A Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking
By Michele Blandino
Scrapbooking has become increasingly popular in recent years. And with magazines, stores and even direct-sales businesses devoted entirely to the craft, it’s easy to see how beginners can easily be intimidated.
The good news is getting started is actually quite easy and, with a little planning and careful shopping, you won’t go broke in the process.
Buddy Up
One of the first things you as a new scrapbooker should do is find a buddy, preferably someone who lives nearby. There are a few reasons for this. First, you can share basic supplies such as a paper trimmer, decorative scissors, punches and other gadgets. By pooling your resources with a buddy, you will be able to buy more supplies with your scrapbooking dollars. And, with more tools at your disposal, you will be able to boost your creativity.
The second advantage to having a partner is that you can share layout ideas. There may be times when you won’t be able to come up with just the right color combinations or photo placement; having a buddy to help you with these decisions not only makes the entire process more fun, it will probably result in nicer pages.
Finally, with all the magazines and other publications devoted specifically to the craft, chances are you will be tempted to subscribe to more than one. By arranging with your buddy to subscribe to different publications, you can swap when you’ve each finished reading your magazines.
Basic Needs
There are a few things you will need to get started.
First, you will need a paper cutter/trimmer. There are many brands and styles to choose from – most of them retail in the area of $20. These go on sale often at hobby and craft specialty stores; watch the circulars for the next sale.
You will also want at least two pair of decorative scissors; most people starting out choose the versatile deckle pattern. Don’t be tempted into buying the cheapest scissors available; the inexpensive models tend to not cut as well. Instead, wait for a sale and invest in a good pair. Fiskars is one manufacturer worth considering.
Another tool you will need is adhesive. There are many to choose from: glue sticks, double-sided tape, glue-line dispensers, and photo splits are a few of the most common. While the type of adhesive you use is largely a matter of personal preference, you should ensure that it is archival quality, acid-free, and photo-safe.
Bargain Priced Supplies
If your budget won't allow you to spend as much as you would like on stickers, die-cuts and specialty papers, consider using left-over holiday decorations and wrappings instead. You can easily dress up a scrapbook page using decorative paper napkins or themed wrapping paper. You can also create custom page headings by printing phrases on your home computer; just be sure to use acid-free paper.
You can also get more mileage out of the die-cuts you do purchase by tracing them on different colored cardstock and then cutting them out.
Stuck for Ideas?
If you are having a hard time coming up with layouts, try taking a look at some of these sites:
