Journaling with the Sunday Funnies is a relatively easy way to bring the humor in every day situations into your scrapbooks. There is a reason that we find humor in the Sunday funnies! It is usually because we can relate only too well to the story being told. It is because these comics already share our own thoughts or feelings that they make such a great journaling option.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that Sunday comics are under copyright, I don't feel comfortable posting a layout done with a comic on this blog. So instead I'll share my thought process when using these comics to build a layout for my scrapbooks.
I love Family Circus! Being one of 6 siblings and having 3 children of my own, I can relate to many of these strips. One of my favorites was the series done with the "Not Me" character. Do you remember these? Whenever a situtation arose in which punishment might be the expected result, the parents would ask the children who did it, and the answer was always a chorus of "Not Me". Elsewhere in the strip there would be an 'invisible' gremlin running around named "Not Me".
It would be so easy for me to incorporate one of these comic strips into a layout. Take a photo of a few of the unclaimed dings or spills around the house, a photo of my children looking like angels, add the comic strip and title it "Not Me Strikes again". Not only would this layout bring a bit of humor to my scrapbook, but it would touch upon the reality of parenting. So often our scrapbooks show the best of our lives, why not share some of the day to day frustrations as well?
I can not provide you with legal guidance on using comics in your scrapbooks, but as mentioned earlier they are protected by copyrights. So thread softly and seek permission as needed ... especially if you are planning on printing books for gifts or sale. Google Books shares a page from Digital Scrapbooking for Dummies here. This page points out that if you buy a book from a publisher, and cut an image from that book for use in your personal scrapbook, you are probably within your legal rights. However, photocopying that page to print and use on pages that you are selling or distributing would be a different story.
Important note about using newsprint in your scrapbooks: newsprint is not archivally safe for your scrapbooks! I would not recommend cutting an image straight from the paper and placing it on a scrapbook page. While some people recommend spraying the newsprint with a neutralizing spray to make it safe for your scrapbooks, my preference is to photocopy the article for use. In the case of a world event headline where you want to store the entire paper, here is a blog post from Rare Newspapers detailing Timothy Hughes' favorite method of storage.
Do you have a favorite comic? Even a favorite strip from that comic? I challenge you to build a layout around it. You'll get a page done for your album, and probably smile along the way!
Happy Crafting,
Noel
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