The Ultimate Scrapbooking Guide

Scrapbooking Frames

2011-07-25T17:24:00.001+07:00

Scrapbooking Frames: A Look Inside And Out

By Umar Zen

Have you ever tried scrapbooking? In truth, a lot of people are so much hooked into scrapbooking that they literally spend hours and hours of conceptualizing the design which they think will be the best for their work of art. Of course, they spend money on this scrapbook venture too.

The basic problem which many scrapbookers face is that they tend to have an overflow of ideas right on the first page that they eat up too much time on it. But then this is not something to get disappointed with since the finished product will always be worth it.

Why waste time for scrapbooking? What can you actually get from it? As everybody knows, scrapbooking is one avenue of keeping memories alive and continuously fresh. It has been everybody’s custom to take photos of every single important occasion in their lives whether they may be in the past, present, or in the future. Why just stick them in plain-looking photo albums when in fact you can add some artistic and personal touch to them?

The real score in scrapbooking is not really to include all those photos you’ve taken. It is all about choosing some pieces that best stand as the representations of the certain occasion. Remember that scrapbooking balances the role of the photos plus the chosen layout for all those photos. Frankly speaking, the design of your choice will aid in telling the real story behind the concept more than those pictures will do.

When you had never tried scrapbooking but you are actually craving for that experience, you can watch other people do it so you will be able to grasp some essential ideas. You can likewise take the opportunity of attending classes. Yes, there are classes especially held for the benefit of the budding scrapbookers.

There are certainly a lot of local arts and crafts shops that conduct classes for individuals of all levels. You may opt whether or not to buy your supplies there. Likewise, several community colleges make such classes available also for outsiders.

These courses can really be of great help for the beginners in the world of scrapbooking. For a minimal fee, all supplies are included and you can start enjoying the experience.

Some classes will already provide you with the ready-made scrapbooks while there are those that will require you to bring your personally-owned scrapbooks. But of course, you’ve got to bring your very own pictures! For sure you can’t wait how your scrapbook frames will look like in the end.

A Warning for all Scrapbookers

When choosing a scrapbooking frame, you should be cautious. There is a wide array of choices of scrapbooking frames made available in arts and crafts shops. Scrapbooking frames vary in styles and designs so you’ve got to bear these things in your mind.

Also take note of the theme which you need to employ in your scrapbook frames. Scrapbook frames come in a variety of themes such as the Halloween, Christmas, baptism, and so on. But of course there are some traditional scrapbooking arts stores that can provide you with cheaper alternatives so that you will be able to save a lot of money.

Some Scrapbooking Secrets to Remember

When scrapbooking is what you wish to do, always never fail to conduct research. Always look for little things which can be employed in your scrapbook frames such as trinkets, ribbons, stickers, and many more. Where should you conduct your research? Take a tour from among the arts and crafts shops in your area. Also never forget to browse through the internet as it is a deep well of information. Online shopping has never been boring. Via the internet, you’ll grasp the essential and the hottest materials in scrapbooking. Scrapbooking frames are nonetheless all available online.

Scrapbooks as Gifts

Among the best attributes of scrapbooks is that they count as a gift for all seasons. Whether it is for Christmas, graduations, birthdays, weddings, and many other events, scrapbooks are always one of the best gifts to give to people. So always find time and collect your photos of friends and family members. You can certainly paint a smile on their faces as you hand them your scrapbook gifts.

Scrapbooking for Cousins

2011-07-14T17:10:00.000+07:00

Scrapbooking for Cousins: Recording Family History

By Umar Zen

You cant be further from the truth if you say that scrapbooking are for kids. Well, it is still the same thing. Only that scrapbooking is for kids age 7 to 99.

Scrapbooking has set the trend for keeping memories and memorabilias, which obviously came from the past. And the past as we know will always retain its state for there is no other way to have it wheel back. The things that we did with our time given in the past will always be shelved in our recollections.

And with the latest photographs coming, what would you want to do with them. As you flip through the faces of people who remain close to your heart, families and friends that has revolved around your memories and the relatives and cousins that caused you joy, you cant fight the urge of smiling. Remembering all the fun you had when you were actually at the moment of doing the memories.

You won't keep those precious memories in the drawers right, or in the box or anything away from the light. All you want to do is to have them face you each moment you want to flip through them again. So never put them in the dark.

Our families are the closest people to us. We may sway away from them at times and wish that we were in a different family. But you see, when all things turn away from us, the only people that we can fall back to are our families. They are literally, the persons we cant get away from.

We Americans are not as family-oriented though as compared with those of the ties that we may see from other cultures. We don't give as much credit to family extensions and we have ample reasons for that. In many occasions, we may even have lost faith in our families and brought ourselves into destruction and separation. That's normal for us but this must not be the case. This should never be but its happening.

However, to all things there are exemptions. For some Americans, their foundations on family ties are so solid that they seem to have sprouted from another culture. They're like Orientals who have grown and lived through life within the boundaries of their family ties.

They have seen grandpa celebrated his 75th year. Or see Uncle Sam wed beautiful Sally. Or has enjoyed the cake that mom baked during cousin Anne's debut. These memories of family deserve to be preserved, in any fashion that would enhance them and will help leap you back through ages and experiences.

And what can be more special than making a scrapbook album for them?

Then main aim of scrapbooking your family photos is to preserve tokens of the past with your relatives. Everyone has a story to tell and you would be glad that you took time preserving them all for the next members of the family to see.

Once the faces of your cousins, aunts and uncles and everyone are put in an album, they would no longer be forgotten. When they see your work twenty years from now, no one would have to wonder who were the people in the photographs. This normally is the case and you would not want trying to identify that the man in the suit is Uncle Jim and the baby on Grandma's lap is cousin Jenny.

Scrapbooks can be of any theme, it might be a scrapbook dedicated for your cousins or scrapbooks for your best buddies in the family. It may even be the stuff that will tell stories of a specific events involving your clan.

You need not fear the failure on your first attempt or the failure of disappointing the people you would be putting in you album. If this is your first trial then forgive yourself and do good on your consequent attempts. It is best that you do your first scrapbook with the help of a close relative. Or if you can gather a group of relatives then better. That way, you'll enjoy saving memories while making new sets.
And some day, when all your family member grows old, you will leaf back through the pages of your scrapbooks. And as you do, smiles will be on your face and laughter would fill the air as you remember how you created those memories and how you created the memory keepers.

Scrapbooking Charms

2011-07-04T16:01:00.001+07:00

Add Some New Touch to Your Album, Try Using Scrapbooking Charms

By Umar Zen

Scrapbooking Charms

Thinking that scrapbooking is a stuff for the amateurs? Well, this time think again.

It takes so much creativity before a theme is produced. For sure, we are not the only ones who sat on the layout with a blank look. In fact, many scrappers experience that. These may be the days when no inspiration comes into mind. This is when inspiration seems to have dried down and concepts don't even pass your thoughts.

Well, there of course are many choices for you to resolve this. One, you can stop trying for sometime and go back to your project sometime later. This will provide "rest" for your mind. Don't do anything that you may associate with scrapbooking and don't even attempt to look at the materials. However, you may always go back to your works and see what you can do next. Afterwhich, you will be surprised at how many ideas would roll once you sit on your working area again.

The second would be to continue trying until a spark of inspiration comes in. This happen often, especially when you set your thoughts free. Who knows how much work will be done after you poured all your imagination on a page.

The bottom line is, there will always come a period when you become so drained and following after is the spread of inspiration.

When this time comes, try to imagine newer ideas. Then once you are done with your evaluation, you will see that in your past works have some flaws in them. Or if you are a beginner, the works of other people may have lacked something or provides an idea with the extra pop.

Your new layout theme screams for something cool, for something that is beyond papers, photos and markers. Probably, the album you are about to start requires embellishments, charms perhaps.

Indeed, scrapbooking has matured since your first trials on the filed during your grade school days. Many of the techniques, methods and materials used have all developed substantially that you can actually put all things that you want in an album, but of course with careful planning.

Because the plethora of scrapbooking materials have evolved dramatically during the past years, it is easier for us to use anything and everything in making masterpieces.

You may have tried using stick-ons, peel-offs and rub-offs. They all allow creative concepts, which are rather common. Or say glitters and chalk powder for added dimension and effects.

Charms are one of the many favorites among scrappers. Well they maybe the charms that you've been given since you were a kid or the charms you have bought some years back. Any of these two revolve around memories and that exactly what scrapbooks contain. They preserve memories of youth, of events or of things that are nearest to your heart. They are like memory keepers that you would one day visit.

Not all of us have these tokens though. Good thing, charms for scrapbooking are available in many local scrapbooking shops in wide array of pre-packaged designs, types and assortments. They are of course easy to find. Most craft stores have them and its just a matter of choosing the charms that you want to see a few years from now or choosing what you think will best fit your concepts.

Unlike bottle caps and a number of in the industry, charms will always provide the assurance that you get the worth of what you bought. There are certainly simple choices that would provide plain and basic designs that give you the advantage of manipulating them towards the goal you desire. And there are those that are intricately made that their mere presence in your album would be enough to consider them as parts of your memories. After all, charms have that touch of uniqueness that may never be had with ribbons, fabrics and bottle caps.

Charms are normally mounted on cardstocks, papers or on any mediums you use as your foundation for scrapbooking. Ensure though that when using charms, you are also equipped with strong adhesives and glues to assure better hold.

If you are not comfortable with this, you can try an alternative that is rather "cute". Turn your charms into danglies. Not only that they are fun to do, they also create less bulky pages.

Scrapbooking Tools

2011-06-25T11:31:00.005+07:00

Different Scrapbooking Tools You Need

By Umar

Scrapbooking Tools

Scrapbooking can be a very challenging task for the beginner. For one thing, you need creativity in order to create a beautiful work of art. You also need to think up a distinct theme which forms the backbone of the scrapbook. The items you put inside the scrapbook should also be arranged in such a manner that their significance is unmistakable. With all these complexities, many people would be hard-pressed to complete a scrapbook without the proper tools.

So what tools would you actually need to put a scrapbook together?

