Try Scrapbooking

Have we ever been in a time that brought us to be stuck in our house with nothing to do? We just then go roaming around the place looking for anything that can get rid of boredom. However, then we always stumble on piles of junk and many of which are old picture albums. Without any intention of spending time examining it, we began to flip the pages and without knowing we already finished checking the entire pictures in the album. Naturally, memos of our past preserved in pictures bring a feeling of life such as passion that it makes us feel missing those times and even reminisce over other particular situations related to the picture shots taken. For sure that many of our pictures are so precious to us that we cannot allow to just throw it aside and let it rot until it got wasted.

If ever we think of making useful things out of those junk ones, especially our memos, why not create a scrapbook out of them. It is one of the great ways to preserve memories and pass them down in a creative and unique way.For whenever we think of scrapbooking we think of all the pictures and memorabilia that we have saved to create a portrait of our lives, which will cherish us forever.

Scrapbooking is more than making pages that appeal to the viewer for it is unique and artistic kind of hobby worth trying. Most of us love to take pictures of our family, friends, favorite things or places, unforgettable episode of our lives and more. With scrapbooking, we can create a dull picture album into a much lively and enjoyable one.

Naturally, many of us would want to transform our old photo albums into a scrapbook,, but we also have to consider that in doing so it can become costly for it is a continuous process. Still, it depends on whether or not we will be shelling out much money based on our expected outcome. However, it needs not be an expensive activity if we know what to do and how to do it. These are some of the tips on how to achieve a page that is beautiful to our eyes and even more stunning in our pockets.

Use used papers

Save those old newspapers or magazines. These materials contain great graphics that we can use on our pages. Cut down and paste those ads in the newspaper and same goes with the pictures in the magazines. And if we want to add more pages, we can do recycling. Although it is time consuming because in addition to tearing the paper into smaller pieces, we also have to dry them after the recycling process. However, if we have a lot of free time in our hands, then its worth doing it. Who knows, we might find it real fun and probably awaken the addiction side in us.

And if still we don’t have enough stock of magazines and newspapers, then we have to buy one or more. However, as much as possible, we have to choose those magazines that contain the images we are searching for. The good thing about this is it is inexpensive than buying stickers or graphics.

Look around for old stuffs

We don’t have to buy decorations just to make our pages nice. There are a lot of things in our house, we can make use of. In fact, it is much better for sometimes, the stuff we find in our home can add a touch of memory in our page that decorations in craft stores cannot achieve. Make use of the broken chains and ribbons in dresses as a border lining of the page. Old buttons from our old clothes are good decors also to add and or maybe if possible, faux gemstones from our costume jewellery we don’t use anymore. We can even tear some fabrics in our old clothes and use a few parts to add texture and many more. With this, we again save money in doing so.

make use of everything

If we are a type of person who keeps absolutely everything for the memories, we certainly can fill up the whole scrapbook without buying a thing. For instance, movie tickets, concert tickets, receipt from our first date, even candy wrappers and anything that reminds us of a special occasion can absolutely be used as our page’s decor.

Lastly, we have to put our heart into it, for it represents what we are on the outcome of the scrapbook we make. So let’s gather all the stuffs needed and enjoy every moment in doing it and that starts today!!!

Scrapbooking for Beginners

Scrapbooking is not a new invention or discovery, precursors of today’s scrapbooks already existed and being used during the 15^th century. “Commonplace Books” as it is earlier called is used to compile diverse information that includes quotes, poems, letters, recipes, and a variety of other things.

Another early form of scrapbook is “Friendship Albums” and became popular during the 16^th century. These albums would normally contain names, messages, and poetry of patrons and friends of the owner and closely resembles our yearbooks today. These may also include souvenirs and local memorabilia’s of places visited or works of artisans they commissioned during visits to other countries.

Although scrapbooking is generally associated with girls, it is also popular with boys though it largely differs in terms of contents and design. Girls are naturally gifted with exceptional creativity and talent for hand-crafted creations.

The invention of photography in the 18^th century is a major breakthrough in scrapbooking. Photographs became incorporated in scrapbooks as well as newspaper clippings.

For Beginners, scrapbooking may seem so overwhelming and exciting. Beginners usually have many ideas but don’t know where to start. First thing to do is to know of the basic scrapbook elements. These basic elements essentially build the scrapbook.

