by Shawna Blake

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 24, 2009

Scrapbooks are made up primarily to showcase the items that remind us of precious memories. Knowing that, you will be delving into memories that are both good and bad, happy and sad, so it could end up being a bit more emotional than you expect. There aren't any set 'rules' to scrapbooking, so you can go about it basically any way that you like- that's the beauty of it. But, to ensure success when beginning a scrapbooking project you must first create the proper frame of mind. Beyond that there are, of course, items and tools that you need and tips that can get you through the process seamlessly.

~Get Equipped

For anything scrapbook related you will need supplies. You will need scissors, glue, paper, scrapbook pages, pens, markers, and whatever else catches your eye to make your book perfect. Then you will want to get whatever mementos, relics, pictures, and accessories that you will be inserting into the book. Most-likely you will have gathered the mementos and photo's over many years so you would need to sort through these and decide which you will use. Make sure that you have enough supplies to last you, as well. There is nothing worse than running out of glue when you are mid-page. There are several different types of paper (acid-free, textures, flocked, metallic, lignin free, etc.), so it might seem daunting at first. The best way to overcome that is to simply choose to use whatever you like. If you plan on becoming a serious scrapbooker, you will learn what items work better, or what you prefer as you go along.

~Get organized

It is difficult to work on a scrapbook if you go about it in an unorganized fashion. If you have managed to gather a great deal of materials, tools and mementos you will need a place to keep them when you are not working on the scrapbook. You may want to invest in a container (or several) of some sort. This will keep things in order for you so that they are easier to locate, and it will keep any memorable souvenirs safe from harm. If you are using items that you do not have multiple copies of (like pictures), you may want to make a duplicate so that you do not lose or ruin them. Also, keep a garbage can handy, because you will need it when you start using your scissors (you will have a lot of scrap that will be just that, scrap).

~Make room

Since scrapbooking it can be a large task, you will want to prepare an area that has plenty of room so that you may spread out. Since a standard scrapbook page measures 12x12, and you will

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