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By SANDI GENOVESE

Scripps Howard News Service

Last year, I made a resolution to personalize my gifts. By far, the most popular gift I made was a personalized scrapbook. Turns out, it's easy to do and cost-effective as well. Plus, I've discovered a formula that works for any birthday, wedding or other special occasion. Whether you need a baby gift, a birthday present or a wedding offering, a personalized scrapbook provides a super solution.

Everyone takes photos, but it's rare to find someone who has the time or inclination to create scrapbooks to display them. You can help friends and family remember a special occasion by creating a scrapbook that is ready to accept their photos and any personal comments they may want to add.

Album selection is key. I limit myself to those with a ring or post binding because it is so easy to add the pages I want to create. I also prefer albums that have photo sleeves because they present the most user-friendly option for the potential gift recipient. What could be easier than sliding photos into sleeves?

I divide the album into sections that pertain to the special event. This is a wedding scrapbook that has 25 double-photo sleeves inside. The cover features a window that I've decorated with a marbleized paper mat and a sticker of a bridal bouquet. I divided the inside into five sections, plus a title page. The divisions represent The Engagement, The Bridal Shower, The Wedding Day, The Gifts and The Honeymoon.

To create the divider pages, I trimmed cream-colored card stock to match the size of the photo sleeves and punched three holes with a standard hole punch, using the photo sleeves as a guide. It's easiest to make all of the divider pages the same. Mine are covered with textured, caramel-colored paper with a marbleized stripe and a cream-colored pocket, edged in black. Each pocket holds a tag, embellished with coordinating ribbon ties.

Each pocket is attached to the page with a narrow strip of foam adhesive, placed around the sides and bottom of the pocket. The pocket front is decorated to match its theme, with stickers, punches and die cuts. If you can't find an embellishment to match your theme, try making a color copy from a magazine or take a photograph — like of a champagne bottle — and cut it out to make your own embellishments.

I like to leave the back of each divider page blank so the new owners have somewhere to write their thoughts. The tag that sits inside each pocket also provides a place for personal comments.

Whether you're celebrating a wedding, a birthday, a new baby or any other special event, a personalized scrapbook is truly a handmade gift from the heart that is sure to be appreciated and saved.

(Contact Sandi Genovese at sgenovese1(at)cox.net.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)

AP-NY-03-01-10 1219EST