Have You Tried Scrapbooking Recipes?

By Christine Perry

 

Have you seen the new scrapbooking supplies for recipe albums? Local craft stores are responding to the new trend of scrapbooking recipes. You can find albums with a recipe theme, as well as stickers, paper and embellishments to complement the scrapbook. The main thought behind scrapbooking recipes is the same as using photos and memories. We want to preserve the recipes for future generations. However, recipe albums are very popular as gift items as well. Some scrapbookers are even using them in their kitchens as cookbooks.

To begin designing a recipe scrapbook you need to think about your purpose for creating it. Will this be an album documenting family recipes handed down from generation to generation? Or are you creating an album to give as a gift? If this is a recipe album meant to be used in the kitchen, you also may approach the design differently and choose a scrapbook that will be more durable. Albums come in a variety of sizes including, 4x6, 5x7 and 12x12 inches. Choose the one that will best fit your goal for scrapbooking recipes.

Decide whether or not this will be a gift album. You may not want to use the original recipe card written by your great-grandmother in a gift recipe scrapbook. You still could make the recipes personal by writing the ingredients and instructions in your own handwriting instead of a computer font. Recipe albums make welcome gifts for weddings, graduations, Christmas or housewarming gifts.

Which recipes to choose will depend on your goal for the album. You may want to use quick and easy recipes for a graduation gift. Holiday favorites would be ideal for a Christmas gift. You could also narrow down the recipe choices to just desserts, soups, main dishes or family favorites.

When you begin to design your recipe album decide if you want to keep the same layout format for each page and if you will coordinate the embellishments on each page. You may want to keep the album with an overall uniform look, or have each individual page have a unique look.

You can use recipe cards or journaling blocks for the ingredients and instructions. You may also want to include a photo of the dish or a picture of the person who gave you the recipe. Consider adding comments about why you love the dish or opinions from your family on why it is one of their favorites. Try journaling about the history of the recipe or any special memories you have about it. Making the album personal is what scrapbooking is all about.

Scrapbooking recipes doesn't have to be limited to a recipe album. Think about including recipes in other scrapbooks. Highlight the recipe for witch's brew on a Halloween page layout. Recipes on Thanksgiving pages are an obvious choice. Include your secret recipe for perfect gravy. How about including the recipes for the dinner you made for your husband on your first Valentine's Day? You can also include your grandmother's apple pie recipe on a page all about your memories of her. Food is a big part of our lives, and recipes are a natural page element for scrapbooks. Think about creating a recipe album as craft project or add a recipe to your next page layout. Be a part of latest scrapbooking trend and pull out your recipe cards.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has over 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking tips and scrapbooking recipes ideas. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Perry

Scrapbook Cost-Cutting Methods

By Kay J

 

The thing that accompanies photography for some people is the art of scrapbooking. Instead of normal albums where you place your photos into transparent slots, you turn a blank page into a decorative creation. This is the hobby of scrapbooking. The particular hobby can be quite an expensive hobby once you really get into it and start wanting to make each and every page an aesthetic wonder. It would be a better idea if your scrapbook was done in a very frugal manner. That way, you'll be able to effectively stretch your budget and produce more pages in the long run.

Be organized

If you've been into scrapbooking for quite some time now, you might have just about enough in order to continue your current scrapbooking trend. Try to organize everything that you own in order to maximize its use. It will be a good idea to sort out what you already have in order to find out what you need to buy and what materials you already have. The expenses that you will be incurring then are calculated expenses and not the ones you'll end up regretting after.

Practice bulk-buying

Get into the habit of buying those little cardboard cutouts in bulk to be able to get most of the colors that you need and may need in the future. You can also split the cost of patterned paper with someone else so you'll get more for less. The point is, when shopping for scrapbooking stuff, you would be doing yourself a favor if you were able to get more bang out of your buck.

Plan in advance

For your border accents, backgrounds, themes, motifs and photo sets, it would be best if you were able to plan out the appearance and the organization of the different photographs that you have. If you would like to set your vacation in Hawaii onto a tropical theme, then buy accordingly and plan the appearances of the different pages once you're ready to buy. That way, you essentially avoid impulse spending on a paper accent that looks good but is not essential to your scrapbook theme.

Improvise

You can use everyday objects as guides for your patterns. If you already have a cd, then you can make use of it as a circular template. If you have Post-it notes lying around, you can use those as a square template. Maybe you can improvise even more when you look around your house. There are a thousand and one things that you can use in order to create decent-looking templates. It only takes a creative mind to discover them.

Embellish with everyday objects

If you are able to find scrapbooking materials in everyday objects, then you're on your way to saving up even more money than before. Whether these materials be paper clips or pins, these materials, when used properly and creatively, will give your scrapbook pages a better feel and a more tactile and solid feel when you add them.

Please visit us at http://www.goodphotographers.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kay_J

 

Military Scrapbooking Ideas for Armed Forces Personnel and Their Families

By Christine Perry

 

Being in the military is a lifestyle all its own. You might be a service personnel or the parent, spouse or child of someone in the armed forces. The military life touches everyone who loves someone serving in any one of the service branches whether it is the Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force, or National Guard. Military scrapbooking ideas all start with how the military life affects you.

Scrapbooking Ideas for Military Personnel

As a member of the armed forces, you will want to preserve and document your military experience. Recording your memories of your service years is important not only for yourself, but also for your children and future generations. Your years in the service are not only personal, but they document our national history as well. You might have served in a war or responded to a national crisis. Preserving your memories of those experiences will tell others your first-person account of a moment in history.

Items to Include In Your Military Scrapbook

Your service documents including your enlistment application

Newspaper articles

Photos of you receiving recognition

Photos of returning home from a duty station

Photos of your military friends

Photos of your service stations

A time line of your years in service, including where and when you served

Pages or quotes from your personal journal, including your hopes, fears, and thoughts

Information on the training you received, including when and where you received training

Photos of boot camp, including your graduation

Awards and recognition with journaling on how, when and why you received them

Photos of your metals and ribbons including how, when and why you received these honors

Highlights of your military career

Photos of ceremonies you participated in

Your retirement party

Scrapbooking for Family Members of Military Personnel

Is someone you love in the armed forces? You may want to document their military career for them, or create a scrapbook about how that person's military life affected you. Being the spouse, child or parent of someone in the military, you will have your own thoughts, fears, feelings and hopes about his/her military life. Your scrapbook can be a gift for the military personnel or for someone else in their family, like a son or daughter. It also can be an account of how military life affected your own life experiences.

Items for Family Members to Include in a Military Scrapbook

Photos of you with your loved one in the service

Farewell photos

Homecoming photos

Journaling of your feelings about being part of a military family

Moving day photos from one service station community to another

Letters or emails written from your loved one in the armed forces

Photos of military family events like picnics or formal parties

Newspaper articles

Scrapbooking companies are responding to the huge demand for military scrapbooking supplies. You can find albums with armed forces emblems on the cover. Stickers and embellishments relating to the military service are also available. However, it's your own personal photos and journaling that will create a military scrapbook that will become a legacy to future generations.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has over 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking ideas and scrapbooking ideas with kids. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Perry

Mixing Digital Photography, Scrapbooking and Journaling

By June Campbell

What a powerful mix when you combine digital photography, scrapbooking and journaling! But where do you stand on the great scrapbooking controversy? That's the controversy around digital or computer generated journaling versus handwritten journaling.

Purists who take their scrapbooking very seriously argue that journaling must be done in your own handwriting, since it represents you and who you are. Others favor digital journaling. They point out that handwriting is sometimes less than exemplary and that the quality of the scrapbook is improved when the journaling is accomplished courtesy of a computer and printer. It's your call. There's no right answer here.