1) Scissors – Everyone knows what scissors are, right? Well, here is a metaphor for the scissors in scrapbooking. Scissors are like bringers of order. Scissors shape the little bits of paper into forms that you can use in your scrapbook. This scrapbooking tool is very important in making pieces fit together. Some people may refuse to cut the pieces of paper, but only through this, can the scrapbook be completed.

In that sense, a pair of scissors can symbolize the truth. Why, you ask? Well, the truth hurts. But it has to hurt, doesn’t it? It has to hurt if it is to set you free.

There are two distinctive types of scissors you can use as scrapbooking tools:

a) Conventional paper-cutting scissors – These scissors are made to cut and to cut straight. This is the type of scissors people encounter from the very beginning of their childhood. You need to be able to trust your scissors to cut straight, because it just looks ugly if you unintentionally use dull scissors and mess up the cut of the paper.

b) Crafting scissors – This type of scissors can be bought at different art supply shops. These scissors are distinctively shaped in order to produce different types of cuts. Using this scrapbooking tool can be a whole lot more convenient than trying to follow a pattern using straight-cutting scissors. You see, using conventional scissors can give you carpal tunnel because of the stress your fingers will be taking. And that’s not good at all, is it?

2) Puncher – This nifty scrapbooking tool is used mainly to punch holes into paper. There are, once again, two types of punchers available out there:

a) Conventional – This type of puncher produces round holes. Funnily enough, this type of puncher was not designed as a scrapbooking tool, but as an office supply. For those of today’s generation, files are known as the thing you keep documents in your computer. However, for other people, files consist of important papers and documents which are organized together. Punchers were used to put holes into those documents in order to accommodate a fastener.

However, punchers are now used today to make perfect circles on scrapbooking pages.

b) Shaped – This type of puncher, pretty much works in the same manner as the conventional puncher. However, the edges of the punching mechanism take different shapes in order to accommodate your crafting needs. This scrapbooking tool is used to make different shaped holes in the pages of the scrapbook.

3) Tweezers – Tweezers are often used as scrapbooking tools in order to enable the crafter to put in a design or to glue in a bit of paper neatly. You see, when making a scrapbook, you will be working with different materials together with a lot of glue. Because of this, there is a high risk of you smudging the different pictures of the scrapbook. Tweezers are excellent scrapbooking tools to maintain the cleanliness of your handiwork.

4) Computer – This can be an excellent scrapbooking tool because of the fact that it can do a variety of things. On the computer, you can do research on what scrapbooking theme to use. This means you are given more resources on the varieties of different themes and the ways you can incorporate them in your scrapbook. You can also use the computer to get more images to put in your scrapbook. By using the computer, you get all the advantage of modern technology and can therefore, make your scrapbook into anything you like.

Scrapbooking tools allow people to have an easier time crafting their handiwork. However, you should remember that sometimes. Mistakes actually make a scrapbook more personal. Mistakes show the human side of you. Like the memories you show on a scrapbook, the making of it should not necessarily be perfect, but it should be fun.

Scrapbooking Albums

2011-06-18T17:13:00.003+07:00

How to Lengthen the Lifespan of Your Scrapbooking Albums

By Umar

Among the major materials that you would need to deal with in the scrapbooking world are the albums. They are in fact, the body that builds the bulk of papers, cards and embellishments. They don't only act as protectors of your memorabilia, they themselves contain and preserve them for you.

There simply are lots of scrapbooking album choices that you can take into consideration. There are hundreds (maybe even thousands!) which make it impossible for us to categorize them into groups rather than basing on their sizes.

Modern scrapbooking normally features albums sizes 8½×11" and 12"×12". However, many scrappers these days prefer smaller sizes such as those of the 8"×8" down to 6"×6". The size of course is a matter of personal preferences.

The albums may provide protection for your memories. However, they sometimes would not be able to cover natural tendencies for depreciation. In this article, we have gathered some fundamental scrapbooking album care that will help lessen the immediate damages that may be brought by a number of harmful elements to your "memory keepers".

To avoid disasters, it is best that your album is keep away from liquids. Liquids do not only spoil the outside covering of your scrapbook, they may as well cause damage on the photos, memorabilias, negatives and other water non-resistant materials. Also, keep your working area clear from liquids.

Direct sunlight can undoubtedly cause colors to fade. Thus, diminished album quality. This goes side by side with extreme temperatures. Too low temperature will moisten the album itself and the same goes with too hot environment, especially for storage.

Initially the damage of oily hands may not be as apparent. If you need to follow the puritan's way, you will have to secure your hands with cotton gloves. But you can always choose to frequently wash your hands with acid neutralizing agents or simply refrain from touching the photographs with your entire hand so as to prevent the deterioration caused by skin oils.

Learn to store. Proper storage of negatives, layouts and other materials will not only prevent tears, scratches or bends from occurring, they will also largely affect the lifespan of each. Provide sturdy containers or acid-free envelopes for filing.

Plastics are commonly used as sealers or protectors of memorabilias and photos. However, we must always remember that they are not all created equal. If you are not as keen to details, you may find that you are better off without specific types of plastics as they may cause larger problems in the end as compared with not protection at all.

To be safe, never use vinyl plastics as they contain the destructive material referred to as polyvinyl chloride or PVC. This substance is unstable and will therefore cause corrosion in your precious items. The effects may not be obvious at first though. Look for polyester or acrylic materials instead. They have more stable properties and will help ensure the longevity of your items.

Always look for acid-free papers. Be warned though that many types of acidic papers found in your local scrapbooking shops. Additionally, it does not mean that if the light colored papers of a specific manufacturer are acid-free it does not follow that their darker shades are the same. Often, pigmentation and die will affect the acid level of a specific paper. If you are quite doubtful, always check the label or test any unlabeled papers.

Why the fuss with acids and acid levels? Simply because acids are large contributors to immediate deterioration of quality in your scrapbooking materials. This condition is obviously seen in newspapers where pages turn yellow over time. If you would not want any damage or loss of quality in your scrapbooking album, it is best that you keep watch acidity levels in the materials your are using. After all, scrapbooks are used to preserve memories.

Proper documentation is crucial when making scrapbooks. Years from now, as you look back to your photos, you would be glad that you took time to label them. However, assure to it that you use the appropriate materials in labeling.

Never use ballpoint pens as they tend to require you to write with pressure plus the possibility of ink transfer from one photo to another, especially when they are kept or glued in a photo stack.

All these guidelines are not only intended to cerate better impressions on your work. They would also help lengthen the quality preservation of your memory keepers.

Scrapbooking

2011-06-10T16:54:00.001+07:00

Scrapbooking for Less: Tips and Tricks

By Umar

If you want to start your own scrapbook but do not have an open budget to buy some essential supplies, then this article is for you. You will learn how to find ways to get around your limited budget but still create beautiful scrapbook you can be proud of.

There are 3 types of scrapbooking stores: (1) stores that sell branded scrapbook supplies on regular price (2) stores that sell discounted scrapbook supplies; and (3) stores that sell both.

As long as you have the money to buy some supplies, then you can go in any of the 3. But since you need to do some careful shopping from a limited budget, you can only go to the second and the third.

But, don’t go anywhere yet, you still have things to do.

First, you need to know the things you need and set your priority- materials’ hierarchy of needs.

An album is the most essential supply you must have. Next would be the album refill. Pens, papers, adhesive, and pair of scissors are the things you can have. Rubber stamps, acrylic paints, puncher, stickers, card stock, and other minor detailing you can live without are still essential.

Second. As yourself, from these items, what are the things you already have. Knowing this would let you eliminate things you can skip buying. For example; you already have a good pair of scissors at home. Or you already have some colored papers from your previous artwork. Or you have some colored pens. All of these will let you save enough money to buy other stuff you do not hove.

Third, make a list. Now that you have identified the things you need and the things you need to have. Make a list of the things you want to buy. Remember that you are working on a limited budget here so you should know what are your priorities. It is better if you make two lists. One is for the must haves and the second is for the extra supplies if you still have excess money.

Forth, check the price on the internet. This is the quickest way to do it. There are several sites that sell different scrapbooking supplies. And there are more sites that offer discounted scrapbooking supplies. You may want to visit sites that offer cheaper but nice supplies. Check on the prices here. Do not forget to shop around. The first site you visit may not be the best so take some time to browse on several sites before deciding where to buy your supplies.

Fifth, create a final list. If you have already decided where to buy your supplies, then, it is time for you to make your final list. It may seem unimportant since you have seen the prices and have realized that your budget would fit. But the fact is, making a final list would get you organized. Your final list will be your guide to your shopping. And oh! Make sure you write down the prices beside your each item so that you know how much you are spending on the particular supply.

After you have done all these, it is time for you to shop. You can shop online. It is more convenient and less stressful. If you prefer seeing the product first before paying for it, then, you can go to stores.

If you still have some extra cash left, you may want to buy some inexpensive scrapbook supplies that would give extra glow on your scrapbook. Some brands of rub-ons, stamps, colored pens, and colored papers could cost as low as $3.

But if you are really on a tight budget, you may want to improvise. Use materials you can find at your home. Magazines, newspapers, and other papers, can be good alternatives for colored papers and paints. Try to improvise on materials you will use. After all, what is important is to create a unique scrapbook. Yes, expensive materials would really give some good effects on your scrapbook, but with a little creativity and imagination, any material you have at home would transform your scrapbook into a work of art you can call your own.

Have a happy and wonderful scrapbook making!

Princess Scrapbooking

2011-02-15T16:02:00.022+07:00

Tips on Princess Scrapbooking

By Umar

Are you the type who enjoys reading stories about princesses and their adventures? Perhaps you are the type who can relate to the image of the princess in the tower, waiting for a prince to rescue her? Maybe, you can relate yourself to warrior princesses and imagine yourself as the heroine of an epic.

Well then, that would explain your inclination for princess scrapbooking. Perhaps you are a parent, wanting to create a princess scrapbook for your daughter. We all know how much little girls love to identify themselves with princesses.

You may have grown into adulthood and you may have forgotten about being a princess because of the complexities of life, but hey, isn't the dream of being a princess still within you? You know that hidden within the scars created by reality, the heart that beats within you remains that of a princess.

