Scrapbook Guide For Beginners

Many people would like to organize their family pictures and mementos but do not know how to begin scrapbooking. Scrapbooking allows you to organize your keepsakes in beautiful memory books that can be treasured by the whole family for years to come. There are some simple steps to follow when you first begin scrapbooking that can make the process easier and more enjoyable.

The first thing you should do when you begin scrapbooking is locating all of the things you would like to include in your books. Things to locate include pictures of you and your loved ones, travel mementos such as postcards, airplane and train tickets, art you children have made in school, programs and ticket stubs from cultural events, souvenirs from sporting events and anything else that you would like to memorialize in your scrapbook.

Once you have gathered all of your keepsakes, you should begin to organize them. As you begin to sort the items, you will begin to see themes and get ideas on how to organize your scrapbooks. Keep notes on the ideas that come to you as you go through these items. It may be necessary to go through your keepsakes more than once. The first time will give you an idea of what you have and then you can concentrate on actually separating and collating them. Look at your notes often and see what themes come up that can help you set up your scrapbooks. For example, if you travel a lot, you can separate all of the items you have collected and make a scrapbook cataloging your adventures. If you have children, you may want to put all of their school pictures, art and other mementos into one book, or you can make a separate book for each child.

To begin assembling your scrapbook you will need to gather a few basic supplies. These include paper and cardstock for mounting your items, adhesives such as glue sticks, glue dots, tape, and photo mount corners, scissors and decorative items like ribbon, pens and markers.

Once these basic tools have been assembled, you can begin putting your scrapbook together. The best way to start is to lay out the pages without making doing anything permanent. Lay out your pictures and keepsakes but do not use permanent glue for anything. Make little notes that explain your pictures and mementos and lay those out on the pages, too. As you add more and more to your pages, you can start to move things around until you are happy with your design.

Once you are happy with the basic items lay out of your pages, you can begin thinking about embellishments. You can purchase stickers, stamps, ribbons and many other embellishments that will brighten up your scrapbook and help you put your own personal touch on it. After everything is laid out to your satisfaction, you can begin to permanently adhere the items to the page.

You will find that once you learn how to begin scrapping, the possibilities for creating beautiful memory books are endless. With a little practice, you will have a keepsake that your family will enjoy for years to come.