However, it doesn't have to be "either/or". There is a third choice. Did you know that you can duplicate your own handwriting in a digital picture? Yes, your own handwriting! Not just a fancy script font that looks a bit like your handwriting, but your own handwriting.

You will need an item called a Wacom art tablet. Check them out at http://www.wacom.com. The tablets come in various sizes. A small 4" x 5" tablet with pen costs about $85 at Amazon and works quite nicely for our purposes. Once you become familiar with this item, you will use it regularly when editing your digital photography.

Wacom tablets are computer peripherals. They resemble small writing pads that you attach to a computer port, or connect wirelessly if you have that capability. You will notice that a special pen comes with the tablet.

This pen is a mouse in disguise. You hold it like a pen and then by placing the pen's point on the art tablet, you can use it for all the regular mousing functions.

However – and this is the important point – the tip gives a much finer connection than a mouse provides. Also, you can adjust the pen for several levels of pressure.

These two features allow you to create handwriting.

It works like this: you open your digital photo editing software. Open a new file, creating whatever color background you want. Next, locate the toolbar and select the pencil tool or a tool that allows you to draw freeform lines. Change the color to whatever color you want the writing to be. Then, holding your mouse/pen the same way you hold a pencil, WRITE (or print) your journaling on the Wacom tablet.

You now have a digital image file containing your own handwritten journaling. You can print it out as is, or copy and paste it into any other image. Since this is a digital image, you can resize the image to get any size handwriting you want.

Later, when you become skilled at using the Wacom tablet and pen, you can write your journaling directly on your digital photography.

How cool is that?

The sky's the limit when you combine digital photography, scrapbooking and digital journaling.

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Experience A Different World Of Scrapbook With Scrapbooking Rubber Stamp

By J. Foster

 

Scrapbooking is one such activity that provides immense pleasure to the creator. It also helps to unwind from the hectic schedules of life and work. However, it has been witnessed that scrap bookers are always looking for new and unique ideas to create their masterpiece and are also in search for good scrap booking materials. Besides stickers and shimmers, scrapbooking rubber stamp is also gaining popularity amongst them. Thus, do not wait and get started for a great scrapbook.

Generally, people use unused or recycled products to generate a great scrapbook and to make it unique and different in every way. Moreover, this is possible with the availability of various scrap book materials, such as shimmers, stickers, printed and glossed paper; and now, hats off to the scrapbooking rubber stamp that has added more fun into this creative activity. However, it has turned out to be more than an activity and people are using this as a means of exploring themselves besides displaying their art work. However, now this art of creating scrapbooks is considered to be a stress buster for many. With the availability of scrapbooking rubber stamp, it becomes funnier and also adds substance into the scrapbook. Moreover, people are opting for stamps because they are usually short of ideas and concepts. In fact, it will not be incorrect to say that it also saves time of the person who is in the process of creating an album.

Scrap booking stamps are readily available in craft stores or at any stationary shop. One can choose them from a variety, according to tastes and style and theme. However, the stamps that are getting popular for their easy application are quick rubber stamps, acrylic mounts, rubber stamps with depth and image, mounted rubber stamps and unmounted rubber stamps. In fact, these are easy to use, translucent and clear and above all lesser messy. Scrapbooking rubber stamp comes in various sizes and shapes. Therefore,hurry and grab the fun with these durable and versatile stamps. The best thing with these stamps is that besides being user friendly they are an ideal choice for people who are beginners or are totally new to this concept. Moreover, a scrap booker can create a unique album by using these scrap booking stamps. Hence, get down stamping your scrapbook with the help of scrap booking rubber stamp. These stamps lend style and aesthetic taste to album.

One can choose from a variety of simple, plain, animated, pictorial and embossed rubber stamps. The other quality with them is that these can be applied on any kind of fabric or paper that can liven up the card or an album. Scrapbooking rubber stamp is easy to manage and adds classy touch to the scrapbook. However, the most lovable and readily used images and caricatures are hearts, stars, figurines, smilies, birds, cows, cats, sea dragons, fishes, and lots more. One does not even have to bother about the look of the scrapbook, as these stamps leave an everlasting impression on the creator and even the onlooker is unable to escape the magic of such rubber stamp. Thus, flaunt your creative skills amongst friends, family, children, co-workers and even strangers.

John Foster has special interest in arts. He gives advice to anyone who wants to know about online art school and scrapbooking and others.To know about more for art school class for scrapbooking,scrapbooking rubber stamp, Scrapbooking Book scrapbooking rubber stamp and DIY scrapbooking art visit on www.layersofourlives.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J._Foster

Computerized Die Cuts Revolutionize Scrapbooking

By Jeff McRitchie

 

For years, schools have been using expensive die cutting equipment for bulletin boards and craft projects. Then as scrapbooking became more popular scrapbook shops and craft stores started selling die cuts and cutting equipment. Usually, the cutting equipment isn't that expensive. However, you can easily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on die sets. For most individuals who love to scrapbook, the cost of owning a traditional die cutting machine along with a large selection of dies is just not practical.

With the cost of traditional cutting solutions, most serious scrapbookers were left to either buy cuts or use a cutting machine at local scrapbooking stores. However, that has now all changed. With the advent of computerized cutting solutions, it is now possible for individuals to create their own die cuts in the comfort of their own home without breaking the bank.

There are a number of different computerized cutting machines available on the market. However, most of these machines require users to buy font sets and shape sets to use with the machine. Usually the machine itself is not very expensive. However, like traditional cutting solutions it is easy to spend two or three times the value of the machine on the fonts and shapes. Unfortunately, this isn't that much better than the old way of doing die cuts.

A few computerized cutting solutions are different. They allow you use your computer to cut any font or shape that you have on your hard drive. With these solutions, there are literally millions of possibilities and you don't need to buy a single font set or cartridge. You can use any of the fonts, clipart or shapes that you currently have on your computer or you can design your own shapes and cut them out. These solutions even come with software that allows you to "weld" words together to make a die cut of a complete word.

The possibilities for this type of machine are endless. You can use these machines to cut letters and words from virtually any type of paper you can find. You can cut nearly any shape that you can imagine, including complex shapes with small details such as a snowflake. You can even cut a logo or shape out of a card or document allowing you to create unique layers. Plus, if you run out of ideas of things to cut out you can find endless ideas on the internet. In fact, there are even groups dedicated to sharing ideas and designs to use with these type of die cutting machines.

There are currently three different machines on the market that offer the option of cutting shapes and true type fonts from your computer. These options include the Xyron Wishblade, The Craft Robo and the Pazzles Mini. All three of these machines offer similar features at similar prices. Check them out for yourself and start cutting shapes and letters today.

Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for www.MyBinding.com. He has written hundreds of articles on topics related to Paper Handling,Xyron Die cutting Systems Binding Supplies, Binding Machines, Laminators, Laminating Supplies, Covers, Index Tabs, Paper Shredders and more. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_McRitchie

Creating A Family Recipe Scrapbook

By Michelle Cardello

 

Recipes are among the most treasured family air looms handed down from one generation to the next. They become especially important during the holidays when even the most infrequent of cooks strive to produce the most tantalizing, mouth watering dish at the annual get-together.

Every year, family members rush around to find that particular recipe that has been a favorite for generations, and every year, that person inevitably calls everyone who just might have it. What better way to end the search than to start a family recipe scrapbook.

A recipe scrapbook will serve multiple purposes. First, it will ensure that the recipes frequently used by you and your family members are always close at hand. Second, it provides a way for you to pass them down to your children and grandchildren. Creating one can also make for a fun project for all involved, and the best part is that it can be continuously added to year after year.

