Here is an example of a nice family theme scrapbook that is made for the parents of the kids. I am sure the grandmother is very proud to make this scrapbook!

1. Use any and all materials you have on hand in the house first
2. Buy seasonal embellishments during “off time” of the season you are working in. (i.e. buy Christmas embellishments a week or more after Christmas, etc.)
3. Seek page layout ideas from the internet, as opposed to buying high priced scrapbook ideas books at the book store.
4. Swap tools and embellishments with your friends and family who are not using them now.
5. Only buy your supplies when they are on sale.
6. Don’t overstock yourself on embellishments in advance…you may be building up inventory that you may never use again.
7. Build a “scraps” collection of unused or “extra” scraps of paper of unused materials. You can always make use of these scraps later.
8. If you use stamps, contact your scrapbooking “buddies” and trade use of your stamps for theirs and swap them back.
9. When getting photos reproduced, don’t over order duplicates thinking you are going to use all of them. Plan in advance and only order the photo prints you are going to actually use.
10. If you are going to use a lot of a particular embellishment, get your scrapbooking buddies to chip in money to buy them and share the embellishments with them.
11. Contact your scrapbook buddies and ask them if they have any embellishments or materials that they don’t intend on using and ask for them.
12. Always be on the lookout for discount coupons at art stores like Michaels. You never know when you will have need for them in a moment’s notice!
13. “Shop” the internet for scrapbook supplies….quite often they are cheaper than you could buy at a local store.

These are just some ideas to make a scrapbook on the cheap. There is always creative ways to make scrapbooks. The main expense on any scrapbook project is going to be the binder. Don’t sacrifice on that….you want the binder to last for a very long time. As always, use acid free paper for mounting photos.

It starts out with journaling. Journaling on a layout provides information and details about the event or person in the layout. It reveals a feeling for an event or person that is featured on that page. Journaling can be limited to one page or extensively cover an entire mini-album.

Story-oriented journaling can be limited to one page, but it can also cover an entire album. A storybook album is an entire album centered around one event told in a story format.

Choose a story. Any good book starts with an idea. A good story would involve some conflict and some final resolution to the conflict. The more conflict, the better the story. Consider situations in your life that had to be overcome or an event that was filled with conflict. When writing my storybook "The Misadventure," I remembered a time when we were hiking and a few unusual things happened including getting lost on the trail. These conflicts could create tension and a good resolution for my story.
 

Write the story. A storybook is different from other journaling in the way the story is told and in the words it uses. Often a story is told from the third person point of view, and often through the eyes of the main character. Like a fictional book, it will depend on a central character and the actions and thoughts of that character. Another similarity to fiction is the use of words. Active description and details are used. Not everything is necessarily really as it happened. While the event may be real, the dialogue may be invented or something may be described differently than reality. A storybook mixes the real with a bit of fiction to make a story. It could be entirely fictional as well.

Merge  the story and illustrations or pictures. Now it’s time to get the story and the illustrations or photographs together. Just like any other scrapbook page, you assemble them in your favorite scrapbook style.

For those of you that want the most classy scrapbook album, I recommend a leather bound cover with a built in custom three ring binder system. There is a company that makes high quality albums called www.Kolo.com

My favorite model is the "Leather Newport," which comes in two sizes, 11" x 14" and 12" x 12." They are not cheap, starting price is $60. But if you really need to make a "statement" and want nothing but the best, I recommend scrapbook albums from this company. I also like the unique design on this model where you display a picture in the center of the cover by sliding in a real photo there.

This company also makes guest books, presentation binders, photo boxes, and corporate gifts, to name a few.

You might think that you won’t be able to find paper or sheet protectors and other items that fit a 12" x 12" album but all scrapbook stores and scrapbook supply websites have plenty of them for this particular size.

There are 3 types of scrapbook binders that hold the pages together. They are; 3 ring binder, post bound, and strap bound. The easiest of all three is the 3 ring binder because it is strong and flexible enough to accomodate pages and switching out of pages. The post bound involves three vertical posts that have screws that can be removed to add pages when needed. This type is very flexible too. Lastly, the strap bound is made up of an expandable strap hinge that weaves through each page edge. It is the least flexible of all three types.

Whatever album or binder that you choose, make sure that it is made of acid free and and the paper in it is lignin free. This will avoid any discoloration and deterioration to the contents of each page in the years to come.