Scrapbooking interests me...seeking advice from experienced scrapbookers... where do I start & what do I buy?

Question

I recently moved into a smaller house. Everything is unpacked and put away EXCEPT tons and tons of pictures. I went shopping and bought a dozen photo albums. I have lots of pictures STILL loose.

I would like to make some scrapbooks for family gifts at Christmas. It looks like it could be an expensive endeavor. How can I cut costs? Do I buy the kits to start out or the individually packaged items? Which scrapbook brand / style are best to use? What other products to you recommend? (especially regarding glue) There are scissor kits, paper kits, tons of stuff. I get overwhelmed when I look at all the scrapbooking items.

There are themes... pick one theme through the book or each page different? What are good themes?

My question is for any advice from people who have learned through trial and error how to make beautiful scrapbooks. Thank you in advance for your help

P.S. I couldn't find any scrapbooking clubs here.

Answer 1

At first,you must have all the kits you need such as paper,glue(to paste the picture),a pen or a pencil or anything you can use to write something on the front of the scrapbook.You can also search the theme by your own creativity like "Me and My Family" or "My Memories" and many more.It is depends on your creativity.

As the other person said, there are lots of free sites with TONS of good ideas... But if you truly want hard copies, I prefer magazines such as Memory Makers, Paper Crafts Magazine, Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc, just to name a few. They're cheaper than books, and you can keep up with the latest techniques and products easier than you can with books...

And then there are the basic books: Scrapbooking for Dummies, The Complete Idiots Guide to Scrapbooking, The Ultimate Scrapbooking Book, The Everything Scrapbooking Book, Scrapbooking Made Easy, and many many more...

Since everyone's tastes and scrapbooking criteria are different, my suggestion would be to go your local library and look through the books and magazines they have there. That will get you started anyway.

Source:-

http://www.photoalbum.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...

http://www.scrapbooks.com/

http://scrapbooking.com/cgi-bin/Phase_2/...

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php...

http://scrapbooking.about.com/

http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/

http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/chrissydet...

www.mycmsite.com/chrissydetary

www.creativememories.com

http://groups.msn.com/SunroomLibrary/gen...

THANK YOU

GOOD LUCK

Answer 2

Check here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...

You will find what you like!

Good luck!

Answer 3

It is not necessary to BUY anything if you want to start creating an online digital scrapbook. Sites like PhotoAlbum.com have everything you need (except your personal images) to build a beautiful scrapbook right in your browser.

Answer 4

I have been scrapbooking for years and have never like the pre package scrapbook stuff. There is never the right colors or sizes for what photos I am scraping.

First try your library. Our small one has tons of books on scrapbooking.  Also look at the magazines. At our library you can check out old issues. We have 4 different scrapbook and paper magazines to choose from there.

Second, try to find a scrapbook store around you. Archiver's has free beginner classes. Many will let you try out tools before you buy.

Only use good cardstock. Bazzill is wonderful. You want heavy wieght paper cardstock.  Get a good paper trimmer. Fiskars is the best. I recommend getting a two way tape runner to adhere your photos down.  Next a good marker. Try Zig thin point for all your journaling. Cutterbee scissors are the best for cutting paper, they are black and yellow. That will get you started.

Hobby Lobby is a great store for scrapbook stuff. Everything goes on sale at some point.  JoAnn fabrics may have classes during the summer for scrapbooking.

below is an online scrapbook group I belong to. There is a thread of reviews on scrapbook tools we have loved and hated. Some photos of work we have done.

to start out, keep it simple. Lay out the photos you want on the page. Pick a back ground color for your page. Then matching colors to matt your photos with. Then leave room for writing. I suggest writing on a  card, then taping it to your layout page. That way if you mess up you just use another piece of cardstock instead of ruining your whole layout.  Make sure to write who is in the photos and the date. Try to think of your great grand kids looking at it, what would you want them to know about the photo.

Answer 5

You are definitely right about that, scrapbooking can be a little expensive but you know what to buy and how the items can help you get a whole project complete verses just a few pages.  I believe your best bet is Creative Memories.  You can purchase something called a "Power Palette" and this album kit will allow you to get a whole album done and take the guess work out of it!  It is a kit that is already put together with the paper, stickers, photo mats and journaling boxes that already match and they come in lots of different themes too!

With the "glue" you want to make sure that you do not get any old glue or anything.  You want something that will protect your photos for years to come.  Creative Memories has a "Tape Runner" that is awesome!  You can use this to adhere your photos to your paper or pages and it is so easy to use because it comes in a cartridge that is refillable.

Creative Memories has lots of product collections to help you, especially since you are just getting started and it can be confusing, but I would recommend that you use a starter collection called "the Traditional Collection,"  here is a direct link:  http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/chrissydet...

The best part about Creative Memories is that they have consultants to help you with everything that you are asking about; they can give personal assistance to anyone looking to get started!  Go to www.creativememories.com to find a consultant near you!

Answer 6

Hi, you could check http://www.scrapbooks.com/ for supplies.

And maybe http://scrapbooking.com/cgi-bin/Phase_2/... and http://scrapbooking.about.com/

You can't really go wrong... just experiment for a little while and once you find something that suits you, go with it!  You could maybe have a little test-run with a mini scrapbook - like just use a very small little notebook and try a few things out in it.

It's completely up to you, there are no rules!!!

Good luck.

Oh I also found a forum... http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php... if that helps at all and there's another craft forum here... http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/  It's a UK one but it's open to people from anywhere.

Answer 7

First of all chill, scrapbooking it suppose to be fun. Strat out simple. I think since you are so overwhelmed get a kit. It will have everything you need incluing glue. Look for one with step by step instructions and examples of other pages. It will say so on the box. As you get a feel for it. You can start adding other paper and stickers to you kit and soon you will feel like an expert. That's how I got started.