Decorate a Scrapbook

There is no doubt that scrapbooking is fun. It is one of the best ways to keep all of your favorite memories organized and easily accessible. However, sometimes it starts to get hard to make your pages look good without going over the top with money, bulkiness, and effort. You do not have to break the bank, or be a creative genius to design your own decorative scrapbook that you can enjoy for many years to come.

Steps

Getting the Materials

1. Choose a scrapbook. Think about what type of scrapbook album you want to use. There are several types available, each with their own advantages. One thing to consider when deciding on a type to use is how much money and decoration you want to commit to. Here are a few of the most popular kinds:
   • Post-bound albums are probably the most popular choice for modern day scrapbooks. They have a decorative cover, usually with a place to insert a picture, and acid-free photo safe sheet protectors ready for you to slide your paper and pictures into. You do have to buy the paper to put your pictures on separately, but this allows you to choose your own colors and designs.
   • Scrapbooks bound with non-removable pages are nice because the album already comes with paper, but be careful because they do not always come with page protectors.
   • Three-ring photo albums are the cheapest of the albums, but you do have to buy paper separately. You can add in acid-free photo safe sheet protectors, and then slide your finished page into the sleeve. These albums allow you to add in new pages as your scrapbook grows.
2. Buy photo-safe paper. It is very important to buy paper that is specifically designed to preserve photos. Paper meant for scrapbooking is acid-free and lignin-free so that over-time, your photos do not break down and ruin. So whether you are buying paper to put into an empty scrapbook, or a scrapbook with paper already in it, be sure that the paper is safe for your photos.
3. Play around with different designs and textures of paper. There are many different types of paper you can choose from to use for a scrapbook. Here are some of the most common types of paper used for scrapbooking:
   • Card-stock paper is a heavy weight paper mostly used as the background of the page format.
   • B&T (Background and Texture) paper is great to use as decoration for the background on the page. You can also use it to accent edges or as a photo mat background.
   • Gingham paper is a popular "checker board" patterned paper used as background accents that can be used for backgrounds or accents.
   • Vellum is translucent paper and is great to use for an elegant look. It can be placed over photos or memorabilia to "dress up" a page.
4. Find a paper that enhances your theme. Paper can help you capture the mood of the photos. If you are using black and white photos, choose an elegant paper pattern to match. If you have colorful pictures of a kid's birthday party, pick paper with a fun design.
5. Buy proper tape to adhere your pictures with. There are many different ways to glue and stick your photos or other decorations into a scrapbook that are safe and will not harm your photos. Be sure to check that you are using one that is safe, and do not use just anything. Here are some safe options to use:
   • Photo tabs are rolled up inside a box and are sticky double-sided square tabs. These are cheap, easy to use, and a virtually mess-free option.
   • Glue sticks are inexpensive and convenient to use. Watch to make sure you do not over apply the glue because it could cause your paper to warp and buckle. Just put a dab of glue at each corner and one swipe in the middle.
   • Glue dots come on a roll and are great for adding ribbon, buttons, or other 3-D items on your page. All you have to do is press your 3-D item onto the glue dot, and then lift the dot off the roll. Then, press your item onto the page and press down. These are very sticky so be sure that you are confident about the spot you want to place your item before doing so.
   • Foam mounting tape is a double-sided adhesive that is about 1/8" thick. This tape allows you to add dimensions to your pictures or embellishments.
6. Gather fun embellishments. Head to a craft store, and look for stickers, stamps, ribbon, or other embellishments to add in your scrapbook. You can find hundreds of decorations to use for just about any theme. You can also add pieces to your scrapbook that you have at home such as ticket stubs, receipts that represent a special memory, award ribbons, drawings, or pressed flowers. Things that remind you of a great memory, and fit in your scrapbook, may be the perfect thing to use for decoration.
   • Another fun way to decorate is to use texturing scissors. You can find scissors that have teeth along the edges that give the edges of paper fun designs. You can purchase these at most craft stores.

