When I tell people I do “scrapbooking”, many of them think of a sugar paper book purchased from a newsagent with photos and newspaper cuttings glued in, and are usually quite baffled at the whole idea – until they look at the albums that I have created.

Using photographs, paper, cardstock, ribbons, and other embellishments with glue and tape you can produce works of art. These pages can contain journaling (written information, a story, a poem, thoughts and feelings) you can add travel tickets, leaflets and maps plus anything else that is related to the photo – I have even seen locks of hair, baby teeth, dried flowers and price tags used on pages! All these things help to make the page such a special thing to you and your family.

Everyone has boxes, disks or computer files full of photos these days – The digital camera has encouraged so many people to take hundreds of photographs but sadly most are left in a folder on the computer – not even printed out, just left and forgotten!

Scrapbooking is a way to show off those photos, to put a meaning and a story to them, to show your feelings. By using the correct type of paper and cardstock your albums will keep for hundreds of years so they can be handed down generations telling your family’s story.

How to start: -

All you need to get started is some cardstock and decorative papers, a craft knife or scissors, a metal ruler, a cutting mat and some glue. If you like the craft, you can then gradually over time add tools, different embellishments etc to this as the need arises.

A kit is always quite a good option to try especially when first starting out. They don’t usually require a large outlay of cash but give you a taster to see if you like scrapbooking. A kit offers a selection of different papers and embellishments that are colour co-ordinated to make a page layout so you only have to provide the glue, tape and a photograph. This way you can have a go at different techniques and try out different punches and tools at the craft club.

It’s a good idea to decide which size you want to work in first. Scrapbook albums and the co-ordinating papers and cardstock come in different sizes – 12x12, 8x8 and 6x6 (these are all in inches!). You may want to work in the largest size (12x12)(this is the same size as our kits) so that you can fit more photos onto a layout and leave yourself plenty of room for embellishments or journaling. On the other hand, you may feel daunted by the idea of having all that space to fill, in which case maybe 8x8 would be better for you.

The next stage is to have a go yourself.

Start by choosing a photo and some co-ordinated papers. If you feel daunted and don’t know where to start with titles, quotes, embellishments etc, just mat the photo, choose its position, and then come back to it tomorrow. You’ll be amazed how a night’s sleep can give you a different perspective and some inspiration for a layout!

You then need to start thinking of a particular topic you’d like to begin with. A holiday is always a good topic to start– nearly everyone has got holiday photos!

Here are some topics to inspire you: -

• A day trip out
• New Baby
• Wedding
• Pets
• A Holiday
• Family
• Christmas
• new Year
• Easter
• Birthdays
• New Home
• Halloween
• Precious old family photos and memorabilia

A scrapbook layout can be as simple or as detailed as you wish. It could be one photo that you love, or it could be a multi photo layout of a child’s Birthday party. It could be a story that you want to tell, or the reason behind taking the photo.

There are so many products available it can be mind-boggling. You can add rub-ons, alphabets, embellishments, tags, quotes, brads, eyelets, ribbons, stickers, paint, glitter all to your layouts – the list is endless.

There are many different terms used in the world of scrapbooking. There are also many different techniques and products. Over time you will develop your own style, and as you look back over your albums you will be able to see how your style and techniques have evolved – that in itself will tell a story.

Scrapbooking is a fantastic way to “lose yourself” and forget those mundane day to day worries that we all have. It’s also a great way to look after those precious memories and photographs so they don’t get forgotten. It’s those little things in life that mean so much!