1. hobbies and interests
2. scrapbooking

“How To Scrapbook”
HowExpert Press & Donna Fisher
How To Scrapbook
Your Step-By-Step Guide To Scrapbooking
HowExpert Press & Donna Fisher
www.HowExpert.com
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“How To Scrapbook”
HowExpert Press & Donna Fisher
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“How To Scrapbook”
HowExpert Press & Donna Fisher
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1: Saving Your Photos ............................................................... 7
Professional Restorers ........................................................................ 7
Do it Yourself .................................................................................... 7
Dealing with Acid ............................................................................... 8
Points to Remember ........................................................................... 8
Chapter 2: Terms ............................................................................... 10
Vocabulary ...................................................................................... 10
Points to Remember ......................................................................... 10
Chapter 3: Basic Materials ................................................................... 11
Paper Cutters .................................................................................. 11
Scissors .......................................................................................... 12
Solid Adhesives ............................................................................... 13
Liquid Adhesives .............................................................................. 14
Undu .............................................................................................. 20
Color Coordinated Card Stock ............................................................ 21
Points to Remember: ....................................................................... 23
Chapter 4: Building Your Album............................................................ 25
Types of Albums .............................................................................. 25
Types of Album Pages ...................................................................... 30
Points to Remember ......................................................................... 33
Chapter 5: Developing Your Style ......................................................... 34
Simple Style.................................................................................... 34
Simply Elegant Style ........................................................................ 35
Girly-girl ......................................................................................... 36
Girly Elegant Style ........................................................................... 37
All Boy ........................................................................................... 38
Matchy-Matchy ................................................................................ 39
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Eclectic ........................................................................................... 40
Based on a Color Scheme ................................................................. 42
Just Get Me Started! ........................................................................ 42
Points to Remember ......................................................................... 42
Chapter 6: Getting Started .................................................................. 44
Choose Your Page Theme or Album Theme ......................................... 44
Writing on the Page ......................................................................... 45
Title ............................................................................................... 46
Story .............................................................................................. 47
Spotlight Your Picture ....................................................................... 49
Size of the Picture ............................................................................ 49
Matting and Framing ........................................................................ 51
Mounting ........................................................................................ 58
Prints, Textures, and Solids ............................................................... 59
Choose a Layout .............................................................................. 62
Symmetry .................................................................................... 62
Balance ....................................................................................... 64
Flow ............................................................................................... 66
Points to Remember ......................................................................... 68
Chapter 7: Cropping Photos ................................................................. 69
Reasons for Cropping ....................................................................... 69
Digital Cropping ............................................................................... 70
Overlapping .................................................................................... 71
Creative Framing ............................................................................. 74
Cut Up the Photo ............................................................................. 75
Add Embellishments ......................................................................... 78
Points to Remember ......................................................................... 79
Chapter 8: Types of Pens..................................................................... 80
Journaling Pens ............................................................................... 80
Specialty Pens ................................................................................. 81
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Points to Remember ......................................................................... 84
Chapter 9: Tools................................................................................. 85
Paper Piercer................................................................................... 85
Hole Punches .................................................................................. 86
Work Mats ...................................................................................... 87
Stencils .......................................................................................... 88
Misc Tools ....................................................................................... 89
Points to Remember ....................................................................... 100
Chapter 10: Die Cutting Systems........................................................ 101
Professional Die Cutting Systems ..................................................... 101
Personal Die Cutting Systems .......................................................... 102
Lifestyle Crafts .............................................................................. 103
Sizzix ........................................................................................... 106
Cricut ........................................................................................... 106
Cuttlebug...................................................................................... 107
Slice............................................................................................. 107
Spellbinders .................................................................................. 107
Cottage Cuts ................................................................................. 108
Tim Holtz ...................................................................................... 108
Points to Remember ....................................................................... 108
Chapter 11: Ideas for Pages – Put It All Together ................................. 109
Put it All Together .......................................................................... 112
Points to Remember ....................................................................... 115
About the Expert .............................................................................. 116
Recommended Resources .................................................................. 117
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“How To Scrapbook”
HowExpert Press & Donna Fisher
INTRODUCTION
Do you have boxes of photos in your closet? Most people do, so don‘t
feel bad. My family used to get out the shoe boxes on holidays and look
through all the pictures, and lament the fact that they were fading. Then,
the shoe boxes would go back into the closet until next year.
You don‘t have to let those old family photos fade away. And, you
don‘t have to let your favorite pictures of the kids sit in a dust covered box
in the attic.
If you are a hobbyist, you‘ll love scrapbooking. With just a few basic
tools, you can create attractive albums showcasing your favorite pictures,
and tell favorite family stories on the page with creative journaling.
You don‘t even have to delve into the overwhelming pile of boxes, if it
seems a little too much for you. Perhaps you have a special occasion coming
up—like a 50th wedding anniversary or 80th birthday party, and would like
some special way to commemorate the festivities! A scrapbook of the
occasion will become your new coffee table book, giving you years of
enjoyment.
Find out, here, why those old photos fade, and how to stop it. And,
you‘ll find out how to keep it from happening to your new photos. If you like
working with your hands, this is the hobby for you, because in scrapbooking:
We cut big pieces into little ones, and glue them back together.
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CHAPTER 1: SAVING YOUR
PHOTOS
Too many times the snapshots we treasure gradually deteriorate. This
is due to a lot of factors, including the type of paper and ink used in the
original printing, storage problems, and just plain age. Let‘s look at a
number of ways to preserve those great snapshots.
PROFESSIONAL RESTORERS
There are professional photo restorers who can save that civil war
snapshot of a family member, or restore the tin-type of your grandparents.
The sooner you can get the photos to the restorer, the better, because every
year that they sit in the drawer or box, they become a little more brittle, and
lose a little more of the details needed for thorough restoration. Even if the
photo you have displayed on your shelf seems to be in good shape, it
wouldn‘t hurt to have it checked by a professional restorer, to see if he can
clean it. He can also treat the photo to neutralize any acids in the ink or
paper.
DO IT YOURSELF
The colors in photos start fading over the years, with reds going first.
This is why your photos start looking yellow. You can‘t always stop this, but
you can scan and color correct the photos to restore the original appearance.
This way you have a copy of the original that is more indicative of the
original appearance of the original. And the great thing is – you probably
have the tools to do this at home! If you have an all-in-one printer, you can
scan your photos. There is usually a color correct option included. If your
scanner doesn‘t have a color correct option, you can find photo kiosks at
most drug stores and WalMarts. These are the places where you print off
your own photos. Not only can you plug in a jump drive on which you‘ve
saved new photos, you can scan previously printed photos. Now, they won‘t
let you print copyrighted photos, such as studio shots. But for scanning
snapshots, it‘s great. There is a color correct option on most of the scanners
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provided. You‘ll love the difference in your old photos when you see the
colors come alive again! That red and plaid dress you wore to your 6 th
birthday party will look as great as it did…however many years ago.
You can, if you wish, really get into your own photo restoration
through various software programs available. These programs are quite
sophisticated, and allow you to not only preserve your old photos in a less
easily corruptible format, you can correct and improve them. For instance,
do you have an ancient photobomb that you‘ve always wished you could
crop out? With a scanned photo, you can easily crop or blur that person right
out of the photo. You can also adjust the lighting in the shot, and remove
dust and scratches on the shot. You‘ll also have the ability to clone over
creases and cracks, making the photo like new.
DEALING WITH ACID
Another problem you encounter with your photos is contact with acid.
Acidic papers and adhesives discolor photos, or make them fade. In fact,
many of your really old photos were probably printed on paper that
contained acid. This will make your old black and white photos fade.
You know the ―magnetic‖ picture albums we used to use? They‘re the
ones with the protective clear page that you peel back, to reveal a sticky
scrapbook page beneath. You put your picture on the sticky part, and close
the clear page protector over your photos. Both the acetate page and the
sticky page have a high acid content.
You can save your photos with an archival spray. A spritz of the spray
will neutralize the acid in the paper. Spray the back of the photos and the
pages of the album, too. And, keep in mind that the shoebox you‘re keeping
your photos in, as well as the envelopes you‘ve so carefully sorted them
into, are probably not acid free.
Do you keep old letters and greeting cards? What about newspaper
clippings? A spritz with archival spray will help preserve the papers, and
keep them from yellowing and becoming brittle.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Professional restorers may be able to save the actual photo,
daguerreotype, or tintype.
If a professional restorer can‘t save your photo, he may be able to
copy and repair it.
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With the right software, you can scan and save your own photos.
