Getting Started with Scrapbooking

Have you been wanting to get started with scrapbooking, but had no idea where to begin? If you’re a beginner, simply follow these easy steps to help you start scrapbooking. It’s easier when you have a simple guide to let you follow through when you embark on this fun adventure of creating layouts featuring photos, beautiful papers, journaling, and some embellishments.

1) Select a set of photos to work on.

For a start, select your photos based on a theme or occasion. It’s much easier to digest rather than a family heritage project based on chronological order.

2) Decide on a central photo.

Make this the main focus of your set of photos. Having a central focus helps to set the tone for the rest of the layout.

3) Have an overall layout image in your mind.

Where to place your photos? Where to write? Where to add little extras? This initial layout image is not a fixture. Feel free to change it as you deem fit. Whatever that pleases you works.

Most beginners will usually draw a blank when it comes to this part, it’s natural. You can look to other scrapbookers’ layouts for some inspiration.

If you find yourself spending way too much time trying to come up with an eye-pleasing arrangement, you find out how scrapbook sketches can help you to save time, take out the guesswork, and let you create attractive pages in quick time.

4) Choose 3 to 4 pieces of acid-free paper.

These papers can be solid-colored cardstock or patterned papers. One of these papers, usually a piece of cardstock will become your background paper or canvas to hold your layout.

The rest of the papers can be used for layering, as journaling text boxes, for matting your photos or titles, etc. Choose colors that complement your photos.

5) Crop your photos if needed.

Though not always necessary. It’s a good idea to leave in as many details as you can. But crop away those distracting backgrounds.

6) Mat your photos.

A photo mat makes a picture stand out. Best of all, it’s so easy to mat a photo. Some have advised that neutral colors like black, white, beige are great to mat your photos with, as it won’t clash with your patterned paper or colors of your photos.

But it’s really up to your own preference. Occasionally, I do mat my photos with bright, bold colors, and that works out well too. And it’s not necessary to mat every photo. You can choose to mat only the main photo.

Sometimes, you don’t even have to mat a single one if you prefer to go for a more casual look.

7) Write something.

Page title tells the viewer what the page is about right away. But you don’t need to title all your scrapbook layouts.

I know it’s easy to let photos take center stage. But journaling is what helps you to tell good stories while your photos help to support your story. Journaling brings meaning to your pages. Your written words would bring out the emotions of the photos and let a story unfold. Spend some time to write out your journaling. It doesn’t even need to be lengthy. Even a few pointers would be great.

For beginning efforts, first choose a set of photos to work with. But after you’ve been scrapping for a while, you might find yourself coming up with a story in your mind first, then find the photos to support your story.

8) Add a few little extras.

Washi tapes, clear rubber stamping, stickers, paper flowers or other embellishments can help to dress up your layout or highlight a certain part of your layout.

Have fun here but try not to overload your page. Focus on telling good stories and saving your memories.

9) Then start laying everything down on your page.

Does it appeal to you visually? Shift your elements here and there. Everything looks in place?

Cut, glue them to your page, and you’re done with your beginner scrapbooking page!

That doesn’t sound too tough, does it?

If you just dive in, and not be “paralyzed by analysis”, your beginner scrapbooking pages can be completed quickly. They may not be perfect pages. But hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!