One of my favorite passions and hobbies is scrapbooking, and over the years I have gotten progressively better at it. It started off with me making a scrapbook of my sorority photos and then I decided to not only scrapbook my college Greek life, but every other aspect of my life as well. I have been known to scrapbook for hours, making page after page. But, sometimes my scrapbooking goes on hiatus. It will be months before I open up my massive collection and start working on more paper creations. This is probably due to the fact that I have no real place in my apartment set aside for scrapbooking. If I had a bigger place and a set aside workspace, I’m sure I would scrapbook much more frequently.

One thing about this hobby is that it gets REALLY expensive! You could go into a scrapbook store and drop a lot of cash very easily. You may not think that small embellishments or sticker sheet costs a lot, but $5 here and $3.50 there really adds up. So, my suggestion is to make a budget for your shopping trip and stick to it. Only buy what you really need to make your page and if you don’t end up using it, save it. You never know when you may need it down the road. I have so much stuff I have bought and not used, but I still keep it, because one day I am going to use it.

Which brings me to my next point — organization. If you have a lot of scrapbook stuff, you need to organize it in a way that makes sense to you and that you supplies will be easily accessible. Archiver’s (my favorite scrapbook store) sells tons of organizational supplies such as paper sorters, totes for scrapbookers on the go, bins, caddies, photo storage boxes, etc. I recently made a cheap scrapbook into a scrapbook supply book with embellishments, paper and stickers. And, if you have any questions about supplies, organization, page layout, etc., the staff at Archiver’s are more than happy to help you out. They help me all the time. Archiver’s even has a scraproom in the back and a photo copier for you to use. Be sure to get on their email list where they send out coupons, new products, tips and ideas.

Here are some tips for beginner scrapbookers:

• Never cut a photo with scissors. Use a trimmer or paper cutter. I have a trimmer from Creative Memories that I always use. You will need to sharpen the blade every so often. It is also good to have a regular smaller trimmer for 4×6 photos as well as one that will cut 12×12 paper and maybe even some decorative trimmers for borders.

• For any album, you will have to decide if you want to do 12×12, the more traditional scrapbook size. Or, if you would like to do 8×8 or another size of your choice, that is fine too.

• Great tools you will need: corner rounder, circle and oval cutters, adhesive (I like glue dot dispensers), acid free pens, and decorative scissors.

• Embellishments, stickers, and patterned borders can really make your page come alive. It is always good to make a background mat for your photos.

• Store your finished pages in albums the same size as your paper. You can add more page protectors to your album, but I would not recommend doing that more than once per album.

• Best places to shop for scrapbook supplies: Michael’s, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, Archiver’s, your local scrapbook store (mom and pop places can be found in most cities. Sometimes they are scrapbook discount stores), paper supply stores, a Creative Memories consultant, and online scrapbooking retailers.

• If you ever get into a slump and need ideas, many websites have ideas for all types of scrapbook pages and themes. Here are some ideas from Archiver’s and Creative Memories. If you search for scrapbook ideas online, you will find tons of options and helpful websites.
  

  I made this scrapbook tray project in 2 hours. It was a kit with step-by-step instructions. I used some of my own ideas as well.

Traditional scrapbooking vs. Digital scrapbooking.

Traditional scrapbooking is paper crafting using your hands and tools, however now digital scrapbooking has become more popular. You use computer programs and digital photos to create a page online. The digital scrapbooking provider allows you to create custom albums, like a book that is printed and then mailed to you. I have never done digital before; because I would much rather create scrapbook pages with my hands. I think it requires more creativity. But, there are those who enjoy it, and Creative Memories has a lot of digital options out there. If you don’t want to buy a lot of supplies, digital scrapbooking may be the way to go. I have made a basic online photo book with My Publisher before. The books are great gift options.

Like I said before, I would love one day to have a scraproom or scrapbook desk in my house. Here are some of my inspirations:

I hope you just got inspired to create something!