Acid in paper and ink is the single most destructive element to your
photos.
Archival spray can neutralize the acid on your memorabilia.
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CHAPTER 2: TERMS
I won‘t be using many technical terms in this book, but there are a few
that I‘ll explain here.
VOCABULARY
Text Box – A text box is one or two sentences that are handwritten or
typed. They are usually on a piece of coordination paper, so that if you mess
up, you can start over without damaging your scrapbook page. Some
scrapbook papers have text boxes printed on them. If you want to use
these, ALWAYS print out your text in pencil, first, to get the spacing and
spelling right. Ink it in only after you‘ve carefully proofed it. You‘ll be
amazed at how many spelling errors you make when you‘re watching your
handwriting!
Layout – This sound like an odd term for scrapbooking, but it refers to the
design on your page. It also refers to two pages that go together. They ―lay
out‖ beside each other, looking like one continuous page. You can have a
one page layout or a two page layout. Anything more than that is a series of
pages, made up of, what else, layouts!
Embellishments – Embellishments are anything you add to the page that
are not photos. These include buttons, flowers, brads, coins, and anything
else you may choose to add to your page.
Pop – when I say that something ―pops off the page,‖ it means that you
really notice it. There are also pop dots that literally make an item pop off
the page.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
The terms mentioned above are used throughout the book.
Other terms will be explained as you go along.
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CHAPTER 3: BASIC MATERIALS
My dad was a mechanic, and he always said, ―Use the right tool for the
job. It‘ll save you time and money.‖ You wouldn‘t take up sewing without a
sewing machine now, would you? So, before I tell you how to cut up your
paper and glue it back together, let‘s talk about basic tools for scrapbooking.
Here‘s your first list:
12‖ paper cutter
1 pair of pointy scissors—for paper only
Solid adhesive—either tape runners or tabs
Pop dots
Liquid adhesive
Color coordinated card stock
Brown or black cat‘s eye ink pad
Brown or black brush pen
Journaling pens
Undu
PAPER CUTTERS
There are a lot of great paper cutters out there. A guillotine cutter (fig.
1) is the kind you probably saw the teachers using in the work room at
school. It has the chopping arm that comes down and slices the paper. This
type of cutter is actually overkill for your beginning project, although it will
come in handy some day for special projects.
What you‘ll really need is the kind of cutter with a sliding blade. It has
a fold-out ruler to measure horizontally, and the vertical ruler with the
cutting blade. You can see the different parts in the picture.
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Three different paper cutters
The extended ruler and ruled slicer
You‘ll learn more about using a paper cutter in the matting section.
SCISSORS
How much can you say about scissors? They cut paper. However, you
will want pointy ones that can get into tight corners. You‘ll also want them to
only have about a 3‖ to 4‖ blades. You‘re not cutting long lengths of cloth,
you‘re cutting shorter lengths of paper, and the big scissors get in the way
and make your hand tired. The longest strip you‘ll cut is 12‖, and that‘s what
your paper cutter is for. There are several different brands that work
wonderfully. There are a few differences you might keep in mind.
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Regular scrapbooking scissors have the loops that you fit your fingers
in to do the cutting. If you‘re left-handed, you‘ll have to find some made for
your needs, which you‘re probably accustomed to doing.
Scrapbooking scissors – short, with a sharp point
Spring loaded scissors are really nice because you can use them with
either the right or left hand. They also automatically open, and when you‘re
doing a lot of cutting, it‘s really nice.
Finally, you may want a pair of non-stick scissors at some point.
They‘re not necessary for the beginner, but you need to know they‘re out
there, because you‘ll be cutting things with adhesive on the back, and nonstick scissors are great for that use.
One more thing about scissors—did you know that if you cut paper
with a pair of scissors, you can‘t ever cut cloth with the same pair? The
scissors will be fine for paper from now on and seem perfectly sharp, but
they‘ll seem dull on cloth, and tear fabric. If your mom ever got mad at you
for using her good sewing scissors for your crafting projects, that‘s why. In
scrapbooking, you‘ll eventually get where you want to use ribbons for
embellishments on your pages, and you‘ll have to use fabric scissors. The
challenge is to remember which is which.
SOLID ADHESIVES
Solid adhesives are basically double sided tape. You don‘t want to use
anything but scrapbooking tape for a number of reasons. First, only
scrapbooking tape is acid-free. If you have ever encountered old photos with
stains on them from the tape used to secure them to a page or frame, then
you know what happens when acid comes in contact with a photo. You‘ve
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probably also experienced the crumbling mess that comes with scotch tape
in a photo album. Most tapes dry out and become brittle over time.
Scrapbooking tape is manufactured specifically for adhering papers
without staining or drying out. You can get tape runners or tape tabs, both
of which work equally well. There are tons of different brands, and they all
work just fine. Different scrapbookers have their own tastes, preferring the
big ―guns‖ or the smaller applicators featured above. You‘ll also find plenty
of different patterns in the runs of tape but in my opinion, they all do the
same thing. Don‘t worry about whether the strip is dotted, strips, or solid,
just look for the number of feet per price, and whether refills are readily
available.
An example of one of many brands of tape runners
LIQUID ADHESIVES
Liquid adhesives are glue. Just don‘t use the school glue that we all
grew up with, because it has the same problems that tape has. You don‘t
want it to dry out and yellow, because your handiwork will fall apart, and
your pictures will be discolored. School glue is also mostly water, which will
make your paper buckle.
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You‘ll mostly use liquid adhesives to hold down embellishments. It‘s
also necessary to glue pictures down on glitter paper, felt paper, or
embossed paper.
Glitter paper
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Paper with felt spots
Embossed paper
MonoAqua is one of the best liquid adhesives to use for these purposes
because it is thick and dries quickly.
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Another good one is Zip Dry, but it dries out in the bottle, so keep it
sealed as much as possible.
My well-used Zip Dry
MonoMetal is great for adhering metal to your pages, so if your kids
run a penny through those machines that smash it and imprint it with
a logo…you can glue it right down.
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My equally well-used MonoMetal
Diamond Glaze works with everything. It‘s more expensive, and is use
in jewelry making, so you won‘t want it for bulk purposes, but it‘s
great to have around to give a little shimmer to your product. Here is
an example (fig. 20) of how I used Diamond Glaze to glue down a
bunch of sequins and shells to look like foam on a scrapbook page.
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Diamond Glaze
Diamond Glaze is a clear, hard adhesive used to adhere these beads and shells to
the page
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UNDU
This one, simple product gets its own subheading because, quite
frankly, it deserves it. Undu is a liquid that will remove any sticker or
embellishment from any paper. The only adhesive it won‘t counteract is
some liquid glues. But, the scrapbook adhesives will stay on the back of the
sticker or embellishment, and you can move it to another spot on the page.
My cherished bottle of Undu
Now, a word about glue sticks. I‘ve used glue sticks with mixed
success. When I first started scrapbooking, that‘s all I used, but I had to sit
on the paper to make the glue melt and reset. It‘s called ―using your
assets.‖ I learned that in scrapbooking class. Some very good scrappers I
know still use glue sticks, but I don‘t anymore because they tend to dry out.
Just sayin‘.
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COLOR COORDINATED CARD STOCK
Scrapbooking paper is to the scrapper as fabric is to the seamstress.
We go crazy over each new line that comes out, reveling in the endless
textures, patterns, and color combinations those great designers come up
with. In fact, I can tell you from experience that it can be so totally
overwhelming to walk into a good scrapbooking store that you may just turn
around and walk out again. So, here are the basics on—well—paper.
Cardstock is basic, solid colored heavy gauge paper. It‘s usually about
60 lb paper, which is too heavy to go through most copiers. It‘s the
weight you find in quality posters. If you study the surface, you may
find that one or both sides have a slight texture of either linen or
orange peel. Some of the cardstocks are smooth. It‘s your choice as to
which side you use as the ―right‖ side in your scrapping, but if you‘re a
perfectionist, you need to know about this. This is usually the lowest
priced paper in the store, but the most basic.
Several shades of cardstock. You can see a little of the linen texture.
Print Paper is the pretty, decorative paper with which we get to dress
up our pages. It is about 16 to 20 lb paper, which means you can send
it through your printer. It‘s copy paper weight. Print paper is priced
about the same as cardstock, with a few going for more money.
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Print paper, blank on one side
Printed Cardstock (fig. 24) is the best of both worlds. You get the
weight of cardstock, with the beautiful and thematic patterns. Some
printed cardstocks are printed on both sides—bonus! This paper is
more expensive, running 2 to 3 times the price of plain cardstock.
