I enjoy scrapbooking as a hobby because it produces great results. Unlike some hobbies that only sharpen the skills but don’t produce anything, with scrapbooking, I not only get to develop my creative skills but also create great pieces of artwork in the process.Maybe this is why scrapbooking is one of the hottest hobbies in the country. As a testament to how big scrapbooking is, there are numerous shows and magazines that have cropped up on the subject. You can also find annual fairs and conventions just on scrapbooking. On the Internet, there are websites, webzines and web rings that are devoted to scrapbooking.

Now scrapbooking might seem a little daunting at first if you are a person who feels you have no artistic or creative bones in your body. Cutting, sticking, and designing may seem like a nightmare if you are not really much into the practice. You might even find the prospect of putting together one page of artistic work too much for you to handle.

But I want to tell you that making a scrapbook is not that difficult. In fact, it can be the easiest thing in the world especially with the tools and gadgets that are coming out and being sold online and in craft stores. There are scissors that cut lines with designs in them. There are punchers that not only punch holes but can punch different shapes. Craft stores also sell stickers that we as scrapbookers can stick into our pages for that more finished touch.

If you just know what to do, where to go and how to go about it, scrapbooking can be a breeze. Below are just couple of the ideas and tips on creating quick and simple scrapbook pages.

Buy Prepared Pages Scrapbooking products are more and more sophisticated these days and they are all designed to make scrapbooking as simple as possible. Maybe you feel like you don’t have the talent to put together one page even if your life depended on it. Maybe you just don’t have the time to create a layout that will look nice with the photo or photos you want to use. Why worry about it when you can buy prepared scrapbook pages that already have layouts and designs. You just need to add the finishing touches like the photo and some accessories if you feel like it.

You can buy these pages based on themes. For instance, there are pages that can be used in a wedding scrapbook; others can be used in a baby shower or in a kid’s birthday party. Often, there will even be slots where you can put photos and other notes.

Stick Them Up Another innovative product that has made my life and the lives of other scrapbookers worthwhile is scrapbook stickers. Like the scrapbook pages, these stickers can also be purchased in themes. Luckily, the themes are not limited to occasions and special events.

For instance, in addition to the usual themes of birthdays, Christmas, baby showers, weddings and the like, there are stickers that will also depict Christian sayings, kiddie images, business matters, girly stuff and sports. Don’t worry; there are a lot of themes to choose from.

These stickers are great when you are decorating a page that you have already put together. They often add color and appeal to the page without the hassles of drawing, cutting and pasting. All we as scrapbookers have to do is buy the stickers, peel the sticker off and stick it to the page.

Using these techniques makes scrapbooking easy enough that even a child can do it and my grandchildren have done so many times.

Sandy Burke is a mother and grandmother who enjoys scrapbooking and helping others learn about and enjoy scrapbooking.

For more information and tips on scrapbooking, please visit her website at http://www.scrapbooking-advisor.com

Scrapbooks, as we know them today, started many centuries ago, in the form of Common place books, friendship albums, photo albums, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, and now web home pages. Today, you can find a scrapbook club in almost any town that you go to. People love to get together with their friends to scrapbook. Everyone has a different motivation for doing a scrapbook. I’ve even seen families do a Family Recipe Scrapbook.

Why? Why do so many people around the world love to scrapbook? I’m sure that there are literally hundreds of reasons….but here are some of the more popular ones.

1.) To Protect your Photos: If you are careful and store your photos in archival-safe albums your family, friends and future generations can enjoy them 30 or even 60 years down the road. Isn’t this reason enough for launching your family history preservation mission?

2.) Showcase and Record Memories: Your children and future generations will appreciate the time you have taken to record the memories you have shared together. Make a Journal or simple caption next to the photo. Scrapbooking doesn’t have to be expensive either. The important thing is to get your photos out of the box and into books where people can see them and enjoy them. You’ll go through so many things in your life, and if you missed out recording these precious memories, “once it’s gone, it’s gone”.

