Did this ever happen to you? You are at a family event or some memorable event that you want to capture with your camera and definitely plan to use in your next scrapbook. You get the pictures developed only to find a lot of them are too bright, not centered in the frame, blurry because you shook the camera, or you even found blank pictures all together!
This is when you should think about how you use your camera before you go to the event! Most of the time we do not think about how we are going to use the camera, much less even checking if we have film in the camera before we leave our home!
So, here are the basics of what to do to prepare:
1) Make sure your camera has new film. (if film is already in the camera, make sure you know the expiration dates of the film and change out if needed)
2) Check the camera lens to make sure it is clean and not scratched.
3) Check to make sure the on board batteries are still "alive."
4) Keep the camera in room temperature setting if possible. In the dead of summer with extreme heat or the cold of winter, these extreme temperatures can affect the quality of the pictures.
5) When aiming the camera, make sure you take extra care in centering the person or subject in the picture.
6) Hold your camera steady!! Even with high speed or "shake proof" cameras, you can still get a blurry picture if not completely still.
7) If you can find a setting for "day/night," use that setting because it is a general setting that can make the best picture for you.
8) When taking film in for developing, compare photo processing charges with at least two different stores. Quite often you will be surprised at how much you can save for developing per picture costs.
So, if you follow these common sense ideas, you will be guaranteed of outstanding pictures to mount in your scrapbook.
Feel free to make comments here if you would like to add your clever ideas for making great pictures!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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We are now going to go over another creative way to decorate a scrapbook page. This technique goes with any theme you may be working on now. Many of you may be already using this method for variety in your scrapbook look. This technique is called "stamping." It is simply a matter of using either store bought rubber stamps with interesting designs on them or home made stamps. Either way, you would either use a stamp pad or colored markers to transfer ink on them and strategically stamp the scrapbook page with them.
This brings me back to when I was a child and made stamps made of uncooked potato spuds. Some of you may remember that! For those of you that do not know about how potato stamps were made, you would take a raw potato and slice it in half. You would take one of the slices and carve an image or pattern in the face of the potato, the starchy side, and then dip it into a stamp pad or tempura paint tray and then press it on a colored piece of construction paper. We would repeat this process until we totally covered the page. It was a beautiful sight!
Nowdays, you can find many different stamp patterns at craft stores, import stores, book stores, even in office supply stores.
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It seems, after doing an informal "poll," that the location where people scrap are many, and quite often unique.
Of course, most scrappers use the trusty dining room table for laying out their pictures, momentos, materials and supplies. Still others are using the living room table. Many have a "corner" of a bedroom or guest room to make their creations. Then there are the unconventional places, such as the bedroom floor, or sitting on the back porch and laying things on their lap! Some scrappers swear that they have to have the radio on with music or even talk shows to get inspired to do their masterpiece. There was another scrapper that refused to work on their scrapbook at home, they have to bring all their materials to someone else’s home or even the library.
Wherever you are comfortable with scrapping, make sure you are organized and are focused on your theme and what materials you are going to use. The place to scrap is as different as the people’s personalities that will make scrapbooks!
Let us know where your favorite place to scrap….
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Here is a letter from a beginning scrapper in Arizona. Please read it and enjoy.
Scrapbooking is a very fun new hobby of mine. I found it a way of expressing myself through pictures that I shot and how I lay it out in the scrap book binder. At first, I felt intimidated and frustrated because I did not know where to start when planning and making one.
I found that it was very helpful in spreading out the pictures. Since I had pictures from many events, such as holidays, family get togethers, and vacation trips, I found it important to sort the pictures first. It is also helpful to date the backs of the pictures to keep the time sequence between them.
As for the work space, my favorite place is the kitchen table. Here is the list of supplies I used when starting a scrapbook.
- Photo album or scrapbook binder
- transparent ruler
- scissors
- paper cutter
- adhesives
- card stock
- colored paper
- die cuts
- decorative edge scissors
Although I feel myself as a beginning scrapbooker, I see my skills at this becoming more refined as time goes by and will enjoy it even more. To all you beginning scrappers out there, get out and take some pictures, buy some supplies and get started!
J. from Arizona
Hello all! I hope you are having a wonderful summer season so far. Thoughts come to mind on vacation scrapbooks. How interesting we would bring up such an idea! Yes, this would be a perfect time to buy your binder and get your camera ready for the summer vacation scrapbook.
Can you see you and your family at the beach? How about Disneyland? The beautiful scenic drive in a rental car? Maybe a picture of the rustic town you are staying at? Well, anything that rekindles a wonderful time in a place far away is a great excuse to start up another scrapbook!
When going on your summer vacation and preparing your scrapbook for this trip, here is a little checklist to be mindful of:
- Make sure you have enough film for your camera, or enough memory space in your memory stick.
- Bring a scratch pad tor remind you where you’ve been so you can make some journaling entries
- Think of how you are going to "theme" the binder cover based on where you visited for you vacation
- Don’t forget to save any momentos during you trip so you can glue them in your scrapbook
- Think of maybe making more than one scrapbook if you choose to share one with your friend or family member
Make it a point to start on your scrapbook immediately when you come home from your trip so your thoughts stay fresh in your mind.
If you have any summer scrapbook idea you might have, please feel free to submit them in comments here!
Have a great summer vacation…
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It happens to the best of us…."scrapbook mind block!" You pulled out all the photos, materials, tools, and you had the main theme in mind, and…..you stop dead in your tracks because you either forgot what you were going to layout or plan or mount in your scrapbook binder. It can happen in any hobbie or even at the workplace.
First things, first….walk away from the work table all together. You need to collect your thoughts. Grab yourself a nice cold ice tea and sip for a while. When you get your frame of mind back, return to the work table and take out a scratch pad and pen. List the theme, layout your photos, layout your materials, and make an "informal" table of contents in your scrapbook. Take the photos and lay them out in page order, then spread the materials next to each photo and lastly, compose the journaling you would add to which pages. This process is similar to "story boarding" that world famous film producers and directors would utilize. Simply put, you get a clearer "view" of everything when you lay it out and in the order you want. This also gives you time to reposition things. Take down, in your scratch pad, the order of your photos and materials in case you have to pack things up again to work on it later.
So, next time you get scrapbookers "block," step away for a moment!
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Did you know that there is no set rule that you have to use photographs in your scrapbooks? Most beginners think that the main focus is on photographs since this is all about capturing the memories of something. Well, do you remember the "autograph" books that you signed when you were in high school? Do you remember making "pop up" books in elementary school? There are literally so many ways that you can make a complete scrapbook without a single picture in it.
Just think of the possibilities…you could use ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, jewelry, hair berettes, stickers, buttons, stamps, beads, construction paper, small toys, scanned diagrams, paper clips, ribbons, origami, etc. the list just goes on and on! You could combine many pages of journaling to describe what each item represents in an event or refer to someplace or someone. Actually, making a scrapbook is only limited to your imagination!
You will find that visiting your local art store will yield many ideas for the "non photo" scrapbook. Why don’t you try making one now…
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