How To Start A Scrapbooking Project From Scratch - Start Scrapbooking Today

1. Theme of Scrapbooking

The theme of your scrapbooking can be simple or complex. Your theme could be a special event such as a birthday, a baby shower, a wedding, Christmas, or Halloween. Themes can also be personalized to the scrapbooking recipient's special interests. Special interests themes include favorite colors, sports, favorite television programs, music, the outdoors, or cultural influences.

• What is the overall purpose for your scrapbooking?

• Who is the scrapbooking for?

• What is the scrapbook about?

The answers to these three questions are all factors in selecting an appropriate theme. For instance, the scrapbooking you are giving your nephew as he graduates from medical school is probably completely different than the grandparent website you send your mother.

Your nephew will probably appreciate a scrapbooking with photographs, poems, journals, and more masculine embellishments. Perhaps, the theme of the scrapbooking could be medicine. You could create embellishments that looked like scalpels and tweezers around various pictures of your nephew during his college years.

Your mother, on the other hand, will love a multitude of baby pictures fancifully embellished with flowers, ribbon, and baby fingerprints. The theme of this website will probably be your baby. Photographs could include baby and grandma with the baby. A nice journal about your baby's day could also add a nice touch.

2. Title

Don't forget to create a title for your scrapbooking page. Though adding a title might seem to be obvious or unimportant, a title defines the whole basis of your scrapbooking. The title instantly tells the viewer what your page is all about. In one word or one short phrase, the title tells the reader the theme and purpose of your scrapbooking.

Titles can be as basic as the date of an event, the name of an individual, or a specific event.

Titles can also be more interesting and exciting. These can include quotes, sayings, fillers, or simple phrases. The best places to look for title inspiration are in greeting cards, advertisements, and commercials.

3. Colour

Colour coordination and contrast will highlight and accent your scrapbooking. A well thought out colour scheme can help define the theme of a page, attract attention to specific items, or detract away from mistakes. Poorly chosen colour schemes, on the other hand, can cause your scrapbooking page to look gaudy or mismatched.

Background colours can either be matched, coordinated, or contrasted with the colours in your photographs, mementos, or embellishments. Matching colours add to the continuity of the colour scheme. Coordinated colours add depth to scrapbooking pages. Contrasted colours focus the eye. In this way, colour can be used to create the effect you desire.

A great way to see how colours look together is to collect and compare colour wheels from your local paint or hardware store. Paint wheels are usually available free for the taking in nearly any paint department.

4. Photographs

Most Scrapbooking will contain photographs. Even the most disinterested reader of your scrapbooking will glance at the photographs. Pictures really are worth a thousand words. Therefore, it is important to choose photographs that are of good quality and clearly illustrate your scrap booking theme.

Any photograph can be used in a scrapbooking. Even instant photographs can be used in scrapbooking. Just be careful that the chemicals within the photograph do not spill out on the rest of your scrapbooking. Digital pictures can easily be printed right onto lignin-free and acid -free paper.

Always keep in mind that scrapbooking is permanent. Therefore, it is probably preferable to use copies of your only picture of Great Grandma rather than risk ruining the photograph forever. Simply scan the picture on your computer scanner and print the image on lignin free and acid free paper.

5. Cutting and Cropping

Often photographs aren't quite the right shape and size or the photographic image is improperly centered. Having oversized or off centered photographs creates an air of unprofessionalism. Carefully cropped and sized photographs, on the other hand, enhances the overall look and feel of your scrapbooking.

There are two ways to solve these problems. The low tech way to solve these problems are to manually crop and shape the photograph using a pair of scissors or an exacto knife. If you are manually cropping and cutting pictures, make sure that you mark the outline you want with chalk (or eye shadow if you don't have chalk) before you cut. Remember the old saying, measure twice and cut once.

To manually change a distracting or cluttered background simply cut out the background and replace it with a with a new paper background. This allows the eye to focus on the people instead of the clutter behind them.

The high tech solution to your photograph woes is to use modern computer programs such as Photo Editor. Using these programs, photographs can be magically darkened, brightened, sharpened, enlarged, and cropped without ruining your original photograph. Some programs even allow you to change the background of the photograph.

6. Order

There are no specific rules stating that all photographs or mementos must be placed in chronological order. Therefore, it is completely up you the order you wish to place your items and embellishments. You can place your items in a formal chronological order. You can also group items into formal or informal categories such as similar colors, events, activities, individuals, or families. Items can also be placed into random, abstract, or collages.

Each order has its own place in scrapbooking. For instance, chronological order might be useful for an anniversary scrap book. Pictures and mementos of the couple's years together could be placed from the first day they met through the wedding day to the present day with each time period on a different page. This presents a feel of as time goes by.

However, a scrapbooking for a parent might just have a collage of pictures and drawings. In this case, a collage lends to a feeling of overwhelmingly being loved.

7. Text

You may or may not want to add text to your scrapbooking page. You may want to just write captions below the pictures. You may want to add your own stories or poems. You may want to add journals describing the day to day life of your baby or your child's accomplishments. Text can be used as either a focal point or simply as a supporting piece.

Text may be hand written. Alternately, computer fonts, letters, text, or three-dimensional images can also be printed or cut and pasted onto the page. In this way, various styles, colors, textures, and visual text effects are possible.

8. Tags

Tags are a little added touch of professionalism that adds to the overall well thought out look to your scrapbooking. Tags can be used for accents, captions, and thought bubbles as well as dedications. The design of your tags will depend entirely on your personal needs and desires.

Thus, tags can be big or small, square or specially shaped, white or colored, plain or textured.

Furthermore, tags need not be made of paper. Some of the most interesting tags are made from fabric, wood, and furniture odds and ends found around the house. Be creative.

Pre-made tags are available at most craft or office supply stores.

9. Embellishments

Your own unique embellishments add a special personal touch to your scrapbooking pages. Embellishments can be used as the main focus of your page, to highlight items, or as borders. Embellishments can range from simple items such as stickers and ribbon to more complex techniques such as adding faux beads and silver accenting. Use your imagination and creativity.

Embellishments need not be expensive. Odds and ends that you have from other craft projects work just fine. Be on the lookout for sales on fabric, plastic flowers, lace, beads, and whatever else takes your fancy. These items will no doubt come in handy on your next scrapbooking project. Also keep a sharp eye out for deals in second hand stores and garage sales. Often used items can be ripped apart and the pieces reused literally for only pennies.

10. Patterning

How can you arrange your scrapbooking page to best show off your mementos and embellishments? You can place everything in the center of your page, place a single focus item in the center, or divide the page into sections adding items to each section. You may also choose to lay the items out in a standard recipe or calendar layout.

Shapes also make interesting placement patterns. Common shapes include circles, squares, hearts, and stars. However, you can also place items in object patterns such as mountains, trains, or Christmas trees.

The shape you choose for your scrapbooking will depend entirely on your theme. For instance, a logical shape for a wedding or Valentines Day scrapbooking is a heart. A nice shape for a Christmas scrapbooking is a Christmas tree. You might make a cake pattern for you niece the pastry cook. Let your imagination and creativity be your guide.

Various ready made patterning templates are available on the market.