Scrapbooking Basics, Part 9

What I do like to see on my pages is texture and color and complimentary shapes. To add texture I often will layer paper, using mats for my photos and will often place my title on a border. I also occasionally like to layer my photographs. When I have a lot of photos that I really want to showcase in my album, I will either cut them to a specific shape; smaller squares, rectangles, or circles; and then arrange them on the page often slightly overlapping, but not to the point where you miss out on seeing anyone's face or important features.

I layer pictures often because I take so many photographs. In looking at my albums to offer examples of what I often do, I have six full pages of my son's first birthday party, complete with rubber duckie cut outs and bubble shapes. Of course, I don't go to this extreme for every event, but the first birthday is pretty special to me. Plus, including our children and family parties, we had three different festivities for Hunter's first birthday.

I already explained in detail about paper layering. This can be done on a small scale, or a large one. You could tear paper and layer for a border, as an accent along your page, in between pictures, or use large pieces of paper to almost cover your entire paper. This would be neat on a beach page or water setting.

I use a lot of shapes as well. I tend to keep the same shapes uniform on a page. If I keep one picture rectangle, usually most of them are. It falls back on how these photos that I am grouping together were taken. I tend to get into the habit of shooting pictures in the same frame, either horizontally or vertically.

So, often, many pictures that would be placed together from the same event are already the same shape. All I have to do at this point is trim the pictures and arrange them on my page. If I use all rectangle pictures, I might use my square punch and use these squares to place a letter to create my title. This works well with shorter titles.

If I am not adding other elements to my pages, I will often even double up on the squares, creating a larger and smaller square, placing the letters on the smaller squares. I tend to work with double squares when I run out of ideas. It is easy. I can mix and match colors to my liking and based on how they compliment my pictures and give myself something to do.

I will often get specialty paper that has different designs on it, i.e., popcorn, grass, macaroni and cheese, and use these for fun squares on my page.

My biggest weakness is stickers. I often purchase too many and then don't know what to do with them. I don't like a lot of stickers on my pages, so often they tend to get wasted, shared with other people, or held onto with hopes that they will be used. This is a great example of why planning is essential when gathering supplies. I have over five excess packages of Christmas stickers. I know I will use them eventually and I also now know not to purchase anymore. I can't even imagine how long these will last.

I do have punches to make squares and circles. I enjoy using these shapes on my pages and did invest the money to keep my fingers from cramping in cutting large quantities of circles or squares. Be my guest to measure out exactly the shapes that you want and cut them using scissors. If you will be using shapes in your albums frequently, your hands will thank you later for purchasing cutters. You can find them at specialty stores ranging in price from five to twenty dollars. I have the Creative Memories set that includes two different sizes of the shape, which is why it is easy for me to double up on the shapes along my pages.

I do have a few stencils that I often use as well with shapes. This allows you to draw shapes and then you can use them as journal boxes, frames for your pictures, or just to add some color to your page without cutting any paper. Along my template there are also different small shapes, hearts, dots, wiggly lines, and more. I will often use these for borders or accents along the edges of pictures or along the edges of my page. I don't have the talent to draw more than stick people, so using these shapes allows me to add a little creative flare to my pages when I don't want to cut shapes out, add die cuts to my page, but want something to emphasize my pictures.

This would be a great tool if you have a smaller budget for scrapbooking or if you don't care to add shapes to your page.

I know I've shared a lot of different examples to layer, add texture and color; however you don't have to purchase a lot of tools to do so. I personally like to have a few tools on hand to help me in creating my albums. I use my books as an escape, to sit and relax while working. The tools that I use help me work on my pages quickly. The most important thing for me is to get all of my pictures that I want to include in my albums, in them. I keep things simple.

The tools that I have, I use every time I sit and scrapbook. I share them with you because they are my favorites and make scrapbooking easier for me. There are so many products on the market today that I just don't want, like, or feel that I need. They would make scrapbooking a chore for me. Sewing is a chore to me. Yes, clothes come out beautifully made, but I don't have the patience to create. Scrapbooking is the same for me. There are certain techniques that I do not care to attempt because I want scrapbooking to stay fun and simple.