Scrapbook kit with customizable photographic images

Abstract

A scrapbook kit containing customizable photographic images.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to scrapbook kits that include photographic images.

Many people keep scrapbooks to memorialize significant events such as weddings, vacations, graduations, holidays, etc. In some instances, one scrapbook may be used to memorialize a variety of such events, where each page of the scrapbook is dedicated to a single event. In other instances, a single scrapbook may be devoted to an event or category. For example, a scrapbook may be devoted to one or more of a person's children with individual pages or groups of consecutive pages representing specific events such as birthdays, graduation, etc. Another example could be a scrapbook devoted to family vacations.

The scrapbook industry has become quite lucrative. Not only do most craft and hobby stores include several aisles devoted to scrapbook materials, but there are quite a number of specialty stores, web sites, etc. specifically devoted to the sale of scrapbook items, such as scrapbook kits.

Scrapbook kits facilitate the creation and development of a scrapbook. Typically, a scrapbook kit will include a variety of prepackaged materials designed to be inserted into a scrapbook, where the prepackaged materials each relate to a certain event or subject. For example, some existing scrapbook kits are intended to memorialize holidays, such as Christmas, and might include stickers, cardboard cut-outs, letter-sized paper with printed designs, each displaying subject matter relevant to the holiday.

One problem with existing scrapbook kits is that the prepackaged materials must, of necessity, be fairly generic to an event or subject. Thus the aforementioned scrapbook kit pertaining to Christmas would include a variety of materials relating to the Christmas holiday, such as a Snowman sticker or a cardboard cutout of a Christmas tree. The scrapbook kit, however, would not include material specific to an individual's experience on that Christmas holiday. Instead, the purchaser must provide their own materials, e.g. pictures, handwritten notes, letters, etc. to individually customize the scrapbook.

What is desired, therefore, is an improved product that better enables a person to reflect their individual experiences in a scrapbook.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a front view of an exemplary scrapbook kit having assorted prepackaged scrapbook materials, and including one or more photographic members.

FIG. 1B shows a back view of the exemplary scrapbook kit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1C shows exemplary prepackaged scrapbook materials that may be included in the scrapbook kit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the photographic member of FIG. 1 with a line of weakness.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative photographic member with a line of weakness

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary manner in which photographic members may be inserted into a scrapbook.

FIG. 5 shows a companion kit to the scrapbook kit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows an alternate photographic member without a line of weakness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary scrapbook kit 10 intended to memorialize a person's vacation to Alaska. The scrapbook kit 10 has individual scrapbook members 12 that are each either intended to be inserted into a scrapbook or have components intended to be inserted into a scrapbook. For example, FIG. 1C shows exemplary scrapbook members 12 of the scrapbook 10 that include a letter-sized papers 14 and 16 having printed graphical imagery associated with Alaska, a letter sized backing 18 for one or more stickers 19, a cardboard cutout 20 having printed graphical imagery associated with Alaska, and one or more photographic members 22. The letter-sized paper 14 is typically printed on standard writing paper and intended to be pasted directly into a scrapbook at the first scrapbook page related to the Alaskan trip memorialized in the scrapbook. Additional material, such as pictures, handwritten notes, stickers, etc. may then be placed on the paper 14, if and as desired. The scrapbook members 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, and 22 may be packaged in a scrapbook kit 10 having a transparent wrapper. A spine 13 is used for structural support to stiffen the packaged scrapbook kit 10. Furthermore, the spine 13 is usually folded so as to partially enclose at least one or more of the scrapbook members 12, thus retaining the members in an orderly configuration within the packaged scrapbook kit 10.

The letter-sized paper 16 may have a printed background image similar to that of the paper 14, but also include several secondary images 17 superimposed on the background image. Thus an individual who incorporates the paper 16 into a scrapbook has a number of creative options available, such as cutting the paper 16 into the individual images 17 and pasting them individually into desired scrapbook pages, gluing pictures over the images 17 before inserting the paper 16 into the scrapbook, or simply inserting the page 16 into the scrapbook. Similarly, the stickers 19 and the cutout 20 may be inserted individually into scrapbook pages, or placed over the papers 14 and 16, as desired.

