Deanna...or anyone into scrapbooking...
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive November 2007:
Deanna...or anyone into scrapbooking...
Did you ever get that cuttlebug (sp?) that you wanted? I've been getting into scrapbooking and it's getting more and more expensive. My aunt does it and I'm going to a scrap thing on Dec 8th. Wondered if you had any advice on how to get started?? I have all his pictures either in digital form or in boxes. (Sad, huh?)
I also wanted to incorporate all his pages of typed journaling into the scrapbook...I've put it off for long enough! LOL 
A couple of tips:
Start with the most recent pics and work your way back. Your memory is most clear on the recent stuff and that makes it easier to work with.
Journal, journal, journal! Tell the story behind the pictures. More important than the pretty paper and fun die-cuts is the story your pages tell. What is happening in the pictures? What happened that day that you can't see in the photo? Where was it taken and who was there? Think of the pictures you have seen from your parents and grandparents. What questions do you have when you look at those? Most likely you have no idea who most of the people are or what was going on. Answer those questions so that when people are looking at your pages, they speak for themselves.
Don't rush out and buy all the supplies at once. Take your time and develop your style of scrapping. Everyone has their own approach. You won't really know what yours is until you've done several pages.
Have fun!! Don't let yourself become overwhelmed. Take it one group at a time instead of thinking of all the pics you have to do. And consider yourself warned...this is highly addictive!!
Oh! And do put your handwriting in the book. It is so much more personal and will be so appreciated by your loved ones to see your writing instead of all computer generated journaling. I hate my handwriting, but always include both my writing and that which I did on the computer in my books, just to have it in there.
Melanie, I so agree with the handwriting. My grandmother had scrapbooks with pictures starting around 1912. I had to redo the books, but I cut out her handwriting whenever possible, and pasted it into the new book. It really helped to keep them HER books.
Really? My *handwriting*? ugh...that's the one thing I'm reallllly not good at. I had a 5 star/perfect teaching observation record until an assistant principal saw my handwriting. (I usually use powerpoint in my lessons on a projector.)
I'll have to practice!
Yes. Really. LOL. ;)
Trust me, I do understand. My handwriting is bad. But, as Marcia pointed out, it makes the book that much more special to those who love you.
You all have great ideas and great advice for the new scrapper! LOL
Definitely add some of your own handwriting. I know that when my mom sees my grandma's or I see my dad's handwriting on stuff it brings a smile and a tear to our eyes. We are always like "oh look, that's dad's handwriting!" Even my brother got emotional recently when he saw my dad's handwriting on something. It's important and more personal, no matter how sloppy it is.
My creative memories consultant always told us not to "sneeze" stickers all over the page. When i first started out I was all about the stickers. Now I know, the simpler the better....well that's my taste anyway.
Have fun! And like Melanie said, don't get overwhelmed. Take it one page at a time.
Ditto all the great suggestions from Melanie and Bellajoe definitely. I rarely write in my pages though - I just can't be happy with the way it looks. Occasionally I will, but not often. I download tons of free fonts from www.fontfreak.com and use them all the time. The story behind the picture is really the reason for scrapbooking though, like Melanie said, so when you decide to do a page, let it be led by the memory of that day or moment. Natalie has tons of letters from me to her, and whole books of journaling, so she can see my handwriting and cry 40 years from now when she sees those! LOL I totally get the handwriting, but I just can't do it. I've tried and I can't.  And I have beautiful handwriting, seriously. I just got that gift, but I can't write on my pages and be happy.
I did get the Cuttlebug, but it's tucked away for Christmas morning. Just my choice. I've scrapped for 4 years though, and stamped probably 8 before that, with no die cut machine, so it's definitely possible. I use tons of shape punches and my fonts to create a custom look that's more die. I rarely use stickers at all that aren't alphabet, and only sometimes themed stickers.
