Adding Pizzazz to Your Scrapbook

Adding Pizzazz to Your Scrapbook
by Nan Wood

Simply sticking pictures and memorabilia to colored paper can make a basic and beautiful scrapbook, but if you find that there’s a little something missing, try spicing up your pages with some embellishments. The term “embellishments” is catchall for supplies that don’t need to be on the page functionally, but are eye pleasing and fun. Next to the paper isle in your local scrapbook supply store, the embellishment isle will have the largest and most diverse section of products.

Stickers are the most popular and abundant kind of embellishment. These aren’t like the gold stars you got in grade school—stickers today come in just about any shape and size. One handy type of sticker is the letter sticker. These come in sheets featuring the entire alphabet so you can use them to create titles on your page. This works especially well for scrapbookers who don’t like their own handwriting. Stickers also now come in three dimensions. Because your pages are most likely themed, the most common way to buy stickers is by theme as well. Some companies offer kits that have matching papers and stickers to make the process easier, and there are also kits on the market to make your own stickers just in case the store doesn’t have exactly what you need.

If you want a look that’s a little more simplistic, try die cuts. These paper cutouts look great on the page alone, or can be used for matting or journaling. The most elaborate kinds of die cuts are paper dolls. These are not unlike the paper dolls you may have played with as a child, but are meant to be glued to the page when you are done dressing them. You can buy paper dolls in every race, and with every hair color, so many scrapbookers like to create paper dolls to match their subject matter and then dress them in one of the countless outfits available in stores.

Ribbons and strings are fun embellishments as well, but can be difficult to attach to the paper. You can buy ribbons and strings separately or in a sample kit that includes many colors and varieties. Make sure these products are made for scrapbooking—they should be acid free. This is a rule that holds true for any scrapbooking supply. Almost anything can be stuck to a page as an embellishment as long as it is safe for your photographs. Browse through your local stores to find embellishments and inspiration for you pages, and you may be surprised at the new additions to your scrapbooking inventory.

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Scrappers

A beginner's guidt to cutting photographs

Crop Around the Clock - A Beginner’s Guide to Cutting your Photographs
Nan Wood

Unless you intend to simply stick your photographs two or three to the page simply to keep them protected from acid and the environment, you’re going to have to learn how to cut your photographs to create interesting layouts. The first few times your snip into a picture with a pair of scissors you might be nervous or feel like you’re committing an awful crime, but as you practice you will become more confident in your cropping skills.

Cropping is simply the term used for cutting away parts of a photograph. Even expert photographers many times find that their pictures will look better when cropped, and this can be done by hand with a cutting tool on the computer before you make your prints. Either way, when you are actually creating a page, you probably will not want pictures that are all the same size and shape. Instead, your layout might include circles and squares, as well as a number of other non-traditional photograph shapes. If you are nervous about cutting your pictures for the first time, get double prints made. This way, you have a back up in case you make a mistake.

There are a number of tools on the market to help you crop your pictures. My personal favorite is the paper slicer. Paper slicers do the same job as straight scissors, but you don’t have to worry about an unsteady hand—simply line up your photograph and pull the blade along its track on the straight edge. Blades have to be replaced more often than you’ll have to buy new scissors, but the results are precision cuts. Another one of the most beneficial tools to own is a circle cutter. Achieving perfect circles without it is nearly impossible, and although these tools take a little getting used to, they are worth the time and money to buy.

Most importantly, however, how do you decide what to crop out of a picture? First, consult your layout design. You may need specific measurements to make a design work. Next, look at each photograph. Your subject matter should be the main focus, so anything in the background or foreground that distracts the eye should be cropped out. Lastly, trust your instincts. If you don’t like the look of a photograph, imagine how it would be cropped. Your first feeling is usually correct, so don’t be a afraid to jump in there with a pair of scissors or your favorite cropping tool. Even if you goof the first few times, cropping mistakes can usually be fixed, and it wont be long before your practice pays off and you acquire the skills of an expert cropper.

For more online research on this subject and a free themebased browser to use, visit Scrapbooking

What is Scrapbooking?

Scrapbooking – What is Scrapbooking?
By Nan Wood

Scrapbooking is the scrapper’s method of saving their personal life in art form. Scrappers are very creative. They use a variety of materials to create a history using photographs, printed material, memorabilia to create scrapbooks, cards, albums and a variety of beautiful objects.

Scrapbooking is a hobby that has become a favorite form of crafting. The names scrapper and Scrapbookers has become synonymous with the art of scrapbooking. Scrappers are loyal to their craft and each other. They have created online forums, groups that meat, conventions, retreats, stores and conventions. This form of hobby has become very ‘in’ recently.

While this is a new industry, it already has a variety of magazines and infomercials dedicated to selling products related to this hobby. Since the 1990s, many stores opened to cater to the scrapbooking industry. Unfortunately, many have closed. Competition from large retailers, such as Michaels, left them unable to compete.

Many major department stores carry craft supplies and offer classes which appeal to the scrapbooking community. They will order special products for their customers and have classes that appeal to the crafter such as One Stroke Painting.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful hobby with many resource areas to enhance the scrapbooking projects to create keepsakes for families whether for special occasions, weddings, gifts or part of the family tradition.

Nan is an Accountant, Real Estate professional and Business Writer with an interest in Scrapbooking. She has an information site online
Scrapbooking and craft ideas at Crafts