10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Started Scrapbooking

1. Never use your original photos, but if you do make sure you still have the negatives. I was in a pageant once back in my glory days and won a national title. It was something I enjoyed and was proud of and of course I wanted to make a scrapbook about it. I had taken tons of photos during my reign and receive lots of professional photos from the pageant system itself. Not knowing any better, I used the originals in my scrapbook. This is when I first started scrapping so it wasn't the best looking scrapbook compared to my skill level now. Anyways, I had used the original photos and of course I only had one copy of the professional photos I had and I didn't save my negatives of the ones I took.

I now would like to redo the scrapbook I had made years ago but don't want to destroy the old scrapbook trying to take the photos out of it or destroy the photos trying to get them out of the book. Fortunately, I was able to scan the photos in my original scrapbook and make more copies but it was such a hassle and a little difficult trying to get the pages to sit right in my scanner to scan. Not something I would ever want to do again!

2. Keep digital copies or negatives and make backup disks. Most of us these days use digital cameras. Always save all the photos you take on your computer and then back them up onto discs and put in a safe place. You can always delete photos later on your computer if you need the space and feel confident that you have the digital copies saved on your backup discs.

It's really ridiculous the amount of photos I take! A few times a year I will make backup disc of my photos. Another tip is to keep your back up discs or a copy of them in your firebox or fire safe. If you have the time, you should scan some of your heirloom photos that you don't have the negatives or digital copies of so that you can have backups on discs as well. There have been so many people who have had house fires, experienced flooding or other freak and natural disasters and have lost all of their family photos. By putting backup discs in firebox you have a chance of recovering some of your family photos if your albums have been ruined or destroyed.

3. Journaling is very important. As we get older...some of us become forgetful! If we didn't have a picture or something that happened we probably wouldn't even have remembered it happened at all. And many times we can't recall the details or the entire story behind the photos we take or our memory fades as the years pass and we leave out some of the good parts to the stories. So I advise everyone to put journaling on as many pages as possible. Even if its just a few words or the date.

Something I recently started to do is go through my photos when I print them or have them developed and write little notes and file them in a photo box along with the photos. Then when I got to scrap them, I'll have notes to guide me when I want to add journaling to the pages.

4. Start off with the cheaper papers and cardstock. When your getting your feet wet in scrapbooking you make mistakes. The more you do it the better you get. So start off with the cheaper papers until you get better at it. Buying kits when they go on sale is a great way to make some pages and get some ideas on how to put the pages together. Purchase the stacks of scrapbook paper when they go on sale as well. Buying stacks allows you to get a lot of paper and cardstock for a lower price than buying them by the sheets.

5. Pinking shears and punches not necessary. When your first starting out I wouldn't invest too much money into these items. The cost can add up and you will find later that you may not use them as much as you thought you would. Be selective when buying punches and buy on sale. Punches can be costly and you don't want to spend money on something you might use once or twice. You can ask fellow scrappers what they think of shears and punches you are thinking about buying. Also if you have a local scrapbook store, often times they let you use their tools for free so you can test them out and see if they are worth buying.

6. Never pay full price for anything scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is such an expensive hobby. Never, ever, ever pay full price for any supplies! Something related to scrapbooking is on sale very week at any of your craft stores. One week it might be papers and the next adhesives or tools. Keep a list of items you need and wait for them to go on sale.

7. Many of us don't have the luxury of having a craft and hobby store in our town. Some of us have to drive to another city to be able to shop at a craft store and sometimes it doesn't seem worth it with the amount of gas and time it takes to get there. Thank goodness for the Internet! Now we have some really wonderful stores online that carry even more scrapbooking supplies than our local craft or scrapbook stores! Just like the brick and mortar stores, these online stores have awesome sales and clearance departments and best of all...many frequently run free shipping offers or low shipping rate offers. Some of my favorite online stores are Joanns,A Cherry On Top and Scrapbook.com.

8. Using acid free materials is so very important! You spend a lot of time making your beautiful scrapbooks and treasure those photos that you take so why not do everything you can to keep them looking their best! Acid free, lignin free and archival materials help slow the aging process of your photos and papers. It helps to prevent damage and deterioration of your precious memories!

Two great products to keep on hand made by Krylon are Preserve It and Make It Acid-Free. Preserve It - Gloss 11 Ounces or Preserve It - Matte 11 Ounces extends the life of your digital photos and prints. Its moisture-resistant, protects against fading, acid free and archival safe. By spraying a layer on your printed items from your computer, fax, copier, as well as your scrapbooking materials, artwork and presentations you give your items added protection from damage. Make It Acid-Free Aerosol Spray raises the ph levels in acidic papers and helps to slow the aging process. It helps to prevent the papers from becoming brittle. I like to use this on newspaper clippings, ticket stubs and receipts.

9. Use the photo for inspiration for creating the layout. When you first start out scrapbooking it is a lot easier to create a page around based on the photos you want to use. For example, one of my first pages I want to make was of my kids playing in a bubble bath. I picked papers with all different sized polka dots in different colors to represent the bubbles and used some bath embellishments to accent the pages.

10. Do research on new tools before purchasing! Some scrapbooking tools are pretty cheap to buy but some can be pricey or just downright expensive! Do your research before your purchase scrapbooking tools. Even those pretty cheap tools you get could add up to a hefty amount and you might not even use need them, may not work that well or later find something that may be a little bit more expensive but has more features. Check out the manufacturers websites and read up on the specs and features of the product. Look at similar products that other manufacturers carry and compare them. Read product reviews on online stores such as Joanns that are left by people who have purchased and used the products you are interested in. You can also check out or post questions about the tools you are thinking about buying on scrapbook message boards and networking sites.