Princess scrapbooking is one way of showing the world that part of you that deserves to be treated like a princess. But what inspiration should you use for princess scrapbooking?

Here are some tips for you:

1) In princess scrapbooking, you should try to choose a princess that fits your personality. You can't just pick an inspiration because of the color of their dress. You should choose someone that fits your ideals.

This way, you actually incorporate someone who you can relate to. When basing your scrapbooking on Princesses, you should be able to relate to other people about the reason why you chose a particular princess.

2) The first tip leads to this next tip. When princess scrapbooking, you should do some research about the particular character you intend to use. You see, many people tend to create scrapbooks based on popular figures only to find out that the figure contradicted a crucial part of their personality.

How do you research on fictional characters? You see, fictional princesses often have some background information which not many people know about. Yes, fictional characters have something more to them than what the general public can see. One tip is looking up the "canonical" traits of a character. This means looking up the "official" portrayals of the character. Whenever a writer comes up with a new character, he or she creates a whole life for that character. This is so when that character is re-used, nothing the character does will contradict what the original writer planned.

3) Balance is very important. Overdoing your use of a princess on scrapbooking can actually take the focus away from the contents of the scrapbook itself. You do not want to distract the reader from the contents of the scrapbook in order to promote the princess. Remember that large companies already make billions of dollars because of fictional characters. You don't really want to be giving them the attention you deserve for creating the scrapbook.

4) Princess scrapbooking also needs creativity. Although you already have the general theme taken care of, it is still up to you to make it work. Remember that on a scrapbook, all the little details matter. Adding other elements to your scrapbook is a must and will help you balance out if the scrapbook turns out to be "too princess-y."

5) Princess scrapbooking also involves interpretations. Remember that vague symbols can be interpreted in a thousand different ways, depending on the beholder. You need to make sure that your message comes across and not any others. If it helps, you should make sure that you do not use any themes or characters that could be very offensive to other people.

6) Symbols are just that: symbols. If you happen to choose a princess that offends someone, remind yourself that the scrapbook you made means something to you. You should not let any interpretations by "experts" confuse you into thinking you did something wrong. It is, after all, your experiences that are being chronicled in princess scrapbooking. This means that the focus should be in your life and not on the symbolic interpretations of your scrapbook.

There you go: those are just some of the tips you can use on princess scrapbooking. In order to get more information, you should try to do a little research on the internet. In princess scrapbooking, you only need to remember one thing: Have fun!

Ideas for Scrapbooking Pages

2011-02-02T17:39:00.004+07:00

Some Ideas for Scrapbooking Pages

By Umar

Finding ideas to apply to your scrapbooking can be such a big pain. You are faced with the prospect of creating a masterpiece, yet you don’t really know how to begin. Here are some suggestions for you to try out:

1) Color – The simplest idea for a scrapbooking page should be a color. Basing your scrapbook pages on a single color though, can be quite complex if you want it to be. There are shades to experiments with. By trying on different shades of a color, you can have variety and yet stick with the same scrapbooking idea.

Another fun scrapbooking page idea that involves colors has you researching their different interpretations. By using colors this way, you can actually have a message that means something special to you.

2) Literature – Think of your favorite piece of literature and base your scrapbook on that. Taking inspiration from books or a poem is a really good scrapbooking idea. You see, authors sometimes picture their characters and stories so vividly, that you can visualize them in your mind. By placing these images on paper, you can actually share with people something that so inspired you.

Basing your scrapbook on a piece of literature can be pretty deep for some people to take. You may have to do a bit of explaining before someone gets the message of the scrapbook. In doing so, you get to show a part of your soul to the readers. It may also inspire people to take up reading.

3) Characters –Characters abound in the world that people can take inspiration from. In using characters, you have two options:

A. Fiction – this idea for scrapbooking pages involves you taking a fictional character and using that character as an inspiration for your scrapbooking page. Contrary to what most people think, fictional characters are actually harder to research on than actual, living characters.

One reason is the fact that different people have different interpretations of them. Take Batman, for example. In the sixties, the TV series portrayed him as this campy superhero who wears grey and blue spandex. In the 1989 movie, he’s a bit more brooding, and wears protective armor. In the movie “Batman and Robin” he is portrayed as this not so brooding, talkative character who wears a rubber suit with nipples. See how different people’s perceptions of a fictional character can be?

One advantage to this, though, is the fact that you can have more freedom with this idea for a scrapbooking page. You see, not many people will question your interpretation of a fictional character.
B. Non-fiction – In this idea for a scrapbooking page, you take your inspiration from a real person. It doesn’t really matter if they are alive or dead. However, remember that people change all the time. Just take a look at Britney Spears and you’ll probably realize the meaning of this statement.

By using real persons as your inspiration, you are actually offered a whole lot of detail on their lives. However, you won’t really have the same freedom as when you are trying to do a fictional character.

4) Activities – Try getting an idea for scrapbooking pages from your favorite activity. Most guys would choose sports and stuff, and nothing’s wrong with that. However, you may want to try being different and think outside the box. Base your scrapbook on an interest which no one can really guess. In doing this, you’ll get to have additional fun by having people guess the connection of the page to the activity.

Sometimes, people tend to categorize us through our activities. However, you might want to prove to others your true depth by showing in your scrapbook that a certain activity foes not define the “whole” you.

You might want to show, using your scrapbook that even though you enjoy a particular activity, it is only a minor part of your existence and that you have a deeper facet to your personality than being a computer whiz, basketball jock and other stereotypical labels.

There you go: those are just some ideas for scrapbooking pages you might think about trying out. By trying out different things before you actually use them, you can actually see if those ideas for scrapbooking pages fit your personality.

Hugs For Scrapbooking

2011-01-25T15:57:00.001+07:00

Qualities that Determine the Right Hugz for Scrapbooking

By Umar

Scrapbooking nowadays involves so many materials. In the past, scrapbooking took on a distinctive look as each person was relied on his or her resourcefulness in order to get the right look and the proper details into his or her scrapbook. Nowadays, however, there are different add-ons for sale that the only reason why people achieve distinct looks with their scrapbooks is the fact that each person arranges the scrapbook differently.

Hugz for scrapbooking is one type of the little bits and pieces that companies sell in order to make your creations more attractive. Hugz for scrapbooking aren’t really necessary, but they add a distinctive look and make your scrapbook into something special.

What determines the right Hugz for scrapbooking?

1) Color – People sometimes choose the right hugz based on their color. But how do these people determine the right color of hugz for scrapbooking?

a) Theme - Going with the overall theme or template of the scrapbook can be pretty crucial factor. Depending on what color, object, event, person, place, or emotion you choose to base your scrapbook on, you need hugz for scrapbooking that will either complement the color of the theme or contrast it for a brilliant effect.

b) Emotion – The color of hugz for scrapbooking can also be used to reflect the emotion of the memory being portrayed. Remember that there different interpretations for different colors. Here are the different interpretations of colors.

b.1) Red – This color can stand for courage, honor and loyalty to family. The red is the color of blood meaning it can also stand for passion and violence. Red can also be associated with communism, and revolution.

b.2) Black – This is often associated with mystery and inner peace. Black is also associated with non-conformism, evil and the night. Black can also stand for sorrow and pain and you can use this color of hugz when you are putting together a scrapbooking page of a very sorrowful time in your life.

b.3) Purple – This stands for royalty and wisdom. The emotion commonly associated with purple is nobility. Purple hugz for scrapbooking can be used in pages signifying victory over the odds.

b.4) Pink – The color pink stands for innocence and love. This is because in eastern philosophy, pink is often the visualized color of the love energy which flows from one of the chakras of the human body. A person with a pink aura is often seen as covered in the power of love.

b.5) White – White stands for purity, glory and peace. It can also signify a new beginning, meaning you can use it on pages where you want to show a rebirth of your life.

2) Size – Hugz for scrapbooking also come in different sizes. These sizes can actually signify anything. However, it is always up to the crafter to choose its specific meaning. Small hugz are often used for memories and pictures with significance usually only known to the crafter. Small hugz are often used to mark special memories that have a particular sweetness to the crafter, yet may not be understood by any other readers.

Medium sized hugz may be used to mark any significant objects which a few people may be able to relate to. These hugz may be used to mark certain events in a family’s life that bears a certain joy to the different people involved.

Large hugz are used to mark very significant events. These hugz can mark certain turning points in a person’s life or milestones in their history. It may also be used to mark important events which every person can relate to as being emotionally intense.

3) Shape – Of course, Hugz usually take the form of circles, since they got their name from the marks XOXO in a letter, signifying hugs and kisses. The circle signifies a hug and the X symbolizes a kiss. However, manufacturers nowadays have decided to include a variety of shapes.

Today, the circle shape can signify love. This means that you may use this type of hugz for romantic memories or especially sweet moments. It also signifies magic or reincarnation. The cycle of life also is shown by the circle. Triangles can signify intelligence or heavenly powers, as this is often the symbol for the trinity.

Free Scrapbooking Templates

2011-01-14T10:24:00.001+07:00

How to Search for Free Scrapbooking Templates on the Internet
By Umar

Free scrapbooking templates can be a great help to the scrapbooking enthusiast. Here are some advantages of free scrapbooking templates:

1) Saves effort – Few people realize the complexity of having to select an overall theme for your scrapbook. Free scrapbooking templates relieve you of the trouble of having to come up with an overall theme. Free scrapbooking templates also save you the effort of having to do research on different ideas and finding out how to relate that idea to your scrapbook. You are also saved the trouble of having to try and connect the different parts of your scrapbook to the overall theme which you decided upon.

2) Saves time – In today’s world, no one has a lot of spare time. In fact, today’s world moves so fast that people always feel like they are lacking time. Of course, time is the only resource that we cannot get back, so everyone really does not have enough. We all find ways of saving time whenever we can, and scrapbooking is just one of those activities that need time and dedication in order to come out great.

Free scrapbooking templates can actually help you save time by providing you with the base on which to stick your pictures and memorabilia. This actually means that you only need to place your pictures on the template and voila! You’re done!

3) Saves money – Creating your own template can be quite expensive, since scrapbooking materials today do not really come cheap. However, by availing of free scrapbooking templates, you don’t really need to spend anything to have a quality design. Another advantage of free scrapbooking templates is the fact that you do not have to spend anything on tools to get them done.

