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Funny you should post this, because I am an AVID scrapper, and tomorrow I am teaching BEGINNING scrapbooking as a w/shop at my house. I am like in a total mental block....I tried to think of easy layouts for people to work on, but I am STUCK. I think my problem is that I don't have their pics in front of me, so I can't think of a color scheme or anything.....
Anyhow....back to your question.....
1. Choose a few pictures that all relate
2. Crop them (to focus on the important part of the picture)
3. Choose some colors that match your picture
4. Mat the pictures and arrange them on your 12x12 paper.
5. Add a catchy title
6. Do a little journaling (so your great-great-great-grandkids will know who the heck those people in the picture are, and what was going on that day)
7. Add a few embellishments(spelling?), like ribbon, some stamps that match your theme, buttons, eyelets etc(just like doing a cardfront...only with pics)
Remember the focus is your pics....not the cutesy stuff around it.
Just think of it as a really big, but square card.....ok it doesn't have to be square...but look at some of your cards...and thing of the photos as the main focal point of your card...then embellish away!!! DO NOT be intimidated by paper!!! Have fun!!! be sure to browse the galleries!!
I've been really growing as a scrapbooker in the last 6 months. Here are some things that have helped me enormously:
1- CREATING KEEPSAKES website. This is a wealth of information. I discovered Becky Higgens sketches. She has sketches for scrapping everything for 4-20 photoes per layout! I copied all her sketches into a single word document. I made them small so that they would fit on two sides of one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Put in in page protector and when I'm stupped I grab it for inspiration. If you want a copy of my word document where I've done this, PM me and I'll email it to you directly. It is too large to attach to this message.
2- Making Memories Stamping and Scrapping special edition issue. Came out in January. You can probably still get a copy off their web site. This one magazine size special issue was only $8 and it was nothing but layouts using stamping. It has tons of stuff on different techniques and is an amazing resource. If I had only one idea book for the stamping scrapbooker, this would be it. BTW, this magazine is Great.
3- Paper Cuts Magazine. This is I think the best, although Making Memories is really close. Choose one and subscribe. OR choose both. Creating Keepsakes is nice, but they tend to have a certain look that 90% of their layouts have. Too similar. Paper Cuts and Making Memories have a greater variety of looks, so it appeals to a broader audience. Plus these two are better at giving text to teach you stuff, rather than just having a collection of layouts on one theme. There are more simple as well as complex layouts to choose from. Sorry to those who love stamp and scrap-- too expensive for my blood, and not enough scrapbooking.
4- The sketch challenges that mamakimberly puts up on Saturdays are great. A simple sketch to get the things moving.
5-Organize your pictures. Get some cheap photo storage boxes from JoAnns and sort photos into albums and then potential layouts. I have the large deviders between different albums. One section for each kid's baby book, one section for this years family pictures, one section for my wedding pics, etc. Then, I group photoes by potential layouts by using a sticky note. I stick the note to the front so that half is sticking up and fold it down over the last photo in the collection so that the note holds the collection together. This way when you go to scrap, you just flip through til you find a collection you want to work with and begin scrapping.
6- CASE. This is highly accepted in the scrapping world and definitely the way to go in the beginning.
7- All pages should have 5 elements. Pictures, journaling, title, embellishments, stamping (of course). Start with the pictures and grow from there. Stamping and embellishments take OK layouts to extra special.
8- Find like minded people and get together to play. This forum is that for me. We have Boise Basin Quilters here, but I wish there was something like that for scrapbooking. And I don't honestly think that a retail environment is the best place for this to occur. I am a demo. I don't want to take classes from a store. I want to get together with other ladies who stamp and scrap and just play. Get a baby sitter and bring some snacks and crop. And share. No buying or selling.
9- Scrapjazz.com, scrapbook.com, and twopeasinabucket.com are on line scrapbooking sites that offer free layouts to look at and have fairly active forums, although nothing as active as this. However, this one tends to be more card based (scrapping is picking up here), but they are scrapbooking focused, so stamping much less frequent there. I have yet to investigate Pat Stamps stamping scrapbookers, but that is on my list of things to afford soon.....
10- Finally, relax. No one will criticize your work but you. Your family will love whatever you do. Trust me. I go back and see some of the stuff in my daughters first baby book and Oy Vey. I'm so glad I waited to do my wedding book until my skill level improved. So maybe this is the real point here. Pick so low intensity photoes to start with. Like pictures of your dog. Or fun pics of you and your girlfriends on a casual trip. Start with photoes that you want to scrap and remember, but that you don't have such an emotional attachment to that you will feel bad if your first layouts are, well, like first layouts.
Stampysister - great advice! The one thing I would add is that for me, journaling is easier if I can do some on the computer. Don't be afraid to use your computer! But also don't forget to include handwritten journaling - people love to see your handwriting, good or bad. It gives it that great personal touch.
And don't feel like you have to scrap pictures in order by date (depending on your album, of course). If you can work on pages that suit your mood at the moment, or that you are excited to scrap, do those first! You'll feel so much more motivated and get so much more done if you don't have to wade through 6 months of pictures you don't want to work on before you get to the ones you really want to do. And sometimes, the best layouts are those that use a collection of photos that are not all the same time period. So go through your pictures and gather photos of, say, all your different hairstyles, or comparison pictures of you, your mom and grandma as babies.
Most importantly, make your album YOUR style, not what the latest fads are in the magazines. They can overwhelm you if all you really want is a simple, classy album. However, if shabby chic is your style, then go for it!
Good luck with your scrapbooks! Now I need to go work on mine!
Scrapbooking HELP!
