Pros and Cons of Using Scrapbooking Kit

If you've never done scrapbooking before and is planning to start with the obsession, there is one sure way for you so as not to stumble into the common pitfalls most beginners have.

Scrapbooking kits are great ways to begin the craft with. They offer the basics for new crafters without having to spend much on them. Often, newbies have no idea of what would complete a page of an album or what theme to use for the entire album itself. With all the options set in their horizon, it is easy for them to get confused and be misled with choosing the "cool" and "pretty" stuffs.

By using scrapbooking kits, you are less susceptible to low confidence when making decisions. This often comes when the new scrapper hasn't honed his artistic capabilities yet. With the use of these materials, it is easier for the crafter to find his ways through training. These would let him see the possibilities of designs, themes and concepts to draw encouragement in setting their personal and innovative designs.

A scrapbooking kit works well too with people who have always loved the activity yet they are much too preoccupied with things of greater and immediate importance. Having a good combination of everything that you are expected to use can make it a lot easy to mount pictures and memorabilias into layouts without having to think much on the designs. Thus, you enjoy the fun of scrapbooking without having to take long hours typical for the obsession.

Obviously, since the materials in a kit are limited to those of the basics, your creativity too is very much limited. After all, if you would follow the lines that started from scrapbooking kits, you will see that it is linear. Experimentation are not as much welcomed therefore, limiting your creativity.

It is not to say that you have to make use of all the items found in the kit or that it you are strictly limited to those that you see. However, the normal reaction we have when we see the items designed t fit together, we tend not to use our imaginations anymore and be settled on what's within our sights.

There usually are specific uses for scrapbooking its. They normally work well for typical themes like birthdays, weddings, baby concepts and family themes. If you wish to create more diverse themes, kits won't get you through there. After all, they're only there to act as your training wheels. Once you've learned the curves, it would be more manageable for you to explore newer dimensions.

If you have plans of taking scrapbooking kits to newer heights, you can tray adding your own touches to them and use them for later projects. Atleast, now you already have fixed choices that you can work on to in case you find the hunch to start with an album. Keep in mind though that the package would coordinate well and will look good together when used.

Few of the basic things that should be found in your scrapbooking kit are as follows:

§ A scrapbook or an album
§ Papers (plain or patterned that has a common theme)
§ Die cuts
§ Stickers
§ Ink and rubber stamp
§ Any type of scissors
§ Punchers
§ Cardstocks
§ Ruler
§ Markers, pens and pencils
§ Envelopes
§ Adhesives
§ Stencils
§ Photos
§ Any sort of embellishments

You may add many other things to these and be creative as to what to add. However, the only problem that you would have to deal with is the limit of your budget. Though scrapbooking may seem handy, the stuffs that you will be using would actually cause you to spend much. Especially when you have the strong urge of buying even those that you actually can't use.

As you walk your way through the scrapbooking shop, you should keep in mind the mental lists of everything that must be thrown into the basket. It is not a good practice to buy all things that you see nice. You need some planning or else, you'll find yourself dealing with problems on storage.

And please keep in mind that the common denominator among scrappers is their weakness on papers. Since this component takes the largest portion of use, we all fall in the trap of taking more than what we need.

Princess Scrapbooking

Tips on Princess Scrapbooking

Are you the type who enjoys reading stories about princesses and their adventures? Perhaps you are the type who can relate to the image of the princess in the tower, waiting for a prince to rescue her? Maybe, you can relate yourself to warrior princesses and imagine yourself as the heroine of an epic.

Well then, that would explain your inclination for princess scrapbooking. Perhaps you are a parent, wanting to create a princess scrapbook for your daughter. We all know how much little girls love to identify themselves with princesses.

You may have grown into adulthood and you may have forgotten about being a princess because of the complexities of life, but hey, isn't the dream of being a princess still within you? You know that hidden within the scars created by reality, the heart that beats within you remains that of a princess.

Princess scrapbooking is one way of showing the world that part of you that deserves to be treated like a princess. But what inspiration should you use for princess scrapbooking?

Here are some tips for you:

1) In princess scrapbooking, you should try to choose a princess that fits your personality. You can't just pick an inspiration because of the color of their dress. You should choose someone that fits your ideals.

This way, you actually incorporate someone who you can relate to. When basing your scrapbooking on Princesses, you should be able to relate to other people about the reason why you chose a particular princess.

2) The first tip leads to this next tip. When princess scrapbooking, you should do some research about the particular character you intend to use. You see, many people tend to create scrapbooks based on popular figures only to find out that the figure contradicted a crucial part of their personality.

How do you research on fictional characters? You see, fictional princesses often have some background information which not many people know about. Yes, fictional characters have something more to them than what the general public can see. One tip is looking up the "canonical" traits of a character. This means looking up the "official" portrayals of the character. Whenever a writer comes up with a new character, he or she creates a whole life for that character. This is so when that character is re-used, nothing the character does will contradict what the original writer planned.

