by Krista Jansen

Created on: January 26, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2011

Scrapbooking is a creative and fun way to preserve your favorite photos and memories. Anyone can learn how to scrapbook, and it takes just ten minutes to learn the basic skills.

A few years ago my aunt invited me to a Creative Memories Croptoberfest scrapbooking event, and though I admired her memory books, I was a little intimidated by the whole thing. I didn't have any idea how to take my 4x6 photographs and turn them into something as professional-looking as a scrapbook.

Within minutes of arriving at the event, I became even more overwhelmed; in a large recreation room in the basement of a local church, I was surrounded by about fifty women who were already busy working on their projects. They were snipping photos, clipping corners, cutting out special shapes, and gluing things down in a very fast, almost robotic, manner. And they were all having so much fun, carrying on conversations and complimenting each other's scrapbook pages.

I didn't have any supplies, but followed my aunt over to one of the empty tables where some of her friends joined us. I had an instant group of scrapbooking mentors. As soon as the event official kicked-off, there was a short Beginners Session at the back of the rec room. I shyly walked to the back of the room, thinking I'd be the only person who had no idea how to even start a scrapbook, but there were a few other people who were learning for the first time.

The event leader, a lovely woman named Gail, showed all the beginners how to look at a photo discerningly, by asking a few questions:

• Is the subject of the photo clear?

• Is this a photo that I would want to highlight and save forever in a scrapbook?

• Is there extra space in the photo that could be trimmed, making it a better shot?

I had never really considered whether or not a photo was "worth" scrapbooking, but in a digital age when people take multiple shots of one moment, it is definitely important to choose the BEST photos for scrapbooking.

I had also never thought about cropping or trimming a photo so as to better center the subject, or alter the focus to one particular part of a photo. There are a number of ways to crop a photo, and the most obvious (using scissors) is actually not the best method. To properly crop a photo, you want to make sure you are keeping straight edges, so you'll want to use a measured cutting tool, such as a simple paper cutter.

Gail then went on to show us how to use scrapbooking paper to frame the photos that we have selected and possibly trimmed. Just simply use some double-sided scrapbooking squares or some scrapbooking tape on the back of your photo and press the photo down to some colored paper, leaving a small border on each side. Choose a colored paper that compliments something from the photos. Now use your paper cutter to trim the excess paper, if there is any, keeping the border a similar size on each side of the photo.

Now you just need to do this a number of times: choosing photos, trimming them, and placing them on colored paper. Once you have a set of photos that go well together, you can tape them down to a scrapbooking page. Write a few words on the page to let others know what they're looking at, and Presto! You have just scrapbooked!

You can be as creative as you choose with scrapbooking. Some people just want a simple way to keep their photos organized in a book, while others are looking for ways to embellish their photos, using lots of special paper and stickers. Whatever you mean to accomplish with scrapbooking, just know that it is easier than it first appears.

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