3.) Organize your photos and mementoes: Disciplined scrapbookers have their personal memories, mementoes, and photos organized in a way that will preserve their quality. Imagine how just a bit of water could damage your precious memories beyond repair. Storing your photos in acidic envelopes or boxes can damage their quality, as well. The safest place for these precious items is in an acid-free box or scrapbook. The more organized you are the more that you can accomplish. If your stickers, stamps andembellishments are organized, You can easily sneak in a page with a unique layout at one sitting, while your child is napping or away at school. Imagine the smug satisfaction you feel when you see a completed page. This is empowering and makes you believe that if you can do this, you are capable of doing more.

4. Record the “firsts” and Preserve the “Can’t throw it away” items. If you have a baby or small child, you know how quickly the time speeds by. And you know the importance of recording your child’s first laugh, first tooth, and beyond that, to the first date, the first car, and on it goes. You can also preserve the sentimental value of those can’t-bear-to-throw-away concert tickets, handmade cards, menus, buttons, etc into the scrapbook.

5.) Socialize: Scrapbooking keeps you connected to people, events, places and experiences that thread together the ups and downs of your life. Expand your social circle by joining a club near you, and making new friends. Besides having fun, you’ll be learning new tips and techniques from these scrapbooking enthusiasts!

Scrapbooking is a way that you can express you creativity and have fun with all the Stamps, Stickers and Embellishments. But how hard can it be with scrapbooking? By mimicking or in scrapbooking term “scraplifting” some layouts that you’ve seen somewhere, and then adding in your own cutting, pasting, and writing, you’re done! Within minutes, you now hold in your hands a unique piece of your own artwork.

Visit my Web Site at [http://www.allmymemoriesscrapbooking.com]

Karlie Loo

Online is the best place to gain access to free scrapbooking stuff. All types of sites can be used for online scrapbook or can be even printed out on a high-quality computer and used on typical scrapbook pages. Several websites to check out for free scrapbook stuff are Escrappers, Free scrapbooking Fonts, Scrapbook Scrapbook, Mom’s Break, and Creating Keepsakes. Certain websites with free scrapbooking stuff are linked to major scrapbooking and craft stores, as well as television stations for a treasure trove of scrapbooking ideas: Joann, Michaels, AC Moore, and HGTV.

Many websites can assist to get over the fear and learn scrapbooking, even for a beginner. The pages cover typical mistakes scrapbook beginners make and explain the free scrapbooking stuff and assorted basics of designing a scrapbook page, choosing an album to display the pages and using archival-quality scrapbooking materials. Not only will several sites give you the opportunity to acquire free scrapbook stuff, but you can even receive a free scrapbooking education. Lovely scrapbook project ideas, as well as scrapbooking technique ideas and descriptions for digital and traditional scrapbooks can be accessed. A directory of online stores–with free scrapbook stuff–is available to purchase scrapbooking supplies.

The online sites with free scrapbooking stuff also offer easy-to-install scrapbook fonts. Normally, all you have to do is click on the font picture desired to download, and it will instantly download to the PC. Some free scrapbooking stuff on sites may even include fonts in zip files, as opposed to having the scrapbook font itself download. Once the scrapbook fonts are installed, you should gain access in the program for titles, journaling, decoration or any other way you desire.

Peter Foster has special interest in arts. He gives advice to anyone who wants to know about online art school and scrapbooking and others. He refers to www.layersofourlives.com/ in many of his sessions for art school class for scrapbooking Free scrapbooking stuff and DIY scrapbooking art.

With so many products available for scrapbook ideas you may find yourself in a situation where you just do not know where to start. If you are new to scrapbooking then the basic materials you will need are as follows:

Scrapbook paper

Adhesives

Cutting materials such as a craft knife and paper trimmer

Pictures

A Scrapbook

These items are the foundation for any scrapbook.

When you first decide to go shopping for products for your scrapbook ideas I would recommend you start out buying items in small quantities. This way you can play around with different products and work out which ones you prefer before spending a huge sum of money. It also gives you a chance to experiment with different craft materials.

Select bits and pieces that you find attractive and inspire you. Have a picture in mind before you shop so you can purchase paper and items that will correspond with the picture you are going to be placing in the scrapbook. You may even consider taking the picture with you making selecting embellishments to decorate the page even easier.

You will need to make sure all of the items for your scrapbook ideas are protected in some form so ensure that you only use materials that are scrapbook safe and acid free. This will maintain your scrapbook pages and prevent them from deteriorating over time.

