Scrapbooking: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Free Digital Scrapbooking Themes

If you are a digital scrapbooking beginner, you probably have many questions. You like the idea of digital scrapbooking, but you don't want to sink a lot of money into it until you know whether it will be rewarding.

Definition of Digital Scrapbooking

Digital scrapbooking is the act of creating images, photos, journaling, and extra "touches" to preserve your memories in digital instead of physical form. Scrapbooking software is available free on the Internet, or you can use a standard Microsoft Word program.

Digital Scrapbooking Themes

Scrapbooking looks most professional when the entire publication has a theme. A digital scrapbooking theme helps you focus on one style, rather than have each page different. Once you have a central theme, you can set themes for individual pages. These should follow the main theme, but in smaller pieces. For example, an main vacation theme might have page themes of transportation, hotel, beach, restaurants, and activities. You can get free digital scrapbooking themes for both overall and individual pages.

Free Digital Scrapbooking Theme Kits

Free digital scrapbooking themes are available in kits at several Internet websites. You might combine similar themes, or use the elements for your own theme. For example, downloading two or three free digital scrapbooking theme kits that are focused on sports would give you elements to complete several coordinated, but different pages in a sports-themed work.

DIY Digital Scrapbooking Themes

Your status as a digital scrapbooking beginner does not mean you cannot approach digital scrapbooking themes as do-it-yourself projects. If you are willing to invest a little creativity, you will find an abundance of free digital scrapbooking themes on the Internet. One website gives the digital scrapbooking beginner many hints in their descriptions of themes for sale. Consider three of them.

1. Memories of school days will be placed on backgrounds specifically designed for school. Stop and think. What kind of background fits the description? Imagine back-to-school advertising. Pencils, books, backpacks, apples, desks, and alphabets spring to mind. With very little work, you can create your own backgrounds for free digital scrapbooking themes on school days.

Picture a page with a faded school building background. A large school bus sits in front of the building. A child's kindergarten photo fills one window. Friends' photos fill two more windows. A note about the first day of school is "tacked" to the page with a small, bright backpack graphic. Another page theme might begin with a background of alphabet letters or "spelling words" written in script and arranged at angles. Great for showing off a perfect spelling test, or photos of the spelling bee. The same letters, or bright trophies, could be added as embellishments. In a matter of moments, you have two free digital scrapbooking themes for school memories. Each is do-it-yourself. Each fits the mood you are trying to create.

2. A 50th wedding anniversary scrapbook might have a nostalgic, antique theme. Close your eyes and picture antique things. Imagine an antique store or a trunk of old clothing and faded letters. Lavender, satin ribbons, old lace, and antiqued paper come to mind. With imagination, you can create your own backgrounds for free digital scrapbooking themes on old memories.

A large photograph of a county fair, faded and antiqued, would make a great background page for photos of the dating couple and a ticket stub or two. Cotton candy or carousel horse embellishments could spice up the page. If it's a 2-page spread, a piece of an old love letter can be the journaling. Colorful photo mats in candy-striping will carry out the couple's happy feelings. A second page theme might be antique cars, a faded background of vehicle graphics setting the stage for photos of the couple's first car, or every car they ever owned. On a third page, clipart or photos of ornate mirrors could be repeated on a faded background. A single, enlarged mirror frame could frame the main wedding photo. Smaller mirrors, lace and ribbon elements could complete the theme. With a few minutes of thought, you have three free digital scrapbooking themes for your 50th wedding anniversary scrapbook.

3. If you want a digital scrapbook cowboy hat theme, begin by thinking of symbols you connect with that idea. Your background might be rodeo scenes, a desert, or the colors of the outdoors. You might make a page that looks like the inside of a stable. Hang rope on a board in the stable, and set a pair of cowboy boots on the floor. Scatter straw at the bottom. Then add your photos, tacked in place with small cowboy hat graphics. Be sure one photo shows the subject in a cowboy hat. Add rope letters to spell out a caption such as "Ride 'em, Cowboy!" A "scrap" of torn paper with the date, name, and a comment would be appropriate journaling so that future generations can fully appreciate the occasion. You have just given yourself another free digital scrapbooking theme.

Gleaning Digital Scrapbooking Themes

Another source of free digital scrapbooking themes is the website postings of those who are eager to share their own work. These are easily found by doing an online search. If you have a basic theme in mind, you can often glean themes for individual pages from the examples offered.

Scrapbook stores and magazines offer many themes, some digital. If you are creative, you can adapt non-digital themes with a little practice.

Final Tips on Digital Scrapbooking Themes

Wherever you get your digital scrapbooking themes, keep in mind that backgrounds should always complement the colors in the photographs that will go on each page. Journaling adds great interest. If you don't know what to write, think: who, what, where, when, why, and how. "Elements" are extra decorative objects added to the page. Scrapbook Bytes offers many free, downloadable elements.

© 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about paper and digital scrapbooking themes at http://www.scrapbooking-for-fun.com Anna is posting new articles every week on that site. You won?t want to miss her recent article on free digital scrapbooking frames.

5 Reasons You Should Be Scrapbooking

Do you need a new creative outlet? Do you have pictures of your children and your family just sitting around in various boxes, and plain old photo albums? Do you not have a lot of money to spend on hobbies? Perhaps scrapbooking is the right hobby for you. Five reasons that you should try scrapbooking are outlined here.

Do you wish you had a unique way to document your family's memories? Do you have beautiful pictures of your children that look plain sitting in a traditional picture frame? If you do, you should create a scrapbook. In fact, five reasons why you should at least give scrapbooking a try are outlined below.

1 Scrapbooking Is Easy

You've probably been to a craft show, and you've seen several crafts there, that just look too difficult for you to attempt. Scrapbooking is a craft, but it is not a difficult one. Creating a scrapbook is very easy to do. You may find that the hardest part is choosing which of your photos to use. You may very well choose to use them all, and create several scrapbooks.

To make a scrapbook, you purchase an album that is very much like a regular photo album. You'll mount your photos and other memorabilia on the blank pages inside. You can then use markers, stickers, colord paper, or other embellishments to turn those blank pages into something unique. It's that easy.

2 Scrapbooking Makes A Great Hobby

Many people find that scrapbooking is an addicting hobby. You may very well be the same way. You'll start creating a scrapbook, and you will not want to stop. As you get better and better at scrapbooking, you may well find yourself enjoying it more and more.

Scrapbooking is also a good hobby for children. Even young children, with some help, can make a scrapbook. If you enjoy making scrapbooks, you may want to involve your children as well. You can have them help you create your scrapbook, or let them start their own scrapbooks. Scrapbooking is a fun, safe, and creative activity for your children.

3 Scrapbooking Supplies Are Not Expensive

Most hobbies and crafts have some expense associated with them, some more than others. With woodworking for example, you can spend a lot of money on tools and lumber to build even a small piece of furniture. Scrapbooking, on the other hand, is extremely inexpensive. You can purchase scrapbooking supplies very cheaply from craft stores, from dollar stores, and from many online sources.

You don't have to start with a big scrapbooking kit. You can start small, and expand your scrapbooking kit after you've gotten some practice. You can find scrapbook albums at your local craft store for $5-$10. Some acid free glue and some markers will only set you back a few more dollars. You can then pick up some printed scrapbook sheets for less than a dollar, or you can make your own with construction paper.

4 Scrapbooking Options

The options available in scrapbooking are another good reason to get into this hobby. You may think that scrapbooking involves a lot of cutting and gluing. If you want to put together a traditional scrapbook, yes, this is true. You will need to do some cutting and gluing. In these modern times, however, you also have the option of creating a digital scrapbook.

You'll find several options for digital scrapbooking software, some are free, while others will need to be purchased. Hundreds of background pages are available, and with a lot of digital scrapbooking software, you can add in your own pictures. Digital scrapbooks are easy to create, and easy to share with others.