Printed cardstock. The 2 sides coordinate with each other
Specialty Papers are all the fancy-shmancy ones with glitter, flocking,
embossing, die-cut, mirror—you name it, you can find it. The prices
vary on specialty papers, going up to 5 times the price of cardstock for
a sheet for the heaviest glitter papers. These were pictured earlier,
when we talked about liquid adhesives.
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―Lines‖ of papers are what really get you hooked. Bo Bunny, Studio
49, Basic Grey…the list is unending of fabulous manufacturers that
come out with multiple ―lines‖ of papers for each season. Each of these
lines will have a name, like the now iconic ―Indian Summer‖ by Basic
Grey. Each of the papers and cardstocks in the line are color
coordinated to go with each other and, usually, are double sided, too!
(I get excited just talking about it!) These lines will also come with
embellishments that coordinate with the paper. So, whether you‘re
looking for wedding paper or ―baby‘s first Halloween‖, you‘ll find the
perfect paper and embellishments to go with your pictures. In fact,
and I‘m embarrassed to admit this, but I and other scrappers have
actually planned our photos around certain lines of paper coming out. I
still buy my teenagers Easter presents just so I can take their pictures
and use that cute Easter paper coming out. There, I‘ve come clean!
Basic Grey: Cardstock is printed front and back, all of which coordinate
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
The purchase of quality cutting tools saves money in the long run.
Double-sided cardstock usually will make matching papers easier.
―Lines‖ of paper are usually between 8 and 12 sheets of double-sided
paper that coordinate with each other, and follow a theme.
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Tape dispensers and glue dots are the most commonly used
adhesives.
Undu is a miracle chemical.
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CHAPTER 4: BUILDING YOUR
ALBUM
Have you chosen your album yet? Often, when someone decides they
want to make a scrapbook, it‘s because they found a great scrapbook they
want to use. Or, maybe you‘ve decided to do a project and found just the
right scrapbook to go with it. So, let‘s see what you‘ve got. If you haven‘t
bought your scrapbook, yet, here‘s what to look for.
TYPES OF ALBUMS
Strap bound albums are fairly uncommon. These are sold mostly by
the home scrapbooking company, Creative Memories. They‘re beautiful
albums that have straps that come up through staples inset into the
scrapbook page. The page protectors slip over the page once it‘s completed.
If you‘ve started off with one of these scrapbooks, you‘ll need to get your
page protectors and refills from your Creative Memories representative.
Post bound albums are available retail, and are some of the prettiest
albums on the market. They‘re also nice because when you make two pages
that face each other (a layout); they look like one long page. If you open a
post bound album you‘ll see 2 to 3 posts. These feed through the page
protectors. You‘ll actually scrapbook paper and then slide it into these page
protectors. These posts come apart so you can add extenders. Each time
you purchase a package of page protectors, they come with a set of
extenders. The only problem with post bound albums, and it‘s a big problem,
is that they are monstrously hard to add pages to—especially in the middle.
It‘s almost a two person job to have one person hold up the scrapbook
pages while the other one uses a screwdriver on one side and a pair of pliers
on the other side to unscrew the posts. Then, the whole album comes apart.
Of course, I way over stuff my albums. You can remedy this problem with
straps. This inexpensive investment makes it very easy to add to or take
away refills in your post bound album.
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Post bound album. You can see the glint of posts in the spine
Here, you see the inside of the album, with the two posts shining.
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Here is a scrapped page being slid into the page protector
These are both ends of the post, with a tiny extension
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These straps replaced posts. Not very pretty, but easier to manage.
You can see the damaged hole at the top, where I had to punch it bigger for
3-holed page protectors. The flap I am holding folds over, concealing the
workings of the straps and posts.
Ring albums are like the notebooks our kids use in school. I use ring
binders almost exclusively, now, just because I like the convenience of being
able to add pages wherever I want. Look for D-ring albums because they‘ll
keep your pages flat on the outer edge. Round rings (fig. 31) will make the
pages have a curved shape, and they‘ll stick out. Unfortunately, the ring
albums are not as pretty as post albums, and when you open them, you see
the mechanics of the rings rather than a nice, 24‖ scrapbooking layout.
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D-ring album
You can see the gap between the pages, which is the one
disadvantage in comparison to post, bound albums.
You can see the curved profile of the pages on the right, because of
the circular rings in this album. On some albums, the pages actually stick
out past the cover.
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TYPES OF ALBUM PAGES
When you purchase an album, it will come with 10 or 20 pages. These
are actually page protectors that are clear. You‘ll make scrapbook pages and
slip them into page protectors (as pictured before). The trick is to always be
sure to buy the right page protector refills for your album, and yes, I learned
the hard way. If you‘re the kind of person who says, ―Oh, ok, I‘ll keep the
ISBN number from my album here in my wallet, right next to my drivers‘
license‖ then you can skip this next part. If you‘re the type who, like me,
when truly desperate for page protectors, decides, ―Hmm…these look about
right‖…keep reading.
Page protectors for post bound albums are wider. You‘ll find an
extension between the ―binder‖ part with the holes in it and the ―protector‖
part that holds your page. OR…the ―binder‖ part with the holes will simply be
wider. THIS IS NECESSARY! Without this little extension, your pages won‘t
open. They‘ll just stick up, like a cow-lick, with about 3/8‖ of each page
down in the spine of your album. And, it‘s because you bought page
protectors for a ring album.
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Different brands of page protectors will have different widths of
extenders. This one has a 3/8‖ extender between the holes and the page.
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This is another brand, with a ½‖ extension. Mixing the different widths
of pages messes up the profile of your album.
Page protectors for ring albums are narrower. Since the pages lie
open, revealing the rings in the middle, there is no need for the extension.
IF you buy the refill page protectors with the post bound extension for your
ring album, when you close the album, the pages WILL stick out. It looks
stupid, even if you‘re not a perfectionist. Adding to the frazzled appearance
of your album will be the fact that the pages that came with your album
DON‘T stick out.
Another minor point of major importance is the number of posts or
rings in your album. Does it have 2 posts/rings, or 3? This is important. I‘m
convinced that manufacturers of holes deliberately place the outer 2 holes
further apart in 3-hole page protectors than in 2-hole protectors. You‘ve
already seen the catastrophe of trying to punch out more holes in your
album cover. If you buy the wrong ones, you‘ll have to punch holes next to
holes, plus one in the center and you can‘t punch holes in that material
anyway because it just tears. It‘s a mess.
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I managed to punch a hole in the acetate. Looks great, doesn‘t it?
And, finally, you can actually find page protectors with gate-fold flaps
that extend your pages. They‘re a fun addition to your scrapbook. You can
also intersperse the pages that just hold several 4x6 or 3x5 photos. These
pockets and specialty page protectors can add variety to your album. Just
make sure you get the right number of holes.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Page protectors for post-bound albums are wider than the ones for
binder albums.
Page protectors for binder, or ring albums, WILL NOT WORK in postbound albums.
You can substitute straps for the posts in post albums, providing much
easier handling.
While ring binders are easier to use, your page layouts will look much
better in post/strap-bound albums.
It‘s really, really hard to punch holes in acetate page protectors.
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CHAPTER 5: DEVELOPING YOUR
STYLE
Developing your style in scrapbooking is sort of like developing your
style in accessories, or home decorating, or your wardrobe. If your wardrobe
is ―all over the place,‖ then your scrapbooking will be, too. Maybe everything
in your house is in the same color palate, flowing pleasingly from room to
room. Your scrapbooks will look like that. Here are some examples to start
with. See if you recognize yourself in any of these descriptions—it will help
you form a direction with your first scrapbook. If you‘re not interested in any
of that, skip to ―Just Get Me Started!‖
SIMPLE STYLE
The natural or simple style of scrapbooked probably doesn‘t bother
with much frou-frou in her jewelry or wardrobe, either. This is the lady who
wears a pair of diamond or gold studs in her ears because she doesn‘t want
to have to change them out every day. Her idea of a colorful blouse may be
light blue, because it will still go with all her other clothes. She‘ll also
probably have a wash-and-wear hair style, because, after all, who wants to
mess with that? It will be long enough to tie back, or cut in a way that she
can blow dry it with some gel, and get out the door.
