Once you decide that you want to start scrapbooking that first page can be overwhelming. Choosing an album, gathering supplies, and getting out your photos are just the beginning of a wonderful hobby. Here is a beginner’s guide from the book Scrapbooking: A Step-by-Step Guide to Preserving Your Memories from Creating Keepsakes Magazine.
1.Sort your photos into themes or topics and select a set to work with.
2.Select 2-3 colors of acid-free paper or cardstock that will work well with your photos.
3.Pick one photo to be the main focus of your page.
4.If needed, crop your photos.
5.Select photos to mat. This is a good way to highlight the focal point photo.
6.Add journaling.
7.Add a few extras (such as stickers and embellishments).
8.Arrange all items on your pages and adhere.
While working through these steps there are a few things you will want to consider.
1.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.
2.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.
I hope this will help you get started…once you do that first page or album, you may be hooked!