5 Uses For Scrapbooks

You can certainly create a scrapbook for your own personal use, to save pictures and memories that are important to you. You have many other options, however. If you're a new parent, you can use a scrapbook to document the life of your child, from birth through graduation and beyond. You can make scrapbooks to celebrate an wedding, graduation, anniversary, or many other occasions. A scrapbook would make a great gift to a couple for a landmark anniversary, such as the 25th or 50th.

Photos may look nice when they are framed, or placed into a photo album, but there is just so much more that you can do with them. Placing those photos into a scrapbook provides a unique way to treasure your memories, and to pass them on to others.

Be sure to visit Scrapbook Resources & Supplies for more scrapbooking ideas and resources.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Ivy the Dog: It’s Scrapbook-Related, I Swear!

This was posted on a message board a while back … can’t even remember where I saw it.

But it totally cracks me up how freakin’ mellow this dog is. If I had my Landry dog {aka Peabody McSpazitron} on that table while I made a card, it would be a tangle of paws, kisses, nose nudges, licking glitter, barking at the heat gun, and who knows what else. Oh, and Landry is really opinionated. He would not hesitate to critique my work and suggest things to make it better. {Ivy is much too polite for that}. If I tried to put ink on his paw, he’d start giggling and pull it away for sure!

Anyway, this dog Ivy is amazing. Cute sweater, too. Enjoy.

I am obsessed with scrapbooking and I know you are too! I think about it, talk about it, and do it any chance I get. I love to shop as much as I love to crop. My blog will have: product reviews, show reviews, scrapbook organization, my shopping finds, and just general scrapbook topics. There are so many scrap blogs out there where the author journals about their life and shares their pages. I wanted my blog to be a little different. Hope you enjoy!

14. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook blogs | Tags: cardmaking, Ivy the Dog, scrapbook video | 3 comments

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That’s One Awesome Etsy :)

Hey, just wanted to give a shout out to my friend, Jodi. She has a FAB Etsy shoppe where she sells cards and mini-albums. Please go take a look and see all the cute and charming things she has to offer.

19 DESIGNS

Some of my favorites are all the Halloween cards ~ there’s still time to get some! She also has birthday cards, congrats, and lots more. I hope you’ll check out her Etsy shoppe and see what you can find :)

Have a great week!

16. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook shopping, scrapbook websites | Tags: 19 Designs, birthday cards, Etsy, Halloween cards | 1 comment

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Saturday, October 29, 2011

National Scrapbooking Day - 12 Ways to Celebrate

Scrapbookers have their own holiday. National Scrapbooking Day is the first Saturday in May. As the hobby has grown so has the popularity of this celebration of all things scrapbooking. Don't let the day go by without making it special. How can you celebrate? Here a just a few ideas to make this year's National Scrapbooking Day memorable.

1. Check out your local scrapbooking store to see what activities they are offering. Many local stores have sales, but quite a few offer make-and-take projects, special workshops, or crop time just for National Scrapbooking Day.

2. Learn a new scrapbooking technique. You can do this all on your own. Pick up a scrapbook magazine and try a new skill. It can be something simple or complex. Now make a page layout using that technique.

3. Shop for a new scrapbook tool. We all have one of the latest tools on our scrapbooking wishlists. Indulge yourself this May with one on your list. Take it home and try it out on a new project.

4. Gather your friends for a crop party. Throw a National Scrapbooking Day party with your fellow scrapbookers. Just add some refreshments and lots of workspace for scrapbooking and you're ready to enjoy your favorite activity with your friends.

5. Browse your local bookstore for a new scrapbook magazine or book. It's fun to find out what the latest trends in scrapbooking are. Books and magazines are a great way to keep up to date on your design skills.

6. Shop for new supplies online. Online scrapbooking stores are known for running fantastic sales on the first weekend in May just for National Scrapbook Day. You'll find some of the best deals on Saturday, but many will run the sales through the whole weekend. Check your favorite online stores first, because some run the best savings during early bird hours or night owl specials. Be sure you know what time zone they are in so you don't miss out.

7. Introduce a friend to scrapbooking. Do you have a friend who has always wanted to learn how to make an album? National Scrapbooking Day is a great time to show her how. Either invite her over to scrapbook with you or take her to an event at your local store.

8. Attend an online crop. Check scrapbooking message boards for online crops. Many offer virtual crops. You and other participants scrapbook at the same time and chat with each other online as you create pages. Many crops will have challenges to see who gets the most pages done. Some will have contests, and some may have a gallery where you can upload your designs.

9. Take some photos. If you can't get out to a scrapbooking event, take some time during the day to photograph the special people in your life. Upload them to your favorite online printer and start to plan your next album.

10. Organize your scrapbooking space. You just might find some supplies you forgot all about. A little organization can help you get more pages done the next time you sit down to create a page layout.

11. Attend a scrapbook convention or go on a scrapbook retreat. Check your area for expos and scrapbooking events. The weekend of National Scrapbooking Day might be a great time to organize a getaway with your girlfriends.

12. Read "A Page Out of Life" by Kathleen Reid. This novel is about a group of very different women who belong to a local scrapbooking club. While they share their love of scrapbooking, they uncover secrets hidden in their photos. The book will be released just in time for National Scrapbooking Day.

Enjoy this year's National Scrapbooking Day! No matter how you decide to spend the day, remember to enjoy your hobby with family and friends.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has over 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking tips and information on scrapbooking drop shippers.

Scrapbook Video: “Get Crafty with Cleetus”

If you haven’t checked out the Cleetus VIDEOS yet, you’re truly missing out. He just posted a new one today (#3).

I have to admit that every time he said “TOOT” I got skerred :0

In the video, among others, he mentions TIM HOLTZ and then Tweeted him:

@Crafty_Cleetus:
I shure hope @tim_holtz gets the message in this youtube.com/watch?v=6-Q4S9… DON’T SNUBB CLEETUS FROM RANGER U BIG T!!

Here is Tim’s Twitter response:

@tim_holtz:
funny guy…

If you don’t recognize Cleetus McDuffy, I’ll fill you in. He’s the alter ego of COLLIN KARTCHNER …

Collin Kartchner

… the hilarious hubby of famous scrapper ELIZABETH KARTCHNER. You know the “Dear Lizzy” line by AMERICAN CRAFTS? That’s her.

Yeah, I had to explain ‘cuz it’s like Six Frickin’ Degrees of Separation in our cozy little scrapping world, right? Collin sometimes HIJACKS HER BLOG and it’s pretty funny.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Hope it makes you smile today :)

14. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook websites | Tags: American Crafts, Collin Kartchner, Crafting with Cleetus, Elizabeth Kartchner, Tim Holtz | 1 comment

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Friday, October 28, 2011

An Inspiring Scrapbooking Idea

Scrapbooking is a wonderful way to make memories come alive whenever you want them to. Scrapbooking is different from plain photos because it includes colors, pictures and journaling that will show and describe what you felt and how you went through those days, weeks, months and sometimes years of your life.

Scrapbooking takes time, commitment and a lot of co-ordination and because of this there is a lot of help available online, in books and even DVDs should you feel the need for any guidance. Here is a scrapbooking idea that should inspire you.

A New Baby

A new baby can be the perfect scrapbooking idea for which you should prepare before the baby arrives. In fact the best time to start collecting material will be right after you find out you are pregnant. During pregnancy your personality changes drastically along with your body, moods, eating habits and so on. You may want to record all this in a journal for putting in your scrapbook later. Take as many pictures as you can so you have enough to choose from when making your scrapbook.

Getting the Material Ready

You can get an album and alter its pages while saving some places for the photographs you will include in your scrapbook. A great scrapbooking idea is to start creating some of the pages ahead of time. For example, the font page, the colors you like, and the different designs you have in mind as well as sorting the available pictures in order to have them ready when you are ready to place them in your scrapbook.