The scrapbook kit 10 preferably includes one or more photographic members 22 each having a printed image 24 of photographic quality. The photographic member 22 is shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2. The printed image 24 preferably shows a scene or object generally associated with the theme of the scrapbook kit 10. Thus where the scrapbook kit 10 pertains to an Alaskan vacation, the printed image 24 may be a picture of an orca, as shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. 2, a picture of Alaskan landscape, scenic attractions, or any other desired picture associated with Alaska. It should be understood that, although the preceding description pertains to an exemplary Alsakan scrapbook kit, other scrapbook kits may be associated with other locales, events, etc. The photographic member 22 also preferably includes a line of weakness 26 that allows a person to sever a selected portion of the photographic member 22—either partially or wholly—from its remainder. For example, FIG. 2 shows a photographic member 22 having a line of weakness 26 forming a closed loop such that a person could selectively punch out the portion of the image 24 surrounding the orca.

As seen in FIG. 4, the photographic member 22 gives a scrapbook user creative latitude unavailable with existing scrapbook kits or other scrapbook accessories. Using the photographic member 22 shown in FIG. 2 as an example, once the image portion corresponding to the orca is punched out, a person can insert the punched-out potion individually into a scrapbook, either on one of the papers 14 or 16, or on its own scrapbook page as desired. Additionally (or alternatively), once the portion of the image 24 defined by the line of weakness is punched out, the remainder of the image 24 may serve as a frame for an underlying image, which can be another image included in the scrapbook kit or an image provided by the scrapbook user, for example a photograph of a person or locale. Still another option is to simply insert the photographic member 22 into the scrapbook 10 intact, without removing the portion of the image 24 defined by the line of weakness.

Inclusion of a line of weakness 26 in the photographic member 22 permits a scrapbook user to customize the image 24 to be specific to the user's experience. For example, the photographic member 22 may show an image 24 of a totem pole where a line of weakness 26 defines an upper area of the totem pole, that, once punched out, provides a frame for an underlying photograph showing the face of the user. A photographic member 22 showing an image 24 of a herd of animals may define a line of weakness around a selective one or more individual animals to provide a frame for an image of a person's pet. The punched-out portion of the image may be superimposed on a photograph taken by the user. Other such creative options can be easily conceived.

Alternatively, the line of weakness 26 does not have to define a closed loop, to facilitate the creation of a three-dimensional scrapbook insert. Thus, if the image 24 of the photographic member is a totem pole, the line of weakness may allow a person to punch out a portion of the totem pole while leaving the punched-out section attached to the photographic member 22 such that the totem pole can “stand up.” Alternatively, an image of a native flower may have a line or lines of weakness allowing the outer boundaries of the flower to be lifted upward from the photographic member 22.

The line of weakness 26 preferably corresponds to an object depicted in the image 24, such as the orca of FIG. 2. Such a line of weakness facilitates the separate insertion into a scrapbook of any punched-out portion as well as the remaining frame. Though FIG. 2 shows a line of weakness 26 running slightly to the outside of the object outlined (i.e., the orca) the line of weakness could outline the object more precisely, if desired. The line of weakness 26 may be formed in the photographic member 22 in any convenient manner, such as with a die or a laser.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate photographic member 30 having a first image 32 of photographic quality bordering a second image 34, also of photographic quality. The second image includes an object 36. In this figure, the first image 32 is a general landscape photograph showing native wildflowers, the second image 36 is a landscape photograph of a mountain, which is the object 36. The photographic member 30 includes a first line of weakness 38 generally defining a closed loop around the border of the second image 34. The photographic member 30 also defines a second line of weakness 40 generally defining a closed loop around the mountain 36.

The photographic member 30 provides a number of unique methods of insertion into a scrapbook. For example, a person may use the line of weakness 40 to punch out the object 36 (the mountain) leaving a remaining frame and insert the two pieces in a scrapbook in a manner identical to that described with respect to the photographic member 22 of FIG. 2. Alternatively, a person could use the line of weakness 38 to punch out the second image 34, leaving a remaining frame and insert those two pieces in a scrapbook in the manner just described. Still another alternative would be to use both lines of weakness 38 and 40 to create a punched-out object 36 and two frame members i.e., the remainders of the images 32 and 34, respectively, with which to frame other images, which may be included in the scrapbook or provided by the user, as desired.

Although FIG. 3 depicts a photographic member 30 having a first line of weakness 38 that encloses a second line of weakness 40, it may be desirable to include plural lines of weakness in other configurations. Thus a photographic member 30 depicting plural adjacent objects may include a line of weakness around a portion of each object.