3) Balance is very important. Overdoing your use of a princess on scrapbooking can actually take the focus away from the contents of the scrapbook itself. You do not want to distract the reader from the contents of the scrapbook in order to promote the princess. Remember that large companies already make billions of dollars because of fictional characters. You don't really want to be giving them the attention you deserve for creating the scrapbook.

4) Princess scrapbooking also needs creativity. Although you already have the general theme taken care of, it is still up to you to make it work. Remember that on a scrapbook, all the little details matter. Adding other elements to your scrapbook is a must and will help you balance out if the scrapbook turns out to be "too princess-y."

5) Princess scrapbooking also involves interpretations. Remember that vague symbols can be interpreted in a thousand different ways, depending on the beholder. You need to make sure that your message comes across and not any others. If it helps, you should make sure that you do not use any themes or characters that could be very offensive to other people.

6) Symbols are just that: symbols. If you happen to choose a princess that offends someone, remind yourself that the scrapbook you made means something to you. You should not let any interpretations by "experts" confuse you into thinking you did something wrong. It is, after all, your experiences that are being chronicled in princess scrapbooking. This means that the focus should be in your life and not on the symbolic interpretations of your scrapbook.

There you go: those are just some of the tips you can use on princess scrapbooking. In order to get more information, you should try to do a little research on the internet. In princess scrapbooking, you only need to remember one thing: Have fun!

Free Scrapbooking Templates

How to Search for Free Scrapbooking Templates on the Internet

Free scrapbooking templates can be a great help to the scrapbooking enthusiast. Here are some advantages of free scrapbooking templates:

1) Saves effort – Few people realize the complexity of having to select an overall theme for your scrapbook. Free scrapbooking templates relieve you of the trouble of having to come up with an overall theme. Free scrapbooking templates also save you the effort of having to do research on different ideas and finding out how to relate that idea to your scrapbook. You are also saved the trouble of having to try and connect the different parts of your scrapbook to the overall theme which you decided upon.

2) Saves time – In today’s world, no one has a lot of spare time. In fact, today’s world moves so fast that people always feel like they are lacking time. Of course, time is the only resource that we cannot get back, so everyone really does not have enough. We all find ways of saving time whenever we can, and scrapbooking is just one of those activities that need time and dedication in order to come out great.

Free scrapbooking templates can actually help you save time by providing you with the base on which to stick your pictures and memorabilia. This actually means that you only need to place your pictures on the template and voila! You’re done!

3) Saves money – Creating your own template can be quite expensive, since scrapbooking materials today do not really come cheap. However, by availing of free scrapbooking templates, you don’t really need to spend anything to have a quality design. Another advantage of free scrapbooking templates is the fact that you do not have to spend anything on tools to get them done.

Where do you look in the internet for free scrapbooking templates?

a) Crafts sites – There are actually websites in the internet which are dedicated to crafts and arts. These sites can offer you different resources on different types of do-it-yourself projects. This means that you are most likely to get free scrapbooking templates from these sites.

These sites can also offer you various tips and articles on how to put your scrapbook together. This help may actually prove valuable should you encounter a difficulty in making a scrapbook.

b) Photo sites – These sites often group different types of photographs together and allow you to search their database for pictures of a certain theme. This may not be a free scrapbooking template per se. However, you will be able to get different images that relate to a single theme. This means that you will be able to make your own template.

c) Theme sites –These sites actually focus on certain themes and allow you to browse different images and other downloads concerning a certain subject. Think of a theme and search on the internet if that theme has a specific site dedicated to it.

You are likely to find free scrapbooking templates on these sites based on the fact that these sites often contain different types of resources for people who wish to make anything based on that theme.

These sites offer you the opportunity to actually incorporate a single theme in all your scrapbooking pages. This means that you can have unity within your scrapbook

Others may actually find that a sort of organized chaos look works for them. However, you need a lot of talent and hard thinking for you to make this work. Having free scrapbooking templates can actually help you organize your scrapbook around a single theme. This way, you can actually easily relate to other people the main reason why you put a scrapbook together.

d) Group sites – These sites actually provide you free scrapbooking templates based on a single group you belong to. This is so that members of these groups can create scrapbooks based on their experiences within the group. By going this route, you actually are able to have a special bond, through your scrapbook, with the other members of the group. You can get together and compare scrapbooks to se how much you have done with that single theme.

There you go; those are just some suggestions on where to look for free scrapbooking templates. Hopefully, this article has helped you get into the path of scrapbooking perfection.

Fonts For Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking Kits: Aids in Creating Fonts for Scrapbooking

When you are about to work on a scrapbook, you will need the materials to get on with the task. A scrapbooking kit takes charge of this. Scrapbooking kits are complete. They are sold whether by local arts and crafts shops within your area or via online shopping. It will be a good idea to be armed with scrapbooking kits most especially if you are going to make your loved one or a special friend a gift for any occasion in his or her life such as birthdays, graduation, or wedding. If you do not know yet, the scrapbook can be a perfect gift for anyone at anytime.