Before you leave the house to shop for items for your scrapbook ideas make sure you write a list. It will be extremely tempting to buy vast amounts of papers and embellishments. Not only is this very expensive but it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unsure what one of your scrapbook ideas to use.

Ideally you need to have a theme in mind so you only purchase items that match and compliment each other.

If it is your first scrapbook then I would recommend that you do not purchase complex or fiddly craft items as you may find the whole thing extremely difficult and end up being put of scrapbooking altogether. It is far better to begin with basic materials and purchase ready made embellishments before you try to make your own.

Over time you will learn how these are put together and before you know it you will be saying ‘I do not need to buy that, I can make it myself!’

If you really do not know where to start it may be worth enrolling in a class to learn some basic principles of scrapbooking. Most craft shops offer classes that will help beginners and show you how to use what you have resourcefully as well as provide you with lots of scrapbook ideas.

Vicki Churchill writes for a site that specializes in Scrapbook Ideas providing you with excellent tips and ideas for creating stunning scrapbook pages with Scrapbook Quotes.

Scrapbooking is a great creative outlet as well as a personal way to preserve memories. Whether you prefer hand creating a scrapbook or enjoy digital scrapbooking, you will always need inspiration. Pages are often developed around one central theme, idea, event or activity. While some occasions in life are easy to turn into scrapbook pages, other less obvious ones may help create a more diversified scrapbook.

One of the very first things that must be mentioned is also the best source of inspiration: your pictures. Looking through your pictures will typically give you at least a few ideas for scrapbook pages. You should also determine if you have enough pictures to do at least one 12 x 12 page. If you have a picture that would work great for a page idea, make sure that you have other complimentary pictures that will expand on the central picture.

Scrapbooks typically have pages revolving around holidays and birthday, and rightly so. These are memory creating times that usually involve the gathering of friends and family. You may already have pages revolving around Christmas, Halloween, Easter and birthdays since these often revolve around children, but also consider other holidays like Memorial Day (parade pictures?), Valentine’s Day and Fourth of July (going to fireworks?).

Besides the usual holidays, inspiration can be found in a variety of other events and activities. Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Preschool Or Starting School

2. Milestones

3. Graduations (Kindergarten, Etc)

4. Achievements And Awards From Clubs Or Churches
a. Boy/Girl Scouts
b. Church Youth Group
c. School Clubs (Spanish Club, Fca, Ffa)

5. Sports & Teams

6. Scripture Verses

7. Extracurricular Activities

8. Baby Growth
a. First words
b. First steps
c. First time in trouble
d. Mispronounced words

9. Family member nicknames

10. Playing
a. Playground fun
b. With friends
c. With cousins
d. With grandparents

11. Everyday activities
a. Outline daily activities (lunch, play time, nap time, story time, etc)

12. Family member quotes or catchphrases

Another way to get inspiration is by browsing the selection of paper, stamps, quotes and other supplies at the local scrapbooking store or scrapbooking section at a store. However, this can be dangerous to your financial situation if you are not prepared. It is easy to buy anything and everything that catches your eye causing you to spend much than planned (if you even had a plan in the first place). Here are some ideas to keep you from overspending. Before going, decide on limits. One limit you could set obviously cost; pick an amount and do not go over it. Another limit could be how many ‘inspirations’ you want. Decide to only buy items for the best three ideas that inspire you. You could also combine these two limits, up to three ‘inspirations’, maximum of $25.

There are many places that you can get inspiration for scrapbooking pages. Digital scrapbook templates provided online may help even with your hand-made scrapbooks. Inspiration can also be found when something (like an object or design) catches your eye. These could be seen in driving down the street, in art museums & galleries, or even the grocery store. You may also find great ideas from looking at fellow scrapbook enthusiasts creations.

Wesley Skiles is creator of [http://www.howtomakeadigitalscrapbook.com] that provides information and resources on digital scrapbooking.

One of the benefits of digital scrapbooking over traditional scrapbooking is that you don’t need storage space to keep all your scrapbooking tools and stuff. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t store things when digital scrapbooking. You do, but it’s in digital format. That’s why it is important that you organize your folders or you’ll just end up with one big digital mess on your computer’s harddisk.

