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Scrapbooking: 101

Scrapbooking

What is Scrapbooking?

Scrapbooking, a crafting and documenting activity, involves taking books with blank pages and adding photos, memorabilia, journaling, and embellishments. Also known as cropping, the primary purpose of scrapbooking is to preserve memories for future generations, but a secondary purpose often is to exercise your creativity as you display your memories in a scrapbook. Continue reading from The Spruce Crafts

Why Would I Scrapbook?

All good scrapbooks tell a story. A scrapbook is a story and scrapbooking is storytelling at a precious, personal level. It is organizing moments of the past so they have meaning for future generations. It is a recognition that events make up lives, and it is a celebration of living. Embodied in every scrapbook page is a celebration of life, a moment or moments captured that are especially unique to a person or family. Scrapbookers today are preserving yesterday for tomorrow. Continue reading from Scrapbook.com

Basic Scrapbooking Supplies You Will Need

Before you start your first scrapbook page, you need to have the essentials. Some of the tools and supplies to have on hand are:

  • Adhesives: There are many types of glues sold for scrapbooking; decide what kind you prefer. Examples are glue sticks, liquid glue pens, photo tape, foam dots, and more. The glue needs to photo-safe and acid-free.
  • Albums and Sheet Protectors: Albums come in a variety of sizes; the standard size that most beginners use is 12 x 12 inch. This size allows you to use many sizes of photos and still have room for other scrapbooking elements. Make sure the page protectors are Mylar, polypropylene, or polyethylene. Any other page protector will damage and fade your pages with time.
  • Cutting Tools: You will want large and small straight edge pairs of scissors. Other options include decorative scissors, paper trimmers, and shape cutters. For advanced scrapbooking, a digital die-cut machine is useful.
  • Die Cuts: Die cuts are cut paper shapes that you can add to your pages. They are premade and sold in packages.
  • Paper: You will want a variety of solid colored and patterned paper. Paper comes in 12 x 12-inch sheets or in 8.5 x 11 inches. It's sold in individual sheets or stacks. Buy only acid-free (ph neutral) and lignin free paper. Acid-free paper has been treated so that the acids present in wood pulp papers are removed. Lignin free means that the paper has been processed to remove the acidic part of the wood pulp in paper.
  • Pens: Use pens that have pigment ink. It is fade resistant, colorfast, and waterproof. Always practice writing with your pen on a piece of scrap paper first, before writing on your page layout.
  • Photos: Photos are the most essential part of your scrapbook page. Make sure that your photos are well lit and in focus for the best results.
  • Punches: Punches are tools in various shapes that are used cut out shapes from paper.
  • Stamps: Rubber stamps add beauty and interest to the scrapbook page. Use embossing powders with a heating tool to give the print dimension. Use markers to add color to the stamped images.
  • Stickers: Stickers are an essential embellishment to scrapbook pages. Craft stores sell sticker packages in thousands of shapes, themes, and designs especially for scrapbooking.
  • Templates: Templates are stencils that can help the artistically challenged make perfect shapes and borders. Place the templates on the paper, trace the shapes, cut out, and glue to your layout. Continue reading from The Spruce Crafts

DIY Videos

What is Digital Scrapbooking?

Digital scrapbooking (or digi-scrapping) is a growing memory-keeping and creative craft with a vibrant and welcoming online community. Digital scrapbooking is defined as “the creation of a new 2D artwork by re-combining various graphic elements. It is a form of scrapbooking that is done using a personal computer, digital or scanned photos and computer graphics software.” All you need to start digital crafting is a computer with some form of image editing software, and some digital graphics (including your photos). Continue reading from Kate Hadfield Designs