Generally, you will need captions for the pictures that you will include in the scrapbook you are working on. So you will need especially effective journaling pens that do not smudge or blot. These journaling pens come included in the scrapbooking kit. You just have to make sure that the journaling pens are acid-free so they can work well on the photos and the cardstocks. But if you do want a ready-made font for scrapbooking, you can get it from the internet. There are thousands of fonts for scrapbooking as well as templates hosted by the internet.

The scrapbooking kit that you should purchase depends on the theme of the scrapbook that you will make. Is it for the holidays? A birthday? A wedding? A baptismal? Therefore, it points out that the scrapbooking kit which you must take hold of is suited to the occasion at hand. For example, a scrapbooking kit that is meant for the Christmas holidays will include sheets of papers that are the color of the holidays such as red, green, and yellow. There will also be cutouts of Santa Claus, candy canes, Christmas trees, wreaths, jingle bells, stickers, ribbons, and other Christmas-related items. It will be entirely different though for a birthday-inspired scrapbooking kit.

When creating fonts for scrapbooking, there is the latest technique known as the “rub on transfer”. This technique is guaranteed by many to be smudge-free and cheaply priced for your upcoming scrapbook project.

The Supplies Needed

For the “rub on transfer” technique, all you need to procure are: one piece rub on transfer film which comes included in the scrapbooking kit, a fine mist hair gel which has a mega hold, a hairspray, a hair dryer, and an ink jet printer.

How it is done

In order to be successful in this rub on technique, just follow the following steps:

On the transfer film, spray the fine mist hair gel. So as to see if you’ve done the spraying evenly on the coverage of the film, hold up the film a few inches from the mirror. Just spray enough hair gel to cover the entire area of the film.

Dry the sprayed gel with a hair dyer. It needs not be too hot and too close to the film.

Make use of any available word processing program in your computer to design your artwork. You can opt to stamp and flip the images on the film using pigment-based inks.

Set your ink jet printer to either the “T shirt transfer” or “Mirror Image” mode. This step can be omitted if the images have already been flipped.

Print the images using the normal image print setting. It will ensure that the ink will not run.

Have the ink dry up in its place. You can employ the help of the hair dyer but be sure it will not dislocate the ink position.

Gently and smoothly rub on the printed image on the artwork. Make use of a spoon to rub the image in its place. Ensure that the entire area has been rubbed thoroughly so that the image transfer will be successful. After which, peel away the film from the artwork in a gentle way.

You now have a rubbed on image or font for your scrapbook. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that your artwork has really been exerted with too much effort? The pleasure which you may derive from your craft is priceless. Being artistic pays off. Now you have an idea as to how to make fonts for your scrapbook.

Discounted Scrapbooking Supplies

Take Your Past in the Present
Memories can last a lifetime if you allow them to. Nonetheless, if you want to bury them in the past, your discretion will dictate.
Even so, for those who opt to bring the memories in the present, they can choose from a wide variety of equipments, gadgets and techniques to aid them do so. One of the many ways to bridge the gap between the past and the present is by making a scrapbook.

Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a hobby of pasting photos, newspaper and magazine clippings, quotes, memorabilia and other stuffs into custom-decorated albums. People who love both art and memories share the hobby. Thus, combining both in a different artistic expression made scrapbooking existence possible.

Documenting family history and other important occasions and events is a way of preserving the legacy. This is the main purpose of scrapbooking. With a scrapbook around, it will be easy for you to tell stories to your children, grandchildren and the next kin in line. Imagine the bridging of generations. Without a scrapbook, your fallible memory will just fail you. Chances are, you will forget most of your precious memories if not recollect them with so many discrepancies. As they say, pictures paint a thousand words. Hence, to cherish pictures and preserve them in a manner that will not make them deteriorate will also preserve the stories behind them.

Scrapbooking Supplies

Before, scrapbooking is a peculiar hobby. Only a few are hooked by it. Thus, scrapbooking supplies are elusive. However, in today’s modern time when the popularity of scrapboooking is pretty much obvious, there are even stores who give major discounts on scrapbooking supplies.

 Customized Albums

Scrapbook uses customized albums where you put the cropped or scanned pictures and embellishments. These albums come in 2 basic sizes - 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12. Smaller than those sizes will be inadequate to scrapbooking needs. The former is a familiar size. However, the drawback of using the same is that it has limited space hence, your art concepts will also be limited by the space. The usual scrapbooking album is a 12x12 inch paper to accommodate necessary photos, writing and embellishments.

12x12 size creates more room for creative layouts. Hence, you will no longer worry about the limitations in space. Moreover, you can also select from a plethora of colors, themes and styles. Availability is never a bother.