If you look around the net, you’ll find many free digital scrapbook goodies to collect. You can go crazy downloading all the cute stuff out there. Very soon, all these cute stuff keeps piling up. You’ll soon find that designing a scrapbook page takes longer and longer. This is because you have to spend more time sifting through all the images in your file. Getting your scrapbook stuff organized is highly beneficial. So, how do you go about it?

Categories

Divide your scrapbook elements into different categories. There is no hard and fast rule on how to do this. You create your own system that works the best for you. Here is an example of the different categories you can create:

• Alphas
• Background and Papers (you can further create subfolders for different colors)
• Buttons
• Nature (such as flowers, butterflies, leaves etc…)
• Frames
• Ribbons and Bows
• Stitches
• Tags
• Hearts
• Brushes
• Wordart, quotes, poems
• Journaling paper
• Eyelets, Pins, Clips, Fasteners
• Ploppers
• Full Kits
• Embellishments
• Celebrations (Christmas, Birthdays, Halloween)

Tracking The Source

Sometimes when you post your scrapbook creations online, you are required to give credit to the artist or attribute where you got the scrapbook images. One way to keep track of this is to create a unique file naming system. The ladies over at Scrap Girls have this figured out, so why not do what they do. Here are two examples:

MRE_Inspired_Emb_Pockets_Special.png

TCS_BeautifulLife_Emb_Special

The first three alphabets are the initials of the artist. This is followed by the name of the scrapbook collection.

Tagging

To speed up the process of searching through your files, you can use a program such as ACDSee, iPhoto, Picasa, Shoebox or Adobe Bridge that allows you to tag the products. So if you are looking to add a button to your page, all you have to do is type in “button” and the program will showcase all the images that you’ve tagged as “button”.

One thing you might want to consider is breaking up the full kits you download and separating the elements into their appropriate folders. Do this if you like to mix and match scrapbook elements from different packages. If you like using elements from one kit to coordinate your scrapbook design, then obviously this is not a good idea.

If you are new to digital scrapbooking, make sure you don’t miss this important step of organizing your files. If you’ve already created a “digital mess” on your harddisk, do find time to get organized. It may take a few hours but it will be worth your while. Remember, the best filing system is one that works best for you. It is a personal thing because we each work with the products differently. The goal is to find what you want with ease. As long as you reach that goal, you’ve got it right.

Digital scrapbooking is fun. Get the right software for scrapbooking and this hobby becomes a breeze. Polaroid My Memories Suite is so user friendly you can make beautiful scrapbooks easily and quickly. Click here to see how it has helped me: http://valuebookshop.com/2009/software-for-scrapbooking-my-memories-suite/.

Would you like to spend more time with your child? Would you like to be doing something special with that time? Have you ever thought about scrapbooking with your child?

Scrapbooking is a wonderful hobby. It is a great way to secure and document your memories through pictures, photographs, written descriptions, etc. By sharing this hobby with your child, you are not only sharing these special moments again, you are making new memories.

If you decide to share this hobby, first make sure that each of you has his/her very own scrapbook. Then you will not have to worry about your child messing up yours and it gives you both a chance to show your own distinct creative ideas.

When picking out a scrapbook for your child, consider the child’s age and your child’s interest in scrapbooking. If the child is young or if the child isn’t really into scrapbooking but just going along with it to please you, buy the child a much smaller scrapbook than you buy for yourself.

Next gather up some pictures, special news paper clippings, photographs, etc. Together, sit down and sort these out into two piles, one for you and one for your child. If you find some photos or clippings are extra special, you may want to go and have these copied. Then one of your scrapbooks will not be lacking.

Once you have the pictures, photographs and clippings, you and your child may want to go to a hobby store and buy some supplies. Allow the child some input in picking out the supplies. Yes, some of the stickers and some of the markers may not be colors you prefer. But remember he/she will be decorating his/her own scrapbook. Allow him/her to do in his/her own style.

Some supplies you may want to consider buying is:

–Markers

–Stickers of all kinds

–Cute little dialogue balloon type stickers, some with prewritten phrases, some blank.

–Tape

–Glue

–Special scissors for scrapbooking used for giving a cut out a custom edge (jagged edges, curved edges, etc)

Once you buy all your scrapbooking materials, store them in a place, you will remember until both of you has the time to start your scrapbooking project.