Everyone finds their own way in scrapbooking I've found - I have a consultant, I've been invited to cropping parties galore, but I just do my own thing. When I first started scrapping, I got a scrap magazine subscription for 1 year, just to get ideas, get a feel for the whole scene. It was a huge help in getting me started and they are great idea starters. When I first started scrapping, I copied a few layouts and it helped me get a feel. Everyone is different though.
It *can* be expensive but doesn't have to be. My life is ALL ABOUT COUPONS! Michaels, Joann, Hobby Lobby...I hunt down their 40 and 50% off coupons about once a month, plus hunt down their sales each week, and buy when the good deals come around. When they have 50% off ABC sticker, I go spend $15, same for paper, punches, everything. Ebay is a GREAT place for things like that as well. I just NEVER or RARELY buy anything that isn't on sale or without a coupon. I ask for gift cards for scrap stores for almost every holiday, then I scope the sales once again and double for my $. It's a building process...you buy things as you need them and before you know it you need a room! I've expanded so much that I'm looking into more inexpensive storage that's also accessible.
Ditto on scrapping most recent first. I'm not attempting to scrap ALL of Nat's pics, although some people do. That would be lunacy on my part since I print 100+pics/month. I scrap the best memories, the pics I really love, etc. I don't need a box because I'm pretty caught up, but I do have an expandable photo file sorted into groups of photos I want to scrap. I stick notes in for that page of things she said, things we did, the "story" of the pics that I can remember. I also made my own chart in Word with 7 days on it, long wide space for each day. Then I can write down things on the fly (since you know there's no time with a 3 year old!!), and refer back to them later. If there's a big event (like Halloween for instance), I come home that night and write down in really short note form things I want to remember. I find that my memory is jogged when I read it a couple of weeks later when I'm ready to scrap that page.
I'm sort-of in-between simple and more bells and whistles on my pages. I just can go either way, but I lean a bit more toward bells and whistles on a page. (Embellishments) Still not a ton though.
I'm an ADDICT!!! Literally. Have a ton of fun, do what you like on a page, scrap what you think is important. Take it one page at a time is the best advice. Email me anytime if you want to talk scrap stuff. I'm happy to help and talk about the monkey on my back.
Okay, your question was how to get started...Pick a picture or group of pictures that go together that you really love. Ones that spark a really good memory or feeling and go for it. Forget about the 1000 other pics you have and just focus on the ones for ONE page. You'll be so stinkin' proud of yourself when it's done that the next page will be less daunting. And post pics so we can cheer you on!!!
I gather together items I *might* want to use for that page (color coordination, any embellishments or stickers, ribbon, etc.) and put it all in front of me. As I get the layout, I slowly weed things down and decide what will actually end up on the page. Keep ALL your junk paper that prints when you print off of websites (you know the extra pages with no real info one them?) and use those when you do test pages of your journaling and titles with your computer fonts. Save any scrap that's even remotely usable.
I occasionally will sit down to do a page and commit to using ONLY scraps to complete it when my budget is low! I always end up with something cool and I'm proud of myself.
Another addict here. I am a little more simple in my designs. I like to get pages done and preserve my photos. I like them to look nice, but I like them flat..LOL.
My suggestion to get started, to see if this is really for you. Pick an occasion where you have 50-100 photos, a vacation, a first birthday, the fall season, etc. The point is a book that has a definite beginning and a definte end. Then work on those pages.
I like to be chronological, so I tend to lay my stuff out. I sort pictures by events, and sometimes make a written list of what I am working on next. Part of that comes from my style of album, the pages aren't easily movable.
But I did do my son's first year in ABC fashion. Each page, or two page lay out had a letter, A is for amusing antics. And I found all the photos of his first year of him just being silly. Now I did this on paper first. Like I wanted d to be dedication, because I had great pictures of his dedication ceremony. But J was...just the boys and it had pics of him and his dad together. It took a little figuring to get all the letters and find where stuff would fit in, but most of the time was organization and the album came together beautifully.
