Creating a personalized scrapbook is a great way to record your memories in an attractive and interesting way.  It has rapidly become one of the most popular hobbies of people today.  But you don’t want to have a scrapbook that’s just like everybody else’s scrapbook.  You want your own, unique scrapbook.  So keep reading and learn a few ways to create a personalized scrapbook binder or album.

The first step in this process is to choose the album of binder you want to use.  There are many options out there, depending on how much money you want to spend.  You can find very nice, leather bound albums that may be a bit more expensive, or you can find simple binders that are much cheaper and allow you to decorate the cover as you please.  Scrapbooking binders and albums also come in different sizes.  You can find them with regular 8.5 x 11 sized paper sheets or much larger.  If cost is an issue with you, remember that the paper for the larger albums is much more expensive than the smaller sheets.  The large albums do, however, allow you to place many more pictures than the small ones.  So it’s up to you to decide the kind of binder or album that will best suit your needs. 

Next, you need to choose the topic(s) or your scrapbook and then choose the pictures you plan to use.  Then, briefly decide the general chronology of your scrapbook.  Are you going to plan the book by event, date, place, person, etc?  Then you can begin laying out a few of your pages at a time.  Remember that there is no "right" way to lay out scrapbook pages; it is entirely up to you. You should be trying to make your scrapbook into an extension of your life, so do that by using your own creativity to make your pages. This is the best way for your scrapbook to feel like your family’s personality and lifestyle. 

Now, here is a brief list of suggestions for making your scrapbooking album or binder as personal as possible. 
 Include your own handwriting.  Your handwriting says something about you and adds a different dimension than a computer-printed font.  There are many ways to include your handwriting in a journal or scrapbook.  You can use pockets, folded cards, matchbooks, etc to hide your handwriting on scrapbook pages.  This way your handwriting is on the page, but isn’t seen by someone just flipping through the pages (in case you’re one of the many people who don’t love their own handwriting).
 Write your feelings.  Yes, writing your feelings can sometimes be difficult.  But as you look through your pictures and memorabilia, think about the feelings you have for each person and event.  Use detail to describe what happened.  You may think that this is cheesy, but it isn’t.  Your friends and family who look at your journal or scrapbook will love learning about your feelings.  It will tell them more about you and the great kind of person that you are.
 Use quotes.  Quotes are a great way to express a feeling or describe a moment without having to think of your own words.  They also make your scrapbook more personal and memorable.  They show your creativity.  Yes, there are very cheesy quotes out there.  But if you choose wisely, they can add greatly to your scrapbook or journal. 
 Keep special keepsakes.  Including a ticket to your favorite concert, the bracelet from when your son was born, cards you received for special occasions.all of these things can add depth and personality to your journal or scrapbook.  It’s just up to you to choose which ones!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Tue 31 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Scrapbooking is a great way to record your memories in an attractive and interesting way.  It is one of the most popular hobbies of people, especially women, today.  And if you’re passionate about scrapbooking, then you may also be interested in hearing some ideas of how many pictures you should have on each page of your scrapbook pages.  So keep reading a learn some valuable tips on scrapbooking. 

When you’re working on your scrapbook you may wonder how many pictures you should have per page.  The answer is simple: it’s up to you!  Obviously you want to be careful of putting so many pictures on one page that you can’t focus on any of the photos.  You should also be careful of not having enough images on your page to capture your reader’s attention.  But basically there is no right or wrong way to layout your pictures.  Most people have about 4-5 pictures on a page.  But this may vary depending on first, the size of the page, and second, the size of the pictures you’re using.  You may decide to have a page with only one picture on it.  If this is the case, you may want to double matt the picture or enlarge it so that it will catch your reader’s attention.  On the other hand, you could do a collage-type page with lots of pictures on the page.  Really, it’s up to you.  If you’re worried about number of pictures per page, ask a friend to take a look at your layout and tell you if it’s too busy or not busy enough. 