FIG. 4 shows a companion kit 50 generally associated with the scrapbook kit 10, but intended to be provided separately. The companion kit 50 may include individual members 52 comprising the aforementioned paper 16, the stickers 19 on backing 18, the cardboard member 20, and preferably one or more photographic members 22 as previously described. Unlike the scrapbook kit 10, which is associated with a general locale or event, the companion kit 50 is intended to be associated with a more specific aspect of the locale or event associated with the scrapbook kit 10. For example, if the scrapbook kit 10 pertains generally to an Alaskan vacation, that scrapbook kit could include a paper 14 showing a generic, well known Alaskan landmark or icon (such as Mt. McKinley or a native totem pole), a paper 16, stickers 19, cardboard member 20 and photographic members 22 likewise displaying relatively generic Alaskan images.

Continuing with this Alaska example, the companion kit, conversely, may include any or all of a paper 16, stickers 19, a cardboard member 20 or one or more photographic members 22 that pertain to a specific city or locale in Alaska (e.g. Juneau, Sitka, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, etc.) Therefore a person taking an Alaskan vacation can easily customize a scrapbook to the specific places or events attended. The companion kit 50 also permits the most efficient marketing and distribution of scrapbook accessory materials because the generic Alaska scrapbook, for example, could be marketed throughout Alaska or other regions, while the individual companion kits could be marketed specifically in the locales or events to which they pertain. In this manner a person vacationing in Alaska could purchase the scrapbook kit 10 prior to departure or in any locale in Alaska, and purchase only those companion kits 50 found along the specific vacation route taken. Such a marketing strategy would have much better appeal to local retailers because those retailers would not be competing with retailers outside their region.

While the photographic members 22 are novel, and have advantages not realized by existing scrapbook kits, the present inventors realized that the photographic members 22, like other existing scrapbook kit members, suffer from one common disadvantage. When users inserts a scrapbook kit member into a scrapbook, they tend to do so in a substantially permanent manner. That is to say, scrapbook kit members, such as stickers, cardboard cutouts, etc. are pasted into a scrapbook kit using an adhesive, after which, it is extraordinarily inconvenient to rearrange the members to a different page, for example. The photographic members 22, while permitting a user to exercise a greater degree of creativity when initially inserting the photographic member into the scrapbook, nonetheless retains the disadvantage, in existing scrapbooks, of being non-adjustable. Although a user could, for example, apply an adhesive only around the perimeter of a photographic member 22, for example, retaining the ability to later remove the inner image by breaking the line of weakness, then moving the inner image elsewhere, this would be less than ideal because, by applying the adhesive only around the perimeter, the photographic member would not lie flush with the page as the page is turned when perusing through the scrapbook, tending to tear or otherwise deform the scrapbook.

Referring to FIG. 6, a novel solution is disclosed. A scrapbook member 60 may comprise a backing 62 and a self-adhesive sticker portion 64 mounted to the backing. Preferably, the self-adhesive sticker portion 64, like the photographic members 22 displays an image of photographic quality. Rather than comprising lines of weakness, from which a user can manually break the image into predefined portions, the self adhesive sticker portion 64 may simply be cut into predefined sections such as 66, 68, and 70, each of those sections being selectively and independently removable from the backing 62.

Like the photographic member 22, a scrapbook user may elect to separate one or more of the individual sections 66, 68, or 70 from the backing and insert them individually into a scrapbook. For example, section 66 could be individually inserted around a picture of the user, section 68 could likewise be individually inserted to serve as a frame of another image, and section 70 could be inserted individually into a scrapbook. Unlike photographic member 22, however, a user may insert the entire photographic scrapbook member 60 into a scrapbook and retain the ability to later easily reconfigure the scrapbook member 60 by simply peeling away an inner image and putting it elsewhere.

Other options are also retained. For example, consider the scrapbook member 60, shown in FIG. 6 and having a first outer rectangular boundary frame section 66, a central section 70 having an outer irregular boundary 70 and an intermediate section 68 having an outer boundary aligned with the adjacent rectangular boundary of section 66, and an inner irregular boundary adjacent the outer boundary of the central section 70. Each of these sections may selectively display an image of photographic quality, and which may or may not be coextensive with the photographic images of the other sections. In other words, some embodiments may display a single photographic image across all of the sections 66, 68, and 70, or other embodiments may use separate photographic images for one or more of the respective sections.

