Embellish Your Scrapbook Page

Now that you have learned how to crop and frame your picture, you now need to focus on telling your story creatively. Just like you would decorate a home to make your home feel homey you can decorate your scrapbook page to make your story feel more heartsy.

There are a variety of embellishments you can use… but remember that your scrapbook page needs to be able to go into the page protector. The more embellishments you place on your scrapbook page, the more risk you have at not fitting the page into the page protector.

Mandatory Embellishments:

• Scrapbook Titles - scrapbook titles really help the reader understand what picture you are trying to paint. Experiment with rubber stamps or fonts to create fun and interesting titles.
• Journal Entries - journal entries add another dimension to your scrapbook page where your heart and motivation will really come through and bring the reader of your page to the same place your heart was when the memory was created.

Other Embellishments:

• Stickers that are acid free are a wonderful way to embellish your cherished memory. Attach the sticker to solid color cardstock and trim a frame around it for a more interesting dimension.
• Ribbon is a wonderful and lightweight addition to your scrapbook page. Experiment with different types of fibers and colors to bring out the photo.
• Hardware, eyelets and brads are also another wonderful dimension. Make sure the hardware you use is lighteight and acid free. You can again draw a person’s eye using hardware to the area of the page or photo that is most important.
• Buttons are another way of drawing a person’s eye to the journal entry or photo. Again ensure that the buttons you use are acid free.
• Tags and Envelopes and Pockets are another way to place elements related to your story on your page and can make the page more 3-D and interactive.

Things to avoid:

• Glitter!!! Loose glitter can actually ruin a cherished photo by scratching the surface. If you are scrapbooking for the purpose of long term usage - then avoid Glitter totally.
• Heavy Embellishments… heavily weighted embellishments can actually tear the page as person flips it. Avoid using these types of embellishments on your page to preserve your hard work.
• Rub on transfers. Again over time if you do not rub properly, the rub on images can actually rub off the page or stick to the page protector causing you a lot of heartache.