How to Get Started with Scrapbooking

A few years ago, I noticed the pages of the photo album that my baby pictures were in was starting to yellow. When I went to Walmart to find another album, I fell in love with a premade baby girl scrapbook album. After I bought it, I started looking up how to get started with scrapbooking since that one album certainly wouldn't hold all of my pictures.

Even though I'm a creative person, I quickly realized that I was in over my head and felt like giving up.

I tried talking to a sales associate at a local craft store. The only response that I got to any question was that I needed to come in and look around. Looking around wasn't going to answer my simple questions. So, I turned to the internet. But all I found was articles for experienced scrapbookers.

To help anyone who is interested in scrapbooking, but doesn't know how to get started, I'm going to hit the basics here. But first, let me dispel one myth---You do not have to cut your pictures if you don't want to. After all, it's your book and you can do whatever you want. However, the pages will probably look better if the pictures are trimmed.

- Finding an album

A typical scrapbook album has 12" x 12" pages. While smaller ones are available, it's this bigger size that is the most common. Some books have ten pages, while others have twenty pages. I recommend twenty pages so it holds more pictures.

In my experience, stores seem to have only a tiny selection of scrapbook albums. After all, you want to buy a cover that suits your pictures. I highly recommend ebay for finding an album that you want. Be sure of what you are buying since some sellers have tried to pass off three-ring binders as scrapbook albums.

- Embellishments and Eyelets

Embellishment is just a fancy sounding word for extras that you can add to your pages. They range from flat stickers to very miniature items such as Christmas trees and baby items. They are very cute, but can be a bit over-priced in stores.

Buttons and ribbons are good examples of relatively inexpensive items that can be added to your pages. Doing some stitching around photo mats is another great idea for your pages.

Brads are another great addition to your pages. They come in all kinds of designs. I used some snowflake ones on some winter pages.

The first time I saw eyelets on some premade scrapbook pages, I didn't know what those little metal things were. I contacted a seller on ebay and inquired about it. The seller explained that they are called eyelets and are placed in the page with an eyelet setter. After some bad attempts with cheap eye setters that ripped the paper, I found the best one - the Instant Setter by Making Memories.

- Paper, Alphabet Letters, & Scissors

The 12" x 12" paper can be bought in packages, pads, or individual sheets. It comes in solid colors, designs, etc. There are a lot of choices out there. I tried buying some big pads of the 12" x 12" paper, but most of the pages didn't have a design that I wanted to use. Now, I'm not suggesting buying all of your paper separately, but be sure that you're buying something that you really want. Also, construction paper is good to use for photo mats. Note: All of the paper used for scrapbooking should be acid free.

Scrapbooking scissors are a must if you want to cut photo mats with different trims. But buying a ton of scissors individually doesn't make much sense considering the cost. I recommend getting a package of ten or so when they are on sale at a local craft store.

When I first started scrapbooking, I didn't know that precut alphabet letters existed. They come in different colors and designs. They really add a professional touch to your pages.