When you begin, you should first decide which family recipes you want to include. Some people choose to create a book for each side of the family, while others choose to combine all the recipes in one neat album. Naturally, as it continues to grow, it will become necessary to add subsequent volumes.

You may even want to categorize the recipes by type, family member of origin, or in chronological order by generation. The possibilities are endless.

You can copy each scrapbook you create to be later given to aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, children, and grandchildren. The advantage here is that the scrapbook can be copied as many times as needed without altering the placement or format of the original content.

To begin, choose your scrapbook. A 6x6 scrapbook works wonderfully to hold 3x5 index cards. Alternatively, you can use an 8x8 scrapbook and present your recipes on larger sheets of paper instead of the smaller cards.

To add variety, combine photographs with your recipes for an added personal touch. For example, include a group family photo at the beginning of the album as a great way to begin the book. Other photos can include holiday shots of family members whose recipes are used placed just before those particular recipes. Include a bit of family history in your scrapbook either at the beginning or dispersed throughout the book. Here, you might explain the origin of each recipe, when it began its generational descent in your family, and a short story about why it has become a family favorite.

Add a shopping list for each recipe to make it easier for others to find the right ingredients. Consider placing the list on the page adjacent to the recipe. The recipe submitters photo may also be placed on the page with the shopping list. Add the author and historical information on a third page. Since many scrapbooking albums are very expandable, it is often easy to add pages when needed.

Add measurement charts and converters to the back of your family recipe scrapbook. If you feel this information should be included before the end, place it in the front. These recipe scrapbooks make great gifts to family members, new brides, or college graduates starting out on their own. Create them, add to them, and have them close by for many years to come.

Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a creative scrapbooking supplies company also offering contemporary picture frames, in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging industry for 10 years. Cardello helps customers find creative ways to preserve and appreciate a lifetime of memories. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Cardello

How To Host a Scrapbooking Party

By Ian McWilliams

 

Hosting a scrapbooking party isn't as bad as it sounds. It is a fun choice for women to get together with the same hobby and share ideas and techniques. Hosting a party gives you extra perks like, discounts and prizes. Before you start handing out those invitations there are a few things you need to know.

First, What are the benefits of having a scrapbook party in your house. Women are more eager to attend these parties because they have a chance not only to catch up with one another, but to swap different designs and scrapbooking tools.

You will need to think of a roomy location to have your party. Each person will need plenty of room for their supplies and other items. Each person should bring their photos and memorabilia the want to exhibit. There are also some fundamental items they will need to bring along. Be sure to list them on the invitations.

Sharp scissors or shears

Small paper trimmer

Acid-free and lignin-free paper for mounting and

background

Acid-free pens for journaling

Adhesives for mounting photos and embellishments

Stickers for decorating

Now would be a good time for you to start thinking about the display of your page. Gather your pictures and cardstock and place them in clear baggies. Obtain accompaniments you wish to add.

The normal scrapbook party usually lasts two to three hours depending on how many first timers there are. Arrange to serve some light snacks and drinks. Place these away from the scrapbooking area to avoid any unwanted mishaps. Choose snacks that are easy to eat without a lot of mess.

Don't try to push yourself to complete a lot of pages during this time. Many scrapbookers only complete one to two pages at the party. This is why so many continue to have parties at different locations. You can establish a group that is willing to host parties at each others homes. A good time frame to get together again would be about once a month. This will enable everyone to establish more photos and scrapbooking items.

During your scrapbooking party is a great time to swap or borrow scrapbooking tools you do not use any more.

For more Scrapbooking hints, tips and advice visit my site now. http://123scrapbooking.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_McWilliams

Scrapbooking and Recycling, A Perfect Match

By Lori Heino-royer

 

Recycle is to process used items so that the material can be used to make new products. Reduce refers to lowering the amount of items or resources that are consumed. Reuse means repurposing an item rather than discarding it. Recycling generally prevents the waste of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage.

Scrapbooking is about preserving a legacy in the form of photos, media and other memorabilia while incorporating the creative use of papers in decorated albums.

Recycling and Scrapbooking are a perfect match. Paper, the primary material in scrapbooking, is a natural, renewable resource, making it an environmentally friendly medium.

There are so many fun and easy ways to make your scrapbook personal and unique by reusing things from around your own home. The handcrafted items made from common everyday goods add the ultimate personal touch that can't be duplicated in mass production. Here are a few ideas on how you can increase your recycling while you scrapbook:

Recycle

• Set up an area near where you scrapbook for items that can be recycled like papers or ribbon scraps, this will encourage you to consume more and throw away less

• Purchase recycled scrapbook paper, there are new lines of patterned scrapbook paper that are made from 30% post consumer content and use vegetable based inks (available now at www.scrapbookpantry.com)

Reuse

• Use the scraps on several pages in the same album to carry an overall theme

• Donate the papers in your someday pile to charity or your local senior center

• Share or trade your idea books with your friends

• Purchase slightly used items scrapbook garage sales (or host your own)

• Find a way to use the packing material often included with scrapbook items (remember you may need to treat these items to make them archival safe)

• Don't just buy your buttons collect them from old blouses or shirts in your closet

Reduce

• Purchase durable, long-lasting products

• Use every bit of item that you do purchase

• Don't buy the newest item if you already have a similar item

Written by Lori Heino-Royer http://www.scrapbookpantry.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_Heino-royer

Valentine Treat Bags with a Personal Touch

By Barbara Ryan

 

Do you enjoy digital scrapbooking? Do you share your passion with others? How many people get to see your unique creations? Here is an easy way to show off your favorite pages. Create gift tags using your digital scrapbook pages. It's simple and easy and adds a perfect personalized touch to a simple inexpensive gift.

For my son's pre-school class of 12, I decided to make treat bags with a little personalized touch using a Valentine's Day digital scrapbook page I created as my own gift tag.

So here is what you do. Take your Valentine's Day themed digital scrapbook page and reduced it to 2×2. Print the tags on either 4x6 photo paper or a larger sheet of photo paper. Six tags will fit on a sheet of 4×6 borderless photo paper. Next, cut them all out and use a hole punch to put a hole in each top left corner of the tags.

Gather all your materials, you will need;
Tags
Paper treat bags
Hole punch
Scissors
Stapler
Themed Stickers (optional)
Ribbon
Treats for filling

Now you are ready to being. Use the hole punch to punch a hole in the paper treat bags, again in the top left corner. Next fill the treat bags with whatever goodies you have purchased. Little heart candies, lollipops, and chocolates. Once filled, fold a small half-inch or so section of the top of the paper treat bag over and staple in the middle of the fold to hold closed. You could also use a Valentine theme sticker to hold the bag closed if you prefer not to use staples or even to cover the staple. Next take some red ribbon and tie the tag to the bag.

Personalized and adorable! Not to mention an excellent way to show off your hidden design talents.

Barbara Ryan operates Cherish Collages – Custom Photo Collage Design, http://www.cherishcollages.com a business dedicated to creating unique personal keepsakes and gifts from photographs. View samples of photo collages here in the Photo Collage Gallery Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Ryan

How to Save Money on Scrapbooking Supplies

By Audrey Okaneko 

 

Scrapbooking is so much fun, that it's very easy to rack up quite a bill when shopping. I know when my daughter and I visited the craft store last week, she was just mesmerized in the scrapbook aisle. She truly wanted one of everything. Today, there is so much you can add to a page, stickers, embellishments, ribbons and stamps.