There are readily available scrapbooking kits that will provide you with the material required to get started as well as other scrapbooking ideas that will come handy in time as you start enjoying creating a scrapbook.

Take a Class

There are scrapbooking classes available online where you can find assistance from trained consultants on how to make the first scrapbook for your new baby. A baby, especially the first one is extremely important in a couple's life and recording as much as possible of his or her life will be of utmost significance for you and eventually for your baby when he or she grows up. Not only will your child enjoy what you put together, he or she will greatly appreciate your efforts and thoughts for this huge but enjoyable project.

Take Your Time

A scrapbook cannot be rushed, you will need to take your time and create every single page, add your special thoughts from your own journal where you have carefully penned down every single detail that has occurred during pregnancy and after the baby's arrived.

Scrapbooks can take a long time to create because it represents a big and important part of your life and you will also experience that another scrapbooking idea may come to you as you are making this one for your new baby. The new baby scrapbook can include details, images, sights and pictures until the book is full, after which you will need to create another scrapbook should you choose to do so.

Get Inspired In Order to Create the Best Scrapbook

Scrapbooking ideas may come from the creations of others and through their own scrapbooks, which you can find online on specialized websites. You may also gain inspiration directly from those who made the scrapbooks as you can chat with them live and ask them for opinions and ideas in order to make your scrapbook as you desire. A scrapbook does not only hold memories but a part of your family's history, which will be carried forward for generations to come.

An Inspiring Scrapbooking Idea was contributed by [http://www.LoveScrapbooking.com] a great source of scrapbooking advice, tips and secrets. You can find out more about baby scrapbooking at [http://www.LoveScrapbooking.com/category/baby-scrapbooking/]

October Afternoon Warehouse Sale

OCTOBER AFTERNOON, you are KILLING me right now!

october afternoon warehouse sale

I mean, it’s all well and good for you Minnesota bee-yotches. Whoo hoo for you. But I’m on the stinkin’ West Coast. Fat lot a good a warehouse sale in Minnestoa does me.

I mean, I’m only, like, omigod! Their #1 fan! U R 2 GOOD 2 B TRU … oh, wha? I just had a flashback to junior high there for a second.

So HERE is where I learned about the October Afternoon warehouse sale {from the Peas of course}.

As we speak, I have “SIDEWALKS” in my shopping cart at two online stores while I dig for quarters in the couches, turn in aluminum cans, and sell my plasma. Hey, Collection Packs ain’t cheap but I need it all!

october afternoon sidewalks

I mean, HULLOH! Is that gorge or what?
ETA: I wish I could claim this layout but it’s courtesy of the October Afternoon blog :)

HERE is the announcement on their blog.

If you go, please come tell us about it, whatcha’ got, how many eyes you had to gouge out, etc.

No, wait, I don’t want to know. I’ll be even MORE jealous … if that’s possible.
No, come tell me.
No, don’t!

Jeez, I don’t know why my husband says I’m indecisive. I’m am VERY decisive! Well, I am sometimes but then sometimes I’m just not really sure. Like, should I make a decision or shouldn’t I?

* * * *

October Afternoon warehouse sale.

In Minnesota.

Blurg.

19. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook shopping, scrapbook websites | Tags: October Afternoon, Sidewalk, warehouse sale | 9 comments

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Free Digital Scrapbook Templates

Digital scrapbooking presents a unique way to capture special memories for posterity. Whether you are a computer veteran or a novice, you can create digital scrapbooks that go a step beyond conventional photo albums. You can add to the photos: small notes, embellishments, and stickers to tell the story more fully.

Free digital scrapbook templates can make the job easier for you. The scrapbooking paper, frames, titles - even embellishments or stickers are already placed for you. You don't need to find or prepare each element. Just slip your photographs into place, add a journaling note or caption, and you have finished pages. Free digital scrapbook templates are, in a sense, scrapbooking kits.

Free digital scrapbook templates are a great way to learn digital scrapbooking. They are also a great way to see, before you invest money, whether you enjoy digital scrapbooking. Templates show you what you can do, and take the work out of it.

These free digital scrapbook templates are often provided as samples, with themes that appeal to a large number of people. The hope is that you will enjoy your experience and return to the website to purchase more materials.

Understanding Free Digital Scrapbook Templates

Free digital scrapbook templates are nearly-finished scrapbook pages. Some call them pre-made pages, or pre-made layouts. To use free digital scrapbook templates, you follow a few easy steps.

1. Download your free digital scrapbook templates. They should be in "png" format. Many will be zipped to reduce size. Unzip your downloads, and place them in a computer folder.

2. Open the software program you will use with your free digital scrapbook templates. Many programs you may already have will work well. Microsoft Word, PhotoShop, and similar programs are good. You may have purchased digital scrapbooking software.

3. Scan photos for your digital scrapbook pages.

4. Open the free digital scrapbook template you want to use. Open photo files, and place your photos on the page. Crop photos, if necessary to fit the opening. Send them to the back layer, and slide them into place.

5. If the colors of the papers in your free digital scrapbook templates do not complement your photos, simply use your

paintbrush" tool to change the colors.

6. Add a small box on your page, and type in a note about memories that go with the photos. This "journaling" might be as short as a caption, or a paragraph that will help viewers understand the photos.

7. When you are satisfied with your page, flatten all layers, and save it as a new file.

8. Now you are ready to print. Use acid-free paper so your colors will remain bright and true for years. Print it as a page of a larger scrapbook. Or print your page as a scrapbook card.

9. Optionally, you may want to save your pages to a CD - or send a finished page to a friend or family member. You might even want to send your completed free digital scrapbook templates to a "print-on-demand" company to have them bound into a permanent book.

Free Digital Scrapbook Templates Changes

As mentioned above, you may want to make changes to your free digital scrapbook templates. At first, those changes may be as slight as changing the color of the scrapbooking paper. As you learn more about digital scrapbooking, the changes may take in other elements.

You may want to add digital charms to empty spots - or place charms across corners or edges of your photos. If you have a photo of a child receiving a skateboard for Christmas, you might want to place a couple of skateboarding embellishments on a page. These extras add a personal touch to the themes of free digital scrapbook pages.

Helpful tip: Even if you are a veteran scrapbooker, you will find free digital scrapbook templates a help in getting fresh ideas. Start with downloads of free digital scrapbook templates, and customize them to your creative satisfaction.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about free digital scrapbook stuff at http://www.scrapbooking-for-fun.com. Anna is posting new articles regularly on that site. You won?t want to miss her recent articles on digital scrapbook free downloads.

My Blog Needs Some Serious TLC …

Just a quick apology. I said I’d have some site improvements and new things going on by October 1 or soon thereafter … but still no go :(

It’s a big combination of reasons but let’s consolidate it to two: busy life and can’t find a new theme that I like :P I’ve spent countless hours looking but I can’t find the perfect fit. And I can’t afford right now to pay for a Premium theme or a blog designer (sigh…). And you know me and the computer ain’t the greatest of friends so it takes me 10 times longer than the average bear to do anything, lol.

Did you notice I got my own domain name? {^^^ look in your browser ^^^}. I used to be scrapbookobsession.wordpress.com … now I’m scrapbookobsessionblog.com. So there’s some progress at least … My mind is spinning throughout the day with all the ideas I have … just wish I had the time to sit down and implement them all.

Anyway, just wanted to say “hey” and let you know … I’m still here and working on it! Hope your life is scrappy is happy :)

07. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook blogs | 2 comments

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Under Construction: Change is in the Air!

Sorry for any confusion if you got here and thought you were lost, LOL.

I’m making some changes around here. Please stay tuned. I plan to have something official posted by October 1 or soon thereafter.

