Ultimate Learn to Scrap Guide

Take up scrapbooking as your next hobby and you won’t be able to stop. With the amount of free online scrapbook paper, digital designs and fun add-ons it’s possible to scrapbook all from your computer. Just purchase, print off and use all those crazy, funky and beautiful layouts and images to create something memorable and special.

Learning to scrapbook is EASY and it’s one of the best ways to innovatively display and preserve photographs that will be prized for many years to come. Discover the fun and joy of seizing those special moments of life by learning to scrapbook. The subsequent tips are designed with you, the beginner, in mind.

SET UP A WORKSPACE AREA

Learn how to turn a small space into a very functional scrapbooking workspace. One of the frustrations that many people face when learning to scrapbook is having to get supplies out and then putting them away again. After all, if you’re using the dining room table to fashion albums on, your family probably doesn’t want to eat dinner midst the glue sticks, paper and card stock.

Find an area in your house that can be devoted for scrapbooking. Is there a small closest that isn’t being used that could have the door taken off and used as a work area? What about the landing at the top of your stairs or how about the odd little cranny off of the kitchen? Preferably you need a space big enough to house a small desk or make a work table by placing a counter top over two 2-drawer file cabinets.

CHOOSE A THEME (MOST SCRAPBOOKERS FORGET THIS)

What memories do you want to capture and share with others? Although you may have a lot of thoughts running through your mind that you want to scrapbook, as you learn to scrapbook, start with just one theme. You might want to begin with an incident from the past such as a class reunion, the birth of a child, the hot air balloon ride that you experienced, etc., or choose something recent.

SELECT PHOTOS

Learn to form your photos so that you have easy access to the ones you want to use for scrapbooking. One of the exciting parts as you learn how to scrapbook is picking photos. If your photos aren’t already sorted, take time to organize them before you begin scrapbooking. It will save you a lot of time.

Here’s an informal method. Purchase clear plastic bins (about the size of a shoe box) and label the top and front of each bin. Labels might contain: family, relatives, vacation, wedding, holidays, etc. As you begin to sort through pictures, quickly place them into the corresponding bin.

Since you’re in the sorting mood, it is useful to check desk drawers, closets and any other place where old pictures might be stashed. Once you have gone through all the photos, you can then begin to organize each bin. Use huge index cards to separate and label the contents of each bin.

Gather the photos that you want to use for your scrapbooking album. Keep in mind that you’ll probably have more photos than you’ll actually use, but you can constrict the choice when you get ready to work on the design of the pages.

GATHER SUPPLIES

As tempting as it might be to purchase a lot of supplies at once, stick with the basics.

Check around the house for supplies that you might already have, such as glue sticks, scissors, a ruler, paper trimmer and permanent markers. Make a list of what you need from the store. It’s tempting to buy everything and anything that appeals to you when shopping for supplies for the first time. Stick with the list!  Your list should include:

Photo album

Page protectors

Patterned paper

Card stock

Adhesive

Embellishments (i.e. stickers, cut-outs)

Oval template

As you continue to learn scrapbooking, you can gradually add to the basics.