Scrapbook Construction: 10 Tools of the Trade

You're going to need more than some paper, scissors and glue if you want to put together a professional looking scrapbook. You're going to need ten basic supplies that can be found at your local scrapbooking store or craft store. Here's what you'll need.

1. An Album - The scrapbook album itself is entirely a matter of personal preference. You shouldn't select an album until after you've collected and stored your photos.

2. Album Hardware - A basic scrapbook album comes with a couple of things. It comes with screw-in posts and a few plastic pages. At some point you are going to want to expand so you'll need some extra posts and refill pages and it's best to buy those right at the beginning.

3. Paper Cutters and Punches - Paper cutters and trimmers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. To begin with, a basic trimmer like the one from EK Success or Martha Stewart is a must have. Punches come in every shape and size imaginable. Be sure to get as many as you can. If it cuts paper, then buy it. Eventually you'll use it.

4. Center Ruler - A center ruler is one of those things you can't do without. You'll need this tool over and over again as you design titles and line up captions.

5. Precision Scissors - Precision scissors aren't just any old pair of scissors. Precision scissors are Teflon coated so they don't get stuck when cutting stickers and things with adhesive on them. Precision scissors that come in sets give you greater cutting ability with various size of blades. Smaller scissors with a finer point allow you to cut out very fine details.

6. Two Way Glue Pen - A two way glue pen lets you glue small pieces of paper or embellishments to pages without getting your fingers all sticky. This is much better than hot glue or glue sticks.

7. Crafting Tweezers - Crafting tweezers can be found in the beading aisle of your craft store, in the paper trimmer aisle or even at the dollar store. These are a requirement for handling small gems, buttons and stickers.

8. Cardstock - Cardstock is the foundation of everything on your scrapbook pages. You will create corners, titles, doodles, notes and more using cardstock. Buy as many sheets of different colored, patterned and textured cardstock as you can afford.

9. Pens and Markers - You will need a good set of decorative markers. The Zig Writers are fantastic journaling pens. Stock up on calligraphy markers, metallic markers, glitter pens and photo pens whenever you see them on clearance.

10. Xyron Adhesive Eraser - This handy tool lets you do some amazing things with paint and inks. Whenever you make a scrapbooking mistake, use the eraser. Xyron erasers last a very long time.

Once you have these ten tools in your scrapbookers toolkit you'll be unstoppable. Continue to add to these basics to expand your tool box and grow your scrapbook albums.