Crafty Belles

There’s not much worse than looking through your completed scrapbook and finding that your book’s layout is a mess. One page is crammed, the next is empty. Take the time to read the following ideas about scrapbook layouts to ensure that you are satisfied when you look through your finished product.

Every scrapbooker needs to know how to balance photos on scrapbook pages. When cropping photos, an easy way to achieve balance across a page layout is to crop two or more photos to the same size. A photo cropped to 3” x 4” will balance another cropped to 4” x 3”.

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Scrapbookers are always searching for the special ‘extra’ to make their scrapbook special. Try using a stencil in all different ways to make your scrapbook your best ever. When stenciling, make sure to draw very lightly on the page with a pencil, and erase the marks after completing to make your book crisp and clean.

A very creative stenciling idea is to create a puzzle page using a stencil. Create photo puzzle pages or cut paper shaped as puzzle pieces. This type of stencil can be purchased in the store or you can make one on your own. This is a cute idea to use for a children’s scrapbook.

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We’ve all looked through scrapbooks before and find us reading aloud to ourselves the captions and short journal entries that accompany the photos. Scrapbooking wouldn’t be as meaningful and as captivating without those short, but sweet written memoirs. Here are a few ideas to help enhance your next scrapbook with journaling.

One of the hardest parts of journaling is finding something creative to write. Next time you are having trouble, give one of your friends the photo and have them create three to five questions about the picture that they want to know about. Tell them to be creative and avoid the who, what, and where questions. If your friends are having the same problems exchange pictures and help them out.

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One of the most devastating things that can happen to a scrapbook-er is for their creation to be ruined. There are plenty of ways that your book can get destroyed. With just a few simple precautions, you can make sure that your book will be around for years to come.

Liquids obviously will destroy memorabilia, photographs and negatives. To avoid disasters, store your scrapbooks supplies, albums, photographs and negatives in a dry, cool place where water from broken pipes or overflowing toilets cannot reach them. Also, keep food and drinks out of your work area.

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Children bring home papers almost everyday during their school years that their parents just can’t bear to throw out. Why not save them in a scrapbook? They are fun to make and allow a great opportunity to spend quality time with your child.

Creativity is the key to everything. You will need scissors, construction paper, notebook, markers, and glue. You may want to also include pinking shears, laminating paper or clear contact paper, pictures, stickers, etc.

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So you’ve probably seen that aisle before…filled with thousands of stickers, pieces of paper, scissors, and little scissor-like tools. What are you going to need when starting your scrapbook? Here are a few ‘must-haves’ when shopping for scrapbook supplies…

After picking out the size and theme of your book, you will need to pick up some acid-free paper. You will need to know the size of your book so you can get the right size paper. It is essential to get acid-free paper to avoid deterioration of photos over time. Remember, this is a keepsake, so you don’t want it to only last for a few years. Although the acid-free paper may be a bit more expensive than ‘regular’ paper, it will be a good investment in the long run. Pick a variety of patterns and colors that will fit your theme and that tie together a little. If you are doing a ‘beach’ theme, buy some simple shades of blue paper and you will be able to mix and match that with some pages with beach patterns.

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You’ve looked over several magazines, websites and books about scrapbooking, and you feel like you’re ready to go. However, in all these articles you’ve looked over, you realize there are a few words that you’ve heard your wedding photographer talk about…words that scare you a little bit…and cause you to doubt yourself with the thought, “I’m not a professional photographer…what have I gotten myself into?”

These frightening words you will find aren’t so frightening after all, and putting them into use will really spice up your scrapbook.

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Have lots of old photos lying around the house? You find one every once in a while in a book or under the bed. Occasionally, you even find those old packets from the developing with a few pictures. Why not start organizing those photos on your way to making an unforgettable scrapbook?

Many people assume that the best way to organize photos is to put them in chronological order. However, if you have many photos that are unlabeled or dated, this may be difficult. Rather than dealing with this, try organizing by theme. There are countless organizational themes including: Christmases, Vacations, Family Reunions, Children’s sports teams, an overseas trip, or a specific time period (college years). Try not to make them so broad that every photo will fit in, but also don’t restrict them too much.

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Everyone wants to make their scrapbook unique…to put their own special touch on every page. Here are a few tricks you can use to capture every memory and to make your scrapbook your very own.

One of the great things about scrapbooks is that anything goes. You have the ability to put anything you want in. A good start to a unique scrapbook is to become a collector of your family and friends memorabilia. Now that doesn’t mean memorabilia that we always think of. Be creative. Keep ticket stubs (movies, planes, museums), cards, cartoons, receipts, newspaper articles, pamphlets or brochures.

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So you’ve decided that you want to start scrapbooking. You head to the craft store and eventually wander to the aisle(s) filled with scrapbook supplies. Obviously, the first thing you need to but is the book itself. Then you realize something…you’ve never scrapbooked before…so what kind of book should you buy? No need to break out in a cold sweat or feel lightheaded in the craft store. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re shopping for your scrapbook.

You will find in your scrapbooking adventures that there are all shapes and sizes of scrapbooks. However, there are two general sizes that you will be able to find on a regular basis, the 12 x 12 inch books, and the 8 ½ x 11 inch books. To make your experience a little easier, especially if you are a beginner, you will probably want to choose one of these sizes. The scrapbook paper that you will use to fill your book is commonly sold in these sizes. Because of the larger size, the 12 x 12 paper is more expensive. But on these pages, you can fit more photos and writing. It’s your choice which book you want to use.

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