Aside from the size, you must contemplate if you are going to use a strap-bound, post-bound or a 3-ring album. Strap-bound albums have flexible strap hinge, which allows adjacent pages to lie flat with its hinge unseen. Post-bound albums also allow the adjacent pages to lie flat without separating the pages. 3-ring albums, on the other hand, are the easiest albums to use because you can rearrange its pages readily. However, it can only hold limited pages.

In choosing for a customized album, be sure that the album is archival. It must be made with acid free materials. The paper used must also be lignin free. Use the most appropriate colors you can find, your limit is your imagination.

 Album Refills

If you are planning to do an exhaustive scrapbooking session, better purchase album refills together with your desired album. It will be frustrating to know afterwards that no refills are available or compatible to your scrapbook when you needed them.

· Adhesive

There are a lot of adhesives available these days. Choose one or two that will compliment your scrapbooking project. Some of the popular adhesive brands used by artists are Mod Podge, Glue Dots, Triple Thick, 3D Dots, Xyron and EZ.

· Paper

Different kinds of paper can be used to make your scrapbook artistic, appealing and breathtaking. You can use different shapes and colors of paper to add an air of elegance and style.

· Pair of Scissors

Keep your pair of scissors sharp. This will make cutting and shaping easier.

· Pens, crayons and acrylic paint

Pens, crayons and acrylic paint can improve the artistic side of your scrapbook. You can use them to write something or to color a portion of your album.

· Hole punch

To make holes on the pages, a hole punch is indispensable. Hence, your scrapbooking supplies will not be complete if you don’t have one.

Additional Supplies

· Embellishments

Embellishments like stamps, stickers, tags, laces, tassles, alphabets, beads, eyelets, denim blocks and other things that can make your scrapbook a sight to behold can be incorporated in it.

· Scrapbooking kit

The scrapbooking kit is an exclusive compartment of all your scrapbooking supplies. To make your supplies organized and easy to find, this kit is necessary.

Before doing a scrapbook project, be sure that you have all the materials and supplies needed.

Free Digital Scrapbooking Charms

How Free Digital Scrapbooking Charms People Today


We all know how fast technology is evolving today. There are things we take for granted today that past generations only dreamed about. There are activities we do on a daily basis that those before us may have thought impossible.

Yes, technology sure has changed a lot of things. Take scrapbooking for example. Scrapbooking used to involve paper (of all types), pictures (of all occasion), pens (of all colors), glitters (of every variety) and a lot of glue.

Nowadays, however, people are being charmed by free digital scrapbooking. You see, free digital scrapbooking changes the whole way people look at crafts and arts. The charm of free digital scrapbooking lies in the fact that it is situated on technology.

What are the advantages of this type of scrapbooking?

1) Versatility - the charm of free digital scrapbooking involves the fact that with this technology, people are limited only by their imaginations. You see, with this innovation, people are able to make their scrapbooks into anything they want. Here are some examples of the versatility of the digital scrapbook

A. animation - one of the charms of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that with this technology, you can actually make your scrapbook move. Compared to the never-moving appearance of the conventional scrapbook, a digital scrapbook just takes a life of its own!

Because of this, many people are charmed by digital scrapbooks, calling conventional scrapbooks "boring".

B. video options - conventional scrapbooks contain only photos. While it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. One charm of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that you can add videos to it. This means that you do not have to be satisfied with staring at a picture and trying to imagine how the people were acting when this picture was taken.

With video, you can actually see the memories replay themselves before your very eyes.

C. Sounds - you see, sight is not enough to fully satisfy a person's memories. Nowadays, sound is very important in order to really put you in the center of the action. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that this technology allows them to add sound to their pictures.

2) Savings - free digital scrapbooking charms so many people because of the fact that it is free. Not a lot of things nowadays come free. In fact, things get more and more expensive as time passes by. People take advantage of this technology simply because of the fact that it offers them something for nothing. By taking advantage of free digital scrapbooking, they get to save a lot of money. Why, you ask? Well, putting a conventional scrapbook together can be expensive and time consuming. By using this technology instead, people can save a lot of money on buying materials.

3) Sharing -Most of all, free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it is easy to share. The fact that it is stored conveniently as data means that people can send their scrapbook to anyone in the world at any given time. Because of this, most people prefer to make their scrapbooks digitally.

4) Popularity -Free digital scrapbooking also charms people because of the fact that other people find it useful. You see, people have always had a fad mentality, going with the flow of the majority and doing stuff the way they think other people would.

When you think about it, even today's so-called "nonconformists" are actually conforming to the image of the rebel. They actually go with the flow of their peers and actually try to gain popularity by trying to look like they do not need to be popular. We are social creatures, always trying to impress other people. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it enables them to impress their circles.

The reasons why free digital scrapbooking charms so many people today have been given in this article. As you can observe, many people do things for different reasons and the fact is, the reasons stated in this article may yet be insufficient. However, this leaves you with a very important question: what are your reasons for being charmed by free digital scrapbooking?

