Scrapbooking basics?
What are the basics you need to know about the hobby of scrapbooking? I have a brand new scrapbook that was given to me as a gift and no idea where to begin, having never done it before. Any help on where's good to get supplies, how best to lay out the pages or what the trends are for example would be great. Thanks!
Good luck with your project.
First you want to gather up your family photos and make some decisions. Supplies are a thing to wait.
Who are you going to scrapbook? Person? Pet? Hobby? Is this going to be a major event like baby's first steps, first several birthdays, dating, a prom, or wedding?
Each requires careful consideration, when you decide, lightly pencil in exactly what you intend in the front of the scrapbook. This will serve to remind you what you want to accomplish as you are faced with thousands of choices.
Decide on colors, if you can, if you can't your local scrapbooking club can help you.
You can easily, easily spend $100 a month on this hobby so I will suggest caution just starting.
Since it's spring, just wait a few months and start hitting garage sales, familiarize yourself with scrapbooking supplies, tools and look for them in garage sales. There should be some great finds out there.
It is possible to pick up $200 of supplies for $50 with some careful bargaining and checking out garage sales, look on craigslist.org for garage sales, check Listia.com for free scrapbooking supplies.
You can also buy 1 expensive supply once a month at 40% off at a local Michaels or AC Moore.
Once you pick your theme, keep it in mind when your out shopping. I'll tell you know that you'll be tempted. You'll be tempted to spend a hundred dollars a month on fancy stamps, cute little buttons, and pretty baubles that you may or may not decide to use.
This is why I'm saying, pick a theme first, know exactly what you want before you step foot in the store, I'm saying this because as women we tend to daydream and pick up items and before you know it you've bankrupted the family budget buying stuff you'll never use.
Another great way to cut spending is to find a local scrapbooking group and start showing up to regular meetings. Many members will be bringing their own ideas, stamps, ribbon, cutters to these meetings and new members are welcome to use them. You'll also get to see what other people have done, and get a better idea of what you might want to do.
okay, further resources time!
great place to look for video tutorials on how to do just about anything related to scrapbooking. youtube.com
Lots of the ladies on there are demonstraters who demonstrate scrapbooking techniques and sell related materials for money.
Some of them run subscriptions that you can sign up for to do one project a month from home while you watch the video.
You can also check Stampin' Up's website for cues and tips and all kinds of ideas!
After you decided that, what is the overall theme? Is it wedding? Basketball season for your kids? Baking / cooking? Graduation? ETC.
Michael's is a great place for scrapbooking--huge section, tons of ideas, papers, stickers, stick-on-theme-figures. They have calligraphy pens, or printed stickers. Everything you would need.
This is a good site to get ideas from, layouts, and projects:
http://www.scrapbook.com/
Hope this helps! :]
-JAC-
I used to paste gift cards, real flowers with tape,pictures and wrote with them their related story.
It takes time to make layouts as good as those you see in scrapbooking magazines but those magazines are good to look through for ideas.
Scrapbooking supplies are found in all sorts of shops from newsagents to discount stores.
You can buy all sorts of things to go in your scrapbook, but it is just as easy to make things at home like photoborders, use wrapping paper for backgrounds. You can cut out flowers and other pictures from wrapping paper to fancy up your pages. Remember to add places to write about your photos on the page.
Just use your imagination and you will be fine.