the front opens and the message is read in place. Use a pocket for a stack you want to take out.
Should I cut up old greeting cards for scrapbooking?
Only cards whose inside is blank or already scanned. Cut along the fold, use the front, and keep any handwriting you care about whole.
How many greeting cards fit on a scrapbook page?
Dry-fit the actual cards, including the room each front needs to swing open. Check page protectors and binding clearance before deciding the number.