Book review: The scrapbook Embellishment handbook

scrapbook Embellishment handbook

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned how it seems that Idea Books have evolved into a great resource for inspiration. I recently had the opportunity to take a look at the scrapbook Embellishment handbook, by Sherry Steveson (published by Memory Makers Books). I’m happy to bring you my first book review, and particularly happy that it is this book.

The delight in this book begins with the cover. It is a hardcover, spiral bound book. The cover is bright and inviting. Even the way the title was done is creative!  Having been a scrapbooker for 6-1/2 years, I didn’t really expect to learn so many new ideas from an Idea Book. When I saw who the contributing artists were, including the author, I am not so surprised, now, that the book is simply loaded with inspiration.

The book is laid out beautifully. All of the layouts have a brief description and a supply list. The photography is exceptional and the examples are large enough that you can see the details. In some cases, there are additional close-up views of particular techniques to further explain how they’re done and give you a better view of the steps. What really struck me, too, was that they would feature one technique on a page, but I would see another technique that was also new to me… kind of like a 2’fer. 

The book does a good job of covering a broad spectrum of scrapping capabilities. There were very basic ideas and techniques for the beginner, as well as much more advanced techniques, and plenty in between. The one chapter that I felt did let me down a bit was about fiber; however, I don’t find this to be a big concern because fiber frequently lets me down. Whenever I look at a page with fiber (not specifically in this book), I feel like it looks forced… unnatural. I think that particular embellishment is better used on altered artwork as opposed to being on scrapbook pages. A section about sewing on pages might have been a good alternative. You will need to dust off those eyelets, though! That section seriously surprised me with some great ideas.

My favorite embellishment had to be one on page 104. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is; I will only tell you that it is in the chapter on ribbon and it is by the uber talented Melissa Phillips. I will be using that idea very soon!  Also, I’m not a big “tag” person, but the entire section on how to use tags in creative ways is wonderful! I especially like the example on page 132 by the wonderful scrapbook artist, Cindy Tobey.

It was a pure pleasure to sit down with this book. I highly recommend it for just about any scrapper. There truly is something in it for everyone.

This book is currently available on Amazon.com.

Happy Scrapping!