Now, let’s talk about a few ways you can improve the overall appearance and personality of your scrapbook.  One think that’s cool about scrapbooks is that instead of just a plain old boring photo album, they offer embellished pages, colorful prints, clever quotes and all sorts of other extras that making looking at old photos that much more interesting.  There are so many possibilities with a scrapbook.  Some of the best ways to make your scrapbook personable and memorable are doing as follows:

 Write your feelings.  Yes, writing your feelings can sometimes be difficult.  But as you look through your pictures and memorabilia, think about the feelings you have for each person and event.  Use detail to describe what happened. 
 Include your own handwriting.  One of the best ways to make your journaling more personal is to use your own handwriting.  There are many ways to include your handwriting in a journal or scrapbook, including using pockets, folded cards, matchbooks, etc to hide your handwriting on scrapbook pages (in case you don’t love your own handwriting).
 Keep special keepsakes.  Including a ticket to your favorite concert, the bracelet from when your son was born, cards you received for special occasions.all of these things can add depth and personality to your journal or scrapbook.  You can even use brads or eyelets to attach the keepsake. 
 Include a range of topics.  Your journal or scrapbook will be a much more memorable and interesting personal history if you include pages of friends, home, family, neighbors, etc, in a wide variety of settings.  This type of thing will make your scrapbook into a much more accurate personal history. 
 Be accurate with dates.  You should always check your dates when writing a scrapbook or personal history.  Be sure that you have your personal dates correct along with any dates you may refer to (a friend’s birthday or death, a special holiday, etc).  This will make your personal history more accurate and therefore better to read. 

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Mon 30 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Scrapbooking is a great way to record your memories in an attractive and interesting way.  It is one of the most popular hobbies of people, especially women, today.  And if you’re passionate about scrapbooking, then you may also be interested in hearing some ideas of the best pictures sizes and styles for scrapbooking.  So keep reading to learn some valuable tips on scrapbooking picture sizes and styles. 

When you’re working on your scrapbook you may wonder what size of picture you should use and what style looks best.  The answer is simple: it’s up to you!  Obviously you want to be careful of making a picture so small or so gaudy that you can’t focus on any of the other photos.  You should also be careful to have enough of an interesting layout to your page to capture your reader’s attention.  But basically there is no right or wrong way to layout your pictures.  Most people have about 4 pictures on a page that are a cropped 4 x 6.  But you may have a picture that has a small focal point and choose to remove a large portion of the borders on the pictures.  You may decide that you want to cut your pictures with funky scissors, give your picture a unique style.  You may also decide that you don’t want to crop your pictures at all.  Really, it’s up to you.  If you’re worried about the size and style of the pictures on your page, ask a friend to take a look at your layout and tell you how it looks.  S/he may be able to give you a more objective opinion.  

Now, let’s talk about a few ways you can improve the overall appearance and personality of your scrapbook.  One think that’s cool about scrapbooks is that instead of just a plain old boring photo album, they offer embellished pages, colorful prints, clever quotes and all sorts of other extras that making looking at old photos that much more interesting.  There are so many possibilities with a scrapbook.  Some of the best ways to make your scrapbook personable and memorable are doing as follows:

 Include a range of topics.  Your journal or scrapbook will be a much more memorable and interesting personal history if you include pages of friends, home, family, neighbors, etc, in a wide variety of settings.  This type of thing will make your scrapbook into a much more accurate personal history. 
 Be accurate with dates.  You should always check your dates when writing a scrapbook or personal history.  Be sure that you have your personal dates correct along with any dates you may refer to (a friend’s birthday or death, a special holiday, etc).  This will make your personal history more accurate and therefore better to read. 
 Write your feelings.  Yes, writing your feelings can sometimes be difficult.  But as you look through your pictures and memorabilia, think about the feelings you have for each person and event.  Use detail to describe what happened. 
 Include your own handwriting.  One of the best ways to make your journaling more personal is to use your own handwriting.  There are many ways to include your handwriting in a journal or scrapbook, including using pockets, folded cards, matchbooks, etc to hide your handwriting on scrapbook pages (in case you don’t love your own handwriting).
 Keep special keepsakes.  Including a ticket to your favorite concert, the bracelet from when your son was born, cards you received for special occasions.all of these things can add depth and personality to your journal or scrapbook.  You can even use brads or eyelets to attach the keepsake. 