Picking Your Photos

1. Select photos based on a specific theme or event. A well-organized scrapbook will capture a certain time or event such as a first birthday, holiday, or family road trip. Within this theme, the scrapbook will unfold the story you will tell of that time. So the first thing to do is gather all of the photos that you want to use to help memorialize special memories.
2. Group your photos. Usually, the layout of a scrapbook has a double-page spread, meaning there are photos on the left and right side of the page. These pages should match and compliment each other in color and theme. So as you are deciding on which photos to use, think about which photos you may want to stand alone, and which ones you want to pair with several others on a page. This will help you decide which photos to add in the scrapbook, and which ones you may want to leave out. Just because you have one hundred photos does not mean you have to use them all.
   • Even if there is one special photo alone on a page, and then three photos on the page next to it, try to find a common theme to connect them.
   • Scrapbooks tend to look better when pictures are not crowded on a page. Keep this in mind when deciding how many photos to add.
3. Mat your photos. If you are using a patterned paper, or paper that has many colors, mat your photo onto a solid neutral paper to prevent the photo from competing with the design on the background paper. This is a simple step and can make all the difference in your scrapbook design. No matter what your background paper looks like, providing a mat allows your scrapbook to have a more finished look. Follow these steps to mat your photos:
   • Have ready a solid color paper that is neutral in color. Try to choose a color that will compliment the colors on the background page. When in doubt, black and white work with everything.
   • Cut the paper so that it is 1/8"-1/2" larger than your picture. This will provide a frame and visual space between the paper and photo.
   • Use photo-tabs to adhere the picture onto the mat. These are double-sided sticky tabs that are photo-safe and keep your picture flat.

Laying Out Your Page

1. Decide how you want the page to look before fixing it permanently. Arrange your photos, embellishments, or anything else you may be adding on the page to see what looks the best. When you are satisfied with the placement, then you can tape or glue everything in place. Keep these tips in mind as you arrange your elements:
   • The eye is drawn to the center of the page first, so do not leave the center empty.
   • Photos that capture a similar moment, or are somehow connected, look nice when they overlap at the corners.
   • Uneven numbers are pleasing to the design of a scrapbook. For example, decorate a page with three photos instead of four.
   • Decide where you want the photos first, and then add embellishments around them. Embellishments should break up negative space, but not become distracting.
2. Add thoughts with your photos. If you want to add a special anecdote, date, explanation, or poem to go along with your photos, feel free to do so. Writing memories about certain feelings, thoughts, or special memories next to pictures enhances the scrapbook experience. You can write your words on a separate piece of paper and then tape it in, write directly in the scrapbook, or type the words on your computer and print them out. Do what makes you the most comfortable.
   • For example, if you are creating a scrapbook documenting a family road trip, consider adding highlights from the trip you want to remember next to some of the pictures. You may write, "That time we got lost and ended up finding a diner with the best pie in the world...", next to a picture of your family eating at the diner.
3. Slip your finished page into the sheet protector. When you are satisfied with the layout of your page, and everything is tapped or glued into place, slide the page into the clear page protector. If you want to go back to add or edit something on the page, all you have to do is slip the page back out.

Warnings

• Scrapbooking can be addictive and expensive!

Related Articles

• Complete Your First Scrapbook Page
• Add Pizzazz to Your Scrapbook
• Make a Romantic Scrapbook
• Make a Wedding Scrapbook as a Gift
• Start a Scrapbook
• Add Text to a Scrapbook
• Choose the Right Adhesive to Use in Your Scrapbook

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Retirement Scrapbook
• Add Text to a Scrapbook
• Start a Scrapbook
• Make Your Own Scrapbook
• Make Homemade Scrapbooks
• Make a Scrapbook Page
• Complete Your First Scrapbook Page
• Make a Romantic Scrapbook
• Make a Tagboard Bookmark
• Make a Friendship Book

Read more ...

What links here

• Make Homemade Scrapbooks