I am pleased to announce our very first book on scrapbooking will be released on the first of October. It will have many start up tips and tricks as well as some advanced information on how to begin scrapbooking. It seems we have been getting a lot of email with questions on how much to spend, what embellishments to get, what size scrapbook is goo to start with, and so many more. So, what we decided is to write our first ever scrapbook guide.
Some of the things you will find in this booklet are: tools to use, how to pick photos, how to pick a place in your home to scrapbook, kinds of scrapbook binders, theme ideas, and so much more.
Unfortunately, right now, we are only publishing the book in english but soon to have it translated into many languages.
Come back and visit our site as we are going to go over new scrapbooking themes.
Filed under about scrapbooking, scrapbook, scrapbook embellishments, scrapbook guide, scrapbook ideas, scrapbookers, scrapbooking by 
As mentioned in the previous post. scrapbooking is growing by leaps and bounds as the hobbie to do around the world. There is yet another trend that is developing in the world of scrapbooking…the business of scrapbooking. There are 4 ways you can make money on your favorite hobbie.
- Scrapbook consultant - This is where you represent selling products for a scrapbook store or wholesaler to the public at large.
- Scrapbook teacher - This is probably the most popular. With the skills you already have as a scrapper, you can set up classes either online or in a home and sign up students who would like to learn, from scratch, how to make their own scrapbooks
- Create scrapbooks for others - Here is where you cash in on someone who needs a scrapbook in a short amount of time but has no previous skills in how to make one.
- Online scrapbooking store - This may be a little more involved, but not impossible! This involves lining up suppliers and wholesalers and setting up your own website to sell everything scrapbooking. You could work as an affiliate for other materials manufacturers or suppliers.
So hone your scrapbooking skils and you may soon discover that you can make a decent supplemental income from your love of bringing memories alive!
Filed under scrapbook, scrapbook business, scrapbook ideas, scrapbooking, scrapbooking resources by
After getting some emails from our visitors to this blog, I find that scrapbooking is truly growing around the world! I welcome everyone and will promise to keep you updated on the best tips and news on scrapbooking. To all of our worldly visitors, please make a comment on any post we have here to help us make it a better place to visit!
For those of you in different countries, please send in your pictures of your scrapbook creations. We would love to publish it here on the scrapbook submissions part of our blog. If you have an interesting story that goes with a scrapbook page, please attach a message with it. We will gladly add it to our collection of submissions
Soon, we are going to publish our very first scrapbooking ebook for everything scrapbooking.
Filed under create scrapbooks, scrapbook, scrapbook international, scrapbookers, scrapbooking by
The most devestating thing that happens to photos with age is fading and deterioation. You know what I mean…the old photos turn yellow, get brittle, even stick in pieces to the sheet protectors they were mounted on.
This can be alleviated by using only acid free paper and sleeves. Use sheet protectors to mount photos. Anything that can shield pictures from oxidation and constant touching by human hands is strongly suggested. Stay away from any "sticky" albums or adhesive to self mount pictures or "magnetic" cellophane. All of these materials can deteriorate pictures immediately.
When you get photo prints from a photo processing company, make sure the photo paper is acid free, lignin free and ph neutral. Believe it or not, some photo processing companies will sometimes give you prints on acid materials without you knowing about it.
If you print out photos on your own ink jet printer, make sure you check that the ink is acid free as well. Keep all images and picture surfaces away from direct sunlight, humidity and liquids.
Lastly, make sure you digitally back up all your photos on a CD of DVD. This precaution can come in handy if you should ever run into damaged photos in your scrapbook for whatever reason.
If you take good care of your scrapbooks, you will enjoy many years of enjoyment of your "prized" scrapbook!
Filed under create scrapbooks, preserve photos, scrapbook, scrapbook ideas, scrapbook materials, scrapbook photos, scrapbooking by
Scrapbook albums or binders come in 2 basic sizes…either 8 1/2" x 11" or 12′ x 12." Although you would think that 8 1/2" x 11" would be a most common size used, the 12" x 12" has been the most popular just because of the size of the pages you can work on. Think for a moment of the various pictures and journals and embellishments that would be spread out on a page, and soon you will discover that the larger would work better.
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.
Filed under about scrapbooking, create scrapbooks, scrapbook, scrapbook album, scrapbook materials, scrapbooking resources by
There are as much variety of embellishments that you can put into a scrapbbook as your imagination allows! When we talk about embellishments we are talking about any "non photo" materials that make your scrapbook come alive in 3-D. Some items that are embellishments can be:
Stickers, beads, silk flowers, fibers, stamps, clips, shells, chipboards, buttons, charms, chains, coins, newspaper articles, greeting cards, show tickets, locks of hair, ribbons, pinwheels, washers, and braids, just to name a few.