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Sat 28 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Are you a serious scrapbooker?  Are you interested in keeping up with the latest and most creative scrapbooking ideas?  One of the great ways that you can keep up with the ongoings of the scrapbooking community is to join a blog or forum!  There are lots of other reasons why you should join a scrapbooking blog or forum.  Here are some of those reasons:

1) Learn about new products:  Scrapbooking is a very popular pastime, and there are lots of new products that are being introduced on the market to help scrapbookers!  Digital scrapbooking is especially popular, and you can learn a lot about new digital scrapbooking methods and products on a blog or forum.  Blogs and forums also can list the advantages of these new products, so that you can really become informed and know what things you want to buy!

2) Get advice:  If you aren’t sure how to handle a scrapbooking problem or question, you can post your doubts online and get feedback from other bloggers or forum visitors!  This is one of the great benefits to joining a scrapbooking blog or forum!  If you are a beginning or novice scrapbooker, this is a great way to get advice from some advanced, veteran scrapbookers!  This type of advice is invaluable, and a scrapbooking forum or blog can potentially get your advice from experienced scrapbookers from all over the world!

3) Share and get new ideas:  Scrapbooking blogs and forums are some of the best places to share and get new scrapbooking ideas!  There are so many creative and different ways to scrapbook - and you will be able to find some of these ideas in a forum or blog!  If you have a really great scrapbooking idea, a forum or a blog is a really great way to share it!  You can also get feedback from people on potential scrapbooking ideas that you have.  Ultimately, you will be able to build up the creativity and beauty of your scrapbooks through the different ideas that you get on your forum or blog.  This, in turn, will allow scrapbooking to be even more fun and diverse for you!

4) Post scrapbook pages:  Some scrapbooking blogs or forums also allow you to upload some of your scrapbooking pages or ideas!  This is a fun way to share your work with other people.  If you run a scrapbooking business, this is also a great way for you to show the capabilities and creativity of your scrapbooking business!

5) Be part of a community:  Joining a scrapbook blog or forum can be rewarding and entertaining, especially because you feel part of a community!  This sense of "belonging" and having a group of online friends can really help you to improve your self-esteem and worth.  This community feeling is one of the great benefits to joining an online group or forum.

6) Make new friends:  Scrapbooking can be a very social activity, but sometimes it can end up being a very personal activity and it can be hard to meet other scrapbookers.  Scrapbooking blogs and forums can give you the opportunity to meet people that have similar interests as you!  You can develop strong ties and respect for the people who contribute to your blog or forum.  Again, if you have a scrapbooking business, the friends that you make through your blog or forum could also be helpful to your business!

As you can see there are a lot benefits to joining a scrapbook blog or forum!  You can find different blogs or forums by performing online web searches!  Start looking today to decide what blog or forum you would like to join!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Thu 26 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Are you interested in improving your scrapbooking skills?  There are a couple of different ways that you can learn more about scrapbooking.  In fact, there are a lot of free scrapbooking tips that are available, if you know where to look.  Many serious scrapbookers and writers are willing to share their scrapbooking tips with people like you.  Here are a couple of places where you can find free scrapbooking tips:

 Scrapbooking forums and blogs - There are a lot of scrapbooking forums and blogs online where people are sharing free scrapbooking tips.  These ideas are really great, because they are often brand-new and exciting.  You also can look to see if there is feedback or responses to the free scrapbook tips that are posted, so that you can get an idea if this is something that you’d like to try!  Many experienced scrapbookers are members of different blogs and forums, so you’ll be getting tips from some of the best scrapbookers available by looking for tips in forums and blogs.

 Websites - You can also find free scrapbooking tips and ideas on different websites, such as Scrapbooking.com.  There are many other scrapbooking online magazines as well, which offer free tips and ideas.  If you have specific tips or scrapbooking ideas that you are looking for, you can also perform a search on the Internet to see if there are any free tips available that way.  With scrapbooking being such a popular pastime, it is very likely that you will come across some free tips to help you out!

