Scrapbooking 101

Today's post is one I wrote awhile ago for a friend who's daughters wanted to start scrapbooking.  I know this is VERY basic but it's a good starting point for someone who doesn't know where to begin.  

SCRAPBOOKING 101

Welcome to scrapbooking!  This will give you a few ideas of how to begin – but eventually as you do more and more scrapbooking you’ll discover which albums & products you like best.

Remember – there is no wrong way to scrapbook!  As long as your photos are protected and you like the way your scrapbook looks, it is right!  These books are for you and your family.

ALBUMS:  Albums consist of the album itself, pages, and page protectors.  There are many types and sizes to choose from. 

Drop in albums are easiest and offer the most flexibility.  These are albums with “sleeves” that you drop your finished pages in to.  The sleeves act as page protectors and also allow you to switch pages around if needed.  This is the type I use. 

With traditional albums, you place your photos and embellishments directly on the page, and then slide on a separate “page protector” sleeve if desired.

If you choose traditional, you will probably have “strap hinge” albums.  If you choose drop in, you can pick from strap hinge, post bound, or 3-ring binder style.

Strap hinge albums hold the pages together with a plastic strap and a staple like hinge.  Post bound use screw in posts to hold the pages together.  3-ring binder style is just like school notebooks.  They are all good and refill pages are widely available for each style – you just have to choose the one you like best.

As far as album sizes, there are several.  Most scrapbookers go with 12x12 albums, because it allows a lot of photos, journaling, and embellishments on each page.  Also many decorative papers come in 12x12 sizes, so there is no need to cut them to size.  I use 12x12 albums.

8 x 11 albums are also popular for their smaller size, and 8x11 paper is cheaper, but you can’t fit as much on a page, obviously.

Then there are 8x8 and smaller scrapbooks, and other less common sizes, but those are more for special event albums (new baby, a special vacation, etc.) rather than a general scrapbook.

PAPER:  If you use traditional albums, you don’t really NEED paper.  You can put your photos directly on the album page and add journaling and embellishments as desired.  You may want to get some paper to mat your photos or create journal boxes – in this case, any size paper will do.

If you use drop in albums, you will need paper the size of the album (12x12 or 8x11, etc.).  This paper will serve as the “scrapbook page” that you put all your photos on to.  You can still mat the photos in different colors, and add journaling and embellishments.

Paper (cardstock) comes in all sorts of colors and patterns and can be purchased by the pack or individually.  Make sure the paper is acid free – all scrapbooking paper should be.  The paper that comes with drop-in album refills is fine to use as your background page – however, it’s usually not as good quality as the cardstock you buy separately and is usually just plain white.

ADHESIVES:  Besides photos and paper, adhesives are the most important thing.  They are what keeps everything stuck together!  There are many kinds – glue stick types, dots, tabs, glue pens, etc.  You can buy permanent or repositionable.  I recommend repositionable adhesives since you can fix mistakes and move things, but things stay in place until you remove them.  Whatever type of adhesive you choose, use one specifically for photos/scrapbooks.  Do NOT use regular glue, tape, or glue sticks, as these can warp and yellow.

PENS:  You may want some pens for journaling.  Journaling is just a fancy way of saying “write down what happened!”  Make sure you note people’s names, the date, the place, and how you felt or what you did.  It may be fresh in your mind now, but later when you’re looking at your album you’ll be glad those details are all there.  You can use any type of “acid free” pen – so just don’t use a normal ballpoint and you should be good.  Pens are sold in all sorts of colors and price ranges at hobby and scrapbook stores.  Start out with a black one and add colors as you progress.

TOOLS:  You don’t really need much besides scissors, for trimming and cropping photos and paper.  However, a mini trimmer (to crop photos) and a paper trimmer (to cut large pieces of paper) are nice to have for clean, straight lines.

There are several other tools you can get if you want – including fancy scissors (with wave, deckle, and other neat cuts), corner rounders, circle cutters, eyelet setters, punches, tweezers, Xyron machines (which turns anything into a sticker – good for when you’ve cut out a small letter or shape), etc.  Save these for as you progress and want to make fancier albums.  Borrow them from a fellow scrapbooker to see if you’d really use them enough to purchase them.

EMBELLISHMENTS:  Many scrapbookers simply have photos and journaling on their pages.  Others add stickers.  Still others go all out and add buttons, ribbon, jewels, die-cuts, brads, eyelets, etc.  Add these fancy embellishments as you like, but go easy – too many embellishments and the album will be too big and heavy!  Remember the focus is on your PHOTOS not on that great embellishment you bought!

Brads are easy to use – just poke them through the paper (punch a small hole in the paper with a pin first, if easier) and spread the tines on the other side.  Eyelets require an eyelet setter, which punches the appropriate size hole and then flattens the eyelet on the back to keep it in place.  Brads, like stickers, don’t require tools, so they’re the best for beginning embellishments.

ELEMENTS OF A PAGE:  Each page (or layout, if multi-pages) usually has a title, the date (unless in a dated album), photos, journaling, and perhaps embellishments.  Of course, if you prefer to do it another way, that’s fine too!

When you “lay out” your page, remember that all photos do NOT have to be the same size, and they do NOT have to be even.  You can put them in angled.  You don’t have to mat them.  You can cut them in fun shapes (circles, ovals, etc.).  As long as YOU like the way it looks, it’s right!  Feel free to trim them – cut off people you don’t know or unwanted scenery.  But don’t trim all of them all the time – sometimes having the background in a photo is great for triggering memories.

Your journaling can be hand written or printed from a computer.  Computers are great for fun fonts and even some clipart (when you can’t find that perfect sticker!).  Remember to print on to acid-free scrapbook paper though (cardstock, etc.).

Scrapbook pages can be as simple or as intricate as you want.  As long as you have photos and some journaling, and you like it, it’s good!  You can overlap photos, add strips of paper for backgrounds, etc.  Play with it and you will come up with layouts that you like and are proud of.

ORGANIZING YOUR SCRAPBOOKS:  Many scrapbookers have several albums, one for holidays, one for birthdays, one for vacations, one for everyday life, one for each child, a wedding one, etc.  Others go chronologically and have family albums that have everything, from vacations to daily life, in date order.  Still others combine methods.  I have chronological 12x12 family albums which include daily events, holidays, and birthdays.  I then have separate 12x12 vacation albums, and separate 8x11 school and baby albums for each child.  I have also done a special cruise vacation album in 8x8.

Ultimately you can organize them however you like, and if you use the drop in style you can always rearrange them.  One point of advice – only scrapbook on ONE side of the paper when using drop in albums… this makes it easier to rearrange!

HAPPY SCRAPPING!