1. Photo. Photos are generally the essence of the layout of scrapbooks. Most scrapbooks usually used pictures as main subject and center of scrapbook layout.
2. Title. Title can be a famous saying, name, or quotes that summarize the content of the scrapbook and give the reader an idea what the scrapbook contains. There are many ways to present or write the title; the most important thing is that title should catch the attention of the reader.
3. Journaling. Journaling is the term used to the text or that explains or describes the photo and expands the theme of the scrapbook. These writing may vary from names and dates, captions, quotes, song lyrics, poetry, and basic information.
4. Embellishment. Decorative add-ups and accents used in the scrapbooks are called Embellishments. These are used to support and dress up the pages of the scrapbooks and can be some of the following; ribbons, buttons, beads, stickers, brads, eyelets, and many other enhancements.
5. Mat. Mats are layers of patterned papers, paints, cardstocks, cloth and other decorative materials that are placed underneath photos. These serve as decorative borders and add an effect on the photos.
6. Anchor. Anchors are decorative elements that attract attention of the readers to the photos. Anchors also act as photo corners where photos are affixed for easy removal when updating or changing layouts. Embellishments can function as anchors.
7. Border. Borders are accents placed along the outskirts of the layout. They add visual impacts and promote visual interest in support to the main contents of the scrapbook’s pages. You can use a variety of materials in borders like metal, tags, fabric, papers, and a lot more.

These elements are the basics of scrapbooking, although these elements may not be always present in a scrapbook altogether. Combinations of these elements are up to your desired layout.

Now that you know the basics and starting to create scrapbooks, here are some useful tips in scrapbooking. These tips are generally helpful for beginners.

1. Learn from others. Try looking and observing other’s scrapbook. It can give you ideas you can also use and incorporate in your design and layout. You can also learn some insights from their mistakes.
2. Be original. Although it is helpful to occasionally copy other’s ideas, modify it and imprint some of your own creativity on it.
3. Organize your ideas and photos. Sort your photos and ideas accordingly; it could be by chronological order, by importance, or by themes. Make sure similar and related photos are grouped together.
4. Use indigent materials. Aside that these materials are abundant and less costly, it can also provide a unique appeal and a peculiar look to your scrapbook.
5. Avoid over-propping. Beginners have too many creative ideas and the tendency to apply these ideas altogether instantly. This results to over-propping the scrapbook. Over-propped scrapbooks are definitely not good to look. It looks very crowded, chaotic, and untidy. Select just few ideas to exploit per scrapbook.

Crafting one’s Special Memories

Have you ever experienced in your former school days, whether in elementary or in high school days, where you were given a project by your teacher to compile some stuff and in your own creative way, present it in a form of scrapbook? Some may find it a bit lame, especially the boys, while others find it fascinating and are enthusiastic on creating one especially on designing it. Scrapbooking is a creative way of preserving one’s history such as one’s family tree or even the special events and celebrations of one person by gathering photographs, printed materials and memorabilia, and they are being contained albums or scrapbooks, which are being decorated.

Creating one’s scrapbook is not really that difficult. The materials needed for creating one don’t necessarily have to be expensive and detailed. Making one’s scrapbook is just like picking together pictures from a certain event and placing them in a photo album. However, when one talks about scrapbooking, one can mostly see the artistic side of the creator of the scrapbook with the designs present in every page of the scrapbook. The good thing about this art is that nobody really needs to follow certain standards or criteria in crafting it. It is simply one of those crafts where one can freely express the imagination in one’s mind by playing with the different components of design like the different colors, shapes, lines and the available resources which can be placed in a scrapbook. One can even combine various kinds of crafts and art in designing one’s scrapbook.

Even simple artworks such as mosaics and painting – which can be done with water color, colored sprays, colored pencils or even an available set of crayons, can already make one’s scrapbook full of art. This is the part of scrapbooking which is fun for the creator of the scrapbook. One can even decorate the scrapbook with the aid of friends or family members. The design in the scrapbook should be enough to leave some spaces of the more important content inside it, the photos and the different mementos.