 Scrapbooking clubs - There are a lot of communities which sponsor free scrapbooking clubs!  You could visit local scrapbooking stores to see if they know of any scrapbooking clubs that meet near you.  Some local scrapbooking stores even sponsor free scrapbooking clubs!  Going to club meetings is a great way for you to get free scrapbooking tips!  Many club meetings specifically focus on sharing and introducing new scrapbooking tips.  In addition, you can also make friends with other scrapbookers through club meetings, and you might be able to share and exchange further scrapbooking tips with these friends!

 Peruse through scrapbooking magazines: Even though scrapbooking magazines are for sale, you don’t have to purchase them to open them up and read free tips!  Scrapbooking magazines often discuss some of the latest and most up-to-date scrapbooking methods that are available!  These tips can be very helpful and useful - and you might even consider getting a subscription to the magazine if the "free tips" you’ve read seem to really be helpful!

 Look on your scrapbook products:  Sometimes scrapbook companies will include a free helpful hint or scrapbooking idea on the packaging of their product.  These ideas don’t always have to even be written - sometimes the actual picture or drawing on the packaging can even be a hint or an idea!  Look at the packaging of your scrapbooking supplies carefully - are there any great ideas that they are using?  This is a great way to get a free scrapbooking tip!

As you can see, there are many different ways that you can get free scrapbooking tips!  These scrapbooking tips can help you to find creative and new ways to decorate your scrapbooking pages!  Having new scrapbooking tips and ideas can add a new level of variety to your scrapbooks.  Start looking for some of these new scrapbooking ways today!  When looking back on the scrapbooks you’ve completed, you will not only remember the memories associated with the photographs, but you’ll also be able to see  when and how you came across your free scrapbooking tips!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Wed 25 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Are you an interested in creative scrapbooking?  There are many ways to be creative in your scrapbooking activities.  Some people use different types of designs and layouts to express their creativity.  Other scrapbookers are more artistically talented and they can draw their own designs and pictures on scrapbooking paper with acid free pens.  In addition, other scrapbookers look for different types of organization and creative themes to display their many photographs.  These are all great ways to scrapbook.  However, another creative and fun way to scrapbook is by using unique and fun titles for your scrapbooking pages.  Even if you aren’t a very creative person with words, there are many ways that you can create unique scrapbooking titles.  Here are a couple of ways that you can make fun and inventive titles:

1) Use inside jokes or family humor:  If you are making a scrapbook for yourself, a family member, or a friend, you can quote different inside jokes or family humor in your titles.  This is one of the most fun ways to title your pages - because it adds personality and background to your scrapbooking pages!  In addition, whoever owns the scrapbook will feel a connection with you, the scrapbook maker, who picked this "inside" title.  This is also a great way for people to get to know the owner of the scrapbook, because they will ask questions as to what the inside joke or title means.  A lot of fun conversation and laughs can take place when you use unique inside jokes or family humor as titles!

2) Use poetry:  Some people takes lines of poetry and use part of them for their scrapbooking titles.  There are so many different types of poems in the world, it is not hard to find a poem which specifically relates to the subject that you are addressing in your scrapbook.  For example, there are poems about landscapes, family, love, growing up, babies, pets, homes, and birthdays - all of which are different parts of most scrapbook pages.  You can find these different types of poems in either an anthology of poetry or online.  Many different website are dedicated to poems of a specific type, and you might be able to find a clever poem this way.

3) Use literature:  Using a famous quote from a book or a story can also be a creative way to make a scrapbooking title.  This is an especially fun thing to do if you are a well-read person or if the scrapbook owner likes to read.  For example, one scrapbooker was interested in finding a creative title for a picture of her younger brother and cousin.  In this picture, the little brother and cousin were puckering up their lips to make fish-faces.  Using this subject matter as inspiration, the title of the page read, "My brother is a fish. My cousin is a fish."  This title was taken from William Faulkner’s book, "As I Lay Dying," where one of the characters repeats, "My mother is a fish.  My mother is a fish."  This creative title is a fun scrapbook addition to this family, who is familiar with this book and finds the pun to fit perfectly!  You can also use literature or other types of writing to make your scrapbooks titles more creative! 

