Get Started Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is as easy as a few simple steps.

Scrapbooking is one of the most popular hobbies among women in the United States, and a great way to express your creativity and preserve family memories.

However, getting started scrapbooking can be a bit overwhelming due to the huge amount of products, tools, and books available.  It's actually quite simple!  You only essentially need 4 things: photos, an album, products, and tools.  Here are some tips for the beginning scrapbooker:

1. Pick a Project: Choose a few specific photos that you'd like to scrap, and decide what size album you'd like to create.  For full size pages, it's best to choose one size, so that all of your pages will fit in the same album.  Albums are available in 8.5"x11" and 12"x12" sizes.
2. Bring Your Photos to the Craft Store: By bringing your photos with you, you can pick paper and embellishment colors and patterns that match the colors in the photos.
3. Tools: Don't be tempted to buy all sorts of tools when you get started.  The basic tools you can always use are a paper trimmer, craft knife and self-healing mat, a hole punch, a ruler, a small pair of scissors, and an adhesive tape runner.  Once you make a few pages, you can decide if you need any additional tools, such as a circle cutter or shaped punches, or stamps and ink pads.
4. Products: Don't be tempted to buy a lot of paper and embellishments when you get started.  Choose just what you need for each page, and figure out what you like to work with.  Once you get a feel for your style, you can buy products without having a specific project in mind.  For your first page, plan on one sheet of plain cardstock as a background, one or two sheets of patterned paper for accents, sticker or chipboard letters for a title, a few coordinating embellishments, and a pen for journaling. 
5. Play with Your Products: Once you get your products home, lay your photos out on the cardstock, and play around.  Arrange your photos in different ways, lay out your embellishments, and get a feel for what your page will look like.  Don't use any adhesive until you're happy with the way things look. 
6. Practice Your Journaling: Use a pencil to draft your journaling, then trace over the words with a pen.  Once the ink is dry, use a soft eraser to remove the pencil marks.  This will help you ensure that what you want to say fits in your journaling space, and avoid making any spelling errors.
7. Put it on Display:  Once your layout is done, slip it into a page protector and add it to your album for your family to enjoy!