When you start, you may want to begin by having the child place his/her name on the inside cover of the scrapbook, along with the date, or at least the year, along with his/her age. This will be something he/she may treasure years from now and seeing his/her own name in his/her own handwriting will surely be something endearing.

As for your scrapbook, you may want to give yours a title. You may want to title it by a holiday name, a year, or something of the kind. By giving it a title, later on, you will be able to recognize what is inside the scrapbook without even opening it.

You now may want to organize the photographs, pictures and clippings that you both plan on using. You can do this by date, by event or by person. You may not even have a full organized method. You may just want to do the scrapbook in a more freestyle mode, just picking and choosing as you go, in no real order.

First, securely position the photograph, picture or clipping to the scrapbook. You can do this with tape or glue. Now carefully label or write a description. You may now want to jazz the page up with some stickers or some art work. Let your imagination go wild and decorate it in any way you choose.

If your child is young, you may want to offer some suggestions on how to decorate the page. Plus, remember if you decide to use scissors, even the scrapbooking kind with the numerous jagged edges, etc, for edging projects, be sure to help the young children, to keep them from cutting themselves.

Talk and share memories as you share these special scrapbooking moments. You may even want to talk about such things you used to do as a child your parents.

Continue these scrapbooking events until each scrapbook is finished. Then if the child had a good time, go out and buy a new one. Hopefully, you will start a new tradition and a scrapbooking hobby that you can share with your child for years to come.

Jeffrey Meier at Jam727 Enterprises at http://www.thearticlehome.com blog offers even more detailed information on a wide variety of topics.

Is scrapbooking your hobby? If not, then you are missing one of the most enjoyable hobbies that one could ever have. There is nothing more enjoyable than bringing back those happy memories you have with your friends, family, or with anybody who means a lot to you. In the old times, all that we had are albums that are plain photo’s of those times that we spend with people who are dear to us. Nowadays, these photo albums have emerged into another level, and that is through creating scrapbooks.

If you are a first timer to this, you are probably wondering what difference does it take to create a scrapbook from using a photo album. Photo albums are plain albums where you can mount pictures on, the space is just for mounting pictures, you cannot customize it with your own ideas. Scrapbooking albums on the other hand allows you to be more creative in saving those hard copies of memories, where you can customize the background scenery with your own artistic ideas.

How to Create Your Own Scrapbook

Of course the first thing that you have to look into are your funds in getting the materials you need for your scrapbook. Basically, you’ll be needing a scrapbook album with the size of your choice, cutting tools, glue, art papers, accessories, photos, and other decorating stuff that you can add for the appearance of your scrapbook.

Since you are a first timer, you will need some guidance on the layouting, and the designing of your scrapbooking album. You will be able to find a lot of scrapbook templates online that may guide you through a step by step process in creating your scrapbook.

Make your scrapbook as much personalized as you can. You may add in captions for every event and then mount the pictures associated with that event, or you can add in some quotes related to those pictures which you would like to share with those who are to get to look at it. The aim of scrapbooking , is for you to enjoy the moment while mounting those unforgettable photographs of you and those people who are dear to you.

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Confused by Online Scrapbooking Services? In this article you’ll discover what online scrapbooking is, what these services can enable you to do, and which ones to consider. It’ll depend on whether you’re a newbie, or experienced scrapper, and what you want to achieve. For newcomers, this could be an easy introduction to the creative world of digital scrapbooking.

Online scrapbooking websites are generally similar in that they allow you to upload your photos, select templates, add narrative and graphics to create your pages online, and then publish your album in print, on CD/DVD, or for viewing online.

Over the last 2-3 years, this has been the fastest growing area in the scrapbooking world. As you’ll see, online scrapbooking services enable you to organize, create, save, and share your photo albums, all online. You can think of it as a merge of simple online photosharing with digital scrapbooking functions, in some cases with the capability of adding audio and video.

There are now many websites offering variations on these services. Here are some of the best known ones, with an indication of whether they are photo album oriented, or also support a higher level of creative art expected by online scrappers.