Free Scrapbooking Ideas

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Fundamentals of a Simple Scrapbook


Maybe you have heard the term, “simple scrapbooking” and have some ideas about what it is. But with exactly is simple scrapbooking and what are its components that gave its name?

Simple scrapbook is not your usual album that relies on the chronological events. It does not focus on the usual things such as family traditions, daily routines, hopes, and dream. It sits itself outside the traditional album. It is small, short and more manageable. It is simple and focuses on the sidelights of your life or the small details that is overcastted by the usual things that matter to you. In other words, the traditional scrapbook is like moments taken on pictures while simple scrapbook are the things that happen before and after the pictures were taken.

There are 5 terms that describe what simple scrapbook is: Freedom, Format, Framework, Finished, and Fast. These five are further discussed below.

Freedom as referred to making a simple scrapbook means that the one creating it has the liberty to simplify all the events that would be included on the scrapbook. The freedom to explore other aspects of life, use of non-traditional elements, and capture things that may not be seen on regular scrapbook. And most of all; the freedom to make the scrapbook as the exact interpretation of the creator’s idea.

Format shows the uniqueness of one scrapbook from the rest; and somehow, each scrapbook follows certain format. This means, a simple scrapbook has a size, content, and characteristics that is relatively the same with the rest of the scrapbooks but entirely uses different in approach. This makes one simple scrapbook stand out from any other scrapbooks.

Format also sets a particular theme or color scheme of one scrapbook. The colors used and the designs made are some of the usual components that bring out a simple scrapbook into a work of art. The placement of various elements also brings a lot of impact on the overall image of the scrapbook.

Framework is one characteristic of the simple scrapbook that is entirely unique from the rest of the scrapbooks. The framework is often defined as the group of pages including the table of contents and the title, dedication or the introduction page, section pages, filler pages, closing page, and materials file that show that overall structure of the scrapbook. Oftentimes, it is the first thing made since it defines what is the flow of the album. In simple terms, the framework is like the blueprint and the foundation of the album.

Another distinct characteristic of the simple scrapbook is the idea that once it is started, it can be finished. It is unlike the chronological album that is continuously filled up and may not be finished as started. Factor such as unavailability to add pages on the chronological album hampers the excitement once have. In simple scrapbook, you can assure yourself that once you start it, you can finish it. This is because you are working on a specific framework that is specifically made to finish. And since you are working on this framework, you will exactly know how far can you go and how many pages you will use. Once you have met this, your album is done.

A chronological scrapbook takes a lot of time to create. And as was mentioned, you may not still finish it. Simple scrapbook is different. You can finish it as soon as you start it. Again, this is the result of the framework that you follow. In fact, after you have finished the framework, you are that close to finishing it.

If you have decided to create your simple scrapbook, you have to know 3 things.

First, you should identify your purpose. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” “What kind of emotion or celebration would I want to put in the album?”

Second, you have to create the format. Identify the size of the album and the theme to use. Know how to organize the ideas and put them to paper. Create the framework.

And third, you have to prepare the materials used.
Once you have all these, you will easily create your own simple scrapbook.

Free Scrapbooking Catalogs

Free Scrapbooking Catalogues: Sources of Tips You can Use

So it is spring once again. And you are faced with the idea of doing a general cleaning. In most cases, you find the most valuable materials you’ve always kept when you clean up your rooms, right?

It is not impossible for you to come across with pictures of you with friends and family on several occasions. They may have been just left out in a box or in one corner of the room. When suddenly the idea of compiling them strikes you. How can you compile them by the way? What idea do you have in mind? Would you not allot time for creating a scrapbook for those photos you’ve suddenly found? Yes, a scrapbook will be the best way to keep the memories in the photos alive once again! Are you ready for this venture then?

Several individuals are too much hooked into the idea of scrapbooking. They see the creation of scrapbooks as one fine way of spending a leisure time. While this may be a happy experience for most people, there are also those people who have not even experienced the joyous pleasure brought about by scrapbooking but who are always willing to give it a try.

When you are a novice in scrapbooking, free scrapbooking catalogues can be of great help to you. These free scrapbooking catalogues may be available online or in several local arts and crafts stores. They are in themselves filled with worthy information when it comes to scrapbooking. Simple steps are also given out plus the most essential scrapbooking information that novices will need to know about.

At a simple glance in your photos, they may have been mixed up with those from other occasions. Why not sort them out first according to events? In such way, your photos for scrapbooking will be organized. The essential steps that you need to dwell in before starting with the scrapbooking are gathering your photos, sorting them out, labeling them, and of course finally, storing your photos in the scrapbooking album. These steps are likewise included in the free scrapbooking catalogues that you will likely find whether within your locale or via the internet arena.

Let us dwell with the discussion of the steps first.

