We get asked so many questions about our scrapbooks that we thought we'd dedicate a page to explaining what they look like inside and how you might go about creating a scrapbook.
Scrapbooking is all about recording those special memories, precious to you or your friends and family You can create your page from many things. Start with photos, newpaper clippings or even letters and postcards, confetti, wedding place cards, cinema tickets. Anything that evokes a special memory.
GOLDEN RULES -
Don't fix anything to your page until you are completely happy with the layout. This will avoid costly mistakes!
Try not to use too many different colours as this will overpower your photos rather than enhance them.
Shop with a theme in mind - that way (particularly if you buy from us) you can purchase everything in one go (save on the P&P) and won't end up with a craft box full of stuff you won't ever use.
GETTING STARTED
So, decide what the theme of your scrapbook is going to be. The one in the photo is the very first one I created for my son's 18th Birthday. I collected photos from each year of his life and made up a page.
Once you decided on your theme and have collected all your photos and mementos together, you can then work out how many pages you will need. The size of the photos will govern this of course - I find that the 12" x 12" size album can fit 3 standard size ones to the page (I'd generally only do 1 photo on the page of an 8" x 8" album) but of course the lay out is up to you and a lot depends on how much 'embellishing' you like to add. Photos can always be trimmed to highlight a particular image or to fit in the space.
Next you need to find card and paper to match your pictures and the size of your album. Heavyweight cardstock is the best base for any scrapbook page though lighter weight paper will do if you don't intend to go too mad with the embellishments! Cardstock and paper are available in plain colours but do expermient with patterns and textures for that more professional finish. It's also important to ensure you buy paper that is 'acid' or 'acid & lignin' free. The presence of either in your paper will damage your photos over time.
(The album I used - and this applied to most of the ones we stock - contains top loading protectors. These are plastic wallets that you slide your finished page into to protect it from wear & tear. It also allows you to take the page out again and add a bit more!!.We also now stock D-ring albums which open like a normal office-type file. ie. the ring just pulls apart so you can pop in the extra pages. The advantage of the D-ring albums is that you can get a LOT more pages in them than the normal post-bound ones )
(The photo show the DCWV Rockstar Guitar 12" x 12" Scrapbook album. (Sadly now no longer available!) This particular one has 10 top loading protectors so I made 20 pages and put them in back to back. Most of the albums we stock are expandable. You can simply unscrew the posts and add more protectors as your project grows. In the photo you can see what the scrapbook looks like inside and hopefully how you can easily slide the completed pages in and out of their protectors if you want to add or change anything. )
Choose a mixture of plain and co-ordinating patterned paper and card. If you use patterned paper for the main background you can frame your pictures with co-ordinating plain card, this is called matting and will help them stand out from the background. Once you have chosen the card you want to use for the base you can lay out your photos on top of each page and move them around until you get the look you are after. The photos will look lovely with a border around them. I used peel-off stickers on some (either straight or fancy border) or just corners on others. Alternatively you can make your own out of strips of paper or cardstock. Try using craft scissors with a patterned cutting edge!
So once you've got your lay outs sorted, now you need to use your imagination to embellish the page - I haven't been very adventurous with the one in the photos as it was my first try at scrapbooking. The other books I've done have been given as presents and it's a shame I haven't photographed them so that you can see how colourful and interesting you can make your page. You can use, stickers and rub-ons, foam shapes and flowers and don't forget to add on any tickets or postcards that remind you of the event. A lot of embellishments have a sticky back but those that don't are easily fixed with a glue pen or, for the larger ones, double-sided tape. (I use reels of it!)
Next it's time to finish off with some journalling (this is simply writing about what the layout is about). It's surprising how, with the passage of time, one forgets names! Another lovely idea for a family or friends album is to ask everyone to supply you with some photos and perhaps a short narrative of their own memory of the event or person that you are creating the scrapbook for. We stock some lovely journalling tags from K&Co which are designed exactly for this purpose or you can just use craft paper (again make usre it's acid & lignin free)
AND FINALLY - once you're happy with your page it's time to fix your photos is place and stick your journalling and embellishments down. And sit back and admire your work!
WE HOPE THIS HELPS ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS - Please do ask if you're not sure of anything and do have a go. I recall that my son was so please with his book he took it to the pub to show his friends!!!!
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