Online Photo Albums, with some scrapbooking Functionality:

MyPhotoAlbum.com – Allows you to archive photos & videos, access and personalize hundreds of designs, then create and share your photo albums online with your private group of family & friends, or open it to the world. You can also print your album as a book, or cards.

Shutterfly.com – Allows you to create online photo albums and offers a digital scrapbook printing service so you can order scrapbooks, photobooks, mugs and more. For example, Shutterfly will allow you to create online scrapbook pages for sports teams.

SnapFish.com – Upload and share your photos as an online photo album. Snapfish offers high quality online digital photo printing, as well as photo sharing. You can find creative scrapbook ideas and choose from over 100 personalized photo gifts to make from your photos.

Picasaweb.google.com – allows you to create online photo albums, share photos with friends and family…or explore public photos. Google claims…”a faster way to organize, edit, and share your photos”.

Flickr.com – Photo-sharing heritage… You can explore, upload and organize your online photo albums, create albums, share and stay in touch.

Online Digital Scrapbooking Sites

ScrapBlog.com – a mature online, flash-based multimedia scrapbook editor. It allows you to quickly combine various media – images, audio, and video – into scrapblogs. Easy to use drag & drop photo upload, and creation of scrapbook pages. Integration with numerous services such as Photobucket, Flickr, Myspace, Facebook for ease of publishing across social networks.

Smilebox.com Offers hundreds of online scrapbook templates that you can use with your photos and videos. Add journalling and audio, and then you can email it to friends & family, print it out and more. They also provide slideshows, ecards, photo albums etc.

CropMom.com – CropMom allows you to make scrapbook pages online based around your photos and then download them in various formats. Low resolution downloads are free and will have the site logo on them and are usable for emails and blogs. High resolution digital scrapbook printing will cost you, but is offered on various items.

FreeDigitalScrapbooking.com – online scrapbooking, provides you with great information and products to help you merge your passion for scrapbooking with the ease and convenience of digital scrapbooking online, by providing tons of downloadable digital freebies, information, and tutorials.

So who should use which type of service?

- experienced scrappers, looking for the highest artistic functionality from online digital scrapbooking should select from the Online Scrapbooking Sites list

- newcomers to scrapbooking, or folks just looking for a quick way to share simpler designs with friends and family should select from the Online Photo Albums list.

The way things are going, the differences in online scrapbooking services will narrow as time moves on.

Genie Balfour A paper crafter and scrapbooker for many years, Genie is well-versed in the ins and outs of paper and online scrapbooking. As the founder of the popular website ScrapbookingGems.com, she writes regularly on paper and computer scrapbooking topics.

Click through to discover more about online digital scrapbooking services, or check out Genie’s free scrapbook sketches and layouts series at http://www.scrapbookinggems.com/.

Scrapbook templates are very useful tools for those just starting out scrapbooking or for those who might be in doubt about their ability to draw. These templates are made from stiff card stock and are pre cut with different shapes. These allow you to trace the designs right onto your scrapbook pages and can even be used to design and entire book from beginning to end.

You can find many scrapbook templates on line which can be purchased or downloaded to your computer. They can also be found at local hobby or arts and craft stores. Find one that goes along with the theme that you are constructing your scrapbook around. If you can find a template that reflects your interests or is centered around a specific activity, then these are good choices as your book will often be centered around these.

If you have found a template online and have downloaded it to your computer, then you will want to print it out onto stiff card stock and cut the templates out with sharp scissors.

You might want to consider getting a scrapbook kit as these very often come with predesigned pages and ready to use scrapbook templates which can be used to finish off a scrapbook based on a number of themes that you may have chosen.

Another option, is to ask a friend if they have any scrapbook templates. Veteran scrappers often have collections of scrapbook templates that they have used over the years. So if you see one you like, just ask them if you could borrow it quickly.

Learning how to use scrapbook templates is an excellent way to save and preserve your memories for many many years to come. Learning how to do it is not hard and you need not be a creative genius to do it either. For not much money and not much effort, one can easily take those old pictures out of storage and get them into a nice, well made, fun to look at scrapbook which anyone can enjoy looking at and reminiscing on. This is a fun and fast growing hobby that many people around the country are now enjoying and you can get in on the action as well. If you would like to learn more about how to scrapbook templates, follow this link and you will quickly learn how to save those cherished memories.