The next part of the craft is the selection of what should be placed inside every page that will mark an impression on the person viewing the scrapbook. Some people are very sensitive in the selection of the different stuffs to be included inside the scrapbook. They usually prefer to choose some stuff, which looks pleasant and good inside the scrapbook. However, a lot preferred to include every photo during the certain event and even tried to squeeze in many other items with the little spaces available in the scrapbook. Whether it’s a piece of candy wrapper or a big piece of a souvenir item, or a funny and embarrassing photograph or just a simple pose of all the members of the family, as long as the creator finds it significant, it will be posted inside the scrapbook. With every picture and object inside the craft, notes composed of some phrases may be attached to it. It doesn’t really matter what the words are being posted in every page, since one can surely tell by the pictures the atmosphere and the feelings present during the event.

As soon as the whole scrapbook is finished, one can feel the satisfaction and happiness for the accomplished work as each page of the scrapbook turns. That a good part and memory of yours are being concealed with much effort and time spent. Some may not really appreciate the designs and the efforts being poured into the accomplishment of the scrapbook, but what really matters is that one can preserve one of the important events in one’s life in a nice and creative way. One should be proud in such accomplishment since only a few could be kept and present such as memories in an artistic way. One’s personal touch on the craft speaks a lot of how significant the event has been to one. In every paged turned is like a piece of a story, which may not be arranged in a sequential order but still, it has thought and full of meaning. One can feel the emotional connection with the creator of the scrapbook while reminiscing over the memories and moments which happened during the event.

Preserving Memories Through Creativity

Most people display their pictures in special frames at their homes or keep them in photo albums. However, photos alone will have little meaning for family or friends if the character in the portraits is not around to share the memories that were captured.

Scrapbooking has been a hobby that is growing in popularity. In fact, it has now evolved into a very popular craft. While some indulge in this hobby for future generations, still others would do this for fun.  Scrapbooking can be addictive, so they say.

Getting Started

Organization of Photos

Organizing photos and memorabilia would consume most of the time in scrapbooking. Below are some tips for making this step a lot easier:

• Gather all the photos and memorabilia in one place. Look into the attic, basement, garage, drawers, files, cabinets, old and new photo albums, photo frames, old Christmas cards, and letters from loved ones.
• Create categories for the photos and memorabilia. The categories can be date, activity, theme, or person.
• Sort the photos according to the categories created.
• Write any special or important details of the photo at the back of it. Use a photo-safe pencil when doing so.
• Store the photos in a safe place.

Memorabilia

Memorabilia enhance one’s scrapbook projects. Large items can be photographed and written about. Flat items can be protected with acid-free laminates. Paper items can be free of acid by using a de-acidification spray.

First Project

Deciding on where to start with the project can really be overwhelming. It is therefore advised to start first with a manageable project that has a clear beginning and an end.

Basic Supplies

Purchasing scrapbook supplies can be expensive. Therefore, it is well-advised that one should start scrapbooking with the most basic supplies and by not rushing out to buy everything at once.

Albums

The choice of the album is very personal. If money is a bit tight, starting on with the pages first will do while the scrapbooker is still saving for the actual album.

• Albums vary in sizes; however, the 12” x 12” size is the most popular.
• The cost of the albums varies from around $20.00 to over $100.00.
• Consider post bound, strap, or ring binder type of album.

Many like the 3 ring binders because of its ease of use when inserting or removing pages. The other two are popular but a little more time-consuming.

Adhesives

Tab dispenser and dots glue dispenser are ideal for beginners. The former is ideal for adhering photos and papers plus it is easy to use. The latter is great for adhering small items and has the added advantage of being repositioned when mistakes are committed.

Vellum tape is used when one is ready to advance from basic pages. It is ideal for adhering see-through paper as it doesn’t make the glue visible.

Double-sided tape is also popular for adhering difficult items. Aside from being transparent, some brands are foamy that give a 3-D effect.

Pens

Pens are used for adding titles and journals to pages. The scrapbooker must make sure to use pens that contain pigment ink that are acid-free, permanent, or waterproof. Pens are available in many colors and styles. The styles include scroll, brush, calligraphy, bullet, chisel, fine, dual, and medium tips.

Scissors

This is definitely an essential in scrapbooking. Choosing a pair of straight, fine tipped scissors enable the scrapbooker to cut precisely in tight spaces.

Paper

Colored papers can be used as backgrounds. They can also be used to create borders, mat photos, or punch out shapes. The material must be acid- and lignin- free. They come in various colors, textures, designs, and thickness.

