by Meadow Lark

Created on: June 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

In order to enjoy most hobbies, one must have the proper tools. Finding the right tools for scrapbooking could be as simple as walking into your storage closet and reaching for the shoe box filled with old photographs. Somehow the photos have been passed down from generation to generation, and you have found yourself the keeper of the treasures. It's time to open up the shoe box, put your big girl panties on and get scrappin'.

There are some essential tools for scrapbooking that can be found easily online or at your nearest craft store. After you purchase items, such as a 12 x 12 swing arm paper trimmer, which will enable you to actually cut a straight line, you need to take the next step to the glue stick area.

There are various ways of gluing your photos to a scrapbook page. There are glue sticks, adhesive runners for larger projects, and adhesive photo corners. All of the adhesives and papers you use for your scrapbook should be labeled acid-free. Glue sticks that are acid-free are not as hard to find as you might think. Your corner grocery store most likely has them on their shelves.

Having an imagination or a creative brain can also come in handy; however, if you are the type that does not feel confident in this area, you will find numerous scrapbooking magazines, books and paper sets for any occasion. The more you scrapbook, the more creative you may become. Some of my best scrapbook pages have been when I made a mistake and learned that an embellishment would fit right over it. My personal motto is that you cannot make a mistake when you scrapbook. You can, however, have loads of fun creating just the right scrapbook page to capture the moment your daughter was in diapers and unrolled the toilet paper throughout the house. What irritated you way back then, is perhaps the perfect photo that will remind her how much you miss her when she goes off to college for the first time.

When you realize you've got the beginning tools for a great looking scrapbook, it may be time to branch out with rubber stamps colored with water color pencils or special three dimensional stickers. There is also a wonderful machine that many scrapbookers have become very fond of. The Cricket circuit cutter can do amazing things with pieces of paper. This item is pricey, so it is not for the beginning scrapbooker; however, there are many fans of this amazing machine. It's worth checking out.

Scrapbooking can be a lot of fun for people of any age, especially if you are scrappin' with a group of fun loving people. One of my all time favorite scrapbook pages was made by a friend who used pieces of a colorful pinata to enhance the page. Of course, it wasn't acid-free, but it was such a fun page, no one cared. It just made us laugh. That's the way hobbies are, especially the hobby of scrapbooking. They help you realize that life does not have to be taken so seriously. In fact you, your family and friends will make mistakes, but when you do it's a GREAT time to grab the camera and capture the moment. It beats screaming at the top of your lungs in frustration.

Live, laugh and love, but get it all in a photo. It will make for a great scrapbook one day.

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