Basic Scrapbooking Supplies Needed for a Beginner Scrapbooker

Scrapbooking is fun, relaxing and is a great hobby to get into. It's good for the soul to reflect on great memories. However, many beginners often make the mistake of over buying supplies. I know when I first started scrapbooking I bought so many tools and papers only to figure out later that I only used a handful of those tools and about a quarter of the paper I bought.

Here are some basic items that you will need to get started in scrapbooking. As you become more experienced you will add to your supplies. When that time comes, really give it some thought before you purchase, especially new tools. You might buddy up with fellow scrappers in your area and try out tools your friends might have that you are considering purchasing. Also, check out scrapbooking stores for crop nights or open crop hours where you can come in and use their tools for free. This is an excellent way to try before you buy or you can save money by just using their tools.

Paper Trimmer:

When you are just starting out you should invest in a paper trimmer. There are some good inexpensive ones and if you find that you enjoy scrapbooking then you will most likely upgrade to a higher end trimmer. When I first started scrapping I purchased a Cutterpede. I really liked it but the arm had broken off but I was able to tape it back together and continue to use it.

However, if you have the money to invest in a high end paper trimmer from the start, I would suggest you go ahead and purchase it. I eventually upgraded to a Deluxe Purple Cow Trimmer. I absolutely love it and wished I had upgraded sooner. You will find that you will use your paper trimmer for more than just scrapbooking. And the cheaper trimmers break more easily than the more expensive ones that are usually more durable.

Adhesives:

There are a wide variety of adhesives and so may different brands you can use for scrapbooking. There are bottled glues, glue sticks, glue dots, glue pens, foam tape, double-sided tape, tape runners, mounting squares and spray adhesives. There are even special adhesives for mounting vellum and ribbon to your pages. Most adhesive types come in either repositional or permanent. Some beginners prefer repositional because they want to be able to move items around on the page and not have to be committed to where they first put it.

Adhesives can be expensive and it is something you use a lot of in scrapbooking. Finding what you like to work with is the hard part. For a beginner, I would suggest starting with a glue stick, a bottle of glue, tape runner and/or glue dots. As you get more experienced, you can experiment with other types of adhesives. As a veteran scrapper, I find that I use bottled glue, double-sided tape, Glue Dots and spray adhesives the most. The most important thing is to make sure the adhesive you are using is ACID FREE!

Scissors:

A really good sharp pair of scissors is important. I have two sizes, a really good pair of large scissors and a pair of medium/small scissors. I tend to get glue on my scissors so I only use the medium scissors for cutting things that may leave glue on my shears. I use the small medical alcohol squares to clean my scissors from glue.

Black Archival Pen:

My favorite scrapbooking pen is the Zip Millennium Pen. This awesome pen is pigment ink that is acid free, archival safe, lightfast, waterproof, fade proof and doesn't bleed. I prefer black but it also comes in red, yellow, green and blue.

Cardstock and Patterned Paper:

When you are starting out in scrapbooking it is nice to get a few page kits to test the waters with. These page kits have everything you need to create a beautiful scrapbook page. Most page kits come with cardstock, patterned paper, die cuts, stickers and embellishments such as ribbon, brads and flowers. The only thing you need is a pair of scissors and some adhesive. The kits usually come with some instructions or photos of layouts that you could replicate to make it easy to put together your layouts.

In my own opinion, the next step would be to move on to stacks. Stacks are pads of paper that are fairly reasonable in price. Some stacks have cardstock, patterned paper, die cut punch-outs and stickers. Others are all patterned paper and some have a matching stack of cardstock that you can purchase separately. DCWV, which stands for Die Cuts With a View, has some awesome stacks at a great price. Many craft or scrapbooking stores run sales on these stacks and you can get them for 40-50% off which make them around $10.00 a stack.

I would also recommend K&Company because they have beautiful stacks that are usually double-sided paper and you can buy a whole slew of matching embellishments such as tags, chipboard, 3D embellishments, die cuts and more. The next step would be mix and match brands and purchase your own cardstock, paper and embellishments

The best advice I can give a beginning scrapbooking is to give some thought to the supplies you are purchasing, basically don't buy on impulse. Always buy on sale unless you absolutely have to have it right away. And definitely check out scrapbooking websites, scrapbooking magazines and books and YouTube.com to learn about new scrapbooking techniques, get ideas and educate yourself about the fun and exciting world of scrapbooking.