Ruler

A clear ruler is ideal as the scrapbooker can see through where he rules his lines.

Other Useful Supplies

• Paper Trimmer – available in different cutting shuttles such as wave, zigzag, and scallop

• Cutting Tools – tools that create all sorts of shapes can save time and gives smooth edges

Other Options

• Stickers
• Stencils
• Punches
• Stamps
• Die-cuts
• Decorative edge cutters

Many have discovered that displaying pictures with text can explain the significance of such photos. Therefore, scrapbooking is the perfect way to preserve photos and memories in a creative and unique way.

Why Scrapbooking is Fun

The concept of scrapbooking started out as a unique means of preserving and recording memories. Unlike a photo album, a scrapbook is much more substantive because it can be creatively done by placing decorated albums of family or personal pictures. However, photos are just a part of a scrapbook since integration of comments, memorable souvenirs and other small memorabilia such as letters, wedding tokens and baby stuffs in accordance to the photos are placed to enrich the memories and create a much richer artistic impact. A photo album, on the other hand, is just a mere sequential listing of photographs and nothing more.

Prior to the influx of advanced digital media and scanners, the traditional and hard copy scrapbooking existed in the vogue way back the 15^th century where paper is considered an economical commodity. During this time, the majority of the people simply used scrapbooks to write poems, letters, quotes and recipes. Despite the rising cost of pictures, this fad continuously flourished as time went on with the substitution of pictures with handwritten messages from friends and loved ones. Friendship albums turned out to be a popular gift by the 16^th century, similar to our modern-day diaries were a pal can leave a small note or little scribbles upon request of the scrapbook owner. As time moved in by the 18^th and 19^th century, scrapbooks were considered a cherished method for creatively inclined individuals to store visual reminiscences. School scrapbooks were commenced and many schools and college students started using it for documentation of their personalized experiences. It was only during the 21^st century that modern scrapbooking was introduced and the invention of photography and the easy accessibility of cameras paved way for a huge cost reduction in taking photographs. And due to its affordability even to an average person, ingenious scrapbooking took an exponential jump forward.

With the Internet, the development from the original, paper-based method of scrapbooking to the electronically-based digital scrapbooking format was a foreseeable step in the evolution of this craft both to the veterans of this art and to those who are new to this wildly creative pastime. Digital scrapbooking has come out as an incredibly admired occurrence given the endless possibilities of a huge range of online scrapbooking concepts and crafts ubiquitously available on the Internet— no wonder creation of a digital scrapbook of professional quality is within everyone’s reach.

Digital scrapbooking was much sluggish before when the Internet was in its snail’s pace. Its process was more complicated too when it initially hit the market. However, this is not anymore the case, since there is already an improved Internet connection and there is an overabundance of scrapbooking sites available to readily download ideas, tools and other fun embellishments to make your scrapbook one of its kind.

It is never difficult to achieve an enjoyable and fulfilling scrapbook. First, you can decide on a theme or a special event that interests you. It can be broad one like Wedding, Baptism, Christmas, Birthdays and Anniversaries. Or you may want to be more specific such as Grandmother’s 80^th Birthday, Abigail’s Farewell Party, Mary learns how to walk, Peter’s first Christmas in Australia, or John and Beth’s 20 years of happy marriage. Then, you can organize and sort out the photos needed. Lastly, you can decorate, select some embellishments, and pick out main color for your background as well as the accent colors considering the event or theme. If the event in the pictures is focusing on girls, you might take into account the color pink or light pink. As for the layout, this task will greatly test your creativity skills. Arrange the pictures in such a way that it will appear beautifully. You can pile them randomly, and in any way you want. Then place the bigger trappings first while the smaller ones last making sure that there is still space for a few journal, enough to tell the person looking at the scrapbook the story behind the pictures. Making use of descriptive words can help give life to your pictures.

There are many things that will motivate you to start scrapbooking such as having an intense desire to preserve and recall your past long after you have forgotten them, augment your present and reveal your own life story with photos and words to prompt hope for forthcoming generations. There is no right or wrong way in doing a scrapbook, as this is your way of expressing yourself. And for as long as you are willing to put time and effort, then your scrapbook will turn out to be beautifully crafted.