So, how can you get all of the goodies without breaking the bank? I have two suggestions. The first is scrapbook kits. We belong to a monthly scrapbook club. So, every month we receive an assortment of papers, an assortment of stickers and an assortment of embellishments all in one kit. We mix and match our kits all of the time. If we never bought anything but the kits, we'd have enough materials to make many great pages. The manufacturers of scrapbook kits almost always offer a lower price on the kit versus what you would pay if you purchased each item individually. You'll find kits available for themes, such as weddings, birthdays and summer vacations, and you'll also find kits available for seasons, summer, winter, autumn and fall. Having two daughters, I've also purchased several "girl" kits. While I don't have boys, I've seen baby boy kits, sports kits and car kits.

My second suggestion is clearance sales. If you are a scrapbooker, you know that you'll be scrapbooking in a years' time. I buy scrapbook supplies, the same way I buy clothes, after the season. Once summer is over, all of the scrapbook companies make room for their fall inventory by lowering the prices on all remaining summer products. This is the best time to buy those summer colors. The same is true in reverse. If you want the darker autumn tones of paper, wait until summer is here and then stock up. We buy a lot of discontinued products. They work great, but we get them for a fraction of the cost.

We actually combine the two ideas and buy scrapbook kits on sale, after the season. It really is possible to enjoy the hobby of scrapbooking while saving money on the supplies.

Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Audrey_Okaneko

Snow Fun Scrapbook Layout

By Rachel Paxton 

 

Playing in the snow is a great time to take candid pictures of your family. Where we live we might only get one or two days of snow each year, if we're lucky, so this year we decided to drive to the snow! We found a state park only a couple of hours away where they had great sledding hills, and took the whole family along for an afternoon of sledding and snow fun.

We took lots of great pictures that day. It's not often you get pictures of grandma and grandpa sledding and playing in the snow. The hard part is choosing which pictures to put in my scrapbook!

Materials Needed:

- Dark blue piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper
- White piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper
- Paper Cutter
- Glue
- Two photos

I was trying to come up with a "snow" theme for my scrapbook layout. I chose a 12x12 dark blue piece of paper for the background of my page. I decided to accent the blue with lots of white to represent the snow.

For the first white accent I decided to create snowflakes to be the mats for my photos. There was only enough room for two photos on the page, so I cut out two snowflake mats.

To make the snowflake mats, I cut out a piece of white cardstock to be the size my mat would normally be. Then I folded the piece of paper in half as many times as I could and cut the corners off and cut little triangles into each side of the shape to create my snowflake. You can have fun with this part, just think back to making snowflakes as a child! I also cut out a couple of small snowflakes for extra decoration.

To add some snow to the background of my page, I took a 12x12 piece of white card stock and tore a strip of it to glue at the bottom of the dark blue background page. This gives the page the appearance of a snowy background (see photo).

Next I cut out a freehand snowman to glue on the side of the page. It really doesn't have to look perfect, it's supposed to look homemade!

I then printed out the words "Winter Wonderland" on my computer to create the heading for the page. I didn't mat this piece of paper. I just cut it out and glued it at the top of the background page.

Last but not least, I glued two photos to my "snowflake" mats and arranged them in the center of the page with the extra snowflake for an added accent. Easy, and very cute!

Photos of finished snow fun scrapbook layout: http://www.crafty-moms.com/scrapbooking/snow-fun.shtml

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com . Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Paxton

Scrapbooking to Give as Gifts

By Tiffany Washko 

 

Scrapbooking has become a nice hobby for you to creatively display some of your favorite pictures. If everyone raves about your abilities as a scrapbooking genius, you might want to create a scrapbook to give as a gift for those who don't have the talent or the time to make beautiful keepsakes like you do!

It's easy to shop online or mosey into a local store and pick up a present for someone you love. But a personalized gift means you've put your heart into it - and it will be far more treasured than a department-store gift would be.

Is someone you know having an anniversary? The first year of marriage is the paper anniversary - an ideal time to deliver a scrapbook of memories to a bride and groom just starting their lives together.

Older couples would also enjoy scrapbook keepsakes to look back on the years they've spent together. Put together a scrapbook that shows as much as you can share about the couple, but add some blank pages so that each of them can add their own memories to the scrapbook form their own perspective.

Milestone birthdays are another perfect opportunity to give a scrapbook as a gift. Someone turning 40 would enjoy an "Over-the-Hill" scrapbook that shows their lives up to that point - providing they have a good sense of humor.

Someone who's retiring might also love a scrapbook that shares their time spent with a company. To many, their work family is an integral part of their lives, and having a scrapbook to look back on and remember the people and place would be a gift they treasure for years.

Your themed pages could include ladder climbing, showing their progress as they were promoted up in the ranks. Add a few blank pages to include pictures and mementos (as well as notes) about the retirement party itself.

Scrapbooks are great gifts to give someone for holidays or everyday occasions. They're easy and fun to make and show you put a lot of thought into the gift. Scrapbooks that have photos of the past bring an overwhelming amount of happy memories they can relive and enjoy all over again.

Tiffany Washko is the editor of Nature Moms, http://www.naturemoms.com . After working several years in corporate healthcare marketing and public relations, she took time away to be a mother. This new pursuit lead her to a new passion, natural family living and writing about environmental and political issues. She currently works as a freelance writer and newspaper journalist. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tiffany_Washko

A New Tradition, Create A Holiday Memory Book

By Barbara Ryan 

 

The Holidays are a magical time of year, especially if you have or spend time with young children. Seeing the holiday through their eyes is so special. The memories created from our own childhood Holidays shape how we present the holiday season to our own children. A Holiday Memory Book can be a wonderful new tradition to help preserve and share those memories year after year.

A Holiday Memory Book can be as simple as your favorite photographs from each holiday season placed in a special photo album. Each year, add a page or two of photographs from that year's holiday. Or, you can get more creative and make a scrapbook. It can be a tradition paper scrapbook if that is something you enjoy, or a digital scrapbook.

There are many digital scrapbooking sites that offer information and free templates, papers, and embellishments to get you started and most have digital kits based on themes you can download. You'll need a photo editing software to work with, most that come with your digital camera will work fine. There are also some available with free trials and for purchase that are inexpensive and good for a beginner to intermediate scrapbooking.

Include photographs of the family celebrating the holidays. Everyone gathered at the table for the holiday dinner, opening the gifts, and decorating the tree. Also include any special holiday events like a child's school play, a holiday party, and the visit with Santa. If you are creating a scrapbook, add some journaling detailing the gifts received that year for each person and anything else you want to be sure to remember including that custom holiday card you sent out!

A new tradition is formed. Early in the new year, a family project can be choosing the pictures to add and creating new scrapbook pages to add to the album. Every year the album comes out with the rest of the Holiday decorations and sits in a special place for everyone in the family and your visitors to enjoy and spark the memories of Christmases past.

Barbara Ryan operates, Cherish Collages – Custom Photo Collage Design a business dedicated to creating unique personal keepsakes and gifts from photographs. Visit us for more information on Custom Holiday Cards Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Ryan

Love Scrapbooking Ideas

By Ifiok Ekon

 

Don't lose your love memories, use these love scrapbooking ideas to depict your love.

Over and over again, our heart observes in silence as time passes by. Emotions comes up, begging to be expressed, but we are often distracted to silence by life's inevitable ups and downs. The moment fades and is gone.

But we can somehow manage to steal an hour here, thirty minutes there to chronicle the feelings we all experience but don't often share.

With love scrapbooking ideas you can recapture those lovely moments, and give substance to your feelings.