Her scrapbook will be just as simple. Nothing fancy in papers—that‘s
just too busy, and gets in the way (like a hair cut that requires curling). This
woman will want one or two pictures on a page, with a title added. The title
will be the date and name of the people in the picture. This scrapbooked will
have a hard time using embellishments, because she ―just doesn‘t know
where to put them‖ or wonders ―what is that button (embellishment) for?‖
Simple scrapper, relax! It is perfectly ok to not go overboard, like
some of us do! The prettiest, even most elegant scrapbooks are the ones
that simply show the picture and tell a quick story. Here‘s what you do:
Mat your picture. That‘s discussed later in this book. Place it on the
page—usually smack-dab in the center is good for those who like things
simple, because that looks the most balanced. Then you‘ll add your caption
or title. Finally, any embellishment you add will be on the side or corner of
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your photo. And, you‘ve completed your first page! Don‘t worry; matting,
titling, and embellishing are all covered in later chapters.
An example of a simple page: pre-made title block, stickers, and simple photo
mats
SIMPLY ELEGANT STYLE
The ―simply elegant style‖ is, actually, very much like the simple style,
with a little more enjoyment of the embellishing process. Another word for
this style might be ―classic.‖ This is the woman who does change earring—
happily—with each outfit, but doesn‘t go for anything very big. She is often a
perfectionist, wanting everything to be ―just so,‖ from her hair to the
alignment of the photo in its mat. She‘ll probably know where she wants to
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put the embellishments on the page, too, and will drive herself crazy getting
them in exactly the right spot. This woman will need a bottle of Undu, so she
can remove pieces without tearing them up, and re-position them. But, in
the end, her scrapbook page will be – well – simply elegant!
Simple elegance: traditional font, classic print paper, and lace
GIRLY-GIRL
If you‘re a girly-girl, or making an album about one, then you‘ll have
all kinds of fun with the cute princess papers and embellishments out there.
Or, maybe dotted-Swiss papers with toile ribbon. The sparkles available for
the girly-girl are unending, and you‘ll have a blast accessorizing your pages
with all of these pretties. (Fig. 38)
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Girly-girl: flowers, sparkle, and color
GIRLY ELEGANT STYLE
This is for the more grown-up girly-girl. This will be the flash and bling
style. If you secretly miss the big shoulder pads and glam rock of the 80‘s,
here is your chance to revisit that era. You‘ll have fun with all the
embellishment opportunities, and find an outlet for your creative spirit.
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Girly Elegant: flowers, buttons, ribbons, glitter; paper flocked with black and
embossed paper that has been inked with 2 different shades of yellow.
ALL BOY
If you don‘t mind frou-frou, but have boys, you can still have fun with
your scrapbooking. This is especially fun with all the incredibly cute boy
papers and embellishments the paper companies have come out with. Take
pictures of your son playing with his trucks, action figures, Legos, and even
his dress-up clothes, because you‘ll be able to find papers that tie in great
with all of those.
In this example, I figured out how to get pompoms on my boy page!
My son got his first car, and the pompom fringe just seemed to fit the
occasion. Here, I took some vintage car paper that I just adored, but only
had one sheet. I didn‘t want to cover it up by using it as matting under the
photos, so I cut it into 1‖ strips. I inked all of the edges, and then placed
them on the page with about a ¼‖ of the blue cardstock showing between
the strips. I used the two extra strips on the far left for balance. You‘ll notice
that I used a larger print of my son and in-laws (who gave him the car) with
die-cut numbers for the date. My die cut machine came in handy for the title
―First Car.‖ In this way, the large blue area with the largest photo of the
layout is obviously the focus, and the title of the page is part of the design.
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All-Boy page, even with pom-poms!
MATCHY-MATCHY
I‘ve tried the matchy-matchy look – I really have! I LOVE going into
women‘s houses in which they use the same color scheme all the way
through. Scrapbooks that do so are truly elegant. I see how the scrapper
uses the same line of paper all the way through, and the same types of
embellishments balancing out each page, and seethe with envy. Why can‘t I
do that? You may notice that the scrapbook in my example has no pictures
in it. It‘s because, when I put together a matchy-matchy project, I‘m afraid
to mess is up with photos.
It‘s because, I‘m convinced, I have AAADD (Age Activated Attention
Deficit Disorder). It‘s a disease I made up, but I have it. I really fall into the
next category, which is eclectic.
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A Matchy-matchy look. I love it, but don’t know what to do with it!
Another 2 page layout of the matching album. I LOVE this paper!
ECLECTIC
Eclectic style is, basically, all over the place. I can say that, because
that‘s the way I roll. I LOVE that line of paper! Oh, wait, I LOVE that line,
too. I really have good intentions, but I can‘t stay with one style for my
annual scrapbook. My family albums that stretch through the year are a
mish-mash of every new paper and pattern that hits the market. If I learn
an embellishment style, you‘ll see it demonstrated in the album. I just can‘t
stay with one color scheme for my scrapbooks. It‘s the same with albums. I
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have so many different colors and styles of albums, a really organized
person would have to count to 10 before she comments.
An example of a page in one of my albums
The very next page in the same album
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And yet another page in the same album. I like a variety of colors and themes.
BASED ON A COLOR SCHEME
You may want to stay with a particular color scheme with your album.
It may be influenced by the subject matter, such as a 50th anniversary. It
may be influenced by your favorite color, or the subject matter‘s favorite
color, school colors, or your home décor.
JUST GET ME STARTED!
If all of this is too much for you, that‘s ok! It is for a lot of people.
Some people don‘t want all of this analysis; they just want to get started.
So, here you go. Grab up a handful of pictures. Here are some ideas:
Maybe they‘re your favorite pictures of your kids when they were little,
or
Pictures of your flowerbeds, or
Pictures of the dogs
All you need is about 5 or 6 pictures, and you‘re ready to get started.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Choosing a style for your album will help you narrow down the type of
papers and embellishments you use.
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Your style may change over the years – just go with the flow.
Your style may change from album to album, depending on the subject
matter.
You don‘t have to choose a style. It just helps when selecting
materials.
When shopping for scrapbooking materials, tell the shopkeeper, or
enter the name, of the subject matter you‘re shopping for, i.e. ―dogs,‖
―first tooth‖, etc.
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CHAPTER 6: GETTING STARTED
Yay! You‘re about to get started on your album!
CHOOSE YOUR PAGE THEME OR ALBUM
THEME
The ―theme‖ is the main idea of your album. Is this your family album
for last year? Maybe you want to make an album of your trip to Cancun.
The reason a theme is important is because it will help you narrow
down the vast choices you have in the scrapbooking industry. When you
walk into a scrapbooking store, if you can say, ―I need stuff for a 1st
birthday,‖ the store won‘t be nearly as overwhelming. Here are some ideas
for themes.
A Book of Firsts – with first bath, first hair cut, first tooth, first doctor
visit…you know the drill.
A Book of Birthdays – just focusing on birthday parties you‘ve given
your kids through the years.
Our Vacation to… - pretty self explanatory.
Our Wedding.
Family Album for 2011 – with monthly pages of what happens through
the year.
Our Anniversary.
―Kid‘s Name‖ Book, birth to Pre K.
I built my first albums from the middle out. That means I took my
favorite 5 pictures of each of my 2 children, and made scrapbook pages with
them. Then, I continued to finish out an album for each, filling in as things
happened that I wanted to remember, and going back and scrapping earlier
items as I had the time. My kids, now grown, love those first pages, even
though I could do such a better job, now. In fact, when I talk about going
back and redoing those first albums, they beg me not to. There‘s something
about the tradition that they love.
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My theme for those first pages? I didn‘t have one. That‘s why I‘m
encouraging you to choose a theme. I would be much happier with my
scrapbooks if I had simply established a direction, rather than letting it
develop.
WRITING ON THE PAGE
Writing on the page tells everybody why they‘re looking at these
pictures, and why you scrapped them. Often, just one word will establish the
setting for the picture story you‘re about to present. You can do your writing
in the form of a title, or journaling that tells a story, or both.
I‘m going to have to tell you a sad story now, to enforce the
importance of writing.
My parents divorced after 40 years of marriage. My mom‘s first act?
She burned all of her recipes. She was a wonderful cook, and she burned her
recipes, proclaiming, ―I‘ll NEVER have to cook AGAIN!‖
I was devastated! Her chocolate pie? Gone. Her homemade banana
pudding? Gone. Homemade meatballs, homemade spaghetti sauce, all gone,
gone.
Mom passed away a few years ago. One day, I was thumbing through
one of my old recipe books and there, folded neatly between the pages, was
her banana pudding recipe! I carefully lifted it out of the book and unfolded
it. There, in Mom‘s own handwriting, was her recipe, the quality of which
I‘ve never found duplicated. As I read the recipe, I became aware of a
tingling in my fingers that was traveling slowly up my arms – I was actually
touching paper that my Mom had touched. That was her handwriting, and I
felt as if I were almost touching Mom, again.
