Scrapbooking Tips for Beginners

Angela Vader | CropJunkie.com

The best way to get into scrapbooking is to look at a series of photos that fit a particular topic - maybe a family outing, holiday or other special occasion and buy only the items you need to complete your vision of preserving that event. The first step to buying paper and embellishments is to pick out a layout/pictures that you are going to work with. When I started I think I just randomly bought things I thought were pretty and then have never used most of them, because I never have had a use for them (smart, huh?!). You might consider first picking out a group of pictures you are sure you want to scrapbook and then buy the paper to coordinate either by color or by theme (beach, girlie, summer, holiday, etc.) then you could buy embellishments to match - stickers, chipboard, eyelets, lettering. This is the best way to scrapbook, with a specific purpose.

Personally, I LOVE paper… so I tend to buy paper first and then figure out a way to use it. But you do what works for you.

Here are a few items that I would consider top of the list for getting started:

Paper Trimmer: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=418273
For trimming everything to size including your paper, photos and other page elements.

Adhesive: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=612821
There are many varieties of glue and tape from double sided strip tape to glue dots to standard adhesives. When you’re just getting starting, the best thing to do is stick with a general purpose adhesive such as a standard adhesive roll with an applicator. Easy and no mess!

Page Making Kits
This is something I am a big fan of and believe to be essential for beginners to get their feet wet as well as those who don’t want to spend the money on a lot of supplies that may or may not be applicable to the project at hand. These kits come with several pieces of paper and all the embellishments you need to make a layout. The kits also come with the examples of the finish products so there is little thinking involved (and little waste too). I still use these quite often because they are easy and I think great for a beginner to get the hang of the process:

Vintage Hip: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=604273
Girlfriends Collection: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=451777
Summer Sizzle: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=459790
Great Outdoors: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=428867
Family Theme: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=458948

Page Protectors for finished pages (they come in 8×11 or 12×12 - 12×12 is the most popular size)
What can I say other than after putting hours into a project you’ll definitely want a way to display your pages in an album as well as protect your new scrapbook pages from the elements (read: tiny greasy fingers, coffee table rings, dinner crumbs etc.)

Page Protectors: http://www.qbaroo.com/CropJunkie/index.cfml?product=710000

We have many page kits to choose from on our site, CropJunkie.com, just do a search for "page kits" and you’ll find lots of ideas. Don’t forget to use the promo code "GO2008" to get 10% off your first order during our Grand Opening Sale!

Happy Scrapbooking!