Thanks for your patience :)

29. September 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: scrapbook blogs | Leave a comment

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Memory Works: New Simple Stories for October 2011 “Year.o.Graphy”

{{{{LOVE!}}}}

year.o.graphy simple stories memory works

You can see the whole line on the Simple Stories blog HERE.

OMG ~ I am loving all those Designer Cardstocks! Actually, hate to say but I’ll have to buy this entire collection. It coordinates perfectly with the original “Life Documented” line and I still have some of it … hollah! And just like “Life Documented,” the new line “Year.o.Graphy” is going to be perfect for Project 365/Project Life type scrapbooking, don’t you think?

Yes, you can buy Simple Stories “Year.o.Graphy” from online retailers … but why wouldn’t you order it straight from the friendly MEMORY WORKS CONSULTANT right here in front of you?

05. October 2011 by Scrapbook Obsession
Categories: Memory Works, scrapbook consultant, scrapbook shopping | Tags: Life Documented, Memory Works, Project 365, Project LIfe, Simple Stories, Year.o.Graphy | 8 comments

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Various Scrapbooking Tools You Need to Start Scrapbooking Now

Scrapbooking can be a very challenging task for the beginner. For one thing, you need creativity in order to form an attractive work of art. You also need to think up a definite theme which forms the spine of the scrapbook. The things you put within the scrapbook also should be arranged in such a way that their significance is unmistakable. With all these complexities, many people would be hard-pressed to finish a scrapbook without the correct tools.

So what tools would you actually need to put a scrapbook together?

1 ) Scissors. Everybody knows what scissors are, right? Well, here's a allegory for the scissors in scrapbooking. Scissors are like bringers of order. Scissors shape the small bits of paper into forms that you may use in your scrapbook. This scrapbooking tool is very important in making pieces fit together. A few individuals may refuse to chop the bits of paper, but only thru this, can the scrapbook be finished.

In that sense, two scissors can symbolize the honest truth. Why, you ask? Well, the truth hurts [*T]. But it has got to hurt, does not it? It has to hurt if it is to set you free.

There are two specific types of scissors you can use as scrapbooking tools:

A ) Standard paper-cutting scissors. These scissors are made to chop and to chop straight. This is the type of scissors folks encounter from the start of their infancy. You have to be able to trust your scissors to chop straight, as it just looks ugly if you unintentionally use dull scissors and screw up the cut of the paper.

B ) Creative scissors. This type of scissors can be bought at different art supply shops. These scissors are markedly formed to produce different types of cuts. Using this scrapbooking tool can be a full lot more practical than trying to follow a pattern using straight-cutting scissors. You see, using conventional scissors can provide you with carpal tunnel thanks to the stress your fingers will be taking. And that's not good at all, is it?

2 ) A punch, also called a hole punch. This nifty scrapbooking tool is used typically to punch holes into paper. There are, once again, 2 types of punchers available out there:

A ) Conventional punch. This type of puncher produces round holes. Strangely enough, this type of puncher wasn't designed as a scrapbooking tool, but as an office supply. For those of today's generation, files are known as the thing you keep documents in your PC. for people, files consist of vital papers and documents which are organized together. Punchers were used to put holes into those documents to accommodate a fastener. Punchers are used today to make perfect circles on scrapbooking pages.

B ) Formed punch. This kind of puncher, just about works in the same manner as the conventional puncher. However, the edges of the punching mechanism take different shapes to accommodate your creating needs. This scrapbooking tool is used to make different shaped holes in the pages of the scrapbook.

3 ) Tweezers. Tweezers are typically used as scrapbooking tools in order to enable the crafter to put in a design or to glue in a bit of paper tidily. You see, when making a scrapbook, you'll be working with different materials together with a large amount of glue. Due to this, there's a heavy risk of you smudging the different footage of the scrapbook. Tweezers are glorious scrapbooking tools to maintain the cleanliness of your handiwork.

4 ) Computer. This can be a brilliant scrapbooking tool due to the fact that it can do a whole host of things. On the PC, you can do research on what scrapbooking theme to use. This implies you are given more resources on the types of different themes and the ways that you can incorporate them in your scrapbook. You may use the computer to get more photographs to put in your scrapbook. By utilizing the PC, you get all a benefit of modern technology and can therefore, make your scrapbook into anything you like. But, more importantly it allows you to explore digital scrapbooking software.

Scrapbooking tools permit people to have a less complicated time crafting their scrapbook pages. However, you need to remember that in some cases mistakes actually make a scrapbook more personal and make you, the scrapbooker more touchable. Mistakes show the human side of you. Like the memories you show on a scrapbook, the making of it shouldn't always be perfect, but it should be fun.

C. Gibson is a scrapbooking and photography enthusiast who loves scrapbooking for friends and family. If you are interested in digital scrapbooking software or scrapbook storage she highly recommends these places.

Evolution of the Scrapbook

What are the roots of today's digital scrapbook? A scrapbook is a visual method of storytelling to preserve a legacy of history in the form of photographs, printed media and memorabilia presented artistically in decorated albums. The digital scrapbook can be traced back to ancient Greece, where a special notebook known as a "hypomnemata" was used to record events people had heard, seen or read that they wanted to preserve and remember.

In early America, some of the most well-known scrapbookers included Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain. An avid scrapbooker, Mark Twain devoted entire Sundays to the hobby and then sold his books through Montgomery Ward.

In the 15th century, books called commonplace books, often used by students, were used to record prayers, poems and information such as weights and medical formulas. Eventually, commonplace books also held illustrations, newspaper clippings and recipes, and proved to be a valuable way to share information.

With the advent of photography, scrapbooks began to feature mounted photos with handwritten captions. A scrapbook layout might include letters, newspaper articles and other mementos. Young women in the Victorian period created memory books, friendship albums or visitor's albums containing signatures, cards, locks of hair, poetry and pictures of their family and friends to give as gifts or preserve memories.

The Traditional Scrapbook

In the United States, Utah's Marielen Christensen is often credited with reviving interest in scrapbooking. She began designing creative pages and three-ring binders for her family's photo memories and displayed them at the World Conference on Records. She and her husband published a how-to book, Keeping Memories Alive, and opened a scrapbook store in 1981 that remains open today.

The traditional art of scrapbooking has often brought women together socially to make scrapbooks and share their work and memories. These hobbyists, known as scrapbookers or scrappers, still gather at each other's homes, local scrapbook stores, scrapbooking conventions and retreat centers. The term "crop," a reference to cropping or trimming printed photos, was coined to describe these events.

In the late 1990s, many U.S. scrappers opened stores to turn their hobby into a business. Between 2001 and 2004, the scrapbooking industry doubled in size to $2.5 billion, with more than 1,600 companies creating scrapbooking products by 2003. In America, the hobby has surpassed golf in popularity: One in four households has a golf enthusiast; one in three has a scrapbooking enthusiast!

Scrapping Goes Digital

Naturally, scrapbooking has modernized with the computer age. Creating a digital scrapbook is the process of using a scrapbook layout to create pages using photo- or image-editing software. Digital scrappers import electronic photos and scrapbooking graphics into their image-editing programs and arrange them to create digital scrapbook pages.

Digital scrapping was inspired by the methods, style and culture of traditional scrapbooking. Today's scrapbook layout and computer programs are designed to capture the look and feel of traditional scrapbooking and provide creative control over all the elements--even ones on premade templates.

And the social element remains intact in the digital scrapping world. Many digital scrappers get together to share their digital resources and knowledge about editing programs. They read blogs, attend scrapbook conventions and meet others in online digital scrapbooking chat rooms and forums. It's easier than ever to share a digital scrapbook with anyone, anywhere!