I know it‘s probably foolish, but I carry the recipe with me to the
grocery store when I shop for ingredients for the pudding. I know, I should
preserve the paper in a plastic folder, and only use the copy I made – but
taking that recipe shopping with me is the closest I‘ll ever get to getting to
shop with Mom, again. And I love it.
So, that‘s when I started writing in my picture albums. I HATE my
handwriting, and have gone to extremes to avoid it. I‘ve purchased stencils
to make letters, purchased die-cut machines to cut them out, purchased
sticker letters –anything to keep my handwriting off of the page. And now,
what do I do? I write. My family will treasure that, more than anything,
some day.
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BUT –I do use mechanical means, too, in my writing and titling. The
printer is my best friend, because I can tell the story in a font others can
read, and make notes on the page in my own handwriting. Mission
accomplished. Any interested party can read what really happened, but my
personal touch is still there.
In this example you see the 3rd and 4th pages of a layout, so there is
no title. This is done on 12 patch quilt pattern, meaning that the pages were
each done with 12 squares of coordinating paper and solid colored
cardstock. There are few embellishments, consisting of a few chipboard
pieces and 2 or three pieces of ribbon. I placed 2 of the same squares
together and actually WROTE on them, telling about my trip. Then, I took
the wallet sized pictures I had printed off and centered them in the block for
automatic matting. You can see that on the right, there are some larger
pictures that don‘t fit in the blocks. That doesn‘t bother me – I think it just
adds to the patchwork nature of the layout. I could have just as easily
matted those larger pictures on matching cardstock to get a different look.
You can see notes I‘ve made in various places on the two pages. It just
made me think of post-it-notes on my trip.
12-patch quilt pattern, with hand journaling
TITLE
If you can come up with a one-word title or caption for your page, or a
simple phrase for your caption, the page will go together much more easily.
This title can be done with any one of the great die cut systems available, or
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with stick-on letters. You can also use rubber stamps, or anything else you
want to add the title.
The title can be as simple as the mention of a day, i.e., ―Mother‘s
Day,‖ or a place, i.e., ―Red River.‖ Not every page must have a title, but it
will help you with the planning process.
Here is an example from ―Mother‘s Day of 08.‖ I used a Quickutz die
cut machine to cut out the title, but the journaling on the right side is my
handwriting.
Mother’s Day with die-cut title, hand journaling. (By the way, that’s the banana
pudding on the bottom left hand page.)
STORY
Don‘t you go through old albums and skip over the pictures of people
you don‘t know? Don‘t let that happen to your albums. Make sure names
and dates are listed on your pages. I‘m still, after all these years, bad about
not putting the date. After all, this is the 2008 album, right? You should
know this was Mother‘s Day, 2008.
The story is the whole point of a picture album. Most people turn to
the pictures because they are visual, and you don‘t have to be an ―author‖,
but other people, and even you, will love reading the story. So, tell the
story, too. Ours is no longer an oral tradition, passed on through stories told
by the light of a kerosene lamp. If you have a story to tell about a photo,
then please, type it up. Print it off on coordinating cardstock and place it on
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your layout. Add a few notes in your own handwriting, naming locations,
names, or some personal comment. It‘s even ok to have an entire page in
your scrapbook dedicated to the story. This will turn your album into a sort
of illustrated journal, and who wouldn‘t love that?
Add comments the kids made at the time the picture was taken, and
wise-cracks they made when they saw the photo. Look at old journals, and
implement those in your scrapbook. You don‘t have to get profound or
weighty, just include anecdotes concerning things that happened during that
time period. Even if the story doesn‘t go with the pictures, if they are
entertaining or contain actions, thoughts, or memories you want to share,
include them. You can even make a two-page layout to introduce the time
period for the following section of your scrapbook. And, you don‘t have to
use your handwriting. For this much journaling, typing up the story, followed
by something in your own script, may be the best way to communicate.
In this example, I printed off some emails my mother-in-law sent me
while they were on their retirement vacation in Alaska. The star was a cutout
on the green page, and I centered a seed packet behind it, that my MIL
sent. Add some photos, and the layout is complete!
Print off your story on the computer. It’s easier to read. You can even scrap
emails!
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SPOTLIGHT YOUR PICTURE
If you plan to place just one photo per page, the center of attention
will be pretty obvious. We‘ll get into embellishments later. But, if you plan to
put more than one photo per page, you can play with it a little bit.
Chances are, your photos are just as they came from the photo
counter –they‘re all 4 x 6s. This makes it really easy to plan spaces for them
on your page. You can, of course, crop the photos which will change the
dimensions, but we‘ll get into that later.
SIZE OF THE PICTURE
You can choose your favorite photo from a set, and draw particular
attention to it. One way to do this is to print this one off in a different size.
You can take the ―spotlight‖ photo to a kiosk at Wal-Mart or a local
drugstore. There, you can scan it, and print it off in a different size for your
page layout.
It looks really neat to have one 5 x 8 photo on the page with 4 x 6
photos. This is great for a series of shots, with the little one flashing a
cheesy grin at the camera, and then flaunting his new Halloween costume
for the rest of the pictures. Print off the ―grin‖ photo in the larger size, and
follow up with the fashion show.
You may want to use a smaller picture as your spotlight. Mount it on a
mat, and put pop dots behind it to make it stand off of the page. Don‘t worry
about it getting squished – you‘ve got page protectors to protect the photos
from being rubbed, and the squishing isn‘t so bad.
A cool special effect is to take a photo you love, but that isn‘t a very
good one. Blow it up to 8 x 10 and print it off in black and white, make 3 or
4 copies. Since it‘s not your main photo, just do this on regular scrapbooking
paper cut down to fit your printer, or use copy paper that you‘ve spritzed
with Archival Mist. Use that as your background paper. Mount your ―good‖
color photo, and place it on the page.
On the Spring Prom page, I‘ve used a 5 x 8 photo on the far right of
the layout. Notice how the ribbon and tiny hearts on the left direct the eye
to the right hand side, and the three larger hearts balance the bulk of the
spotlighted photo.
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Prom Page, using size to accent a photo
Another example of using the size of the photo is the quilt page. This
layout is a continuation of my Mother‘s Day sequence, so there is no title
here. These two pages are exactly alike. I just rotated one of them a quarter
turn before I added pictures. You can see how the large, complete flower is
positioned at the narrow end of the largest photo on each page, and I used
the ribbon embellishments as a natural border for the pages. Here, my text
boxes, by the way, are tags. I had to throw away a couple of tags because I
messed them up with my crummy writing – which is why I use tags! The
tags are just glued down. Since the big flowers have button centers, I used
buttons instead of brads to make it look like the tags are held in place. I
always run ribbon or thread through buttons to give them a finished look.
The ―stitching‖ on the edges is actually done with a white pen.
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Quilt page: using size to accent a photo. 3 x 5, 4 x 6, and 5 x 8 photos. Hand
journaling.
MATTING AND FRAMING
Matting and framing are other ways of drawing attention to a
particular photo. Framing goes on the outside of the photo. The frame is
open in the middle, and fits around the outer edge of the photo, like a
picture frame. In this example, I actually used a piece of stationery. I cut
out the center with an Exacto blade and added a yellow sticker ―pinstripe‖
around the edge, with a yellow duck at the bottom. Notice that I left a little
border around the bow as I cut it out, to add depth and layering.
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Cutting a frame from stationery, adding embellishments
Here is another example of framing, done the same way. I took
stationery and cut out the middle part, shaping it around the toys on the
paper.
Another frame cut out of stationery
Matting fits behind the photo, and extends out from behind it a certain
amount – usually 1/8‖ or more. When you want to spotlight a photo, matting
is the best bet. You see, putting a frame around your photo can be a really
difficult task. You have to choose your paper, cut it bigger than the photo,
then estimate how much to cut out of the center. Then, with a straight edge
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and Exacto blade, you excise the center. And then, do it all over again,
because you didn‘t get it straight, or cut too far in the corners.
An example of matted photos, with the solid cardstock “revealing” behind the
photos and journaling blocks. Glue the picture down, then cut out the cardstock to
the shape you want.
It‘s much easier to cut a mat to size and fit it behind the photo. You
can use different widths of matting, for different effects. If the photo is
really small, consider placing 2 or even 3 mats behind it. You can use any
measurement you want. For instance, for a wallet photo, add ½ ‖ to the
length and width of the photo when you cut the first mat. This will give you
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¼‖ all around the photo. Cut the next color mat ¼‖ larger than mat #1. This
gives you 1/8‖ of contrast around the first mat. Keep going with a third mat,
if you want. This will really make your photo pop off the page.