4) Quotes from popular culture:  In addition to books, you could take quotes from comic strips, magazines, or movies!  There are a lot of different ways that you can reference popular culture in your scrapbooking titles.  It is especially fun to use quotes that were popular during the time that the photos on the scrapbooking page were taken.  This way, it is not only a fun way to make titles, but it also is a way for you to remember what was popular and fashionable during the time that the photos were actually taken!

As you can see, there are lots of different ways that you can be creative in your scrapbooking titles!  Start looking for new and creative scrapbooking titles today!  Once you start to look, you will begin to notice different possible titles as you go throughout your daily routine!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments on Wed 25 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Do you want to find new ways to scrapbook?  Are you interested in learning about the latest techniques and layouts?  There are a lot of ways that you can find out about the latest scrapbooking techniques and layouts.  Here are a couple of ways that you can tap into the latest techniques and layout designs:

1) Visit a scrapbooking store:  There are lots of scrapbooking stores which can help you to become familiar with the latest techniques and layout designs for scrapbooking.  Some of these stores will have these layouts and techniques on display throughout the store, perhaps to help advertise their products.  In addition, you can ask a scrapbooking store employee for tips and advice on the latest techniques and layout designs.  These employees might have some good recommendations!  In addition, many scrapbooking stores offer scrapbooking classes!  The teachers of these classes are usually very informed and professional scrapbookers which are up-to-date on all of the latest layouts and techniques.  You might want to consider signing up for a scrapbooking class in order to get the best information on the latest scrapbooking methods!  Having a teacher is especially helpful, because they can give ideas on how you can modify and adopt some of the latest scrapbooking layouts and techniques, if the latest-thing is not exactly your "style."
2) Scrapbooking magazines and books:  There are a lot of different publications on scrapbooking which have information on the latest layouts and techniques.  You can find the latest information in books that have been recently published, or you can look at the most recent editions of scrapbooking magazines.  Some different magazines that you could consider looking at are Memory Makers Magazine and Scrapbooks Etc.  These magazines could have the exact layouts and techniques that you would like to incorporate into your next scrapbook pages!
3) Online websites:  There are a lot of scrapbooking websites which are dedicated to discussing the latest and newest scrapbooking methods.  One of these sites is actually also an online magazine, Scrapbooking.com.  You can also find other scrapbooking websites online by looking through search engines.  Some websites even specifically discuss the new layouts and techniques!  For example, scrapjazz.com is a free community which displays new scrapbooking layouts.  There is even a way for you to share your own layout ideas with other people!
4) Scrapbooking forums and blogs:  Just how the website scrapjazz.com allows you to share your own layouts, you can also do similar things in scrapbooking forums and blogs.  On forums and blogs people are able to post and discuss the newest techniques and layouts in scrapbooking.  It is often easy to find out the success of and potential problems with different techniques through blogs and forums -sometimes it’s better to find this advice online than anywhere else!  People are generally honest and sincere when it comes to contributing on scrapbooking forums and blogs, so you can feel like you’re getting relatively good opinions of the new layouts and techniques.  In addition, you can also get pretty up-to-date information on forums and blogs - as soon as a new technique or layout becomes available, serious bloggers and forum writers will begin discussing it soon!  Using forums and blogs is really one of the best ways to get the latest information on scrapbooking techniques and layouts.

As you can see, there are many different ways where you can get the latest information on scrapbooking techniques and layouts!  You can find information in books, magazines, online, or from scrapbooking professionals!  There are many people who are willing to discuss and share with you the latest scrapbooking information, if you just know where to look!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Tue 24 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Do you like to scrapbook?  Scrapbooking is a really fun pastime which allows you to use creative skills and be innovative!  In addition, scrapbooking also is rewarding because you can preserve precious memories to last a long time!  There are lots of different supplies that you need for scrapbooking - binders, pre-made scrapbooks, scrapbook pages, stickers, cut-outs, acid-free designer pens, scrapbooking pages, clear paper covers, glue, tape, and photo corner holders!  Because there are so many different scrapbooking supplies and options, scrapbooking can be a rather expensive hobby.  However, scrapbooking doesn’t need to be expensive.  In fact, there are many inexpensive ways to scrapbook.  One of the great ways that you can get inexpensive scrapbooking supplies is to purchase them at a wholesale price.  There are many different ways that you can get wholesale scrapbook supplies.  Here are a couple of ways that you can save money and get wholesale scrapbook supplies!