Time and money savings are among other benefits digital scrapbookers realize over glue-and-paper scrapping. In addition, while a traditional scrapbook layout and photos can fade or yellow over time, a computer-generated scrapbook layout is archived in a digital format where it's kept safe from the effects of time, heat, oxidation and other factors. A digital scrapbook layout never loses its detail or color.

Another feature people love about the digital scrapbook is that they can add small notes or embellishments to each photo in the scrapbook layout to convey the story more vividly. This allows them to add their own creativity to the scrapbook layout.

With digital photography rising quickly, many scrapbookers edit all their photos on the computer before they ever put them in an album. They remove red eyes, crop distracting backgrounds and enhance the color of images, sharpening the overall effect of their digital scrapbook and giving it a professional look.

Traditional scrappers are realizing they don't have to learn programming to create a digital scrapbook or photo collage. This part of the digital scrapbook has been catered to by professionals and is served to the scrapper on a platter in the form of a premade template and scrapbook layout, often featuring themes carrying mass appeal.

Scrapbooking has come a long way since ancient Greece, but its purpose and effects remain the same, and the digital scrapbook will only boost the popularity of this ancient art, helping preserve special memories for centuries to come!

Digital scrapbooking diva Sasha Byers explores the world of documenting memories digitally, providing insight and ideas on how to create digital photo collages and scrapbooks. She offers tips on scrapbooking important events, travels and major life periods such as childhood, school athletics and a child's transition out of the nest. She also debunks common myths about digital scrapbooking and addresses frequent questions on this popular new hobby. Sasha's blogs provide answers, tips and digital scrapbooking ideas to help you create sharper, more attractive scrapbooks in half the time

Learn more about our photo collage maker at the Artopia Photo Collage Maker Community

Connect with others and share your scrapbook layouts at the Artopia Photo Collage Maker Community

Monday, October 24, 2011

Western Scrapbooking Pages Free

Western scrapbooking pages, free of charge, can be found on the Internet and in scrapbooking magazines. Scrapbooking is one of those hobbies in which people enjoy sharing pages they have created. Whether novice or professional, they want to help others have similar happy experiences.

Sources of Western Scrapbooking Pages

Western scrapbooking pages, free for copying, appear in many places on the Internet. You might want to try these options.

1. Galleries: Scrapbooking galleries are probably one of the best places to find western scrapbooking pages free. These galleries feature photos of successful scrapbooking pages, free for you to borrow from their creators. Scrapbook has nearly 350,000 images in their gallery, including both layouts and digital layouts of scrapbooking pages. A search there on the word "western" produced 214 western scrapbooking pages at the time this article was written. A mouse click at this gallery enlarges any photo so you can easily see the elements.

2. Forums and Chat Rooms: You may also find western scrapbooking pages free in forums and chat rooms. Sometimes, if you are cooperative, a forum member may even volunteer to create a western scrapbooking page free to meet your specific needs. Forum members are often scrapbooking "addicts" who love to share their talents.

3. Scrapbooking Kits: Online retailers who sell scrapbooking kits often feature 2 or 3 kits, showing large pictures of scrapbooking pages within the kits. The pages are copyrighted, but the ideas can be adapted. Digital scrapbooking kits are sometimes free for the taking as an introduction to a site's digital elements. You may find just the western scrapbooking pages you want on a kit site.

4. Scrapbooking Stamp Retailers: Online retailers of stamps often show scrapbooking pages to illustrate what their stamps will add to a layout. We found lovely western scrapbooking pages free at one of these sites.

5. Scrapbooking Supplies Retailers: Internet retailers who sell an array of scrapbooking supplies follow the same practice: placing photos of samples to spark ideas, or giving 2 or 3 scrapbooking pages free as an introductory offer. Browse these retailers' sites and you will come away with many ideas for western scrapbooking pages.

Do-It-Yourself Digital Western Scrapbooking Pages

Digital western scrapbooking pages can be created at your computer if you are handy with a computer graphics program. We use Adobe PhotoShop.

Begin by creating scrapbooking paper. Make your paper 12" x 12" for now. It can be reduced later if necessary. Create digital scrapbooking paper in several themes for your scrapbooking pages. These three ideas will get you started.

1. Western Riding Scrapbooking Pages

Make the paper background medium to light brown with a sandy texture.

Place a clear layer in front of the brown, and add words to it such as "Western" or "cowboy" to carry the theme. You won't need many words. Vary the font for interest. This layer is optional on your scrapbooking page.

Find 1 or 2 clipart or photo images of cowboy hats. Then find a cowboy boot, saddle, and spurs. Add a rope if you wish. Once you have the graphics, create a pattern on your brown paper, repeating it at pleasing intervals.

2. Horseshoe Scrapbooking Pages

Make the paper background light brown, and then render clouds with light brown and ivory.

Find a clipart image of a steel gray horseshoe. Create a pattern over the clouds, repeating the horseshoe at intervals until the paper is covered.

3. Man and Beast Shoes Scrapbooking Pages

Begin by creating horseshoe scrapbooking paper. Add small clipart images of cowboy boots at wide intervals over top of the horseshoes. It's good to have 3 different pairs of cowboy boots for interest.

Completing Western Scrapbooking Pages

Once your scrapbooking paper is ready, you can make digital western scrapbooking pages on it. Place cropped, scanned photos on each page. Overlap photos, with a piece of journaling placed to one side. Add a page title in bold, western font. Half a dozen wild mustangs in ivory or off-white might be placed at a page bottom, as though dashing in from one side. Add digital stickers to your scrapbooking pages and move to the next.

Tip: Western scrapbooking pages look best when "busy" cowboy paper is used intermittently with plain, more colorful backgrounds.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about scrapbooking pages at http://www.scrapbooking-for-fun.com Anna is posting new articles every week on that site. If you like free scrapbooking pages, you won?t want to miss her article on free digital scrapbooking frames.

How To Scrapbook For More Than One Child

Scrapbooking can be a delightful way to corral those family photos and memories into an exciting book. Scrapbooking can be relaxing for you as you do it, and a pleasure as you share it.

Books and articles on scrapbooking for 1 child abound, but suppose you have more than 1 child. Suppose you have 7 children. Then you need a book or article on how to scrapbook for more than 1 child.

You Have Scrapbooking Options

Those who want to scrapbook for more than 1 child have several exciting options.

1. Make a full-blown scrapbook for each. If you have many photos and memories to preserve, this allows the most space for each child. Your scrapbooking will require more time and money, but will be a labor of love.

The book's theme will focus on that one child. Place his or her photo and name on the front, and theme every scrapbooking page to that child's life.

You will use family photos, of course, to show the place the child held in family activities. But you will want pages that focus solely on that child: baby "firsts"; first year of school; favorite hobbies; favorite toys; dreams; birthdays; awards; graduation; etc. If a photo shows two of the children together, focus your journaling on that one child's part in the photo. How did the world look from his eyes or her eyes? Our memories are always, I have found, as seen through our eyes. Do mention the second child, but spotlight the first.

As each child becomes able, he or she can help add new pages to his or her scrapbook. Scrapbooking can be a time of bonding and love that will long be remembered.

When they leave home as young adults, they can take their individual scrapbooks with them. As they mature, they will come to realize what it meant in time, effort, and cost for you to provide these treasured scrapbooking memories.

2. Make a mini scrapbook for each. If you have fewer photos, want to be more selective, or simply have very little time for scrapbooking, a mini scrapbook will still provide individual, tangible memories that can be carried into adult life.

Select just one theme for each double-page spread, with one or two photos on each. Tie the photos together with your theme, mounting them on the same color of torn paper or using identical frames.

Mini scrapbooking will not allow for as many family or sibling photos, but remember that this is a book about one child. When you make a mini scrapbook for each child, you can rest assured that each will get full attention. There will be no "left-out" feelings.

