by Candice Anderson

Created on: June 02, 2009

I remember the first time I started scrapbooking. In fact I remember my first page and that I ended up taking it apart years later so I could re-do it. I majored in art at school so I thought that scrapbooking would come easy to me. Boy was I wrong. If there was a scrapbooking 101 class offered in college I should have taken it. I needed all the help I could get. Finally I discovered a few helpful tips. Added with a little bit of practice I soon started to develop my skill. For those of you who are just getting started here are a few tips to make scrapbooking a fun and enjoyable hobby.

First you need to decide what type of scrapbooking you would like to do. There are many ways that you can scrapbook. Here are just a few examples. Scrapbooking by year; this is where your pages are done for each event and would be put in a book in chronological order. Scrapbooking by child; I've found this is really popular when families have one girl and one boy. They make one album for each child. Making an event album; this is usually for a specific event such as a family vacation. A year in review album; here you would make an album that highlights the special events of the year. Think of this album as a Christmas Letter summing up the year. This style is really great if you feel like you are years behind. You can start with all the important things, and then add in more later if you want or make another book with more details. There is really no wrong or right way. Choose what style fits best for what you are scrapbooking. Because I have four boys and everything is mixed together I usually scrapbook by years however sometimes I will make a special album for a child or event.

You also need to decide what size you are going to scrapbook in. Some of the most popular are 12 x 12, 6 x 6, 8 x 8 and 8-1/2 x 11. However any size will work. There are even scrapbooks made out of paper bags and mint tin cases. It all depends on what you are doing.

Once you have decided on your style and size it's time to organize your pictures. You can organize them by the albums they will be going in or just by date. Having your pictures organized helps when you sit down to scrapbook. If you have an idea in your head you can grab the pictures and get going. Digital photography is very common now so many of us have our pictures just waiting for us on the computer. Make sure they are organized so you can find them fast. Having your pictures on the computer can sometimes

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