When you insert embellishments, you should be very selective in positioning them as not overuse them and make it balance the overall design of the page.
In the next several posts, we will show some of the uses of embellishments.
People have a natural curiosity about the world, things and people. What better way to discover more about yourself though your family tree! Scrapbooks have become popular with people who want to know where they came from, their culture, and who they may be related to. Although it is a lot of work to research, it can be very rewarding when it is complete, especially when all the information is gathered in one place.
To get you started, of course, the internet is best place to do so. Here are a few links to go to:
- Ancestry (www.ancestry.com.au)
- Family Search (www.familysearch.org)
- Genealogy Database Network (www.genealogy.com)
- World Gen Web Project (www.worldgenweb.org)
- Surname Web (www.surnameweb.org)
- The National Archives and Records Administration (www.nara.gov)
When starting a new scrapbook on this topic, remember to make sure they are acid & lignin free, especially if you chose to use original photos in your work. There will be many older pictures that you are going to put into this binder along with any old news clippings or other items that have discolored with age.
Because you are dealing with past history of people that you may not have actual memorabilia from, it is wise to design illustrations, copy and paste of articles that are gotten from the internet or other sources. If you are lucky enough to trace one of your past relative ties, you may want to request some memorabilia from them.
Even if you did not get any memorabilia from anyone in the family tree, quite often you can recreate past news clippings of that period in which your past relative lived through. Of course, journaling is a must to explain who and where about your past relatives.
Filed under about scrapbooking, create scrapbooks, geneology, scrapbook, scrapbook ideas, scrapbooking by
Having scrapbbooks of your children, whether one or many can be of such sentimental value to the family. Children grow up so fast and every single minute, day, month and year has its classic moments that can be captured in photographs, and words.
Start your first scrapbook with your baby. You can start with journal entries during the pregnancy and moving up to the delivery day followed by pictures of the baby arriving at home. You can attach items like, a copy of the birth certificate, foot prints, locks of hair, baby shower invitations, baby greeting cards from family and friends, and pictures of the baby in the crib at home. Pictures of first steps, first words, and many other firsts are the most appropriate for a scrapbook.
Next, you can do a toddler scrapbook. In it, you can include the cute smiles, the way the child shows their one of a kind personality, and socializing with family and friends. During this period, quite often it is when the child is very active and getting into everything they can! You could not keep up with the child in what they are exploring. Take many photos!
The next phase is the elementary school scrapbook where the child experiences many parties, graduations, story telling, achievements and awards in school, and art projects to name a few. We would suggest your child get involved in actual making of this scrapbook since they are very creative and can often enhance it in a very unique way.
Lastly, there is a double value in making a scrapbook when your child attends high school and into college. It is a scrapbook that will serve as a great momento to share experiences and moments for both the parent and the child, and someday for the child’s offspring.
One would think that scrapbooking is only for "grown ups" but did you know that many kids make scrapbooks along with their mom and dad? Yes, this craft hobbie is truly "family friendly." When starting out, make sure you go over all the safety concerns at the table, such as; the proper use of scissors, keeping the table neat, making sure that ink and stamp pads…etc. stays in the containers. Kids love to get messy so make sure you only put out only the items that will be worked on for that moment.
Start with the pictures, one page and a binder first. It is so important to choose the pictures that will be needed with the child so they can concentrate on only a few pictures at once. Keep them focused on working on one page only. After the kids choose their pictures, get out some colored construction paper, some stickers, and other small embellishments and watch how creative they get in positioning everything! Of course, you will need to assist them with adhesives and gluing things down, but overall, you can certainly praise them for their achievement!
Filed under create scrapbooks, scrapbook, scrapbookers, scrapbooking, scrapbooking with children by
Did you know that there are an unlimited amount of custom fonts that you can download and add to your scrapbook? Yes, there are many free shareware and font sites out there that you can use, from art deco to newspaper style, and many more. Here is a link from the site "about dot com" that has many decorative font styles for you to download for free.
For some ideas, you could print out a journal or phrase and print it out on brightly colored construction paper and cut it and paste it next to a photo or item. Some scrappers have been printing out individual letters and making headlines on pages or scrapbook binder covers.
Another great creative idea is to download and print out the "ding bat" style fonts. Ding bats fonts are smal clip art style shapes that you can use for just about any type of themed scrapbook. They come in many shapes, such as geometric shapes, animals, people, faces, holiday themes, and many more shapes. Of course, your computer can make your ding bat shapes into any point size depending on your need.
Filed under create scrapbooks, scrapbook, scrapbook fonts, scrapbook ideas, scrapbooking, scrapbooking resources by