Gather all photos you have. As time passed by, you’ve earned a lot of photos and all throughout these years you may likewise have misplaced them. They may be in the garage, in the attic, in the closets or drawers, in the basement, and so on. Cleaning time provides you with the time to gather them up and recall the moment when they had been taken. What occasions are involved in the pictures? Who are with you? After gathering them up, go to a larger space so you can all spread them out. In this way you can decide on which photos to include in the scrapbooking. Think of what kind of scrapbooking album you will use. The size of which is determined by the number of photos that you will include in your scrapbooking project.

Start sorting out the photos. There are certainly several ways to sort out your photos like doing it according to family, relatives, and friends or by sorting them out according to chronology. Most people go for the latter option. Your pictures may date back to several previous years but that will be okay. Just allot time to do that. After you have sorted them out, start thinking about the theme of your scrapbook. Will it be holiday seasons-related? Baby’s baptismal? Heritage or family stuff? Whatever theme you are able to come up with, make sure that the photos you’ve chosen will explain a story and will definitely make sense!

Label the photos. After sorting them all out, label them according to occasion or event so that you will be given a clue as to what category they belong to. You need not label each photo for it will be too hard on your part. Simply categorize some portions or better yet put them inside an envelope with labels so you know what to get once you start with your project.

Finally, store them in safe places. When you are not yet ready with your scrapbooking materials, first keep the photos safely. Likewise, safe keep the rest which you will not be using. Three elements must be kept away from the photos. They are the humidity, heat, and light.

You see how beneficial free scrapbooking catalogues are? They surely mean to help you a lot!

Free Scrapbooking

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Making a Wedding Scrapbook

Substituting the professional wedding album with wedding scrapbook can be time consuming for some. But for those who want to put personal touches on their wedding memorabilia, making a wedding scrapbook can be a total fun. Of course you have the options to either make it by yourself or do it with your couple.

The first thing you should do as you start your wedding scrapbook making is deciding the content. You may have several options but basically, they are limited. It is just either you include the whole wedding event from the wedding engagement to the honeymoon or just the wedding day itself.

This decision will lead you to the limit and scope of your scrapbook. For instance, you have decided to create one that would cover only the wedding day. Then, you can easily decide what are the things you need and the photos you should have. This will define the number of pages you require and would determine whether you need to make additional pages and so on.

Then, you would have to decide the theme or the color of the scrapbook. Obviously, you have a certain color theme on your wedding. Use this color theme to your wedding scrapbook as well to promote uniformity. You don’t want to hear comments that the color should be this or that once you have shown it to your friends right? Okay, it is not about avoiding comment but hey, you should still adapt certain uniformity. Thus, choosing the color of your scrapbook would most probably be based on the color theme of your wedding. As simple as that.

After you have decided the content and the color theme of your wedding scrapbook, it is now time to get your album. The size of the album should be decided carefully for it serves two purposes: to protect the content of the album and to create initial impact on the viewer. Album size is essential. A large on would be ideal for most. The traditional album choice is white. This would go to any of the color theme you have. You should not consider taking colored albums for it would only limit your embellishments. Or, if you would choose a colored one, pick the color of your theme.

The next thing you have to do is to ready your materials. Get some colored papers for journaling and decorations, acid-free and lignin-free adhesive, set of pens for captions and other texts, a pair of scissors, cardstock, photo mounting tabs, and of course, your album. If you don’t have these things, stores that specially sell materials for scrapbooking offer wide variety of scrapbook materials. The internet has plenty of these so as department stores.

Gather your photos and sort them out according to the flow you want to use. Then, you have to gather your embellishments. Embellishments should match the color of your theme and embellishments will give your scrapbook its beauty. Putting them together is the tricky part but with the help of your imagination and your creativity, you will have no problem finishing this part.

You may not limit yourself to photos and embellishments. You can also add deflated balloons,
confetti, party favors, confetti, invitations, napkins, programs, place cards, champagne corks, and all your small items used during the wedding day. Place them along side your photos or you can designate a particular page for each of them.

Consider adding some stamps, stickers, lace, and ribbons. These things will add color to your album. Put some texts to the pages. Place dates and captions with pens or letter cut outs. Use adhesives to put them all together.

After you have done with each page, carefully assemble them together. Chronological arrangement will bring order to the album. Once you have done doing this, make a final run to your album to see if there are some additions you need to make. Put some final touches to the album and it is done. You have your own wedding scrapbook.

One last thing to remember, you should not rush to finish it. Take time and enjoy the whole process. Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment. Before you know it, you have a one-of-a-kind wedding scrapbook. Good luck!

Digital Scrapbooking

Digital Scrapbooking: Is it for you?

The digital artwork is making its way into the mainstream; so as the digital scrapbook. For sure, we have certain understanding about digital art, but what about digital scrapbook? Is it the same with digital art?

The two are both similar and different in many ways but we are not here to discuss deeply their differences and similarities. We are here to focus on the digital scrapbooking as an alternative to the traditional scrapbook making.

Traditional scrapbooks are make by hand with several materials such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments you can think of. The main principle is; to create a wonderfully decorated page that would give better meaning on the message you want to address. Digital scrapbooking works on the same principle too. You create unique page with decorations to enhance the meaning of the massage you want to address.