Where do you look in the internet for free scrapbooking templates?

a) Crafts sites – There are actually websites in the internet which are dedicated to crafts and arts. These sites can offer you different resources on different types of do-it-yourself projects. This means that you are most likely to get free scrapbooking templates from these sites.

These sites can also offer you various tips and articles on how to put your scrapbook together. This help may actually prove valuable should you encounter a difficulty in making a scrapbook.

b) Photo sites – These sites often group different types of photographs together and allow you to search their database for pictures of a certain theme. This may not be a free scrapbooking template per se. However, you will be able to get different images that relate to a single theme. This means that you will be able to make your own template.

c) Theme sites –These sites actually focus on certain themes and allow you to browse different images and other downloads concerning a certain subject. Think of a theme and search on the internet if that theme has a specific site dedicated to it.

You are likely to find free scrapbooking templates on these sites based on the fact that these sites often contain different types of resources for people who wish to make anything based on that theme.

These sites offer you the opportunity to actually incorporate a single theme in all your scrapbooking pages. This means that you can have unity within your scrapbook

Others may actually find that a sort of organized chaos look works for them. However, you need a lot of talent and hard thinking for you to make this work. Having free scrapbooking templates can actually help you organize your scrapbook around a single theme. This way, you can actually easily relate to other people the main reason why you put a scrapbook together.

d) Group sites – These sites actually provide you free scrapbooking templates based on a single group you belong to. This is so that members of these groups can create scrapbooks based on their experiences within the group. By going this route, you actually are able to have a special bond, through your scrapbook, with the other members of the group. You can get together and compare scrapbooks to se how much you have done with that single theme.

There you go; those are just some suggestions on where to look for free scrapbooking templates. Hopefully, this article has helped you get into the path of scrapbooking perfection.

Free Scrapbooking Software

2011-01-10T10:06:00.001+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Software: A Guide to a Simple Scrapbook

By Umar

A lot of free scrapbooking software is widely available for download from the Internet. You simply have to surf for those free downloadable software and presto! You can enjoy creating the layouts for your scrapbook.

There is what we call the simple scrapbook. But do not however misconstrue it for something which is plain and dull-looking for it is not at all what you think. A simple scrapbook is not meant for novices or the inexperienced. It is not also an album that misses out too much creativity or content that must be covered by the album. So what are they? You might be wondering.

When we say simple scrapbooks, we mean to say that it is an album which is generally smaller and which is much manageable. If you do want to keep track of the “non-event” occurrences in your life such as hopes, relationships, dreams, fantasies, beliefs, and family traditions, you can go for simple scrapbooks. Overall, simple scrapbooks do away with the very traditional thing of keeping all your photos in an album.

Elements of the Simple Scrapbook

In reality, there are five elements comprising the successful venture to a simple scrapbook. They are the framework, format, finished, fast, and freedom. Let us discuss them one by one so that you will get a grasp of its entire idea.

The Framework

Almost every little thing that we start with needs a framework or an outline. It is the overall guide structure that will let us have an overview of the finished product. In a simple scrapbook, the framework plays an utmost role. The framework is chiefly composed of the group of pages which includes the table of contents and title pages. These pages on the whole provide the structure for the output. As a basic, the framework must be first completed so that you will know the sections of the album which you need to comply with.

The pages that make up the framework are the title page, the introduction or dedication page, the table of contents page, the section pages, the filler pages, the closing page, and the materials to be put on file.

The Format

There should be a format that must be desired for in a scrapbook. The format comprises the physical attributes which must be borne by the album itself. Among the considerations in the format are the size of the scrapbook, the organization of all of the contents, the design to be employed which includes the colors and materials to be used, the arrangement of the elements, and many more. Such scheme to be followed in the elements of the design allows the continuity of the flow of thought all throughout the album.

The Finished

When you plan to start on something, make sure that you will be able to finish it. Do not simply go on with a project and later on abandon it. It is not a good practice at all. When we talk about simple scrapbooks, we know for a fact that it is an album which can be finished in due time. The advantage that you can lean on is that a simple scrapbook has a framework so you know exactly what to work with. Overall, scrapbooking is an enjoyable experience. So, savor it!

It is Fast

Generally, a simple scrapbook is easy and hassle-free. Therefore, it is fast to finish! As soon as you’ve thought of the format and design to employ for your album, you are now ready to start and finish it all the way down. You just simply have to place your pictures where they should be!

There is Freedom

One of the most thrilling elements of the simple scrapbook is that is allows you to be free. It gives you freedom in the sense that you are able to explore what you have in mind, what you want to create, and how you want them to appear in the end. With simple scrapbooks, you know that you will be able to come up with something that satiates your taste when it comes to style and trend.

So are you ready? Then get now the free scrapbooking software that comes your way! After all, it is all fun and easy!

Free Scrapbooking Printables

2011-01-02T13:40:00.002+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Printables for Mother’s Day

By Umar

One of the hardest ideas to come up with is the scrapbooking layout. In fact, scrapbookers usually spend days on conceptualizing the layout that they will employ in the design of the scrapbook that they will be starting with. If you have constantly ventured into scrapbooking, you may already be experiencing a mental block with regards to scrapbooking layout ideas. Such thing comes naturally.

Sometimes people really ran out of ideas not to mention when it comes to ideas about scrapbooking layouts. But then worry not because sooner or later you will be able to come up with one brilliant idea.

As mentioned by most people, scrapbooks are worth to be given as gifts to other people whether they be your family, peers, superiors, and so on. Scrapbooks are for all seasons. These clippings of photos transcend the boundaries of time. Or it can rather represent the time being. For special occasions, scrapbooks can be planned out ahead of time. So when Mother’s Day is about to come, you can beforehand already think about the layout of your scrapbook.

A Gift for Mom

Your mom is naturally one of the most important personas in your life. Aside from being your life-giver, she is also there by your side whenever you need her. She listens to your problems, helps you out with all your ordeals, and supports your every endeavor. During her special day, it is your chance to show her how much you’ve appreciated every little thing she’s done for you. If you’ve got a collection of her photos, you may as well design a scrapbook for her. For sure, she’ll love your gift.

Whatever your gift to her needs not to be expensive. Simple things will exude great thoughts. As the clichéd saying goes, it is always the thought that counts. Aside from less expensive gift ideas such as breakfast in bed, dinner treat, spa get away, and all other ideas, a scrapbook will form a wonderful gift. In this manner, your mom will be able to take a glimpse of the past events in her life through a collection of photographs.

When it comes to the layout for your scrapbook gift, it needs to be something special and fit to the purpose too. You may already be tired of the stereotype layouts basing on the collection of scrapbooks you’ve already made. When you would want to break away from your tradition, you may prefer to do some little research from the internet. As you know, the internet provides several courses of information.

You surely will get valuable ideas from it. When scrapbooking layouts are your problem, you can check out several scrapbooking websites wherein there are lots of free scrapbooking printable that are made available. With this, you can simply print them and employ them in your design. Presto! You get rid of the mind-boggling step of thinking so hard for a layout design. In fact, special occasions such as Mother’s Day always have free scrapbook printable available in the internet.

If you still want to put on some touch of originality from your own self, better improve the free scrapbooking printable that you’ve gained access from the internet. You can redesign it, add some accents and embellishments, and then scan it. After which you may print it all over and make use of the newly designed layout format for your scrapbook.

A Tip to Consider

When redesigning a free scrapbooking printable you’ve got from the net, remember to use colors that will not mess up the entire concept. You can likewise add some more artistic touch to the borders but then not messing up the original form in a sense that it will already look crowded or displeasing to the eyes.

In truth, mothers love most the handmaid items crafted by their very own children. This act brings severe joy to their hearts. They likely appreciate personally crafted things rather than the materials which have been readily made and bought from the department stores. Creating a scrapbook for Mother’s Day is one unique way of valuing the events in your mother’s life. The internet is a great source of free scrapbooking printable for a gift on Mother’s Day.

Scrapbooking Mistakes

2010-12-29T11:53:00.015+07:00

Scrapbooking Mistakes Continues: Are you one of the perpetrators?

By Umar

Caught by scrapbooking fever? Well, you are not alone in this hobby. In fact, there are thousands of people who are addicted to it. Scrapbooking is their outlet to express their artistic side at the same time it is their way to give legacy that can be handed down to their descendants.

Scrapbooking has been around for more than a decade now. They are done to keep the memoirs as well as other precious memorabilia. It can be recalled that the first photos were taken in the year 1839. Since then, different attempts were tried to preserve the memories. In today’s modern era, the knowledge to discern safe and destructive materials and methods are already obtainable. Moreover, scrapbook is now made a ‘safer haven’ for pictures and memorabilia.

If you are still clueless about scrapbooking and everything about it, you can consult reliable scrapbooking sites on the net. If in case you have started a scrapbooking project, you will agree that your first page is the hardest. Nonetheless, it is worth the endeavor. If you are new to scrapbooking, you are susceptible to committing mistakes that can ruin all your effort and determination. To guide you in doing the right thing, scrapbooking references and sources can guide you pretty well.

According to some scrapbooking sites, there are some mistakes that need to be avoided. These mistakes are fatal. To preclude you from doing same mistakes, you must know them by heart before you start a project.

MISTAKES

Mistake #1
Overwhelmed by Pictures

If so many pictures are placed in front of you, the tendency is to be confused or worst fret. This should not be the case. The key factor is organization. Get your photos organized and available without difficulty. You can organize the pictures chronologically. You can start from infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. This way you will leave no stones unturned at the same time, you will not easily be baffled.

Mistake #2
Over-cropping

Cropping is the manner of resizing photos to make it smaller or more focal. Nonetheless, you must not crop anything that is interesting to your concept. Let your creativity flow. You can crop to achieve a silhouette look or to put emphasis on a given matter. Just a word of caution, never cut Polaroid pictures because they will deteriorate or fall apart when you do so. Over-cropping or abundance of photos loses emphasis and control.

