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Simple Steps to Creating Your First Scrapbook Page
Getting Started
by Gayle Humphreys for Simple Scrapbooks Magazine
Once you decide that you want to start
scrapbooking that first page can be a little daunting. Choosing an album,
gathering supplies, and getting out your photos are just the beginning of a
hobby that will preserve your family's most treasured moments for years to come.
In following the following simple steps
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Sort your photos
into themes or topics and select a set to work on.
-
Select 2-3 colours of
acid-free paper or cardstock that will work well with your photos.
-
Pick one photo to be
the main focus of your page.
-
If needed, crop your
photos. (See below when to crop and when not to crop.)
-
Select photos to
mat. This is a good way to highlight the focal point photo.
-
Add journaling.
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Add a few extras
(such as stickers and embellishments).
-
Arrange all items on
your pages and adhere.
While working through
these steps there are a few things you will want to consider.
-
What type of album do you want to create? Are you
planning to start a chronological scrapbook that follows your family's
events year after year, expanding into more scrapbooks as the pages fill? Do
you want to create an album for a specific event or for a gift - an album
that will have a definite beginning and ending point. If you have 40+ years
of pictures in boxes, you probably will not be planning to scrapbook
everyone of them; therefore theme albums such as "All the Places We Have
Lived" or "My Favorite Photos" may be perfect projects to get you started.
-
Journaling is very important. Your pictures only tell
half of the story and with out the narration to go with them their meaning
may become lost over the years. Think about not only including the basic
"who, what, when, and where" style of journaling but also incorporating the
feelings, thoughts, and memories that these pictures bring to you. This type
of journaling will more accurately and interestingly convey who you are when
read by future generations.
-
And last, think before you crop. Many new scrapbookers
begin by cutting their photos into shapes with templates or decorative
scissors. Before you crop your photos keep these tips in mind:
To Crop or Not to
Crop:
It is pretty easy to
get carried away with cropping and then wish later that you had cut a little
less off of some of your photos. Keep in mind some things your should never
crop:
-
Do not crop Polaroid snapshots -
The chemicals inside the photos can leak and ruin the picture and your
page. Instead, if you choose to, you could conceal the photo edge with
paper frames on your layouts.
-
Do not crop out all historical or
place references - cutting too much out of a photo can remove a
significant part of the story.
-
Limit the number of shapes that you
crop your photos into on each layout.
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