I also am a vote for handwriting, but I compromise, I use preprinted titles and write the journal boxes. I journal in a box and affix it, so I can rewrite if I mess up. I will say, my mom lost the ability to write when she was 37, she died at 52. So I never knew what her handwriting looked like. I have found a few things with her signature and one lesson she did for school (she was a teacher). I keep that in my safe deposit box. So I am very sentimental about leaving my legacy for my children. My mother had ms, who knows what my future holds, so I do what I can now, so they will always have that part of me.
Wow! You guys sound like professionals!! Definitely good ideas...it's the whole "getting started" and learning the words for things. BTW, what is an "embellishment"?
And, how do you start with the most recent and work backwards? Do you just do the pages and then put them in a book later?
My aunt said I can use a lot of her tools so I'm excited about that. I'll still have to buy paper, but just organizing it is going to be a huge task.
What tools are essential and what do they do?
Well technically embellishments are anything but pictures on your page. But mostly they are stickers, glitter, buttons, ribbon, slides, etc etc. go to www.emilyadamsonfire.com. She has several of examples of embellished work.
The only thing you need to scrapbook is an album, an adhesive to put your pictures on, some paper, and a black pen. All the rest is really extra.
I also found that it was easier getting started to go to a creative memories crop (or one at a store now). And also you can buy a "kit" of papers, that might come with stickers, etc and it will all coordinate.
www.creativememories.com, has examples of less embellished work.
I've never used a kit of papers, but I think that would be a great way to start. Everything is kind of 'there' for you, then you put it together the way you want. Lots of people make tons of layouts without photos, meaning the page is all done, you just add the photos later. I CANNOT do that, but I envy those who do. It's a whole process for me. I have to have the pics first. But everyone is so different. That's the cool thing about scrapbooking is that a scrapbook can be everything from pics on a page with handwritten journaling to mega embellishments like the emily adams stuff, to no handwriting. It's up to you, which is one reason I love paper crafting. I'm to the point where if I have the budget for either cool shoes or scrap stuff, I'm 90% of the time going to go with the scrap stuff now. That's NUTS!! If you only knew, I would n-e-v-e-r have done that before!!
Only some of my projects are in albums chronologically. Everything goes in a sheet protector, then in an album, but not always are they put in order right away. As long as they are protected, that's what matters. By starting with most recent, the point there is that you'll probably just remember more about it. You can start with an old set of pics if you want, if they really spark a memory for you. I found that for a long time I had books of Natalie scrap pages, not in any order, just "about her". Then when I get time or a new book I reorganize the pages. They don't have to be in order all the time - you can organize them in a book later. That's the way I look at it. I just scrap what I 'want' to at the moment.
For me, the page is piece of art showcasing a memory, that's why I use more. I can put them in a photo album with writing lines and do the same thing, I just choose to use creativity to make the page relate back to the picture in an artsy way.
Ditto Kaye -the Creative Memories site has lots of great examples. I lurk on www.splitcoaststampers.com as well. They have a great gallery and a great project center, too. I haven't seen the emily adams site Kaye - thanks for sharing it because it looks like a cool place to check out!
Essential tools - adhesive(you'll find a preference with experience, but as long as it's acid-free and for scrapbooking); paper-cutter (does not have to be expensive-mine was $15 before the handy-dandy coupon); small craft scissors; pack of solid cardstock; pack of coordinating patterned paper; fonts or a good pen. I'm sitting at my scrap table looking around for the BASICS - others, am I missing anything?
I go with foam alphabet stamps because they're dirt cheap and work just as well as my ga-billions of wood-mounted rubber stamps. Ink pads are more expensive than acrylic paints, so I've leaned more toward paints in the last couple of years. You can get so many for half the price of one stamp pad.
When I started out scrapbooking I did nothing with embellishments except for stickers and eyelets. I gradually started using more as time has gone on. Don't worry about all of that unless you see something cool for a page. Embellishments can get $$$....again, think sale. If I'm walking by the fabric dept., I stop and peek in the clearance basket for ribbon spools. I usually find something for under $1 to add to my stash.