Mistake #3
Using horrific albums

There are so many albums available in the market. There are the 3 ring binder albums, strap-bound, spiral bound albums and the expandable strap-bound albums. Choosing an album is like choosing your dress. It reflects your likes and dislikes. Moreover, all the aspects – from the materials, colors, layouts, methods, embellishments and the like must be considered to give the scrapbook a touch of sophistication. Be sure to get the album that will best boost your scrapbook project.

Mistake #4
Buying Over-priced scrapbooking supplies

You might be a victim of overpricing. Shop around. There are overwhelming supplies in the market. Some are expensive, others not. You can choose discount scrapbooking supplies to save a hefty savings. Price is not the factor to consider in buying supplies, it is the quality.

Before you purchase supplies, know first your ‘needs’ from ‘wants’. Prioritize the former from the latter. Moreover, there are supplies that you need not purchase.

Mistake #5
Staying Clueless

Scrapbooking is a dynamic realm. Hence, trends change and concepts evolve. Even your choices do change, furthermore you have to keep yourself abreast of what’s hot or new. You can get information from your scrapbooking buddies or from magazines and websites about scrapbooking.

SCRAPBOOKING SOURCES

You can turn to scrapbooking books, magazines, books and websites to gain knowledge about your newfound hobby. Here is a list of reliable scrapbooking companies:

1. Best Scrapbooking Sites

2. About

3. Scrapbook Super Center

4. Scrapbook

5. Create For Less

6. Scrapbook Pal

7. KT Craftsscrap Bookshop

8. Crafts Products Australia

9. Creative Scrapbooking

10. Creative Memories

11. A Lifetime of Memories

12. The Mad Crafter

13. Remember Me Scrapbooking

14. Ultimate Scrapbook Page

15. Scrapbooking Resource Center

There are so many sources on scrapbooking. All you have to do is to search for them to be benefited by their wisdom about the craft. The aspects in scrapbooking that come into play must be considered and dealt with to complement your project. Shun mistakes from recurring!

Free Scrapbooking Layouts

2010-12-24T13:26:00.002+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Layouts for All Types of Scrapbooks

By Umar

One of the hardest challenges you have to encounter when you are making any type of scrapbook is creating different layouts one after another. Yes, you simply run out of ideas on how to make each page unique and the tendency is, as you add more pages, you develop a certain arrangement of pattern layouts. And this of course makes your scrapbook boring and predictable.

To ensure you avoid scrapbook monotony from happening, here are several scrapbook layout ideas you may want to add on your existing ideas on your mind.

· Work on the background

There are thousands of backgrounds you can use as a layout. All you have to do is pick one. But in the event that you are working on few backgrounds, then it is time for you to improvise. Remove some details and add something different.

· Work on the design

If you are working on one background for your entire scrapbook, the best way to make each page different from another is by working on the design. Normally, a scrapbook page would include a photo(s), text, letter cut outs, and embellishments. You can rearrange all these to create a new and unique page. You can also use varieties of embellishments on each page. Use every part of the page. This means, you can always decide where to place important things on each page. For example, on the first page, the picture is located at the middle. Then on second, you can bring the photo on the upper left corner of the page. Then on the next, you can the other side of the page… and so forth.

· Start with a blank

The best way to create a unique page is to start with nothing and work your way from there. A blank page would certainly open endless possibilities for design. And these endless possibilities would come up different every time you start working on it.

· Use color combination

Colors can be used to enhance the image of the scrapbook while using them in different ways would create an entirely different page. Use different color combination to make each page stand out.

· Use different arrangements

One each page of the scrapbook, make sure you arrange all the elements differently. Ask yourself: where to place the pictures; where to put the captions; what color should I use; what shape would work best; and what materials can be used?” These questions will lead you to anticipation every time you lift the pages.

· Use events

Take advantage of the events you want to highlight. For example, the page you will work on is for the birthday celebration or a summer outing. Use materials that are relation to these events. For birthday celebration, you may want to add the inflated balloons or invitation together with the photos. For summer outings, you may want to glue some sands and things found at the beach or resort you went. The thing is, if you are making a page for a certain event, there are always enough ways to highlight them by using materials related to them.

· Get inspiration

If you want to get inspiration, you may want to consult the things around you. The flowers and plants at the garden, the houses around your neighborhood, the trees at your backyard, the sun setting at the horizon, the lake near you, the sights you have seen while you travel, and so forth. These things will surely give you enough inspiration to create and finish unique scrapbook layouts.

If these things do not work, there is another way… search for layouts on the internet.
There are thousands of scrapbook layouts on the internet that you can adapt. Look for certain theme that would work best in your imagination and expand from there.

The internet can offer several types of scrapbook templates you can also adapt. These templates are printable but you can always make a version of your own, using the materials you have.
Each scrapbook is different and so as its pages. Using your imagination, creativity and all these mentioned above will give you page after page variety.

Free Scapbooking Layout

2010-12-15T11:21:00.002+07:00

Samples of Free Scrapbooking Layout Plans

By Umar

Free Scrapbooking Layout

Scrapbooking is no longer the simple collection of magazine cutouts which we happen to find interesting. Or the bare collection of photos with minimal designs bounded together in a book.

In fact, this hobby has already become a craze and believe it or not, its popularity has exceeded golf. At a conservative measure, there are four scrapbookers in every American family while there are only three golfers who could play golf in each household.

Its popularity was added by multi-level marketing enterprises, which seemed to have raised the overwhelming collections of scrapbooking materials. Add to this the fact the myriad of collectors and vendors who seem to have their entire lives with scrapbooking.

While it already has evolved into a pool of vendors, collectors, traders and buyers we should still have to trace back the origin of scrapbooking.

It of course has started as a hobby. But with entrepreneurs seeing the lucrative prospects from scrapbooking, many has now toughed the tides and made this a billion dollar industry.

From scrapbooking product designs to product selling. From scrapbooking softwares to the nitti-gritties like charms, stickers, stick-ons and everything in between, there surely is some place for tactics that would help better the industry. And that including the free bees that we normally get from the web.

Well, the free scrapbooking layouts here that we are talking about are not the exact layouts that you would use step by step. Instead, we have prepared free scrapbooking layout plans that will contribute largely with the development of your craft and your own style. After all, scrapbooking is one good way for your personality to radiate.

Here are the following layout plans:

The newspaper style

One of the most obvious mediums by which we can see effective layouting are from the newspapers. There no boundaries in making the layouts for your scrapbooking, anything and everything is possible. Now if you would want to layout your family pictures or personal photos in tabloid form, you may choose to lay them on columns. Just like the ones you see posted in tabloids. Birthdays, weddings an sporting events all fit well in this type of formatting. For optimized results, you may use an old English font for the script and Times New Roman for the titles.

Try the handprints

This works best with an album for your child. You may trace his hand print or his foot print and do whatever that pleases you. You may have it traced on the cardstock or the paper itself. For an alternative, you may mount a picture of your child on any traced medium and make use of the area around the page.

Use the rub on transfer technique

Rub-ons for long, had been the favorite among both amateur and veteran scrappers. They create pretty effects that make layouts extra special. There are plenty of ways for which you may use rub-ons. The most common of which is to apply them on the cardstock, photos or any sort of papers, may it be patterned or plain.

Rub-ons need some learning curve. It might even take time before you master the technique. They come in helpful tools though like a rubbing would for easy design transfer. However, once you have mastered the craft, you would be able to use it even to trickier mediums like ribbons, glass, mesh, and ribbons. Please assure to it that when doing the techniques on these materials, the rub-ons are adhesive enough so as to create better effects.

Chalk solutions for your scrapbooking layouts

Texture, color and dimension…that are what chalks do. chalks appeal to most surfaces especially those that are paper-based so there really is no problem when using chalks. The soft color that they add makes baby albums a bit more babyish and solemn albums a bit more solemn. Somehow, chalks intensifies that concept in ways that cant be doe with any other medium.

However using chalks would mean that you have to prepare for messy works. Nevertheless, it's all worth it.

There. Now you have more ideas from our free scrapbooking layout designs. They can be combined with other techniques to complement for the concepts and for intensifying the design on minimal degree or to make them as the general idea for your layout concepts.

Free Scrapbooking Idea's II

2010-12-10T14:59:00.019+07:00

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Free Scrapbooking Ideas (and Where to Get Them)

By Umar

Free Scrapbooking Idea's

Ideas are valuable. Somehow, it seems that people are always underestimating the power of ideas. However, the world today is slowly realizing the importance of ideas and now thrives on trying to turn those ideas into money. That is just the reason why entrepreneurs are the richest people in the world.

A good idea, however, can be hard to come by. You need ideas to fuel creativity. In scrapbooking, ideas can be crucial factors on whether or not you are able to create a viable scrapbook. It is actually best that you come up with your own idea in creating a scrapbook. However, to give you a bit of help, there are free scrapbooking ideas out there.

Here are some places where you can get free scrapbooking ideas:

1) Other people - of course, we all know that all ideas come from people. What this article is trying to point out, however, is the fact that you can try to ask people directly in conversations for some free scrapbooking ideas. In doing so, you can have a brainstorming session and really get good scrapbooking ideas.

2) The internet - the internet is one big resource for all kinds of free scrapbooking ideas. In the internet, there are a lot of different sites which give you free scrapbooking ideas for your use. By checking out the internet, you access the world. This means you not only have access to ideas per se, but you also get to access different types of inspiration boosters. This means that you can actually produce an idea of your own through the internet.

The internet can also provide you with what other people think of this or that idea. Because of this, you can actually gleam what free scrapbooking ideas can work for you. You also get a lot of advice as to how to implement a certain free scrapbooking idea. Because of this, you will have an easier time designing your scrapbook.

3) Craft magazines - different magazines specialize in crafts and may offer you free scrapbooking ideas. By buying magazines like these, you actually gain access not only to free scrapbooking ideas, but also to ideas for other crafts. Also, these magazines can give you various tips on what to do and what not to do when creating your own scrapbook.

Craft magazines also sometimes come with supplements and materials that you can use in implementing different ideas. This means that you not only have access to the "what?", but also to the "how?" of scrapbooking.

What are the advantages of free scrapbooking ideas?

1) You save money - of course, the word "free" should clue you in to the fact that you do not have to spend anything in order to avail of free scrapbooking ideas. By availing of free scrapbooking ideas, you could even actually make money. Ideas today, especially good ones, can give lead to a very lucrative business venture.