Many love scrapbooking ideas tend to center around your relationship milestones. So you can use themes like:

How we met.
My first date.
My first kiss.
The first time he/her said "I love you.
Our first ten years together.

Use love scrapbooking ideas that focus on the everyday experiences you share with your partner.

For example, you can create layouts that documents...

Your special traditions.
Inside jokes.
Your plans and hopes for the future.

For Valentine's Day, a special gift that shows just how much you care can be a very a personalized scrapbook. Valentine Scrapbooking Ideas like Love scrapbooking ideas entails creating a small themed album that shows the recipient how you feel about your relationship.

Topics could include amongst others:

"10 Things I Love About You,"
"A History of Our Relationship,"
"The ABC's of our Love."

Memorabilia's that you can include;

photos
love letters,
cards,
dried flowers.

You can also preserve unique items such, hotel reciepts, plane/bus tickets if you had gone on a vacation together, menu from the restaurant you went to on your first date.

Love scrapbooking ideas is not limited to your lover, but you can also document the love you feel for your family, your friends, or even your pets.

Another great idea is to create a layout that describes why you are passionate about, your hobbies, special interests, career etc.

The colors you choose for embellishing the scrapbook should be colours that represents the love sentiment.

There are many online resources that can provide poems, quotes, and other Scrapbooking Ideas to help you preserve your memories.

Ifiok Ekon is the owner of allscrapbookingideas.com. Looking for scrapbooking ideas? Get all the exciting scrapbooking ideas, suggestions, tips, and techniques for your baby, wedding, military personnel, and lots more at allscrapbookingideas.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ifiok_Ekon

Easy Ways to Fix Scrapbooking Mistakes

By Katie Gee

 

We have all done it. We have created the perfect scrapbooking page and we sit back and look at it with pride in our eyes. You know the feeling of pride one can only feel when they have poured over an hour on one page and we KNOW we did a great job. We read our journaling and then the date jumps out at us we used the year 2004 and this is 2006. Or, we have moved our hand across the page after writing the last word and created a smudge. Do not panic and do not tear up the page, fixing scrapbooking mistakes is an easy thing to do!

What I have found is that there is no scrapbooking mistake too big or too small that it can't be fixed without anyone ever knowing it happened. Misspellings and incorrect dates tend to be my number one mistake. If it is simply a date or heading that is incorrect, I take a piece of solid scrapbooking paper, cut it in a unique fashion and glue it over the mistake. Voila, you have a blank slate to write on. If it is in the middle of writing, I take that opportunity to add stickers or other embellishments in the middle of my journaling and write around it. If I smudge writing or stamping, I typically cover it with an embellishment or I smudge other areas of writing and try to give the page an overall shabby look.

It can also be frustrating when a picture, die cut or scrapbooking paper tears. Again, embellishments can do a great job. If you cover the tear in scrapbooking paper or the scrapbooking page with a sticker, nobody will ever know that the tear was there. Please note that if you add an embellishment one place you will more than likely have to add scrapbooking embellishments elsewhere or it may look out of place.

It is through mistakes that I have been able to use my creativity to come up with an even better page than before. It forces me to think outside the box. So, don't think of them as scrapbooking mistakes, think of them as scrapbooking challenges. You also need to know that, no matter what challenge you are faced with, there is a solution on the internet if you can't think of one yourself.

Learn more about scrapbooking layouts or scrapbooking at www.seriousscrapbooking.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Gee

Scrapbook Memories

By Karlie Loo

 

Scrapbooks, as we know them today, started many centuries ago, in the form of Common place books, friendship albums, photo albums, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, and now web home pages. Today, you can find a scrapbook club in almost any town that you go to. People love to get together with their friends to scrapbook. Everyone has a different motivation for doing a scrapbook. I've even seen families do a Family Recipe Scrapbook.

Why? Why do so many people around the world love to scrapbook? I'm sure that there are literally hundreds of reasons....but here are some of the more popular ones.

1.) To Protect your Photos: If you are careful and store your photos in archival-safe albums your family, friends and future generations can enjoy them 30 or even 60 years down the road. Isn't this reason enough for launching your family history preservation mission?

2.) Showcase and Record Memories: Your children and future generations will appreciate the time you have taken to record the memories you have shared together. Make a Journal or simple caption next to the photo. Scrapbooking doesn't have to be expensive either. The important thing is to get your photos out of the box and into books where people can see them and enjoy them. You'll go through so many things in your life, and if you missed out recording these precious memories, "once it's gone, it's gone".

3.) Organize your photos and mementoes: Disciplined scrapbookers have their personal memories, mementoes, and photos organized in a way that will preserve their quality. Imagine how just a bit of water could damage your precious memories beyond repair. Storing your photos in acidic envelopes or boxes can damage their quality, as well. The safest place for these precious items is in an acid-free box or scrapbook. The more organized you are the more that you can accomplish. If your stickers, stamps andembellishments are organized, You can easily sneak in a page with a unique layout at one sitting, while your child is napping or away at school. Imagine the smug satisfaction you feel when you see a completed page. This is empowering and makes you believe that if you can do this, you are capable of doing more.

4. Record the "firsts" and Preserve the "Can't throw it away" items. If you have a baby or small child, you know how quickly the time speeds by. And you know the importance of recording your child's first laugh, first tooth, and beyond that, to the first date, the first car, and on it goes. You can also preserve the sentimental value of those can't-bear-to-throw-away concert tickets, handmade cards, menus, buttons, etc into the scrapbook.

5.) Socialize: Scrapbooking keeps you connected to people, events, places and experiences that thread together the ups and downs of your life. Expand your social circle by joining a club near you, and making new friends. Besides having fun, you'll be learning new tips and techniques from these scrapbooking enthusiasts!

Scrapbooking is a way that you can express you creativity and have fun with all the Stamps, Stickers and Embellishments. But how hard can it be with scrapbooking? By mimicking or in scrapbooking term "scraplifting" some layouts that you've seen somewhere, and then adding in your own cutting, pasting, and writing, you're done! Within minutes, you now hold in your hands a unique piece of your own artwork.

Visit my Web Site at http://www.allmymemoriesscrapbooking.com Karlie Loo Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karlie_Loo

Journaling With Scrapbooking

By Russ Gilman-hunt

A good scrapbook has an important written journaling aspect that sets it apart. You are able to keep track of your memories and mementos in your scrapbook.

When compiling a scrapbook, we like to make them to look good and that is important. Great design techniques will make your book look great and will help you organize your memories. Unfortunately, design can only go so far in preserving your memories. If you want to really preserve your memories, you need to incorporate journaling into your scrapbook.

Journaling is all about attaching notes and information to your scrapbook pages. Unfortunately, as time goes on, we forget about the events in our photos and other mementos. I'm sure we have all experienced looking at an old picture and trying to remember the thoughts and feelings that accompanied the photo. That's why we use journaling.

You can start journaling your scrapbook by making notes on your scrapbook pages when you insert items into your book. You can also make notes on small pieces of paper and paste them into your pages. This way you can keep a good memory of your mementos and memories.

Once you start integrating journaling with your scrapbooking, you can actually take it further by writing pages to insert into your scrapbook. You can write up stories about your family and highlight memories and thoughts that you can't quite express in pictures or clippings. This way, years later when you open your scrapbook, you can easily recall your memories. Or your children or family will be reminded of what happened and will see it through your eyes.

Journaling in your scrapbook is as important as placing your photos. Without the context around the photos, the memories and events in your history don't have nearly as much meaning as you imagine they do today.