1) Become a scrapbook supply distributor:  One of the ways that you can get wholesale scrapbook supplies is to become scrapbook supply distributor!  This is a great way for you to earn money scrapbooking, because you can also sell the wholesale products that you buy at a retail price to other scrapbookers.  Even if you are just interested in buying wholesale scrapbooking supplies for yourself, this still can be a great option for you to look into!  If you are a serious scrapbooker, you can save a lot of money on scrapbooking supplies by becoming a distributor, even if you have to pay a small start-up fee to get your distribution title!

2) Family Treasures is a company which sells wholesale scrapbooking supplies at a wholesale price!  This is a really great company and a good option for someone who is interested in wholesale scrapbooking supplies.  Anyone who has a resale tax number can purchase from this company.  The minimum first wholesale order must be at least $100, and the minimum wholesale reorder is $50.  This is a great way for you to save money on scrapbooking supplies, especially if you are a serious scrapbooker!  The phone number for Family Treasures is 1-800-413-2645.

3) If you are interested in purchasing wholesale albums, you might want to look into getting Flex Hinge albums.  These are available at a wholesale price through Light Impressions.  In addition, University Products/Lineco has scrapbook pages in their album that are also available for a wholesale price.  However, you should know that these scrapbook pages are 8 ½ x 11 inches.  Some scrapbookers prefer to use a different size of paper than this, so you will need to take this size into consideration.

4) Get a vendor list:  There are a lot of scrapbooking vendors which are listed online and in scrapbooking magazines.  Look at this list and see if any of these vendors look like they have scrapbooking products which might be of interest to you!  If you might be interested in any of their scrapbooking supplies, call this company and get information on their catalog and wholesale options.  A lot of vendors have wholesale options for people to use, but they only are available if you ask first!  Be aggressive, and get the lower wholesale prices that you deserve!

As you can see, there are a lot of ways that you can get scrapbooking supplies at a wholesale rate!  Wholesale scrapbooking products are high quality scrapbooking supplies that are available for considerably cheaper than the retail prices.  Remember, these options for saving money are just waiting for you to take advantage of them - so don’t delay!  Start getting cheaper scrapbooking supplies today and be an economic scrapbooker!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Products on Tue 24 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Are you interested in scrapbooking, but you aren’t quite sure where to begin?  There are a lot of different things that you need to consider about scrapbooking before you can actually start putting photos on the scrapbooking pages!  For example, you will need to decide what kind of a scrapbook you will use, how you will decorate it, how large the scrapbook will be, and what kinds of photos you will include in the scrapbook.  In addition to making these decisions, you also will need to decide what size of scrapbook page you should use.  There are a lot of things which can help you to decide what size of scrapbook paper will be the most appropriate for your specific scrapbooking needs.  Here are a couple of questions which can ask yourself to help you decide the right size of scrapbook paper for you:

1) How large are your photos?  If you have very large photos that you are going to include in your scrapbook, you will need to decide on a scrapbook page that will fit those large photos.  Sometimes large photos can be cropped down to a smaller size (and can therefore fit onto a smaller page), but you will need to decide if you even want to crop your pictures down!  If not, then you will need to buy a larger size of scrapbook pages.

2) How many photos do you want on a page?  Some people do not mind placing lots of smaller, cropped photos on a page.  Other people prefer to just have a certain number of photos on each page, without having any of the photographs cropped.  There is not a right or wrong way to fill your scrapbook pages, and this is something that you will need to decide.  If you want to have a uniform look to your scrapbook pages, with a certain number of photos on each page, then you will need to pick a scrapbook page that will fit all of those photos.