A mini scrapbook can be no larger than 6" x 6". Or it can be half the size of a standard letter: 5.5" x 8.5". You can read details about how to make your own mini scrapbooks in my article entitled, "How to do Mini Scrapbooks".

Digital mini scrapbooks would be interesting for children, since they live in a computerized world. Digital mini scrapbooks can be less expensive to make, and people who are comfortable with one of the computer graphics programs, such as "Adobe PhotoShop", will be able to apply interesting effects that are not possible with conventional scrapbooking.

3. Make a family scrapbook for each. A third way to scrapbook for more than one child is to make a family scrapbook for each. Less attention will be paid to individual children, in such a book, and focus placed on the entire family unit.

Your scrapbooking theme is your entire family, including every family member. Place the family name on the cover, and a nice family photo, if you wish. On the title page, write a note about the family as a whole.

Scrapbooking a single volume of memories will call for both family memories and individual memories. Theme your pages to focus on high lights of family life. Begin with Dad and Mom - the wedding, especially. You will still have a scrapbooking page for each child's birth, but there will probably be insufficient space for every "first" of every child. Try to include true highlights of each child's life. Include amusing times as well as those that were less pleasant. Include school events; sports; musical interests; birthdays; awards, graduations, and family pets.

You may still want to include your children's scrapbooking efforts as they become old enough to take part in the process. Scrapbooking family memories will give opportunity to discuss those memories, and solidify them in each one's mind.

When each child leaves home, for college attendance, to marry, etc., make a copy of the book as it is at that time, and present it as a going-away gift. Office supply stores or copy centers can copy each page in color on heavy paper or cardstock, and bind them with s durable spiral binding. Covers can be copied in color or black and white on cover stock.

Your scrapbooking gifts will vary for each child, according to when they leave home, but personal family memories of their time at home will be preserved.

4. Make a Perpetual Digital Scrapbook. If you want to scrapbook for more than 1 child with the least time involvement, you may want to consider a perpetual digital scrapbook.

Digital scrapbooking may contain hundreds, or even thousands, of pages, and yet take up no more space than a small computer CD. Digital scrapbooks allow you to add pages, even when the family is grown and dispersed.

Digital scrapbooks need never be printed. You can include individual pages of every child's "firsts" as well as all of your family photos. Throughout life, you can continue to make pages. As each is completed, simply attach it to e-mail and send it to every family member. They can add each page to their scrapbooking CD, and continue the family album.

TIP: A digital scrapbook on a CD in a bank safe deposit box is the safest way to store your family memories. Your digital scrapbook will be safe from fire, floods, and other disasters.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about scrapbooking at http://www.scrapbooking-for-fun.com Anna is posting new articles every week on that site, each one dealing with a scrapbooking topic. If you decide to solve the problem of how to scrapbook for more than 1 child by doing a digital mini scrapbook as suggested above, you won?t want to miss her article on the subject.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Creating the Perfect Ideas for Scrapbooking

Coming up with scrapbooking ideas can be difficult, but with practice and imagination, anyone can do it!

One thing I recommend is looking at others' scrapbooks, or flipping through your favorite scrapbook magazine! This helps you get ideas for scrapbooks you might want to make, and come out with layout ideas. You want to be original, don't steal their scrapbook ideas, instead customize their ideas for scrapbook layouts! This can help open the door to your own creativity!

Going through your own pictures is another way to create scrapbooking ideas. There may be a birthday party or special occasion that you forgot to scrapbook and may not have realized it. This always helps me come up with great scrapbook ideas and layout ideas!

Look at your materials. Often, making ideas for scrapbooks and layout ideas is easier when you know what you've got. And this saves you the time of running out and purchasing whatever you need, because it's all ready right in front of you!

Keeping up with scrapbook trends help generate ideas for scrapbook layouts. Take some of these trends and make them into your own scrapbook ideas. You don't want to stick to the trends too much because who wants their scrapbook to look just like someone else's? Use the trends for scrapbooking ideas and scrapbook layout help.

One more good way to get ideas for scrapbook layouts is to talk to other scrapbookers! Search around to find if they have any scrapbook events in your area. This is great for finding helpful scrapbook ideas and for showing others your own skills and ideas for scrapbook layouts! Remember, you're not the only one out there looking for ideas for scrapbooks or scrapbook layout help! You may even make a scrapbooking friend to swap scrapbook layout help with!

There are all kinds of scrapbooking materials online [http://www.start-scrapbooking.com/suppliesreview.html].T. Ashley has been scrapbooking for many years, along with teaching other to scrapbook, and is also the founder of and maintains [http://www.start-scrapbooking.com]

Free Scrapbooking Ideas - Advantages and Disadvantages

Ideas are very valuable. Yet somehow it seems that people have always underestimated the true power of ideas. However, the world today is finally starting to realize the importance of ideas and now thrives on taking action on those ideas and turning them into something.

We need ideas to fuel creativity. In scrapbooking, ideas can be crucial factors on whether or not you are able to create that perfect scrapbook. It is usually best for you come up with your own ideas when creating a scrapbook. But we all need help sometimes and to give you a bit of help there are places where you can find free scrapbooking ideas.

Here are a few places where you look to find free scrapbooking ideas...

1) Other people - We all know that all ideas come from people. What this article is trying to point out, however, is the fact that you should ask other scrapbookers for some free scrapbooking ideas. By doing so, you might just brew up a good brainstorming session and get some really useful scrapbooking ideas. You will probably even think up a few ideas to share as well.

2) The internet - The internet is a huge resource for all kinds of scrapbooking ideas. On the internet, there are numerous sites that give free scrapbooking ideas you can use. By searching around the internet you will find many free scrapbooking ideas, and you also get to access many different types of inspirational boosters. This will actually help you produce scrapbooking ideas of your own.

The internet can also provide you lots of resources to find what other people think of a certain scrapbooking idea. By getting these opinions you can get a better glimpse of what free scrapbooking ideas might work for you. You also get a lot of advice as to how to implement a certain scrapbooking idea. Because of this, you will have an easier time designing your scrapbook.

3) Craft magazines - Different magazines specialize in crafts and may offer you free scrapbooking ideas. By reading magazines like these, you actually gain access not only to free scrapbooking ideas, but also to ideas for other crafts. Also, these magazines can give you various tips on what to do and what not to do when creating your own scrapbook.

Craft magazines also sometimes come with supplements and materials that you can use in implementing different scrapbooking ideas. This means that you have access to the "what" and the "how" of scrapbooking.

What are some advantages of free scrapbooking ideas?

1) You save money - Of course, the word "free" should clue you in to the fact that you do not have to spend anything in order to get free scrapbooking ideas. By finding free scrapbooking ideas, it's possible to actually make money. Scrapbooking ideas today, especially good ones, can lead to a very lucrative business venture if you want to pursue that route.

2) Less effort - By using free scrapbooking ideas, you save yourself the hassles of thinking up a theme or a design of the scrapbook. If you have some free scrapbooking ideas, you can just move on with the stage of making the scrapbook itself. This saves you a lot of effort, especially if you are the type of person who changes his or her mind constantly.

3) Save you time - When you use free scrapbooking ideas, you can actually skip the whole thinking process and just start getting creative. This is a big advantage in today's world where none of us seem to have enough time.

What are some disadvantages of free scrapbooking ideas?

1) Lack of individuality - If you use free scrapbooking ideas, your scrapbook will lack a certain quality of your personality. When you use someone else's idea, you strip yourself of the fulfillment that comes with creating a scrapbook straight from your own creativity.

2) Less satisfaction - Using free scrapbooking ideas from someone else usually leaves you less satisfied with the final outcome. Although there really are no guarantees about how a creation will turn out, using your own ideas means you know more about what changes to make in order to bring the scrapbook up to your satisfaction. Remember the more you know about your scrapbook, the easier it will be for you to perfect it.