Interested in Scrapbooking? Short on time? Check out the Pre-Made Scrapbook Pages at Scrapbook It For Me. These pre-made pages save you time on page creation and allow you to focus on your journaling. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russ_Gilman-hunt

Find Color Inspiration For Your Scrapbooking Page Layouts

By Christine Perry

 

Do you think you need to know color theory to make a beautiful scrapbooking page? You don't even need to know the difference between primary and secondary colors to create a page that complements your photographs. All you need to find color inspiration for your layouts is a watchful eye during your everyday life. Color palettes are all around us. Consider these easy-to-find resources for color choices on your next scrapbooking pages.

Your Favorite Clothing Store
Clothing manufacturers design their seasonal lines according to a predetermined color scheme. Ever wonder why all the stores seem to carry similar colors each season? Many designers use the color direction provided by the Color Marketing Group. The Color Marketing Group forecasts color trends for manufactured products. Walking around your favorite clothing boutique quickly shows you the color trends for the current season. Are pastels in this season? Try a page with pastels even if it's not spring.

Your Closets
Along the same lines as using a clothing store for inspiration, your own closets hold the color palettes for past seasons. Don't limit yourself to just your clothes closet. Your linen closet will also have coordinated color palettes to inspire you. Love that quilt that you have tucked away for the guest room? Look carefully at the colors and see if you can create a scrapbooking page with the same color qualities.

Paint Chips
Would you believe that you can find professional color schemes at your local home improvement store? Paint manufacturers coordinate colors in sample decorating palettes. These chips are often designed by professionals like Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren. Browse through the paint chip display and use one of the palettes for a scrapbooking page or even an entire album.

Museums
Take an afternoon to walk through an art museum, and you will see how the Masters use color. Make some notes on what paintings inspire you the most and what colors are used to set the mood of the painting. Artists know color theory, and reflecting on their masterpieces is an education in color theory without the textbooks.

Mother Nature
The earth provides its own color palette. Not only can you gain inspiration from the colors of winter, summer, spring and fall, you can study landscapes. These are earth's paintings. Look at the colors of the desert and mountains, as well as, the sunsets and sunrises. Peek out your window at your flower garden for even more of nature's inspiration.

Your Makeup Drawer
Makeup manufacturers also use color theory to develop their seasonal palettes. Take a look at your eye shadows and blushes for ready-made color selections for your scrapbooking pages.

Home Decorating Magazines
Color inspiration doesn't just come from scrapbooking magazines. Interior designers use coordinating colors to make it easier for customers to create a perfect décor for their homes. The photographs in home decorating magazines are sure to inspire a creative scrapbooking page.

Advertisements
Before you put those magazines away, take a closer look at the advertisements. Companies pay millions of dollars to ad agencies to design advertisements that will capture the eye of its customers before they flip the page. Ads can provide no-fail color schemes for your scrapbooking. An added bonus of advertisements is that they not only provide great inspiration for colors, but their layouts are an education in design theory, as well.

Color palettes are everywhere. Next time you need some color inspiration, take a creative look around you. Keep an idea journal with notes, clips from magazines and paint chips. Tired of the same old red and green on your Christmas pictures? Use your holiday sweaters to inspire you. There is no end to the number of color palettes you can find for your scrapbooking pages.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has over 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite photography and scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking tips and scrapbooking layout sketches. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Perry

Design Theory For Scrapbookers

By Russ Gilman-hunt

 

Design for Non-Designers, a book by Robin Williams, has a mnemonic for what she considers to be the very basic understanding of design theory. The books' mnemonic is C.R.A.P; This is an acronym for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. Applying them to your pages (whether a web page or a scrapbook page), you will grow in a level in your scrapbooking design. If you want to know more, the whole field of 'Design Theory' is both deep and wide.

Note: Don't just limit C.R.A.P to your scrapbook pages alone, these steps are great for webpages as well.

Contrast

Color

What does it mean; contrast? There are a lot of ways to generate contrast- an understandable way to present contrast would be with color: a text is easier to read when it has a higher contrast than if it has a lower contrast. The text color has got to contrast enough with the background color so that the readers don't have to strain their eyes in order to make your words legible.

Size

Another way to create contrast is to change the size; for example, a layer that has a 5x7 photo on the left and then three wallet sized photos down the right side usually diverts the viewer's attention to the larger photograph. Web pages use this everywhere; if you were to take a look at a person's page at flickr.com, you'd see "thumbnails" and a "larger image;" often this small photograph/large photograph technique for providing contrast is used as an easy way of navigating through photographs on the internet.

Shapes

Yet another way of creating contrast would be with shapes; a sort of stained glass effect, with a circular snapshot in the very middle of four rectangles with each of their corners trimmed would put the emphasis on the central round shape. A similar layout could go with several squares and a central rectangle. The emphasis would be placed on the middle rectangle. In most repeats of this combination, the squares would be significantly smaller than the rectangle too; this way, the emphasis is assisted by the size contrast.

Make sure you consider these two things when working with contrast; Do not be a wimp, but not everything can be contrast. "Do not be a wimp" is a concept drawn from Robin Williams' books; if you try to make one image stand out by making it an oval and three more as circles, or try to make one stick out by using a different color scheme, it may look to your viewers as a mistake, as if you messed up on your circle, or you don't know how to pick the appropriate colors. This is generally how it is with contrast; it's an effective step from the repetition of your materials. That is why it can't all be contrast; a page with a circle, triangle, pentagon and a square might be pretty, but there is no central idea; there's no way to tell your viewer what you're saying.

With text, too much contrast will make your audience shy away; picture a bright pink page with teal blue letters. The contrast is extremely intense, and your eye doesn't even want to look at it. This is also true with black and white (or white on black); if what you're looking at is completely black on completely white, it will cause your eyes to tire out quicker than a slightly off-color (a pale ivory for instance). So if you're designing with a lot of words, you probably want your text to be not-quite complementary to your background.

Repetition

In the same way that contrast defines the focus of a page, repetition defines relationships. Repetition especially works with color schemas, for an example. For a web page, use some of the colors from the lovely header you've commissioned as colors in the header tags or backgrounds for the photos on your page; you are "tying the web page together" by repeating colors.

Colors

On a page, use the same colors for your titles, or if %you're% creating borders for your photographs, use the same color photograph. Keep reusing the colors from your big header in the smaller page elements. Perhaps a ribbon of the same color as the highlights in the centrally located photograph could be used to affix charms. By reusing colors, you are colorizing your visual elements and cluing in your audience to your connections.

Elements

Repetition of elements is great to tie parts together. Repeating elements will tend to make your audience look for other repeating elements in your page.

Do not be afraid to use brads, but if you use similar shape and hue brads to nail all your little square photographs to the page, it will seem more like a cohesive whole than if you just reach in and grab a random group of brads and use them. As you begin to play with this, I would recommend you vary one of these attributes.

If you choose one brand of stickers, inside one sub-group, the colors, designs, shapes will most likely be cohesive throughout the set. Using them will help tie your entire page together as well; in other words, this is the repetition of style.

Or you can use the same element for different parts of the page for example small flowers for flower decorations. This brings the photo and the embellishments together in a perfect way that using differing features wouldn't have.

Alignment

When you repeat an edge-location, you get what's known as alignment. Robin Williams makes a case that "left aligned" and "right aligned" can be known as hard-edged, but when you choose to use "center-align" in the paragraph, you get what's known as a soft-alignment. This is when perfection is desired. Even if you're slightly off, your viewer will sort of understand that there is something "wrong" with your page layout, and it will appear as if it is a mistake. But this "precision matters" does not make your pages restricted to anything.

Proximity

Proximity works very well with alignment. When you move page elements closer together, you bring them closer together in the audience's mind. By making elements closer and farther, you can demonstrate where the connections should be.

