A Guide to Memorable Scrapbooking
Cherish your memories in style
By NicoleWords
With the trend toward technology, what is it about the simple art of scrapbooking that has made it such a growing trend? The answer is simple. Story telling is timeless, everyone has a story to tell, and scrapbooking is the perfect way to tell your story!
Since your scrapbook is a home for the story you want to tell, it is important to take the time and care to make it truly unique. There are many ways to do this, including selecting the right album, laying out great pages, and finishing it with perfectly personal embellishments. Let's briefly discuss these three elements that will make your scrapbook a solid success:
The Album You pick up a book in a bookstore, maybe a great novel, and the pages are sturdy, the binding flawless, the cover well-designed. It's an easy sell. The same should be true of your scrapbook. It should make a good impression from the moment someone sees it and picks it up for the first time. Many companies are manufacturing really great albums. Take some time to research your options. Do you want a solid color? A pattern? A theme? Do you want to have it embossed with a personal design? Would you like to be able to frame a photo on the cover? Remember to also consider manufacturing quality. Not all albums are created equal, so it's a good idea to look into the craftsmanship that is going into your book before you buy it. You may also want to consider whether the manufacturer offers any kind of guarantee for the album. Above all, remember that your album never gets a second chance to make a first impression!
Great Pages Dazzling pages are essential to making your album unique! You want to keep people wanting to turn to the next page! There are many page colors and textures to choose from. Do you want a natural page with some speckle to give your album a rustic or vintage feel? Do you want black to give it a classic feel and make the colors really pop? The page is just your canvasready for your master work as a scrapbooking artist. Once you pick your pages, there are additional resources available to get the layout just right. Many publishers have produced books full of easy guides to arrange your photos and words in stunning layouts. You can achieve great results with just a few basic suppliesthing as simple as a good quality photo trimmer, adhesive that's easy to apply and not messy, and other tools like photo corners and pre-cut borders or frames are helpful and widely available. Since your scrapbook is made up of pages, each one should be a reflection of the story you're trying to tell!
Personal Embellishments Once you have the basic layout of your pages down, some final goodies are in order-extra touches that make the page truly unique. Stickers, jewels, tags, stamps, and cut-outs help to add that final artistic touch. You might even want to commission some custom-designed embellishments online through various handmade crafts communities. Imagine being able to say that a certain tag or inset in your scrapbook page was hand-crafted just for you! What a joy! It is these little details that put the icing on your labor of love.
Whatever style you prefer, whatever personality you convey, wherever your life takes you, your scrapbook can tell your story, and paying attention to each component of your scrapbook is the best way to insure that your book is a story that is uniquely you!