Here is a simple example of matting photos. This page layout had the
four white mats on the left, and the big one on the right. On the left hand
side, I used one mat for a text box and centered my pictures in the other
three. On the right side, I positioned 3 photos within the white space,
leaving mat space around them. You can see they overlap slightly, which I
don‘t mind. I think it ties them together.
Using mats behind photos and for journaling, as well. The edges of the photos are
inked for added layering.
Matting allows you to use all kinds of crazy backgrounds on your
scrapbooking page, because it places a solid color around your photo. This
makes it stand out from the background. It‘s sort of like the philosophy used
in interior decorating, when the decorator paints an unexpected color on the
wall, and then everything balances out when the artwork is hung. Yes, you‘ll
be covering up some of the neat stuff on that pretty scrapbook paper, but
you can strategically place your photo to take advantage of graphics and
movement on the paper to draw further attention to the photo.
When I first started scrapping, I didn‘t use mats at all because they
took up too much room on the page, and I wanted as many pictures as
possible on each page. Now, I want to go back and enjoy each photo more
by matting them. However, the plus side to my previous style is that I can
spend quite a while enjoying just one two-page layout, since there‘s so
much to see.
You can combine the look by matting one photo, then placing
unmatted photos around it, much as I mentioned above, with the Halloween
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photo. I usually mat by placing my photo on the mat paper and cutting out
around it. It seems like no matter how carefully I measure, I always get
messed up. Here is a step-by-step on matting pictures.
Place your picture on the matting paper, which is just card stock, with the desired
amount of border
Next, place the matted picture on the paper cutter. Here, I used a pen
to show you the location of the cutting groove.
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If you look at the ruler on the paper cutter, you can see that my
desired mat is ¼‖. You measure from right to left, from the cutting groove.
Here, the cutting groove is now right at the edge of the paper.
Now, the part that is so great is that the paper cutter also has some
measurements on the right hand side of the cutting groove. I can place the
left edge of my picture at the ¼‖ mark, and the cutter will slice ¼‖ away
from the picture.
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Close the cutter slide down over the paper, and slide the blade down
the paper. Here is where the second ruler comes in handy. You can see the
measurements, and stop ¼‖ past your picture. With the ¼‖ mat at the top,
and the 3‖ length of the picture, you can see that a ¼‖ mat at the bottom
means you cut to 3 ½‖. The black numbers are barely visible on the clear
ruler.
Once the first cut is made, rotate the paper and finish the cut.
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The picture is now matted, cut out, and inked, ready to be placed on
the page.
MOUNTING
You can also mount the photo on a piece of chipboard. Chipboard is,
basically, cardboard or pasteboard. It‘s heavier than cardstock, and is
usually in the back of packs of paper you buy for scrapbooking. It has a lot
of uses, so don‘t throw it away. Glue your photo down on the chipboard, and
then cut it out. That‘s all you have to do! This will give your page a little
more dimension, and make the photo stand out a little more from the rest.
You can mount the smaller pictures on chipboard to pop them on the page.
This way, while I have larger pictures on the page, I also draw attention to
the smaller photos which otherwise may have been overlooked on the page.
I always ink the edges of the chipboard in a color that will blend with the
photo or background. This keeps the raw edge of chipboard from showing,
and adds a finishing touch.
This page is an example of an experiment I wanted to try with two
very busy and colorful papers. I loved the papers and wanted to use them,
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so I cut them into 1‖ squares and arranged them in a butterfly design. Then,
I matted my garden pictures and mounted them on pop dots. Another way
to get dimension on your page is through the use of pop dots. These lift the
photo up from the paper, and the slight shadow beneath adds some interest,
as well. I inked the photos and mats, as well, to keep them looking finished.
By the way, these pages are embellished with pearl dots in the centers of
the flowers on the background paper. I also used pearl drops to add texture
to the butterfly‘s antennae, with a couple of buttons for his feelers. There
are also 2 epoxy and brass stickers of butterflies. You also may notice that,
on the right hand side, all of the pictures are touching. I did this to create a
bigger presence on the page, in order to balance out the left hand page. This
also helps to balance the background paper with the flower pattern around
the edges.
You can just see the shadow in this extremely angled shot. You can
glue the matted photos to chipboard, cut them out, and ink them, or use
pop dots behind the matted photos.
PRINTS, TEXTURES, AND SOLIDS
We have such a broad choice of papers in our scrapbooking, that it is
sometimes difficult to decide how to use them along with our photos. That
problem is easily solved with solid colored cardstock. Use it as matting
behind your photo, and it will make your photos stand out from the
background.
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Some print paper is actually a photograph, such as a camping scene
with a tent beside a pond, or a page full of bow ties. Choose a spot on the
print that you especially like – one particular bow tie, or the tent in the
photo. Plan your page around that spot. You can mat your photo in a color
to tie in with the area you want to keep in the reveal. Place your photo
across the page from the background accent, and add a text box for a third
element to balance it out. The emphasis on the page will be in this order:
1. Photo
2. Text box
3. Background picture
By the arrangement of these three elements, you can direct the eye of
the viewer. You know they‘ll look first at the photo. By making a triangle of
these three elements, the viewer‘s eye will travel around the page. If you
place the three elements in a line, the eye will travel across the page –
either to the edge of the album or to the next page. You can use this to tie
in two pages in your layout, which is something we‘re going to talk about in
a minute.
Here is an example of a very busy print paper that works well with my
photos. The photos have the traditional white edge around them. I matted
them on solid red or black, depending on the predominant shade in the
photo, and arranged them in a triangle pattern on the page. A few notations
in white ink and I‘ve noted the events. The second page of this layout has
only two elements – so see, you don‘t have to have three on every page.
Perfectionists will also be bothered by the fact that my mats are not precise.
It really doesn‘t bother me, though.
Photos stand out against a busy background, when matted properly
This is another example of a scrapbook page that I loved, but didn‘t
quite know what to do. I had made the heart shape out of 1‖ squares, with
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contrasting background and about 1/8‖ of black cardstock showing between
the squares. The second page uses the same color schemes, with a large
green matted area and some strips of coordinating paper and rick-rack. To
use the paper the way I wanted, I left the white border on my photo and
gave it a generous ¼‖ black mat. Centered on the busy background of the
patchwork heart, I was able to do everything I wanted: the photo is,
basically double matted and stands out against the busy background. The
busy background is not obscured by the photo. Win-win. On the right hand
side, I left the white border on the photos for built-in matting, and did my
journaling on the page. See, I don‘t even follow my own rules, sometimes!
But, I DID pencil in my journaling before I inked it in. You may also notice
that there is no title on the page. You don‘t have to have one on EVERY
page.
Another example of matting to accent your photos, and of hand journaling, too
I loved this coordinating cardstock selection, too. With the ―family‖
sentiment, I had a built in title, and I loved the floral motif paired with the
stripes of the second page. Here, I mounted 4 of the 5 pictures on
coordinating cardstock, reserving a piece for journaling.
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An example of how to use a background paper with accent material on it. Yes, our
dogs are family
CHOOSE A LAYOUT
There are many ways to put the papers, photos, and embellishments
together to get the look you want. Here are some examples of different ways
to put your pages together.
SYMMETRY
Symmetry is very much like a mirror image. Whatever you have on
one page, you‘ll have on the other, usually on the opposite side of the page.
This can be a very elegant look. Some people can pull it off flawlessly on
repeated pages. I, however, am woefully inept in this area. I have only one
symmetrical layout in my albums. That‘s because I can‘t make everything
the same. Others make it look beautiful, I make it look boring.
It‘s the same with interior design. Think of your fireplace mantle. Do
you have a lot of stuff you love on it? You‘re eclectic. Do you have matching
vases, one on each end of the mantle? You‘re symmetrical. Do you have a
grouping on one side, and a different grouping on the other that is about the
same size, but uses different stuff? You‘re balanced. I can‘t do the twin vase
thing, because I‘ll probably want an ivy dangling out of the vase, and if the
ivies aren‘t the same, I‘ll be bugged by the difference. It‘s not perfect, and it
should be. My solution is to make it deliberately NOT perfect.