Russ Gilman-Hunt often coaches his wife on her scrapbook design and helps her balance the negative and positive spaces. You can see more of his writings at Portland Scrapbooking and you can purchase pre-made scrapbook pages at Scrapbook it for me. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russ_Gilman-hunt

Starting a Scrapbooking Business? 4 Things You Need to Know

By Linda Kerr

 

Chances are that you fancy starting your own scrapbook business because it is already your hobby and passion. Luckily, scrapbooking is becoming a very popular pastime for lots of people, both young and old. Because of this demand, you should be able to tap into this lucrative market.

There are many stores selling craft products however there is always a place for niche sellers like you. If you decide to specialize purely in catering for the needs of scrapbookers, then you will need to find yourself a reliable wholesaler.

#1 The first thing to do is to find all the craft wholesalers you can and request price lists. The internet is the ideal place to look for wholesalers. There are many directories which list wholesale suppliers, some you will have to pay for whilst others are free.

#2 Once you have found all the suppliers you can, you will need to look at their terms and conditions such as minimum order, carriage costs and delivery times. Compare what each wholesaler has to offer and do not be afraid to bounce them off each other i.e. you could say "XYZ craft wholesaler has a minimum order of $50, can you match that?"

#3 When you receive your order, make sure that you check to see that it is complete and there are no damages. Some companies will only allow you a few days to check that there are no problems. If after that time you find there are missing items then you won't be able to complain.

#4 There are a number of ways that you can sell your goods, either at crafting exhibitions open to the general public or on the internet. eBay is a very popular way to sell goods as there are so many loyal customers shopping on eBay already. If you want to promote your eBay or web store the easiest way is via forums. Find craft forums on MSN, Yahoo or via your favourite search engine. You should get involved in discussions and give advice to people who are looking for inspiration. This is an ideal way to gain trust from your customers and become known as an expert. Be careful not to spam the forums i.e. don't let your first post be a link to your craft store. Instead you should introduce yourself and talk about your love of scrapbooking.

There is a lot of hard work involved in setting up any business and you should not go into this lightly. Make sure that you do a business plan, take notes of how much stock you will need to hold, work out your profits and decide if you are prepared for this. If this is the first business you have set up, find out if there are any business advisors in your area. Many advisors are provided free of charge by the government so you should make use of all the resources you can. Once you have your company set up and running then I'm sure you will agree that it has been well worth it.

Finding it difficult to source wholesale scrapbooking supplies? Don't worry, SaleHoo is probably the best resource for finding wholesalers on the net. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Kerr

Scrap Booking Life's Greatest Moment's

By Edgar Dapremont

 

I love to research my family tree. I have spent hours researching and talking with parents, grandparents, aunts, great aunts and anybody else who can tell me about my family. Now if someone had taken the time to do what I am doing, my work would have been much easier.

I am talking about organizing everything into a scrapbook. I am not talking about the old fashioned scrapbook that grandmother used to keep.There are new ways to develop your scrapbook and it is fun. There are some dos and don'ts to doing it well and making it a special personal contribution to your family.

Do you take lots of photos? Maybe you keep a journal or a calendar.

I have many photos that I keep on Smug Mug which is an online photo site. This is only one step in the very rewarding process.

The scrapbook can become a fun hobby as well as a great way of organizing all those special moments in a spectacular way.

Another great use for scrap booking is to make a special gift for someone to remember a special occasion.

Well the good news is someone has taken the time to produce a great ebook telling you step by step how to get started scrap booking.

This is the perfect step by step guide for the beginner as well as the experienced scrap booker. Combine this with SmugMug.

This book is full of wonderful suggestions and guidelines that will help you produce a scrapbook that you can be proud of and which will preserve your cherished memories.

So you can find out what all the fun is about and get all your answers about how to get started scrap booking. Don't wait any longer. I am a Board Certified Ophthalmologist who has been in practice for 30 years. You are welcome to visit my website. If you have any problems finding what you are looking for, please use my Site Search. http://www.eyedoctornewsletter.com/page50.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edgar_Dapremont

Baby Scrapbooking: 5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Scrapbook

By Linda Kerr 

 

Although having a baby can be a shock to the system – all those dirty nappies, sleepless nights and bottle washing might not leave you with much time to make a scrapbook, it is something you really should consider. If you can take the time to document your child's life, he or she will be amazed to see what they used to look like.

#1 If you live in an area where baby scrapbooking classes are held, they are definitely worth a visit. Some speciality stores such as Archivers provide free classes

#2 Don't just begin your scrapbook with the birth of your baby, take photos of yourself whilst pregnant at baby showers and at hospital having a scan etc. You also might want to include photos of the doctors and nurses and ever fellow mothers

#3 Make sure you prepare well in advance so you don't end up rushing about trying to decide what papers and embellishments you want to buy. If you know the sex of your baby then you can decide on the colour scheme, otherwise choose neutral colors such as orange or yellow

#4 Keep a pocket diary or note book with you so that you can write down what happened in the day and how you felt. Make sure that you take note of their first words and when they first walked. A snipet of hair is also a nice touch

#5 The most important thing is that you actually make a scrapbook. If you feel that it will take too much effort then you can make life easier for yourself by buying a read-made baby themed book

Many people have the thought of creating a journal or scrapbook but then don't get round to doing it. Of course, they then regret it as their memories become hazy. Your book does not have to be perfect so don't worry if it's a bit rough round the edges. The most important element is conveying how you feel.

Struggling to come up with baby scrapbooking layout ideas? Too busy dealing with nappies and feeding? You can now create baby scrapbooking layouts easily with Scrapbook Baby Books. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Kerr

Your Scrapbook Business Can Be Started Today

By Vera Raposo

 

The benefits of owning your own scrapbooking business.

Scrapbooking is all the rage these days. Everyone from young kids to older adults is participating. Each one is looking for creative new ways to cherish their family's memories. What better way to help others with this dream, than to start your own scrapbooking business.

Dedicated scrapbookers will often times find family and friends admiring their work. They may have even found themselves making scrapbooks for other people simply as a favor. But why not turn that talent into some extra cash.

There are many benefits associated with owning your own scrapbooking business. As a business owner, you can set your own hours. If you are in the business to make albums for customers, you can simply scrapbook when you feel like it. If you are more creative in the middle of the night, then you simply scrap in the middle of the night. If you have free time while the kids are napping, then you scrap then. So no matter what your schedule allows for, if you own you own business, you will be able to utilize your time as you wish.

Another great benefit to owning your own scrapbooking business is you can work from home. This is a perfect opportunity for someone who has a small child that they wish to stay home with. And since you can set your own hours, you can work around your family's schedule. If you don't feel like getting dressed, you can simply scrapbook in your pajamas.

Generally, when looking to start a scrapbooking business, there is very minimal start up expenses. Often times, you can get started for as little as $50. And if you are currently a scrapbook enthusiast, chances are you already have a majority of the tools you will need to start your own business. With a scrapbooking business you have job security. You do not have to worry about a company downsizing, layoffs or outsourcing your business. Since you are in charge, you make all of the decisions that need to be made.

Starting your own home based scrapbooking business has many advantages. Making scrapbooks for other people gives you the opportunity to do what you love, while making some extra cash. It gives scrapbookers the ability to use their creativity to help others who are not as creative.

Scrapbooking has really grown in popularity. And while many love to simply scrapbook, others are looking for ways to turn their love of scrapbooking into cash. So for those who love to scrapbook, but also love working from home and setting their own hours, a home based scrapbooking business is the way to go.