2) You save on your effort - By availing of free scrapbooking ideas, you rid yourself of the hassle of thinking up a theme or a design of the scrapbook. If you have some free scrapbooking ideas, you can actually just get on with the stage of making the scrapbook itself. This saves you a lot of effort, especially if you are the type of person who changes his or her mind constantly.

3) You save time - by availing of free scrapbooking ideas, you can actually skip the whole thinking process and just start getting creative. This advantage is ideal in a world where time equals money and money equals survival.

Disadvantages:

1) Lack of individuality - By availing of free scrapbooking ideas, your scrapbook will lack a certain quality of your personality. By availing of another's idea, you rob yourself of the fulfillment that comes with creating a scrapbook straight from your head.

2) No guarantees of satisfaction - By availing of a free scrapbooking idea, you really have no guarantee that you will be satisfied with the final outcome. Although there really are no guarantees about how a creation will turn out, having your own idea means you know the details as to how to make slight changes to your satisfaction. Remember that knowing more about something can help you succeed in perfecting it.

Free Scrapbooking Ideas

2010-12-05T11:33:00.002+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Fundamentals of a Simple Scrapbook

By Umar

Free scrapbooking Ideas

Maybe you have heard the term, “simple scrapbooking” and have some ideas about what it is. But with exactly is simple scrapbooking and what are its components that gave its name?

Simple scrapbook is not your usual album that relies on the chronological events. It does not focus on the usual things such as family traditions, daily routines, hopes, and dream. It sits itself outside the traditional album. It is small, short and more manageable. It is simple and focuses on the sidelights of your life or the small details that is overcastted by the usual things that matter to you. In other words, the traditional scrapbook is like moments taken on pictures while simple scrapbook are the things that happen before and after the pictures were taken.

There are 5 terms that describe what simple scrapbook is: Freedom, Format, Framework, Finished, and Fast. These five are further discussed below.

Freedom as referred to making a simple scrapbook means that the one creating it has the liberty to simplify all the events that would be included on the scrapbook. The freedom to explore other aspects of life, use of non-traditional elements, and capture things that may not be seen on regular scrapbook. And most of all; the freedom to make the scrapbook as the exact interpretation of the creator’s idea.

Format shows the uniqueness of one scrapbook from the rest; and somehow, each scrapbook follows certain format. This means, a simple scrapbook has a size, content, and characteristics that is relatively the same with the rest of the scrapbooks but entirely uses different in approach. This makes one simple scrapbook stand out from any other scrapbooks.

Format also sets a particular theme or color scheme of one scrapbook. The colors used and the designs made are some of the usual components that bring out a simple scrapbook into a work of art. The placement of various elements also brings a lot of impact on the overall image of the scrapbook.

Framework is one characteristic of the simple scrapbook that is entirely unique from the rest of the scrapbooks. The framework is often defined as the group of pages including the table of contents and the title, dedication or the introduction page, section pages, filler pages, closing page, and materials file that show that overall structure of the scrapbook. Oftentimes, it is the first thing made since it defines what is the flow of the album. In simple terms, the framework is like the blueprint and the foundation of the album.

Another distinct characteristic of the simple scrapbook is the idea that once it is started, it can be finished. It is unlike the chronological album that is continuously filled up and may not be finished as started. Factor such as unavailability to add pages on the chronological album hampers the excitement once have. In simple scrapbook, you can assure yourself that once you start it, you can finish it. This is because you are working on a specific framework that is specifically made to finish. And since you are working on this framework, you will exactly know how far can you go and how many pages you will use. Once you have met this, your album is done.

A chronological scrapbook takes a lot of time to create. And as was mentioned, you may not still finish it. Simple scrapbook is different. You can finish it as soon as you start it. Again, this is the result of the framework that you follow. In fact, after you have finished the framework, you are that close to finishing it.

If you have decided to create your simple scrapbook, you have to know 3 things.

First, you should identify your purpose. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” “What kind of emotion or celebration would I want to put in the album?”

Second, you have to create the format. Identify the size of the album and the theme to use. Know how to organize the ideas and put them to paper. Create the framework.

And third, you have to prepare the materials used.

Once you have all these, you will easily create your own simple scrapbook.

Free Scrapbooking Catalogs

2010-11-30T11:03:00.006+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Catalogues: Sources of Tips You can Use

By Umar

So it is spring once again. And you are faced with the idea of doing a general cleaning. In most cases, you find the most valuable materials you’ve always kept when you clean up your rooms, right?

It is not impossible for you to come across with pictures of you with friends and family on several occasions. They may have been just left out in a box or in one corner of the room. When suddenly the idea of compiling them strikes you. How can you compile them by the way? What idea do you have in mind? Would you not allot time for creating a scrapbook for those photos you’ve suddenly found? Yes, a scrapbook will be the best way to keep the memories in the photos alive once again! Are you ready for this venture then?

Several individuals are too much hooked into the idea of scrapbooking. They see the creation of scrapbooks as one fine way of spending a leisure time. While this may be a happy experience for most people, there are also those people who have not even experienced the joyous pleasure brought about by scrapbooking but who are always willing to give it a try.

When you are a novice in scrapbooking, free scrapbooking catalogues can be of great help to you. These free scrapbooking catalogues may be available online or in several local arts and crafts stores. They are in themselves filled with worthy information when it comes to scrapbooking. Simple steps are also given out plus the most essential scrapbooking information that novices will need to know about.

At a simple glance in your photos, they may have been mixed up with those from other occasions. Why not sort them out first according to events? In such way, your photos for scrapbooking will be organized. The essential steps that you need to dwell in before starting with the scrapbooking are gathering your photos, sorting them out, labeling them, and of course finally, storing your photos in the scrapbooking album. These steps are likewise included in the free scrapbooking catalogues that you will likely find whether within your locale or via the internet arena.

Let us dwell with the discussion of the steps first.

Gather all photos you have. As time passed by, you’ve earned a lot of photos and all throughout these years you may likewise have misplaced them. They may be in the garage, in the attic, in the closets or drawers, in the basement, and so on. Cleaning time provides you with the time to gather them up and recall the moment when they had been taken. What occasions are involved in the pictures? Who are with you? After gathering them up, go to a larger space so you can all spread them out. In this way you can decide on which photos to include in the scrapbooking. Think of what kind of scrapbooking album you will use. The size of which is determined by the number of photos that you will include in your scrapbooking project.

Start sorting out the photos. There are certainly several ways to sort out your photos like doing it according to family, relatives, and friends or by sorting them out according to chronology. Most people go for the latter option. Your pictures may date back to several previous years but that will be okay. Just allot time to do that. After you have sorted them out, start thinking about the theme of your scrapbook. Will it be holiday seasons-related? Baby’s baptismal? Heritage or family stuff? Whatever theme you are able to come up with, make sure that the photos you’ve chosen will explain a story and will definitely make sense!

Label the photos. After sorting them all out, label them according to occasion or event so that you will be given a clue as to what category they belong to. You need not label each photo for it will be too hard on your part. Simply categorize some portions or better yet put them inside an envelope with labels so you know what to get once you start with your project.

Finally, store them in safe places. When you are not yet ready with your scrapbooking materials, first keep the photos safely. Likewise, safe keep the rest which you will not be using. Three elements must be kept away from the photos. They are the humidity, heat, and light.

You see how beneficial free scrapbooking catalogues are? They surely mean to help you a lot!

Free Scrapbooking

2010-11-26T14:30:00.001+07:00

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Making a Wedding Scrapbook
By Umar

Free Scrapbooking

Substituting the professional wedding album with wedding scrapbook can be time consuming for some. But for those who want to put personal touches on their wedding memorabilia, making a wedding scrapbook can be a total fun. Of course you have the options to either make it by yourself or do it with your couple.

The first thing you should do as you start your wedding scrapbook making is deciding the content. You may have several options but basically, they are limited. It is just either you include the whole wedding event from the wedding engagement to the honeymoon or just the wedding day itself.

This decision will lead you to the limit and scope of your scrapbook. For instance, you have decided to create one that would cover only the wedding day. Then, you can easily decide what are the things you need and the photos you should have. This will define the number of pages you require and would determine whether you need to make additional pages and so on.

Then, you would have to decide the theme or the color of the scrapbook. Obviously, you have a certain color theme on your wedding. Use this color theme to your wedding scrapbook as well to promote uniformity. You don’t want to hear comments that the color should be this or that once you have shown it to your friends right? Okay, it is not about avoiding comment but hey, you should still adapt certain uniformity. Thus, choosing the color of your scrapbook would most probably be based on the color theme of your wedding. As simple as that.

After you have decided the content and the color theme of your wedding scrapbook, it is now time to get your album. The size of the album should be decided carefully for it serves two purposes: to protect the content of the album and to create initial impact on the viewer. Album size is essential. A large on would be ideal for most. The traditional album choice is white. This would go to any of the color theme you have. You should not consider taking colored albums for it would only limit your embellishments. Or, if you would choose a colored one, pick the color of your theme.

The next thing you have to do is to ready your materials. Get some colored papers for journaling and decorations, acid-free and lignin-free adhesive, set of pens for captions and other texts, a pair of scissors, cardstock, photo mounting tabs, and of course, your album. If you don’t have these things, stores that specially sell materials for scrapbooking offer wide variety of scrapbook materials. The internet has plenty of these so as department stores.

Gather your photos and sort them out according to the flow you want to use. Then, you have to gather your embellishments. Embellishments should match the color of your theme and embellishments will give your scrapbook its beauty. Putting them together is the tricky part but with the help of your imagination and your creativity, you will have no problem finishing this part.

You may not limit yourself to photos and embellishments. You can also add deflated balloons,
confetti, party favors, confetti, invitations, napkins, programs, place cards, champagne corks, and all your small items used during the wedding day. Place them along side your photos or you can designate a particular page for each of them.

Consider adding some stamps, stickers, lace, and ribbons. These things will add color to your album. Put some texts to the pages. Place dates and captions with pens or letter cut outs. Use adhesives to put them all together.

