How Geeks Scrapbook...

OK, so I can't speak for all geeks, only myself! My wife is an incredible scrapbooker, and I wish I were nearly as creative as she is. It's not just about putting pictures on pages; it's about weaving an entire story, and telling that story not only with the pictures, but also with the words, papers, textures, and other embellishments that bring her pages to life. Yeah, I can't do that.

It's not that I have nothing to scrapbook, though, because I do. And I recently had an idea that's, well, if not uniquely mine, then at least uniquely geeky.

Specifically, I'm an embedded systems geek, both hardware and software. Not only is that my day job, but it also weaves its way into my hobbies. My hobbies take me in various directions, be it Steampunk, model rocketry, Halloween gadgetry, toys for my little cousins, whatever.

One of the side-effects of working with embedded systems is that I sometimes design printed circuit boards to help bring some of my creations to life. One important rule that I learned early on is to always have spares handy. My inner Boy Scout agrees, and likes to be prepared. It's a terrible thing when things go south, as they sometimes do, and have a project grind to a halt because you have to wait for replacement parts, boards, etc.

Of course, things don't always go south, with the side effect that the spares tend to accumulate over time. Not a big deal with parts - I can always find a use for extra LEDs, Arduinos, and what-not. Spare circuit boards, though, that's another issue. Mostly, my spare boards sat on a shelf gathering dust.

And that's where my wife inspired me (it's a pity she doesn't read my blog; I could get a few brownie points here). Years and years ago, she bought me a cool little 3-ring binder made out of recycled circuit boards.

The trouble was, I didn't have anything really worthy to put in it. It sat empty for a long time. Then I realized, hey, why can't I scrapbook circuit boards the way she does pictures? And so I did.

I use top-loading page protectors to hold my scrapbook pages, rather than just punching holes in the pages themselves. It makes the pages a little wider than my binder, but it keeps the PCB edges from snagging on things, and should (hopefully) catch any boards that separate from the pages.

Instead of buying paper from a craft or scrapbooking store, I use Google Images to find pictures of cool circuit boards that I then print (borderless) on matte brochure paper.

I avoid water-marked images, which typically mean they're from a stock image vendor and ought to be paid for. There are plenty out there that aren't, usually from other folks' personal projects.

I use double-sided tape to mount the really small boards, and foam mounting tape for the bigger ones. Sometimes I'll keep it simple and just mount the boards with the briefest description of what they are.

 

Sometimes I'll get more creative, especially if the boards are small, or are part of an exceptionally cool project.

 



I'm not going to claim that my scrapbook is anything as awesome as the ones my wife can make, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's coming together. And I've got plenty more space in that binder!