What sets the two apart is the method of achieving this principle. As mentioned, traditional scrapbooking uses material such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments. Digital scrapbooking on the other hand uses computer graphics that replaces these traditional materials. You may say it is harder to work on the page design on the computer than on the actual page (traditional scrapbook). But, to be honest, it is almost the same.

Take the following for example:

The traditional scrapbook will work on a background or layout (sometimes called a template), pictures, texts, and embellishments. The process goes like this: you place the pictures on the background, place some embellishments of your type, and write some texts.

The digital scrapbook will work on software with all the available digital embellishments and texts. You have scanned pictures to be placed on a chosen background. Put some texts and add more design. Then, with some more editing on the colors and borders, you have created a scrapbook page.

(Speaking of software. There are several software that would let you create digital scrapbooks. These are Microsoft® Digital Image Pro, Photoshop® Elements or Adobe® Photoshop®, Ulead PhotoImpact®, or Jasc Paint Shop Pro®, to name a few.)

Oftentimes, it is much easier to create a digital scrapbook than a traditional one. This is because software that lets you create digital scrapbook with ready to use templates for texts and backgrounds, not to mention the editing tools you need. These features make it easier to create one unique page. Downloadable templates are readily available over the internet to widen up your choices on text, embellishments, and background. This is unlike traditional scrapbook that every thing is yours to make; from the background to the cutting of the decoration.

To further illustrate how does a digital page is created, here are the steps to follow:

• Create a new image from a blank canvas

• Define the size of the page you will use.

• Enter the settings you want to adapt.

• Add the photo

Photos determine the color scheme of the layout, therefore, you may want to see first what picture will you going to use before determining the mat of the canvas.

To add a photo, you must first save one on a file. You can either scan pictures or take them from your digital cameras.

• Create the background

Now that you have a determined canvas and photo, it is time for you to select your background. Here, the choices are endless. You can download images from the internet or use your photos to be the background itself. You can edit the texture of the background to match the theme you want to achieve.

• Create the photo mat

Photo mats let the background and the photo meet on a certain point.

• Add the text and embellishments

Ready made texts and embellishments are one good feature of digital scrapbooking software. This helps you to put important touches fast and easy.

• Apply some finishing touches

Final editing is as important as placing everything in order. Make use of built in features such as shadows, emboss, effects, and others. This would help your page look more attractive as it highlights whatever you want to be highlighted.

Some Ideas for Scrapbooking Pages

Some Ideas for Scrapbooking Pages

Finding ideas to apply to your scrapbooking can be such a big pain. You are faced with the prospect of creating a masterpiece, yet you don’t really know how to begin. Here are some suggestions for you to try out:

1) Color – The simplest idea for a scrapbooking page should be a color. Basing your scrapbook pages on a single color though, can be quite complex if you want it to be. There are shades to experiments with. By trying on different shades of a color, you can have variety and yet stick with the same scrapbooking idea.

Another fun scrapbooking page idea that involves colors has you researching their different interpretations. By using colors this way, you can actually have a message that means something special to you.

2) Literature – Think of your favorite piece of literature and base your scrapbook on that. Taking inspiration from books or a poem is a really good scrapbooking idea. You see, authors sometimes picture their characters and stories so vividly, that you can visualize them in your mind. By placing these images on paper, you can actually share with people something that so inspired you.

Basing your scrapbook on a piece of literature can be pretty deep for some people to take. You may have to do a bit of explaining before someone gets the message of the scrapbook. In doing so, you get to show a part of your soul to the readers. It may also inspire people to take up reading.

3) Characters –Characters abound in the world that people can take inspiration from. In using characters, you have two options:

A. Fiction – this idea for scrapbooking pages involves you taking a fictional character and using that character as an inspiration for your scrapbooking page. Contrary to what most people think, fictional characters are actually harder to research on than actual, living characters.

One reason is the fact that different people have different interpretations of them. Take Batman, for example. In the sixties, the TV series portrayed him as this campy superhero who wears grey and blue spandex. In the 1989 movie, he’s a bit more brooding, and wears protective armor. In the movie “Batman and Robin” he is portrayed as this not so brooding, talkative character who wears a rubber suit with nipples. See how different people’s perceptions of a fictional character can be?

One advantage to this, though, is the fact that you can have more freedom with this idea for a scrapbooking page. You see, not many people will question your interpretation of a fictional character.

B. Non-fiction – In this idea for a scrapbooking page, you take your inspiration from a real person. It doesn’t really matter if they are alive or dead. However, remember that

Accordian Album For Scrapbooking

Give it up to an Accordion Album for Scrapbooking
Each one of you has a set of good and bad memories. Usually those good memories paint smiles on your faces while the bad ones sadden your hearts. Whichever kind of memory it is, these things occur in your life when you least expect them.