To summarize, there are many places where you can get free scrapbooking ideas to help you create your perfect scrapbook. There are advantages to using these free ideas but there are also disadvantages. I suggest using a combination of your own scrapbooking ideas and the ideas of others, at least until you build up enough of your own ideas to easily create scrapbook pages.

About the author:

Trisha Browning has helped hundreds of people create amazing scrapbooks. She is also the writer of the Ultimate Scrapbooking Guide. You can get her free scrapbooking ecourse at http://ultimatescrapbookguide.com

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Your Wedding Scrapbook - Preserving Your Special Occasion

There are many events that are perfect for archiving such memories, and what better occasion to do so than your own wedding. Whether you had a small, intimate wedding with only a few guests present, or opted for a large celebration with everyone you know, and perhaps some you didn't, there are plenty of items you could include in your wedding scrapbook, and many ways to arrange them in order to recapture that very special day over and over again.

Selecting Photos for your Wedding Scrapbook

The first items you will probably want to scrapbook will be your wedding pictures. Photos can, and often do, tell a story. They can walk you through the events of that special day every time your scrapbook is viewed. The only difficulty may be choosing which ones you should include, since you will probably have many from which to choose. They will also give your children and grandchildren something to talk about as the book is passed down through generations.

Your wedding scrapbook would not be complete without pictures of the building where the ceremony took place, you walking down the aisle, and, of course, the wedding ceremony itself. You may also want to include photos of the reception, the cutting of the cake, and you and your new spouse leaving the building. These special events will then be cataloged for years of enjoyment in your very own special wedding scrapbook.

Choosing a Theme

Creating a theme that depicts your thoughts and feelings you had on your wedding day is important. A distinctive wedding scrapbook or album is essential, as it will help you to always remember the people who helped to make your day what it was. Writing down the events and the emotions you had when they occurred will also serve as a record or journal, and will supplement the pictures quite nicely.

Organizing Your Memories

There are several ways to organize a wedding scrapbook, and many layouts from which to choose. When putting together your wedding scrapbook, color is extremely important, as it will accentuate the photos and other material. Many people choose to use their own wedding colors, but you can choose other color combinations if you prefer. Even if you do choose to use your wedding colors, you may want to use other colors to add variety to your scrapbook pages and layouts. For example, if your colors were burgundy and green, you could add cream, light pink, or yellow to accent the darker colors. Putting different colors together will give your layouts a distinctive look and set them apart from other wedding scrapbooks.

Your wedding scrapbook should look elegant and charming, so you might want to add embellishments. These, as well as the right color scheme will make your wedding scrapbook unique and appealing. One option is to use vellum paper. Vellum looks elegant and is easy to find. Eyelets, brads, and ribbons are also suggested embellishments that will add character and personality to your wedding scrapbook.

Floral patterns also work great for wedding scrapbooks. They tend to match well with wedding décor, and lend themselves to the overall wedding theme. Your choices are numerous, so don't be afraid to experiment until you find the color scheme, embellishments, and patterns that work best for you.

There are many different themes you can use to capture the love and affection felt by everyone on your wedding day. One idea is to include marriage tips from more experienced individuals. These tips may serve as simple ideas or advice that might be useful to you and your spouse on down the road. Interesting anecdotes may also serve as a fun read. You can even incorporate this as an activity at your bridal shower or bachelor party, whereby, other married people write down their tips and give them to you for the scrapbook. You can also include photos of the married couples that will serve as captions for the tips.

Another wedding scrapbooking idea is to incorporate any interests of the bride and groom that may have been a part of the overall wedding theme. For example, some couples choose to make personal interests a part of their wedding. If you or your spouse to be enjoys playing golf, you may depict this at your wedding reception. Guests may be provided with wedding favors that are golf-related and have been customized for the event. You might want to devote a page or two in your wedding scrapbook to this, and include photos or items small enough to fit on a page. This is your opportunity to be as creative as possible, while making a wedding scrapbook that will truly record your very special day.

A More Personal Approach

You may want to create a wedding scrapbook that is not considered to be traditional. There are many ways to set yours apart from others, thereby, taking the untraditional route. When planning your wedding scrapbook, you should focus around your lives together, while catering to your individual personalities. If desired, you can include pictures of memorable events that took place before your marriage, their respective dates, and any photos you may wish to add. You may also want to include your spouse in the scrapbooking activities. This will allow both your personalities to come through, and will be something the two of you can work on together.

You can add mementos and items such as the wedding invitations, reception napkins or cards. Scrapbook stores sell memory pockets for these types of items, and are easy to incorporate in your wedding scrapbook. You also might want to include any congratulatory notes or cards from friends and family you may have received during your engagement. This will add a more personal touch, and will further personalize your scrapbook. It will also serve as a reminder of your feelings during such an anticipatory time.

No matter what you decide to include in your wedding scrapbook, choose carefully. Take as much time as you need when deciding on colors, a theme, and the various photos and items you will include. Your wedding scrapbook will be a very important part of your new family, and will help preserve memories for many years to come.

Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a wedding scrapbook [http://www.lifeimprints.com] and scrapbooking supplies company in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging industry for 10 years. Cardello helps customers find creative ways to preserve and appreciate a lifetime of memories.

Making Use of Scrapbooking Supplies

Scrapbooking tools are essential to creating a successful scrapbook. The supplies for scrapbooking are what make your scrapbook come to life. What most people don't know is that there are many ways that you can use ordinary scrapbook supplies and do something extraordinary with them. I'm going to walk you through a few tips and tricks of scrapbooking, and teach you techniques to come up with your own scrapbooking ideas!

Take a rubber stamp, a scrapbooking material that every scrapbooker should have. You can use this scrapbooking tool to stamp images beside your photographs, or you can take it a step further by stamping a collage on solid-colored scrapbook paper to create a custom scrapbook page layout background. Also, you can color in your stamped images to bring them to life and make them pop out more on your scrapbook page.

Another scrapbooking tip to make use of your supplies for scrapbook is using scrapbook templates creatively. It's easy to become stumped while using this scrapbooking material. You can decorate around a photo, or even the border of a page. These scrapbook supplies can be used to draw an area the put your scrapbook journaling in, also. One other useful technique for scrapbook templates is for making a page header. There are many attractive letter templates that make for beautiful scrapbook page headers, or even write words around the border of a page with the letter template.

You can do creative things with a pair of scissors, also. Although decorative scissors with different patterns on the edge are nice, they are not a necessity of scrapbooking supplies. Cut mats for photos with creative borders, or use them with templates to cut out letters and other things to give a 3D effect on your scrapbook page.

Those are just a few of the many ways you can use scrapbook supplies. Be creative with your scrapbooking tools. To come up with original ways to use your supplies for scrapbooking, simply look at what others have done. Take ideas that you like, and alter them to fit your scrapbook. Use scrapbook tools in any way that you like. There are no rules.

Test your ideas out on scrap paper before you actually put it into your scrapbook. This way, you can see if you really like the idea or not, and tweak the design a bit to your liking. If you come up with something that you like, but don't know when you will use it, write it down for later reference.

Remember that there are no rules to using your scrapbooking materials and scrapbook supplies. Be creative!

There are all sorts of scrapbooking materials online [http://www.start-scrapbooking.com/suppliesreview.html]. T. Ashley has been scrapbooking for many years, along with teaching other to scrapbook, and is also the founder of and maintains [http://www.start-scrapbooking.com]

Friday, October 21, 2011

Starting a Successful Creative Scrapbooking Business, Part I

Creative scrapbooking has taken the world by storm. It's relaxing, fun, social... and, let's face it, incredibly addictive! After all, what scrapbooker doesn't smile with pride when she or he finishes a decorative project?