3) Will you be overlapping your photos? Will you be including die cuts, stickers, or creative additions?  Overlapping your photos and including other types of decorations can also impact the size of your scrapbook pages.  For example, if you overlap your photographs and do not have other decorations, you might be able to use a smaller scrapbook page.  However, if you either do not overlap, or if you include decorations, you will probably need a slightly larger scrapbook page size to fit everything without having it look cluttered.

4) Where will these scrapbooks be stored?  This may seem like a strange question, but it is something that needs to be taken into consideration!  If you have a specific bunch of shelves, bookcases, or a closet space that you would like to keep your scrapbooks, make sure that you pick a size that fits!  If you live in a small house with limited space, then that specific shelf might be the only possible option for you to place your scrapbook!  If you get the wrong size, the scrapbook will not fit in that location and trying to find a new place for it can be a nuisance.  Consider exactly where you scrapbooks will be kept, and then pick a size that will fit nicely into that space.

There are lots of things to consider when deciding that scrapbook pages are best for you.  If you are still having difficulty deciding, you could ask a scrapbooking store employee, a serious scrapbooker, or a scrapbooking distributor for help!  They will be able to point you in the right direction so that your scrapbook page sizes are exactly what you want!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Mon 23 Jul 2007 No Comments 

Do you want to start scrapbooking, but you aren’t sure if you have the time to do it?  Scrapbooking can be a very time consuming hobby, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be.  Really, the type of scrapbooking that you decide to do will determine how much time you spend scrapbooking.  In addition, some people are able to scrapbook very quickly, while others prefer to take their time.  In any case, it is obvious that you will need to dedicate some time out of your life schedule to scrapbook.  There are many different ways that you can find time to scrapbook.  Here are a couple of options that can help you to incorporate scrapbooking into your life:

 Set aside a specific day:  Some people to have one or two days a week where they dedicate a few hours to scrapbooking.  Although the scrapbooks may take a long time to complete, these people find that working slowly and consistently on their scrapbooks work best.  In addition, they also don’t feel like they are spending a whole day scrapbooking, but are just spending a few hours getting some scrapbooking pages done.
 Scrapbook while you watch TV:  Many Americans spend at least an hour or two watching television each day.  If you are a big television watcher, you might want to consider scrapbooking while you watch your favorite show!  This way, you will be able to be productive and accomplish some scrapbooking while relaxing in front of the TV!  If you like, you can work on your scrapbook pages during the commercial breaks of your favorite show!
 Set aside a room for scrapbooking:  Many people don’t feel like they have the time for scrapbooking because the process of getting out supplies and putting them away takes so long.  If this is the case, you should consider dedicating a whole room towards scrapbooking.  This way, you can leave your supplies out, and whenever you have some free time, you can pop into your room and spend a few minutes scrapbooking!  One scrapbooker found that this was the best way for her to scrapbook with small children.  She set aside a room in her attic for scrapbooking, and was able to pop upstairs and scrapbook for 20-30 minutes each day while her children were taking naps.  If she didn’t have a room already set up for scrapbooking, she might not have been able to take advantage of this precious quiet-time to work on her scrapbooks!
 Digital scrapbooking - Many people prefer to do digital scrapbooking (or computer scrapbooking) with the images that they take on their digital camera.  If you have a computer job that has a lot of down-time, you might consider doing digital scrapbooking at work!  Digital scrapbooking can be quick and easy, and (if your job allows it), you might be able to find the time to organize your photos and scrapbook right at work!  You can even get other projects at work done as your photos upload onto your computer from your camera.  Some digital scrapbooking websites are Kodak Photo Gallery, Photomax, and Winkflash.  All of these programs can upload your photos quickly and easily, making digital scrapbooking very user friendly.

As you can see, there are many ways for you to find time to scrapbook!  Scrapbooking can easily be incorporated into your daily life schedule.  In fact, scrapbooking can even be as simple and quick as placing a few photos on a page each day.  So, you really can’t give a good excuse if you say that you don’t have time to scrapbook!  You can ALWAYS find time to scrapbook!

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Sun 22 Jul 2007 No Comments