Keeping pictures of whatever event in your life with whoever the persona is with you is one way of keeping those memories alive. Most people love to take pictures during field trips, holidays, vacations, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and many other occasions. With these photos, the memory is kept to be lingering in the minds of those who get to take a glimpse of those. But would you rather let your photos lie still in plain and traditionally-looking photo albums? Don’t you want to spice them up? Why not work on scrapbooks?

You need not be an expert photographer or an experienced artist to create scrapbooks. All you need is the concept of the design and layout for the scrapbook plus of course the photos which you want to include.
Have you ever heard of the term accordion albums? You may have encountered these things or you likely keep one in your bedroom. An accordion album is not that standard photo album size. It is smaller.

Accordion albums are also best for keeping alive those memories of your loved ones. Love relationship accordion albums are the most common of all. As lovers, you have certainly spent several good times together and you would want such memory to live on forever. In this way, creating an accordion album for scrapbooking will work out just perfect!

The number of photos to be included in the scrapbook determines the size and layout to be employed in your accordion album for scrapbooking. To keep the memories more alive, you can make use of poems, quotes, love songs, or simple statements expressing your love to the person as captions for the photos. In this way, the intimate feeling will be manifested in your work of art.

When writing down the journal, you can recall some funny or memorable incidents about the photo in order to make the caption more expressive and alive. The colors will also have to play a great role in the journal. Softer colors such as cream and blue or silver and gold are mostly used. These colors make the pages of the scrapbook more attractive and lively.

Worthy Topics for the Accordion Album

Among the topics which you can employ for your accordion album include the “Ten Things I Love about You” or “The History of Our Relationship”. Whichever more personal topic you would want to employ can be as long as it will make an intimate impression on your scrapbook.

More so, the accordion album for scrapbooking may also serve as a memorabilia of the items such as cards, love letters, restaurant menu dined at, concerts attended, dried flowers, and many other things which both of you have given for each other. You may likewise have a question and answer portion that both of you will answer. The questions may revolve around your favorite food, pet peeves, traditions, future goals, favorite pastimes, and the things which you mostly agree and disagree on.

The Importance of the Accordion Album for Scrapbooking

The accordion album for scrapbooking is one quick and easy way of recording special memories that you and your lover share. Doing it entails a lot of fun too. You can even laugh by yourself as you remember particular incidents associated with the pictures. As you show it to your partner, rest assured that he or she would also be very happy with your output.

Some Valuable Steps to Follow

Before finally starting with the scrapbooking, first get all the pictures that you will include in the craft. Sort them out according to events and according to chronology. Before pasting the photos, make sure that you’ve already conceptualized the sequence of those as they will appear in the pages. Once in a while, put in artistic embellishments to the pages. Never fail to include the captions too. Do this all throughout the pages of the scrapbook. By carefully following the ins and outs of the steps, you are on your way to a desirable accordion album for scrapbooking!

Beginner Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking for beginners

You may come across with various definitions of what a scrapbook is. And you may even have set one for yourself. But you see, of all those meanings associated with scrapbooks, there will always be one thing central to it- keeping memories.

Just like photos, scrapbooks are keepers of precious moments that you would always want to return back to. The moments that you have captured in photos and the moments of your creativity, deeply embedded in every page, note, captions and journals in your scrapbook.

One day, you'll take a look at the scrapbooks you have created and they will deliver you back in time.
Not all of us are avid scrapbookers. Many may not even have tried starting one. However, we all have an idea of how to preserve our past. Well, scrapbooking is like that, only you would have to add up some creativity and art concepts into it.

The hardest junction might be to start from scratch. Scrapbooking may look simple for some yet the hours and the ideas you have to invest on them are so enormous that many find themselves initially frustrated. Or possibly, on wits end before an idea crops up.

We have prepared some guidelines in here that you may modify and apply in your own experiences. Basically, this is just a collection of ideas that will help shed light on the thoughts bugging in your mind.

Somehow you have to know your own style.

Shine up with your personality. After all, it will show in your craft. If you are not as sure with what truly is your preference when making the design or the layout of your scrapbook, it is best that you analyze your self first. Know your personal tastes and refrain from following the hypes and fads as presented in the scrapbooking industry. This way, you will more likely to produced original and personal ideas that will work best in your own ways.

Sometimes, we have to find outlets for our personalities to show. Some people do writing stuffs, some delve into less serious practices. Scrapbooking though may fill the gaps between the two.

If it is really that difficult to produce an original idea, you can forgive yourself by mimicking other scrapper's works.

Many find great uses in other people' s designs. Sometimes, they even bring out the best from adopting a concept into their own. This technique is called scraplifting.

Other people choose not to follow this concept. However for beginners it is always easier to follow those that worked for many. Somehow, along the way they will find their own methods of doing things.

As a beginner, it won't harm if you check some great works. Then modify these using your own materials, photos and touches. And once a good inspiration breaks out, the scrapbooker may find herself immersed in the confidence of doing things in her own way.