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Symmetry can be through use of usually mirror image
You can achieve symmetry in your albums by using the same sized
photos throughout. Mount each one the same way, with either single or
double mats, and build your formula. For instance, place your mounted
photo in the upper left or right hand side of the page (depending on the side
of the album it will be on). Directly across the page from the photo, place a
text box, then, below these two items, you‘ll place your embellishment or
memento. The rule of three does apply here. For some reason, our need for
balance is completed with 3 items. So, for instance, mount a photo of your
little one practicing his handwriting. Include a text box with your feelings as
you watched him practice, and below it, include the paper he was writing on.
Use the same layout on the facing page, to create a symmetrical layout.
Another version of a symmetrical page, rather than a two page layout,
is the one page layout. The best way to achieve symmetry is to stay with
odd numbers. Remember my illustration of two matching vases on your
mantel? Chances are, you have a large item in between, like a framed
painting. That makes 3 items, or 3 groupings. You‘ll follow the same
principle on your scrapbook page. Just remember, you‘ll want you eye to
move around the page rather than across it, so you‘ll arrange the items in a
triangle. If you use 5 items, the main one will be in the center with the other
4 around it. I apologize for not having more examples of symmetrical pages.
I‘m just not disciplined enough!
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BALANCE
I‘m more of a ―balanced‖ person! Balance I can do. I‘ll group things
over here, and group things over there, and they balance the space.
To achieve balance, look for items of similar size. With your photos, if
you don‘t have different sizes, mat one to make it bigger, just as we
discussed earlier under spotlighting your photo. Then, you place the bigger
item, such as the spotlighted photo, on one page. On the other page
(assuming this is a two page layout) you‘ll group smaller photos to make a
mass that balances out the one photo on the other page.
This works with journaling, too. Type up your story and print it on
coordinating cardstock. Mat it and mount it on one page, and on the facing
page, mount your photos that go with the story. A lot of littles make a big.
And there, you have balance. The matting I chose to use on these photos is
the white border around the shot. I inked the edges to make them stand out
more. The crooked placement on the page is my solution to my inability to
get things straight – I just make it crooked on purpose. Besides, it gets me
away from the matchy-matchy look of placing them with ¼‖ of background
showing between. Balance can also be achieved through other tools, such as
the use of color, texture, and embellishments.
Use your journaling block to help balance your layouts. Treat the block
just as you would a photo.
An example of balanced pages is my ―May‖ layout. You‘ll notice that
the background cardstock is yellow, with pink and green accent paper – all
solid, by the way. On the left side, I have the Title ―MAY‖, and balancing it
on the right hand page is a little design with the same elements as the
previous page: die cut blue paper, flowers, and ribbon. But, on the right, it‘s
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in a block form. There are the same number of pictures on each page, and
each one matted, but the page on the right gives your eyes a place to rest.
All photos, mats, and accent papers are inked for extra layering effects.
Balance between two pages: Large ―MAY‖ on the left, an embellished
area on the right, pictures all around.
Another example of balance is ―One Fine Day in June.‖ Once again,
using only cardstock and a flower with button center, you can see that there
is balance on the page, even though there are 3 photos on the left and 8 on
the right! On the left, I used size to accent two of my favorite shots of
blooms. I chose to larger pictures to fit in this larger mat that was already
on the page. The right hand side is a 9 patch patchwork pattern with the
flower in place of one square. I just used the squares from the patchwork as
mats. Yes, I had an extra photo that I just couldn‘t leave off, so I stuck it at
the top of the left page. See, I‘m just all over the place!
Another example of balancing with title blocks, journaling, and embellishments
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FLOW
You‘ll use the same tools for flow that you became familiar with for
symmetry and balance. To create flow across your pages, use the same
colors and textures on each page. Now, you don‘t always have to use exactly
the same paper, as long as you keep these things in mind. For instance, in
the following photo, you‘ll see that the two pages flow into each other. They
are obviously one layout, but if you‘ll notice, I used different background
papers. So, how did this work?
Common elements create a flow between pages. Here, it‘s the
snowflake theme, the crystal drops, and the blue cardstock used for
background and matting.
First of all, the overall effect of the two different background papers is
the same – a sort of translucent quality with the snowflakes subtly setting
the stage. On the left, the blue cardstock shows through the vellum paper,
creating a graying effect, while on the right, the paper is just that color.
These are two of my favorite snowflake papers, and I wanted to use them
both for this layout.
I created flow on these pages by sticking to the cool blue cardstock for
background beneath the snowflakes, and for matting as well. I inked the
photos and mats to make them stand out from the background a little bit,
and spotlighted one photo on each page.
In this way, the two pages flow. Even though I used 2 different
papers, I kept some of the elements the same: snowflakes and color.
Another example of flow is my ―Spring‖ page. Here, the two pages are
exactly the same: dark brown background cardstock, and upper and lower
borders of print paper. The only difference is the title on the top left that
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declares Spring. All of the pictures on these 2 pages are the same size.
However, some of them are grouped 2 to a mat, and some are just posted
on the paper without a mat. I also inked the edges of each photo and mat
with a brown ink pad, and used the brush pen to ink the edges of the letters.
This makes them pop more from the page. Since the mats are in the color
scheme of the background paper, it adds to the flow of the layout.
“Spring”, showing balance and flow using similar colors and patterns. This was
dangerously close to being symmetrical!
My ―Just Because‖ page shows what you can do with a busy print
background. I have one mat in the center for the main photo. The others are
positioned around it in the plank spaces, with the title on the left and the
most pictures on the right, balancing it out. Flow is created by the use of
pattern and color, and the fact that I used the die cut, black embossed paper
with the green mat placed off-center in the middle of the page. The title is
cut out using Quickutz, and I doodled on the edges of the letters with a
white pen just to add interest. The green mat is also punched with a border
punch to create a lace effect. The green mat is folded over 1‖ on the right
side, and both sides have a print ribbon. The embellishments are finished
out with 3 sequined flowers on the right, to help balance the fact that the
centerpiece is – well – off center.
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―Just Because‖ – because these were some of my favorite papers and
embellishments! By the way, in the background is the puppy, all grown up.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
The story is vital to the interest of your albums. When people can read
the story, they enjoy the pictures more.
Use your own handwriting periodically through the scrapbook. It will
be valued by those who love you.
It‘s easier to mat a picture, as described above, than to frame one.
You can draw attention to a particular shot by printing it off in a
different size.
Try to create flow and balance to your pages.
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CHAPTER 7: CROPPING PHOTOS
One of the biggest steps you‘ll take as a scrapbooker is the one you
take when you crop your first photo. It‘s scary, but liberating! Perhaps one
aspect that makes it so scary is that with old photos, you probably only have
the one copy. For that reason, you should probably use scanned copies of
old photos, or just start with your own digital photos. This way, you can crop
and alter the shot without damaging the original.
REASONS FOR CROPPING
There are many reasons for cropping your photos. The most obvious,
of course, is to remove someone from the photo that you no longer like!
We‘ve all seen grandma‘s album with the person-shaped hole in the family
portrait. But, there are many other reasons for cropping your photos, as
well.
You may know what a photo bomb is. That‘s where you take a picture,
and once you develop it, there is a total stranger making a face in the
background, ruining the shot. In fact, there is a whole website on the
internet dedicated to photo bombs! I can‘t tell you how many pictures I‘ve
taken of my kids at the beach, just to find a very unlovely, sparsely clad
body in the shot. Photo bombs can come from anywhere, even animals. So,
removing unwanted features is a very valid reason for cropping your photos.
You can also crop a photo to simply emphasize the centerpiece of the
shot. Perhaps everyone is opening presents on Christmas morning, and the
youngest has a particularly sweet expression on her face as she opens a
present. Everyone is in the shot, with mountains of wrapping paper and
delighted facial expressions, but that one little face deserves special
attention. Take a copy of that picture. Enlarge it, if you can, and crop out all
of the surrounding sights. Mount that little cropped section on a mat, and
give it a place of honor on your page. You can even include the original
photo on the same page, putting the picture in context. That way, no one is
left out, but you get to draw the attention of the viewer to that special
moment.
Photos are often a documentation of that entire moment. Just as in the
above example you don‘t want to exclude the mess and excitement, you‘ll
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find that a simple snapshot from the past takes on new meaning. For some
reason, for example, I felt strangely attracted to some plates that were in
my grandmother‘s estate, and hung them in my kitchen. Years later, I found
a snapshot of her kitchen, and those plates were on her wall!
But, don‘t be lured into feeling like every single shot is sacred! After a
while, you come to realize that the living room looks just like it did in last
year‘s photos, so why preserve it in photos? It‘s ok to cut out the arm of the
sofa if there‘s nothing memorable happening there! This is especially true
with digital photography, these days. Since we have so many photographs
these days, we‘re not in as much danger of losing touch with our heritage.