After you have done with each page, carefully assemble them together. Chronological arrangement will bring order to the album. Once you have done doing this, make a final run to your album to see if there are some additions you need to make. Put some final touches to the album and it is done. You have your own wedding scrapbook.

One last thing to remember, you should not rush to finish it. Take time and enjoy the whole process. Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment. Before you know it, you have a one-of-a-kind wedding scrapbook. Good luck!

Free Digital Scrapbooking Charms

2010-11-23T16:45:00.004+07:00

How Free Digital Scrapbooking Charms People Today

By Umar

Free Digital Scrapbooking Charms

We all know how fast technology is evolving today. There are things we take for granted today that past generations only dreamed about. There are activities we do on a daily basis that those before us may have thought impossible.

Yes, technology sure has changed a lot of things. Take scrapbooking for example. Scrapbooking used to involve paper (of all types), pictures (of all occasion), pens (of all colors), glitters (of every variety) and a lot of glue.

Nowadays, however, people are being charmed by free digital scrapbooking. You see, free digital scrapbooking changes the whole way people look at crafts and arts. The charm of free digital scrapbooking lies in the fact that it is situated on technology.

What are the advantages of this type of scrapbooking?

1) Versatility - the charm of free digital scrapbooking involves the fact that with this technology, people are limited only by their imaginations. You see, with this innovation, people are able to make their scrapbooks into anything they want. Here are some examples of the versatility of the digital scrapbook

A. animation - one of the charms of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that with this technology, you can actually make your scrapbook move. Compared to the never-moving appearance of the conventional scrapbook, a digital scrapbook just takes a life of its own!

Because of this, many people are charmed by digital scrapbooks, calling conventional scrapbooks "boring".

B. video options - conventional scrapbooks contain only photos. While it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. One charm of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that you can add videos to it. This means that you do not have to be satisfied with staring at a picture and trying to imagine how the people were acting when this picture was taken.

With video, you can actually see the memories replay themselves before your very eyes.

C. Sounds - you see, sight is not enough to fully satisfy a person's memories. Nowadays, sound is very important in order to really put you in the center of the action. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that this technology allows them to add sound to their pictures.

2) Savings - free digital scrapbooking charms so many people because of the fact that it is free. Not a lot of things nowadays come free. In fact, things get more and more expensive as time passes by. People take advantage of this technology simply because of the fact that it offers them something for nothing. By taking advantage of free digital scrapbooking, they get to save a lot of money. Why, you ask? Well, putting a conventional scrapbook together can be expensive and time consuming. By using this technology instead, people can save a lot of money on buying materials.

3) Sharing -Most of all, free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it is easy to share. The fact that it is stored conveniently as data means that people can send their scrapbook to anyone in the world at any given time. Because of this, most people prefer to make their scrapbooks digitally.

4) Popularity -Free digital scrapbooking also charms people because of the fact that other people find it useful. You see, people have always had a fad mentality, going with the flow of the majority and doing stuff the way they think other people would.

When you think about it, even today's so-called "nonconformists" are actually conforming to the image of the rebel. They actually go with the flow of their peers and actually try to gain popularity by trying to look like they do not need to be popular. We are social creatures, always trying to impress other people. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it enables them to impress their circles.

The reasons why free digital scrapbooking charms so many people today have been given in this article. As you can observe, many people do things for different reasons and the fact is, the reasons stated in this article may yet be insufficient. However, this leaves you with a very important question: what are your reasons for being charmed by free digital scrapbooking?

Free Digital Scrapbooking

2010-11-20T16:22:00.005+07:00

Free Digital Scrapbooking Programs: Product Samples to Test before You Buy the Real Stuffs

By Umar

Most of us have been so used with the idea of scrapbooking as a combination of paper cutting, photo gluing and sticking bits of nice materials together. All these would be laid on a piece of cardboard, paper or any foundation the scrapper would like to use as a medium.

But there's nothing that computers can't infiltrate. They influenced literally everything from our works to our personal lives and even the crafts that were supposed to be made by hands. Well, some people may have viewed these changes negatively. Nonetheless, so long as a person does his art on whatever technique he prefers, he still is able to fulfill many of life's pleasures.

Computer scrapbooking or betterly known as digital scrapbooking is done by means of laying out pages with the aid of computer softwares. This basically entails the manipulation of photos, graphics, borders, texts and add-ons using digital devices.

Like with conventional scrapbooking, the pages may be printed on high-resolution color printers that the scrapper will then paste on traditional scrapbooks. If you would not want to get bothered with pasting or the bulk of storing albums, you always have the space saving option of strong these in your computer or on a CD or DVD as tokens of memories you would want to share with others.

There are a number of computer programs that you can make use of when doing digital scrapbooking. The three most popular are Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0 and CS, Microsoft Picture It!, Lumapix, and JASC's Paint Shop Pro.

All these programs are so effective in helping their users manipulate the designs. The basic features include photo cutting, background replacements, change of colors, text adding, border placing and over-all graphic designing.

The common problem though with many computer softwares for digital scrapbooking is that users tend not to get the full controls. All have their learning curves and would require some mastery. Often, it is difficult for the user to make the program do things as they wish. Now, if you are more experienced with a single program, try to master it first before you choose to switch softwares. After all, if it worked great for you then it might help you better with your other projects.

Aside from the softwares we have already mentioned, it would be good to point out some other choices that you would find interesting. Some of the easiest programs that you can manipulate are the Hallmark, CK, Scrapbook Studio, and Scrapbook Assistants.

All these are designed specifically for digital scrapbooking. S compared with high-end softwares such as those we have mentioned above, these lower-end choices are quite less expensive and easier to use. However, they offer less flexibility in creating layouts.

Digital scrapbooking softwares that have higher learning curves have the tendency to require you to bring out the best of your creativity especially when you're done figuring out how the whole thing works. on the other hand, there are programs that are so versatile that they would allow good use other than scrapbooking purposes.

If you would want t meet the balance and stay in the middle of the road, you might want to choose Microsoft Digital Image Pro. It is less expensive than PhotoShop and will offer lots of advantages over scrapbooking programs. It is not also as hard to master as compared to other programs.

Well, if you are having doubts on what computer program to buy or you are still more comfortable with traditional scrapbooking, the option of downloading free digital scrapbooking programs in the net is always available for you.

Be forewarned though that many free digital scrapbooking downloadable are not as efficient as those you can buy from online and local retailers. They serve more like samples from which you can base your judgement of the products. Well, that expected. The web is a large pool of business propaganda and advertisements. We mean nothing wrong with this, only you have to lower your expectations. After all, websites are not giving you the products, they're only showing you how a specific product works.

If you are wondering how to make things work, be assured that most free digital scrapbooking programs are equipped with tutorial lessons that will lead you to simplified step by step instructions.

Fonts For Scrapbooking

2010-11-15T15:01:00.003+07:00

Scrapbooking Kits: Aids in Creating Fonts for Scrapbooking

By Umar

Designer's Eye For Scrapbooking

When you are about to work on a scrapbook, you will need the materials to get on with the task. A scrapbooking kit takes charge of this. Scrapbooking kits are complete. They are sold whether by local arts and crafts shops within your area or via online shopping. It will be a good idea to be armed with scrapbooking kits most especially if you are going to make your loved one or a special friend a gift for any occasion in his or her life such as birthdays, graduation, or wedding. If you do not know yet, the scrapbook can be a perfect gift for anyone at anytime.

Generally, you will need captions for the pictures that you will include in the scrapbook you are working on. So you will need especially effective journaling pens that do not smudge or blot. These journaling pens come included in the scrapbooking kit. You just have to make sure that the journaling pens are acid-free so they can work well on the photos and the cardstocks. But if you do want a ready-made font for scrapbooking, you can get it from the internet. There are thousands of fonts for scrapbooking as well as templates hosted by the internet.

The scrapbooking kit that you should purchase depends on the theme of the scrapbook that you will make. Is it for the holidays? A birthday? A wedding? A baptismal? Therefore, it points out that the scrapbooking kit which you must take hold of is suited to the occasion at hand. For example, a scrapbooking kit that is meant for the Christmas holidays will include sheets of papers that are the color of the holidays such as red, green, and yellow. There will also be cutouts of Santa Claus, candy canes, Christmas trees, wreaths, jingle bells, stickers, ribbons, and other Christmas-related items. It will be entirely different though for a birthday-inspired scrapbooking kit.

When creating fonts for scrapbooking, there is the latest technique known as the “rub on transfer”. This technique is guaranteed by many to be smudge-free and cheaply priced for your upcoming scrapbook project.

The Supplies Needed

For the “rub on transfer” technique, all you need to procure are: one piece rub on transfer film which comes included in the scrapbooking kit, a fine mist hair gel which has a mega hold, a hairspray, a hair dryer, and an ink jet printer.

How it is done

In order to be successful in this rub on technique, just follow the following steps:

On the transfer film, spray the fine mist hair gel. So as to see if you’ve done the spraying evenly on the coverage of the film, hold up the film a few inches from the mirror. Just spray enough hair gel to cover the entire area of the film.

Dry the sprayed gel with a hair dyer. It needs not be too hot and too close to the film.

Make use of any available word processing program in your computer to design your artwork. You can opt to stamp and flip the images on the film using pigment-based inks.

Set your ink jet printer to either the “T shirt transfer” or “Mirror Image” mode. This step can be omitted if the images have already been flipped.

Print the images using the normal image print setting. It will ensure that the ink will not run.

Have the ink dry up in its place. You can employ the help of the hair dyer but be sure it will not dislocate the ink position.

Gently and smoothly rub on the printed image on the artwork. Make use of a spoon to rub the image in its place. Ensure that the entire area has been rubbed thoroughly so that the image transfer will be successful. After which, peel away the film from the artwork in a gentle way.

You now have a rubbed on image or font for your scrapbook. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that your artwork has really been exerted with too much effort? The pleasure which you may derive from your craft is priceless. Being artistic pays off. Now you have an idea as to how to make fonts for your scrapbook.

Firefighter Scrapbooking

2010-11-03T12:45:00.007+07:00

The Virtues of Firefighter Scrapbooking

By Umar

Firefighter Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is one of those activities that, while relying around a central theme, allow the person freedom to express him or her self. What does this signify? Well, scrapbooking revolves around one principle: organized chaos. This means that while you can practically put anything in a scrapbook, you should do it in a way that lets the objects relate to one another.