A user may initially elect to insert the scrapbook member 60 into a scrapbook, completely intact, by simply applying an adhesive to the backing and pasting it into the page of a scrapbook. Some years later, the user may again visit the locale shown in the scrapbook member and obtain several photographs of the user. The user may the, at that time years later, remove the central region 70 and move it to a different page, remove the intermediate region 68 and move it to a different page, using the region 68 as a frame for one of the photographs of the user, and also remove the region 66, paste another user photograph over the backing 62 and then reinsert the region 66, with its self adhesive backing, as a frame over the user photograph.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the present inventors also realized that the spine 13, previously discussed, has previously only been used as advertising material for the scrapbook kit. For example, the spine typically depicts promotional or marketing information such as the title of the kit, pricing and content information, copyright information, barcodes, etc., all superimposed over imagery associated with the scrapbook kit. The spine, however, while retaining the scrapbook kit, has not been used or marketed as part of the scrapbook kit, because the spine is often too large to be inserted into the page of a scrapbook, and more importantly, because the marketing information would detract from its placement in a scrapbook, i.e. a user would not want any of the phrases “acid and lignin free” or “Alaska scrapbooking” or a barcode in the scrapbook itself. However, the present inventors realized that much of the promotional imagery on the spine 13 of the scrapbook kit, could be made useful for the scrapbook kit simply by including the lines of weakness previously described with respect to the photographic members 22, or alternatively, by forming the spine of self-adhesive material on a backing, with certain selective promotional imagery cut into individually removable pieces, like the scrapbook members 60. For example, the spine 13 could include promotional images 72, 74, and 76, each bounded by a line of weakness such that a user could manually separate those images and place it into the scrapbook. The disclosed spine 13 therefore adds to the value of the scrapbook kit because it allows more usable features to be included in scrapbook kit without adding more material.

It should be understood that although much of the foregoing description of the disclosed scrapbook kit 10 and the companion kit 50 was discussed in relation to scrapbook materials pertaining to an Alaskan vacation, the disclosed scrapbook kit and companion kit is not limited by this example. For example, scrapbook kits and companion kits may relate to a wide variety of vacation destinations. Further, the disclosed scrapbook kit and companion kit may pertain not only to vacations, but a wide variety of other significant events or subjects, such as holidays, institutions, sports events, etc. For example, a scrapbook kit 10 could pertain generally to college football, with individual components depicting generic college football imagery such as the college football Hall of Fame, college football icons, etc., while companion kits 50 are marketed specific to individual bowls, individual events or individual teams. In the same vein, a scrapbook kit 10 could pertain generally to a particular sports team while a series of companion kits 50 may be marketed specific to individual players, individual games, opponents, or other selected aspect of the team depicted by the scrapbook kit. Other creative permutations of scrapbook kits 10 and companion kits 50 may easily be created.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims

1. In combination with a scrapbook kit, a member comprising:

(a) a backing; and

(b) a plurality of members, each independently and selectively removable from said backing, and each displaying an image of photographic quality, where each of said plurality of members shares a boundary with at least one other of said plurality of members.

2. The combination of claim 1 where every one of the members selectively removable from said backing displays an image of photographic quality.

3. The combination of claim 1 where a first said members forms a frame around a second said members.

4. The combination of claim 3 where said first and second members display respective portions of the same photographic image.

5. The combination of claim 4 where a third said member forms a frame around said first member.

6. The combination of claim 5 where said third member displays an image different from that displayed by said first and second members.

7. In combination with a scrapbook kit, a spine member having a first portion displaying marketing text and a second portion displaying an image associated with the content of said scrapbook kit, said image bounded by at least one of a line of weakness or a cut separating said second portion from said first portion.

8. The combination of claim 7 where said spine is folded to at least partially enclose one or more products contained within said scrapbook kit.

9. The combination of claim 8 where said spine provides structural support for said scrapbook kit.

10. In combination with a scrapbook kit having one or more scrapbook products, a spine member having a folded portion that at least partially encloses at least one of said products, and a second portion displaying an image associated with the content of said scrapbook kit, said image bounded by at least one of a line of weakness or a cut separating said second portion from said first portion.

11. The combination of claim 10 where said spine member displays marketing text.

12. The combination of claim 8 where said spine provides structural support for said scrapbook kit.