Craft Supplies and Scrapbooking

For all those new scrapbooker's out there, I'm going to let you in on a secret. You are not limited to the scrapbook supply aisle at the craft store.

The purpose of a scrapbook is to document an event and/or memory and preserve it for other people to see. Typically this means a photo, journaling block, title and some stickers, rub-ons or embellishments. Who wants to be typical? Scrapbooking is also about self expression. It's about showing your viewpoint of an event and expressing yourself not only through journaling but through decoration.

So if you don't feel that you're view is represented in the sticker aisle, why not wander around the store? Here are some alternate ideas to use on your scrapbooking pages.

-Beads. Big beads, small beads, fancy beads, silly beads, all can be used in a scrapbook page. Depending on the type of bead it can bring out a different effect in your page. Create a string of beads to use as a border. Use them to dangle underneath the picture. Attach them as earrings to a photo of your little girl.

-Puffy Paint. Remember the paint you used to use on shirts? It would dry with a raised image. Next time your layout has flowers on it, apply puffy paint around the shape of the flower. It gives it added dimension and interest. Another way would be to use it to create titles, shapes and swirls.

-Sewing. Break out the old sewing machine. Stitches add dimension and feel to a page and also serve as a way to anchor specific items to your page. Use zigzag stitch around a smaller piece of paper to set it off from the background. Button are another popular scrapbook embellishment.

-Foam. Use foam shapes to add fun to your page! They come in all shapes and sizes and can add a little bit extra to your layout. Better yet, cut out some foam squares and make a mini album out of it!

-Felt/Fabric. Fabric works well as a background page. You can also cut out felt shapes and attach them to the page instead of using chipboard. Create felt letters and numbers for your titles.

-Yarn. Knit a square and use it as the background to your page. Use yarn in place of ribbon. Knit a lacy border for your page.

-Silk flowers. Take the flowers off the stems and affix them to your layout.