You've been to numerous events with family and friends. Like all of us, you proudly toted your camera along to most of these events. Now you have hundreds of photos just sitting around in boxes stored somewhere in the back of your closet. Is that what you had in mind for these photos when you shot them? Not really, right, but you just don't know what to do with them. I understand, in this article I will provide you with a fun solution, scrapbooking! This article will explain how to get started with this fun craft.
For scrapbooking you will first need to gather some basic supplies. These supplies consist of albums, scissors, adhesives, scrapbook pages and journal pens. There are many, many more supplies associated with scrapbooking as this is a hobby with endless possibilities, however, these are the basics that you can not do without. I will go into further detail on each of these supplies.
First you must select your albums. Scrapbook albums come in a variety of styles and sizes. Any of them will work, just select the ones that you like. Be sure that the albums you select have acid free pages as these are the best quality for keeping your photos over time without them getting a yellowing, aging look.
Another key essential is a couple of nice pairs of scissors. These should be good quality scissors that are used only for your scrapbooking crafts. There are many different scrapbooking scissors to choose from and they can be found individually or in sets. For just starting out, I suggest one pair of good quality straight edge scissors and one pair of good craft scissors with some sort of riffled or zigzag cut for making fancy cutouts. The scissors you choose should fit and feel comfortable in you hand.
Next you will need to stock up on a few good adhesives. This could be glue, tape or whatever. You will use adhesives a lot in scrapbooking as they are used to secure photos to the album pages as well as borders, embellishments and what have you. You could use glue, tape, double sided tape or just about any adhesive that you are comfortable with. It is advisable to have at least a couple different types of adhesives on hand because what works well with one aspect of your craft may not work so well with another. Be sure that the adhesives you choose are acid free.
The albums you choose will come with a few pages already in them but it is good to have additional scrapbook pages or papers on hand. These come in the form of patterned papers which may be purchased as individual sheets as well in books and packages of several sheets. You can also use a variety of other things for this such as cardstock or even construction paper. Here again, make sure that whatever you choose is acid free.
Finally you will need some journal pens for writing captions, stories, poems or whatever you desire to go with the pictures. These pens, like much everything else needed for this craft, should be acid free. Fine tipped permanent pens or markers usually work best.
There are many, many other fun scrapbooking supplies not mentioned here that you can pick and choose from and experiment with. However, there is no way in which I could list all the thousands of supplies and materials that can be used with this craft here.
The possibilities with scrapbooking are limited only by your imagination. In fact, there are entire stores totally dedicated to scrapbooking. Above is a list of the basic supplies that you will need to get started. Once you have mastered the craft with those, you are free to explore the world of scrapbooking and pick and choose what you want from endless supplies. Once you have all the supplies listed above, you are ready for the fun part, creating your first scrapbook.
To begin, choose a theme for your scrapbook. For example, if you took a trip to the zoo with your family, your theme could be that zoo adventure. Another example could be a camping trip that you went on, or the theme could be more simple, such as just honoring a particular friend or family member. Anything goes.
When you have decided upon a theme, sort through your photos and pick out the ones that relate to that theme. Then, beginning with the first page of your album, choose the photo that you want to be the focal point of that page. Place this photo in or near the center of the page. With another piece of decorative or colored paper you can create a border for the photo that will make it stand out.
Have fun and experiment with this a little. When you find something that you like, go with it. Then add a caption, description or little story to the picture. You can do pretty much whatever you want, but keep in mind as you create your pages that to create a great scrapbook, less is more. In other words, add a nice border or some other simple embellishment and a brief caption or story to your focal picture on each page, but do not overdo it. Keep it simple, the idea is to highlight and display the pictures in a creative way that tells a story. To many embellishments will over power your picture and take attention away from it.
With a little practice and your imagination, it won't be long before you will be creating some fantastic scrapbooks. Each of these books will be unique and tell a story. No longer will your treasured photos sit stored away collecting dust in boxes.