However, inanimate objects cannot really “relate” can they? What you need to do is build bridges between these objects as to let the viewer experience the bigger picture. You need to have a central theme upon which the chaos is based. For chaos that revolves around chaos is just plain, dare I say it, chaotic.

One popular theme among young boys is the firefighter. You see, these true to life heroes are admired by many people. Young boys are not the only ones fascinated by the idea of being a firefighter. In fact, many adults still find themselves wishing that they achieve their childhood dreams of being a firefighter.

Firefighter scrapbooking is probably the closest you can get to the real thing. What does one need to keep in mind when firefighter scrapbooking? Well, you have different factors to consider, and these factors need thorough thinking in order to come together in a scrapbook.

Here are the factors that affect firefighter scrapbooking:

1) Color – There are different types of colors that you can use for firefighter scrapbooking. There is, of course, the standard combination of brilliant red with white. This is the most recognizable, thanks to its being the standard color of fire trucks everywhere. In using this color combination, you need to take care to make the red very distinct and the white should not dominate the theme because doing coloring it so would turn your theme into an ambulance.

Another popular color combination for firefighter scrapbooking would be a red, coupled with spotted white. This actually honors the Dalmatian, since it is known as the traditional dog of the firefighter. People really have little idea why the Dalmatian was chosen as a mascot for such work, but hey, it works.

You may also think of choosing a color combination of red and orange, signifying the flames that the firefighter puts out. However, in order to keep up with the theme of firefighter scrapbooking, you may try to do different colors for different pages, beginning with the colors of the flame and ending with the color blue for water. This would not only be a great firefighter scrapbooking idea, but it can also signify the yin and the yang. Balance is shown by the different colors and the different elements, and if there’s one thing every person needs in his or her memories, it is balance.
2) Imagery – You might also like to be more straightforward with your theme and use different pictures and images for your firefighter scrapbooking. This means you can use popular symbol associated with firefighting.

Here are some symbols you might want to think about using:

a) Fire engine – This popular vehicle enjoys immense popularity in different types of crafting media. What makes this image so popular is the fact that it is easily recognizable. It is also of a very distinct shade of red which is aptly labeled “fire engine red”. The basic construction of this vehicle is so familiar that even children recognize it.

b) Firefighter – The firefighter is also one of the most recognizable images you can use for firefighter scrapbooking. Ideally, since the scrapbook is actually based on the character, this should be the logical choice. Given the popularity of the vehicle, however, you can understand why most people prefer it.

The firefighter also gains its popularity because of the distinctive look of the uniform. In fact, that protective hat of the firefighter is distinctive enough to stand as a symbol on its own.

c) Hydrant – This is also one of the distinct images that people associate with firefighting. Despite the fact that many people actually use fire hydrants for personal purposes the hydrant still remains to be a distinctive symbol of firefighting. Be careful, however, as the hydrant is also associated with dogs mainly because of the fact that many people think that hydrants are dogs’ comfort rooms.

Downloadable Albums For Free Scrapbooking

2010-11-01T16:21:00.006+07:00

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Downloadable Albums for Free Photo Scrapbooking

By Umar

Downloadable Albums For Free Scrapbooking

Technology has changed so much of the way we live. Computers and the internet have especially produced very significant impacts on the way we do different stuff. It made us change the way we do business. The internet revolutionized the way we study. These technologies definitely revolutionized the way we access information. The internet changed the way we build social circles. Last, but definitely not the least, the internet changed the way we look at entertainment.

Some people may disagree, but the internet is definitely the best idea since sliced bread. The internet makes humanity capable of so many things that today, imagination is the only limit. Just think of how come we have far in so few years. A decade ago, the cellular phone was a pathetically large device, which allowed you to call other people, and could not do much else. Now, we have cellular phones that allow you to check your mail, shop, take and share videos and photographs, and virtually any other activity imaginable. Surely, this is a great evidence of the accelerating technological evolution.

There was a time when what you needed to create a scrapbook were paper, scissors, memorabilia, pictures, pens, coloring material and lots of glue. A good idea, of course, was essential to making a good scrapbook. You needed to take time to form a scrapbook out of the little bits and pieces you had. Creativity was a must in order to create the perfect scrapbook.

The advent of the internet also changed that. Today, there are downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking in the internet. This new technology has a few advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look at them, shall we?

Advantages:

1) It saves time and effort - Downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking save time. This is because with downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking, you do not need to take a long time to think up ideas or a general theme for your scrapbook.

There is also the issue of effort. Making a scrapbook from scratch often needs dedication. You need to put in the effort to create a thing of beauty. However, most people today do not have the energy to expend on scrapbooking.

With downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking, you only need to choose which style you want and voila! You have a scrapbook. Many people choose this because of the fact that the world we live in today doesn't really allow us to have much free time. We need to put in the hours to earn money and survive.

2) Easy to share - most downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking in the internet today allow you to share the scrapbook you made to the whole world. You see, most downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking actually need you to upload the images and photos in the internet and there create a virtual scrapbook.

Of course this can't really compare to holding a scrapbook you made with your own hands. However, for those who want instant connectivity, then downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking are perfect for you.

Disadvantages:

1) Uniformity - with downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking, you get to choose from a lot of designs. Because of this feature, however, your scrapbook will lack the individuality that truly makes scrapbooks beautiful. You see, a scrapbook has to reflect your personality. The fact that you make scrapbooks from scratch guarantees that your scrapbook will be unique in the world.

2) Limited to photos - you see, you cannot really upload pieces of memorabilia in order to put into an online scrapbook. We all know that the best scrapbooks use a mixture of pictures and memorabilia in order to truly capture a special event in our lives. We don't really carry a camera around all the time (but nowadays, because of cell phone cameras, some of us do). There are just some experiences, which cannot be fully expressed by a photograph.

There you go: those are some pros and cons of using downloadable albums for free photo scrapbooking. You need to realize that whatever other people tell you about how a scrapbook should look like and how you should create one, the final look of the scrapbook should always reflect your personality. A scrapbook talks about your life, thus, no one can really judge what it should look like, except you.

Discounted Scrapbooking Supplies

2010-10-16T16:44:00.003+07:00

Take Your Past in the Present

By Umar

Memories can last a lifetime if you allow them to. Nonetheless, if you want to bury them in the past, your discretion will dictate.

Even so, for those who opt to bring the memories in the present, they can choose from a wide variety of equipments, gadgets and techniques to aid them do so. One of the many ways to bridge the gap between the past and the present is by making a scrapbook.

Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a hobby of pasting photos, newspaper and magazine clippings, quotes, memorabilia and other stuffs into custom-decorated albums. People who love both art and memories share the hobby. Thus, combining both in a different artistic expression made scrapbooking existence possible.

Documenting family history and other important occasions and events is a way of preserving the legacy. This is the main purpose of scrapbooking. With a scrapbook around, it will be easy for you to tell stories to your children, grandchildren and the next kin in line. Imagine the bridging of generations. Without a scrapbook, your fallible memory will just fail you. Chances are, you will forget most of your precious memories if not recollect them with so many discrepancies. As they say, pictures paint a thousand words. Hence, to cherish pictures and preserve them in a manner that will not make them deteriorate will also preserve the stories behind them.

Scrapbooking Supplies

Before, scrapbooking is a peculiar hobby. Only a few are hooked by it. Thus, scrapbooking supplies are elusive. However, in today’s modern time when the popularity of scrapboooking is pretty much obvious, there are even stores who give major discounts on scrapbooking supplies.

· Customized Albums

Scrapbook uses customized albums where you put the cropped or scanned pictures and embellishments. These albums come in 2 basic sizes - 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12. Smaller than those sizes will be inadequate to scrapbooking needs. The former is a familiar size. However, the drawback of using the same is that it has limited space hence, your art concepts will also be limited by the space. The usual scrapbooking album is a 12x12 inch paper to accommodate necessary photos, writing and embellishments.

12x12 size creates more room for creative layouts. Hence, you will no longer worry about the limitations in space. Moreover, you can also select from a plethora of colors, themes and styles. Availability is never a bother.

Aside from the size, you must contemplate if you are going to use a strap-bound, post-bound or a 3-ring album. Strap-bound albums have flexible strap hinge, which allows adjacent pages to lie flat with its hinge unseen. Post-bound albums also allow the adjacent pages to lie flat without separating the pages. 3-ring albums, on the other hand, are the easiest albums to use because you can rearrange its pages readily. However, it can only hold limited pages.

In choosing for a customized album, be sure that the album is archival. It must be made with acid free materials. The paper used must also be lignin free. Use the most appropriate colors you can find, your limit is your imagination.

· Album Refills

If you are planning to do an exhaustive scrapbooking session, better purchase album refills together with your desired album. It will be frustrating to know afterwards that no refills are available or compatible to your scrapbook when you needed them.

· Adhesive

There are a lot of adhesives available these days. Choose one or two that will compliment your scrapbooking project. Some of the popular adhesive brands used by artists are Mod Podge, Glue Dots, Triple Thick, 3D Dots, Xyron and EZ.

· Paper

Different kinds of paper can be used to make your scrapbook artistic, appealing and breathtaking. You can use different shapes and colors of paper to add an air of elegance and style.

· Pair of Scissors

Keep your pair of scissors sharp. This will make cutting and shaping easier.

· Pens, crayons and acrylic paint

Pens, crayons and acrylic paint can improve the artistic side of your scrapbook. You can use them to write something or to color a portion of your album.

· Hole punch

To make holes on the pages, a hole punch is indispensable. Hence, your scrapbooking supplies will not be complete if you don’t have one.

Additional Supplies

· Embellishments

Embellishments like stamps, stickers, tags, laces, tassles, alphabets, beads, eyelets, denim blocks and other things that can make your scrapbook a sight to behold can be incorporated in it.

· Scrapbooking kit

The scrapbooking kit is an exclusive compartment of all your scrapbooking supplies. To make your supplies organized and easy to find, this kit is necessary.

Before doing a scrapbook project, be sure that you have all the materials and supplies needed.