How to Start Your First Scrapbook in 6 Simple Steps

There are various ways on how you will be able to keep memories alive and one of these is by creating amazing and unique scrapbooks that can tell your story. However, this idea can be quite overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. This article will walk you through starting your first scrapbook in six simple steps.

Prepare the Supplies You Need

One of the primary things that you need to do to come up with your first scrapbook is to prepare all the things that you need. When you explore online sources, you are most likely to find various scrapbooking tools, designs, and techniques that you can use and try. What you can do is to go here on these sites and explore what you can find to help you in creating your first scrapbook. There is a great chance that you will be able to find some cardstocks and patterned papers on these sites as well.

Some of the other supplies that you may need include a pair of scissors and adhesives, as well as a journaling pen and a scrapbook album. Of course, you should consider getting yourself various types of embellishments to accentuate the pages of your scrapbook. When you have all the things that you need, it will be easier for you to start.

Collate and Sort Through Your Photos

The next step that you need to do as soon as you have prepared all the things that you need in making a scrapbook is to collate and sort through your photos. In this case, you can consider selecting photos based on a theme or an occasion. From there, decide on a focal photo that will be the highlight of your scrapbook page. This will set the tone of the layout of the page later on.

Come up With a Theme

When you already have the photos that you will work with, the next thing that you need to do is to come up with a theme that will tie your scrapbook together. More often than not, this will be based on the photos that you have chosen. A theme will also make it easy for you to arrange the photos in a suitable layout. Thus, this is where you should also explore the available layouts that you can use for your scrapbook.

When it comes to thinking of a layout, you need to consider where you will place the photos, as well as where you will write. You also need to consider where you need to add the accents and embellishments. In this case, you have to make sure that the page is neither cramped nor empty. To save you time in guessing a layout that works perfectly, you can explore templates available online for you to have inspiration.

Choose the Papers You Will Work With

As soon as you have a layout in mind, then the next thing that you need to think about is choosing the papers that you can work with. When it comes to scrapbooking, there are various types of papers that you can consider such as acid-free papers as well as felt papers. You should also decide which ones are more appropriately used for the background of your scrapbook, as well as which ones are best for accents or embellishments.

Arrange the Photos and Add Some Captions

Before you arrange the photos according to your layout in the background paper that you have chosen, make sure that you mat your photos. In this way, the picture that you use will stand out on the scrapbook page. Make sure that you mat your focal image independently while the rest of the photos that will make up the page of your scrapbook can be mat in a group. One of the ideal colors to mat your photos is beige since it will not clash with your patterned paper.

Accentuate with Other Embellishments

Finally, make sure to accentuate your scrapbook page with the appropriate embellishments such as stickers or glitters as you deem necessary. This is where you will be able to highlight certain portions of your layout but make sure not to overload your page. Just focus on telling good stories through your design.

To begin with your first scrapbook, the first thing that you need to do is to prepare the supplies that you will use. In parallel to this, collate and sort through your photos. From there, you will already have a good idea of which theme and layout to implement in your scrapbook. You need to choose the papers you will work with carefully because in doing so, you will be able to arrange your photos accordingly, adding some captions as necessary. 

Make sure to accentuate the pages with other embellishments as well. All these are geared towards ensuring that you generate the perfect scrapbook that will take you a trip down memory lane from time to time.