Deanna, emily is my sil. She took up scrapping about 5 years after I did. She took it to a new level..LOL. I love her stuff and I go and "help" teach if she is local.
Wow Kaye! I agree that she's a scrapper on a new level...I mean that in a positive way. Very different, very artsy, very original. Tons more extras than I would ever use, but she's definitely inspired!
I haven't posted on here for a long time. But I am a big time scrapper. You are so right Deanna. I would rather have new scrap stuff then shoes or anything!
I don't scrap chronologically. I more of a what strikes my mood. I scrap my old pics, kids as babies, kids now, heritage and in no particular order. I do have seperate books. Like I have a book about me, and that's where my stuff and heritage goes. I have family books for our family activities. Each kid has there books and I don't put that in order. I like the look of mixing it up. I do wish I had kept sepereate school books. But some I can't move around so I can't do that now. For me it's more fun to scrap what strikes me. But there are a lot of people that do the chronological thing and there is nothing wrong with that.
The biggest piece of advice is unless you want to become a complete addict like me. Just buy paper and such as you go. Like take the pics with you and buy the stuff for that project. Unless you want to have a room full like me. But I wouldn't give up my stuff for anything. Do wish I sometimes I hadn't bought so much paper.
I do have have the cricut. I bought it mother's day when they had a really good sale and I sold another die cutting system on ebay. They have great sales on it right now and I have only bought the cartridges on sale.
One last thing, I check out twopeasinabucket.com. I love there gallery. There is a lot of drama there I won't deny it but you can't beat there gallery. Very nice. But I will warn you that board is also very enabling to. You will know of any online sale or in your area sale from here to CA! Okay I think I have said enough. But this really is my fave subject to talk about. I am going to check out sil stuff Kaye!
I have never scrapped - but I've printed out this thread, because I *think* I want to get into it. You guys have some great tips!
One more thing biggest tool I use. Paper Cutter! Can't live with out it! I just have the Green and Pink Zision won from Provo Craft and I love it! They usually are at hobby lobby around $8 and you might as well buy replacement blades while you are there. Because if you scrap a lot they will go fast.
I've never checked out the board at twopeas, but ditto on their great gallery!
I used to buy paper for individual projects all the time. Would take my pics with me as Beth mentioned and go from there. I still will sometimes do that, even though I have a TON of paper I've accumulated over time. Occasionally though I can't find what I want in my stuff and will take pics and choose paper based on that.
Provo Craft has a great newsletter with deals also...Creative xpress I think it is without looking. They send you emails each week - good deals, especially on books.
I don't always scrap chronologically, either. I have been doing more theme books than anything. My girls will each have a book of school, soccer, birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, etc. They will also have their first year.
I've spent more of my scrapping time on gifts for other people. No one else in my family scraps, so I've done them for all of their kids. My kids have been left behind.
I have WAY TOO MUCH stuff! Like Beth, I wish I hadn't bought all of the paper when I did. I find that I still have to go out and buy certain papers for each book anyway. I will end up using it at some point, but as this point I have enough stuff to sell!!
Deanna, I have never considered using acrylics for my scrapbooks. I have enough of them, because I also paint. Hmmm, something new to think about.
Marcia, I hadn't thought of it either until a scrap friend shared that she does it. It's great! I have some little wooden-handled sponge brushes that I use. They wash up great, the stamps wash up great, the paints are cheap so I have a million colors. To get that many colors with ink pads I'd have to spend a ton.
Do you all buy in packs of paper? I will generally buy a large pack of patterned for the seasons (like a huge $20 stack, BEFORE my handy-dandy coupon of course), the same for solid colored and textured paper, then misc. as needed. I have a ton of it.
I buy stacks of great papers at Costco, and the single sheets at Michael's.
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