If you have the talent to create eye-catching, creative scrapbooks, you can actually turn your hobby into a lucrative creative scrapbooking career. In this three-part series, we'll show you some of the secrets to running a home-based creative scrapbooking company that regularly adds extra coins to your coffers!

Why Creative Scrapbooking?

People from all walks of life have photos and mementoes cluttering their homes. They'd love to organize and arrange them, but don't have the time (or, in some cases, the ability.) That's where you, as a professional scrapbooker, can step in!

Through creative scrapbooking, you can create delightful, entertaining, and touching memory books that will be certain to have a very long shelf life. Imagine... your scrapbook creations could someday become precious family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation!

What Types of Scrapbooks Sell?

Creative scrapbooking is an incredibly versatile field because you have virtually no boundaries. Graduation scrapbooks, family tree scrapbooks, baby scrapbooks, wedding scrapbooks, and achievement scrapbooks are only a few of the countless styles of creative scrapbooking inventions you can market.

Use your imagination; anything that's relatively flat can go into a scrapbook, so the sky's the limit.

Can Scrapbooking Really Be Profitable?

Creative scrapbooking, as with any legitimate business, won't make you rich overnight. But if you're determined and plan your creative scrapbooking operation pragmatically, you can absolutely make money from this burgeoning industry.

Best of all, creative scrapbooking is a low overhead industry. You'll need to start with a modest amount of scrapbooking supplies, but you can build your stock over time thanks to fast shipping and wholesale prices offered at Internet scrapbooking supply stores.

How Can I Start Professionally Scrapbooking?

Obviously, the first step to starting a creative scrapbooking company (even one with a single employee, aka "you") is to develop a business plan. This document should include an overview, financial information (including income and expense projections, marketing ideas, local competition statistics, and realistic growth rates.

Though you may not be able to find exact data to work into your creative scrapbooking business plan, try to be as complete as possible. The more information you include, the better your chances of success.

Do I Need Any Formal Training?

Though there are no credentials needed to call yourself a creative scrapbooking pro, you may want to take a few community courses on scrapbooking design. Doing so will keep you "in the know" as far as the latest products and trends are concerned; it will also provide you with fresh ideas to propose when working with clientele.

What Do I Need in Terms of Stock?

One of the most essential items you'll need to start a creative scrapbooking venture is scrapbooking paraphernalia. Chances are, you already have some supplies around your home, but if they aren't organized, it's time do so.

Invest in some bins (dollar stores have a plethora of options) and label them according to scrapbooking supplies, such as stickers, papers, backgrounds, adhesives, albums, markers, scrapbooking magazines (for inspiration), and borders. This way, you'll always know exactly how much of each scrapbooking necessity you have and can order more before you run out.

Do I Need to Rent a Space for My Scrapbooking Business?

Though it would certainly be wonderful to have an "offsite" locale for your creative scrapbooking enterprise, it's more likely that you'll need to make due with your current digs.

Anything from a corner of your family room to a renovated closet can serve as your creative scrapbooking "headquarters". Just make certain that you have enough space and light to work your magic and store your scrapbooking supplies!

What Will I Tell My Family?

If you're worried about "breaking" the news to your family that you're setting off on an entrepreneurial scrapbooking journey, you're not alone. Many first-time business owners are reticent to reveal their plans to loved ones for fear that their significant others will not be supportive.

With that said, it's critical to the long-term success of your creative scrapbooking business that you have the "buy in" of your kin. So take a deep breath, muster up all your courage, and boldly state, "I'm going to become a professional scrapbooker! And when the money starts coming in, the first dinner out is on me!"

The Next Step

Are you eager to start your creative scrapbooking adventure? In our next article, we'll explore how to set your prices and market and advertise your home-based scrapbooking services...

Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a creative scrapbooking [http://www.lifeimprints.com] supplies company also offering contemporary picture frames, in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging industry for 10 years. Cardello helps customers find creative ways to preserve and appreciate a lifetime of memories.

Weekly Scrapbooking Page Ideas

Scrapbooking pages call for imagination and creativity. Sometimes, though, you feel as though you've run out of ideas. You have used your last idea and you wish there were a regular source - a "service station" where you could get a refill on ideas. You may want digital ideas, printable ideas, or layouts for a conventional scrapbooking page.

Weekly scrapbooking page ideas would be nice, wouldn't they? There are scrapbooking "service stations" that offer weekly scrapbooking page ideas. There are also ways to find weekly scrapbooking page ideas without those sites.

Websites Offer Weekly Scrapbooking Page Ideas

You can find weekly scrapbooking page ideas on the Internet. You won't always find them by typing that phrase into a search engine, though. You may need to be creative. Here are two places we found weekly scrapbooking page ideas.

* The better scrapbooking supplies websites offer weekly scrapbooking page ideas on their site. They have a page or two that change each week, showing a new layout or other scrapbooking page idea.

* Some scrapbooking sites offer a FREE newsletter with weekly scrapbooking page ideas. All they require is a name and valid e-mail address. As a bonus, they may even offer FREE scrapbooking supplies to newsletter subscribers.

Gleaning Weekly Scrapbooking Page Ideas

Another way to find weekly scrapbooking page ideas is to establish your own weekly route of "service stations" to fill up on ideas. Visit the same scrapbooking stations once a week, and see what is new. Often a new kit or other element will give you an idea. The website station may not be offering it as a scrapbooking page idea, but when you see it, you glean ideas from it. Let's look at how this can be done. Follow these 7 steps.

1. If you haven't yet learned to add "bookmarks" in your Internet browser, do it now. Go to your browser's "Help" button on the menu at the top of the page. Learn to add new folders, and to add new bookmarks to those folders.

2. Add a new folder in your bookmarks. Name it "IDEAS" or "STATIONS" or some other appropriate word.

3. Establish your route of service stations by setting aside time to locate the scrapbooking page sites you like. You can choose from hundreds. Look for sites that offer free ideas, weekly or not. Most like to add new materials to keep customers coming back. Keep your eyes open for kits, layout ideas in kits, and titles. All of these can spark ideas.

4. Be sure you include sites that offer samples of scrapbooking pages done by other scrapbookers. "Gallery" is a great sign!

5. One-by-one, bookmark the scrapbooking page sites you like. Add each bookmark to the new folder you created.

6. When you have visited, and bookmarked every scrapbooking page site you like, you will have your weekly scrapbooking page ideas route. These are your "service stations" where you can fill up your tank of ideas.

7. Now, you can routinely visit every site on your route on a weekly basis, gleaning scrapbooking page ideas. Whether your scrapbook is conventional or digital, you will find many ideas simply by seeing what is added to the different websites.

Local Weekly Scrapbooking Page Ideas

No matter where you live, there are local weekly scrapbooking page ideas, free for the taking. All you have to do is go for a walk, jog, ride a bicycle, or visit your local mall. Focus on what's happening around you. Open your eyes to the scenes and activity you've been missing.

If you visit a local park, and watch children, you may suddenly see a scene that is a perfect scrapbooking page idea. It reminded you of something your own children did, or an occasion when your family was in a park.

When you're sitting in the mall, observing people, you see a couple stop for a snack. Something about the way he treats her reminds you of your own courtship, and you jot down a new scrapbooking page idea.

As you jog or ride your bicycle along a path you've often taken, you focus on things that had become commonplace. You see that path as it used to look when you pushed your baby stroller there. A new scrapbooking page idea.

You see someone delivering newspapers, and you get an idea for your scrapbooking page about your first job - found in a classified ad.

Helpful Tip

Weekly scrapbooking page ideas are all around us, waiting for free pickup. If you establish a time for collecting them, you will soon have all you can use.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about scrapbooking pages at http://www.scrapbooking-for-fun.com. Anna is posting new articles every week on that site. You won?t want to miss her article on scrapbooking page ideas for passports.