How to Create a Great Scrap Book Album

I love scrap booking! The only that that I don't love about it is the amount of time that is needed to make it look spectacular! I would look at these little shows on television with all these beautifully created pages, but then they would tell you how they created it... All I could say is that to create one page took them at least a half an hour show to do, and that was with things that had been assembled before the show to make the page fit into the time slot. I was frustrated! So I decided to go and figure out ways to make scrap booking simple and beautiful all at the same time.

-Buy your paper in bulk, because you use so much of it to make your pages look great!

-Double mat your pictures. A single mat looks good on the page, but a double mat just takes it to the next level.

-Invest in a die cut machine! Don't waste your time tracing and cutting out letters. Get a die cut machine, like the Sizzix machine and make your headlines stand out! Sure, you can use sticker letters, but they can be costly!

-Good penmanship can take you a long way. If your handwriting stinks, you might want to type all of your captions up on the computer. I hate nothing more than looking at scrapbooks of people whose handwriting is lousy and hard to read!

-Stickers can take a page from blah to fab in a matter of a couple of sticks! Buy themed stickers to make your pages adorable!

-Save that memorabilia! Save your ticket stubs from your first date, a concert, a flight, or even a receipt from a fancy dinner! I saved the measuring tape that was used to measure my son's head when he was born and I reused it as a border for one of his pages. These are free little items and putting them on your pages makes a great conversation piece and something you'll treasure forever.

-Metallic pens add flare! I love silver and gold metallic pens. You can write with them on dark pages or paper and it just adds an elegance to your page that regular pen wouldn't.

-Too many landscape pictures? Use them with your die cut machine and cut letters out of the extra ones that you won't be using in your scrapbook!

-Overlap your pictures. I think that overlapped pictures look awesome! I hate it when one entire page is focused on one picture (unless the picture is important enough to deserve one page). Get your picture matted and try overlapping the edges to make it look like you're a pro!

Most importantly, have fun and LOVE your pictures while you're working on it! If you put together a scrapbook with love, you're going to make an incredible book of memories! Good luck and have fun with it!