Vera Raposo has been an a retail business owner since 1997, she's now sharing her tips on getting great wholesale scrapbooking for your scrapbook business. You can find out more information at http://www.wholesale-scrapbooking-supply.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vera_Raposo

Scrapbooking Secrets For Better Memory Preservation

By Lee Dobbins

 

When you go to your nearest bookstore, you will most likely see a section allotted to scrap booking.

Before it was used for show and tell. Nowadays, scrap booking has become a hobby, primarily for preserving and documenting a memory one would like to keep just in case he or she gets Alzheimers.

Kidding aside, a number of people has joined the scrap booking bandwagon because it allows them to show people trinkets that may seem insignificant but in reality mean so much to them.

By the use of photographs and memorabilia, scrap booking is also a form of storytelling. Using this visual method, we all can be like Scheherazade in "Arabian Nights." After all, each one of us has stories to tell.

Because of the demand for people to try out scrap booking, multi-level marketing enterprises have encouraged this hobby. Scrap booking products have become a multi-billion dollar industry, therefore explaining why there are scrap-booking sections in your local bookstores.

In fact, scrappers or scrap bookers unite. They get together at their homes and exchange stories. They also share techniques and secrets in making a visually nice scrapbook. From sharing a social outlet, they also share something more which is their history. This makes a deep and profound connection among all of them.

Statistics show that scrap booking has become more popular than gold when it comes to hobbies. One in each for household plays golf. Whereas one in three households has someone having fun in scrap booking.

Scrap booking has become so popular that there are magazines, infomercials and shows focusing on the topic.

This hobby became a business in the late 90s. Scrappers opened their own stores which motivated more people to get hooked into the visual storytelling. Meanwhile, multi-level companies selling scrap booking products were booming. Home-based retailing also began.

Some companies provided the information women needed to go on their own manufacturing endeavors. Vendors stayed away from home-based market because of the fraud cases that were rooted from it. However, some women liked the idea of getting their products through home parties and work-shops. They decided to risk it and succeeded.

Before, it was difficult getting scrap booking products because there were hardly any suppliers. Nowadays, it is a cinch. In fact there are discount stores which sell their products in bulks at cheaper rates. Some major craft supply stores also stock the product. Local scrapbook stores are havens for enthusiastic scrappers.

A hobby becomes a serious endeavor. There are classes regarding scrap booking. Local scrapbook stores offer classes for the enthusiast. They teach scrappers where to get the best crops. Some can be ordered online while others can be directed to you by purchasing it from a home-based retailer. Multi-level directs sales company are also up to date and they know what is in and what is out when it comes to the scrap booking trend.

If you are a scrapper, your personal creations can be gifts to weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. It will mean more to the person you are giving the token to – because it came from your heart and you personally worked hard to finish it.

Now let's give you the scrapbooking 411.

The most important item you need once you're hooked into the hobby is the album. It can either be permanently bound or you can get one which allows you to insert pages just in case the situation calls for.

There are also mini albums and accordion style albums which can be folded out. Some opt for other containers such as CD cases, matchbooks and other smaller holders – just to be different.

The materials you need to get your scrapping project off the ground are background papers, photos, scissors, art pens and glues. If you want you can get other tools provided by the multi-level markets such as stamps, punches, stencils, inking tools, heat embossing tools and eyelet setters.

Then there are a number of accessories such as rub-ons, stickers, alphabet letters, buttons and ribbons.

Now if you are a modernized scrapper, you can also try digital scrapbooking. The advantage of this contemporary turn is that it is a cost-saver and it is more accessible on the internet. It is also easier because all you need is an image editing software.

Also, digital scrapbooking is not limited to digital storage. Scrappers trying out this digital technique can print their finished work and store it in their scrapbook albums. Others preserve it so that they can have their masterpieces as keepsakes.

Be it traditional or digital, give scrap booking a shot. You'll be keeping your memories fresh forever!

Lee Dobbins writes for http://scrapbooking.unique-articles.com where you can get more scrapbooking tips. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins

Just What is Scrapbooking?

By Mia LeCron 

 

Do you recall the days as a kid pasting magazine or newspaper clippings onto paper and placing together dozens of papers with some fancy ribbon or a string? Do you remember the joy at looking at your creation? And then, do you also remember all of your hard work falling apart a few months later?

Today there's a grown up version of saving and preserving your treasures: SCRAPBOOKING !

The idea surrounding scrapbooking hasn't really changed all that much since grade school. Just like back then, you can still place your cherished photos, newspaper clippings, stories, poems, and tickets into your scrapbook to display and house your precious memories.

However, one this that has changed from when you were a kid... the scrapbooking techniques and tools have matured substantially. Scrapbooking albums and digital scrapbooks have long replaced your messy bundles of paper and glue. Typically, these scrapbook albums are bound or placed in a three-ring binder. Therefore, your hard work won't fall apart like it did as a child. Additionally, new specialized covers give much needed protection from the outside elements.

Paste yet another thing left in the past. Specialized glue dots and two-sided tape allows mounting of your treasures with simplicity and ease. Many of these products are so durable and strong that you can now decorate your scrapbook pages with ribbons, feathers, flowers, or even metal charms.

Due to these new techniques and tools, scrapbooking uses have expanded enormously. Scrapbooking is still used to hold personal keepsakes and for gift giving.

However, now scrapbooking techniques can be used to make baby announcements, grandparent books, gift cards, artwork for kid's rooms, recipe books, and even educational tools.

Mia LeCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals in creating their very best scrapbooks and Free Scrapbooking Templates. Download Your FREE Scrapbooking Guide filled with valuable Tips and Tricks for Your Scrapbooks Today. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mia_LeCron

Scrapbooking Kits

By Marcy Larsen

 

Scrapbooking kits are perfect for the newest of scrappers to the most seasoned scrapper. There are many different kits out there to choose from these days. Let me tell you a little about the Close To My Heart scrapbook kits. There are three different levels and millions of possibilities to choose from.

Level one kit's are for beginners or for those who just want to add pictures to an already created page. These kits come with four preprinted layouts and four matching background and texture pages. You will also receive 2 sheets of coordinating stickease stickers. You can add pictures to the preprinted layouts or use the additional pages to add some layering or save them to create additional pages that will match your kit. The stickease stickers are not like your ordinary stickers, they are a thick sticker that will add dimension and character to your layouts. These are made with the same colors and theme as the kits and are made to match coordinating stamps sets that are available.

Level two kits are for those who want to create their own pages with the paper supplied. With the level two kits, you will receive 12 background and texture papers and 10 sheets of matching card stock. Using the level two kits you can create many coordinating pages, cards and other projects. If you are feeling over whelmed try using our "Cherish" book for layout ideas.

Level three is simply adding acrylic stamps to you pages. Each kit that is available comes with matching stamps. You can use these stamps with the level one and the level two kits to add detail or use them as embellishments. Try stamping your own background and texture pages and using the level two paper kit as your matting papers and journaling tags. When using stamps, you can create multiple pages and different looks over and over again.

One of the other kits that are available is the Reflection kits. These kits come as a themed kit based around a holiday or a person. These kits come with the paper and accessories needed to create a two page 12 X 12 layouts. Plus it comes with a direction booklet so it is easy to use for everyone.

Either way you decide to go with scrapbooking kits, there is a kit for everyone from the beginner to the most advanced scrapper. Find which one works for you and scrapbook style and watch your scrapbooks come to life.

Close To My Heart offers a complete line of Scrapbooking Stamps and Acrylic Blocks to make your Scrapbooking faster, easier and more enjoyable. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marcy_Larsen