So, it‘s ok to chop up those photos. You‘ve probably got them saved on a
disk, somewhere, anyway!
DIGITAL CROPPING
Since all of my photos now are digital, this is my preferred method of
cropping. I also print off my own pictures at home, so I can control the size
of the shot, as well. This has simplified my cropping process. Go ahead and
crop your photos on your computer at home, save them to a jump drive or
disk, and print them off at the kiosk printer in Wal-Mart or the drugstore.
Windows Live Picture Gallery lets you do cropping and many other image
adjustments. For instance, I love my yard and my dogs, but I don‘t need the
full yard in every shot of my dogs. So, I used Windows Live Picture Gallery
to crop this photo to the shot I wanted.
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This is the same picture after digital cropping.
OVERLAPPING
A really popular way to crop photos is through overlapping them. This
takes care of a multitude of problems. In the example earlier, you‘ll notice
the left hand page has overlapping photos. That‘s because I can never take
pictures at a concert without the back of someone‘s head shining in the
foreground. So, I cover it up. I didn‘t want to cut off the end of the photo,
because I wanted the same sized photos on the page, so overlapping solved
the problem.
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Overlap photos to crop out unwanted images. By the way, this was
digitally cropped from the previous photo.
In the following two page layout, I didn‘t want to cut up all of the
photos. In fact, there were some cases in which I couldn‘t without cutting off
something important. If you‘ll notice, I cropped out a lot of background by
overlapping the pictures. This not only allows me to get more pictures on the
page, it helps tie each page together, too. These are pages 3 and 4 of a 4
page layout.
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Cropping by overlapping also helps create flow across the page.
Here is another example of cropping by overlapping. These 4 X 6
photos would have never fit on the page, but overlapping them made all the
difference, and nothing was lost by being covered up. Note the journaling
printed off on coordinating paper and few embellishments.
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More cropping of photos by overlapping them on the page. This is also
an example of balancing with a journaling block.
CREATIVE FRAMING
You‘ve seen some examples of creating frames from stationery. You
can also use a small frame to ―fix‖ a bad photo. I loved this picture of
Buttercup, our cat. She walked up to the camera just as I snapped the
photo. The picture is blurry, but I still liked it. So, I put a tight little frame
around it and played up the nosy nature of the cat. I kind of like the results.
I didn‘t need the nice, sharp picture of the ottoman in the background,
anyway.
Creative framing can make even a bad photograph a center of attention
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CUT UP THE PHOTO
I did this a lot when I finally got the courage to crop my photos. Here
is an example of cutting out the spotlighted figure. Each of these pictures
has a 1/16‖ black mat to make the pictures pop a little. This was one of the
first pages I ever did, when all of my albums were 8 ½‖ X 11‖. The cute
Halloween paper was a must, so I didn‘t have room to put 4 x 6 photos on
the page. The answer was cropping. While some of my cropping got,
admittedly, out of hand, I still like this page. You saw this page earlier. But
it‘s such a cute baby, you need to see it again!
I cut out the picture itself from the background, then glued it down to
black cardstock. By carefully cutting, free-handed, about 1/8‖ around the
picture, I had my matted pictures. On another page in the scrapbook, there
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is a picture of the baby and pumpkin on the hearth, so that is preserved,
too.
This page has the same type of cropping, with shaped pictures, too.
Here you‘ll see rectangular, round, oval and hexagonal photos, all a form of
cropping, and all matted.
More cropping, using shapes and matting
In another photo, my daughter was standing by a boy she liked, but
there was a photo bomb in between them. The kid was making a horrid face!
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So I cut him up. I took out every other strip once I had sliced the photo
multiple times, and staggered the remaining strips, and the results are not
bad.
Another example of using strips gave me a chance to include a shot of
the aquarium, but I was able to cut out the weird reflection in the glass.
This page features some journaling done on the computer and matted.
The water patterned paper, in two different prints, sets the stage. And
embellishments are simple, with some sticker texts and a smiley sun.
Journaling that has been cropped and matted, along with photos
cropped, too. The 4 x 6 photo is corner-rounded.
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ADD EMBELLISHMENTS
Embellishments are another excellent way to crop your photos. If you
don‘t like someone‘s face, put a button on it! Just kidding – although I‘ve
seen it done! To make room on your page for photos and decorations, you
can overlap them with great effect, without cutting off part of your photo.
On this Red River page you‘ll see the moose and pine tree overlapping
unimportant parts of the photos. They help tie everything together. You may
notice how your eye travels in a circular pattern around the page. You can
tell we‘re in the woods, because I didn‘t crop out the trees, but I didn‘t feel
like I had to preserve every chip of bark. Journaling was done with a stencil,
with limited neatness.
Use of embellishments to crop photos. This page also used stencils for
the lettering.
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POINTS TO REMEMBER
It‘s ok to cut up your photos.
Overlap photos to crop out unwanted areas but retain the size of the
print.
Creatively frame a section of a photo that you love that didn‘t turn out
well.
You don‘t have to save every detail of every scene in every photo.
Crop it out.
Using embellishments is a great way to cover up unimportant details
that distract from the centerpiece of the photo.
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CHAPTER 8: TYPES OF PENS
I‘m including a chapter on pens for scrapbooking just because there
are so MANY of them, you may not know where to start.
JOURNALING PENS
Your first concern will be with finding a good journaling pen. Sorry, but
you just can‘t use a Bic pen or some ball-point or felt-tipped pen. The ink in
these pens is not acid free, so it will discolor the paper over the years. It will
also bleed into the fibers of certain papers and stain photos it comes in
contact with. You‘ve probably seen writing in old albums that is hardly
legible because it has yellowed or faded. For this reason, make sure you
have a good journaling pen specifically for scrapbooking.
Journaling pens come in every color you could imagine, to tie in with
the color schemes in your scrapbook. I‘ve worked with some of the colored
ones, and they‘re nice, especially if you like for everything to match. I‘ve
finally settled on at least a white one, a black one and a brown one. They
work just about everywhere I want to write.
There are several brands for this. Le Pen is really good for this. A lot of
my friends use Le Pen. I use Zig writers mostly, simply just because that‘s
the first one I ever found, and they‘ve lasted a long time. You‘ll want to pay
attention to the mm of the pen you choose. Yes, this means remembering
what you learned in 5th grade about decimals. For instance, do you know
the difference between .08 and .03? The pen with .08 tip will make a thicker
line. But what about .05 and .0100? .05 is still bigger. The number closest to
the decimal is the one you read to choose the size of the nip of your
journaling pen.
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Zig Writers make great journaling pens.
So, which one should you choose? It kind of depends on two things:
the size of space you have for writing, and the size of your handwriting. If
you have delicate, pretty handwriting, a large tip, say .80, will look muddy
with your writing. A finer tip, around .01 or .03, will look really nice with
your nice handwriting. If you have a more sprawling handwriting, like mine,
you‘ll probably want a larger nib, like the .08. This will be more forgiving of
the squiggles and bumps in your writing, which tend to really show up more
with a fine tip.
However, also consider the amount of space you have for your
journaling. If it‘s really limited, use the smaller nib, anyway.
SPECIALTY PENS
There are many specialty pens available for your scrapbooking
pleasure! Some of my favorites are the Elegant Writers. The nibs are at an
angle, and if you hold a 45 degree angle steady, your writing looks like real
calligraphy! Be careful that you use the smaller size, though, for journaling
on your pages, because the changing width of the line as you write will make
the writing blobby if you use the wide nib.
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Elegant Writers provide automatic calligraphy
Slick Writers are great for shiny surfaces. If you use transparencies or
acrylic on your page, or if you need to write on the page protector or on the
photo itself, the Slick Writer is the pen to use.
Slick Writers write on shiny surfaces.
Galaxy Markers are wonderful for any color of paper. It‘s really hard to
find markers and pens that will write on dark colored paper, but Galaxy
Markers will. You can also get Metallic Markers to add shine to your
embellishments. And, yes, they‘re acid free.
Metallic Galaxy Markers write even on dark paper
Brush pens are another important addition to your supply list. I keep a
good brown one and black one for edging letters and curvy embellishments.
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Some people ―paint‖ with brush pens, but I‘m just not artistic enough for
that.
There are many different types of brush pens. I mostly use Memento.
Red-eye pens are nice, too. This will be handy for neutralizing that
touch of red in the eyes of people and animals in your photos.
Red-eye pens normalize the eyes in your pictures.
Paint pens for scrapbooking are great for larger projects. I‘ve used
these to edge my chipboard albums after I‘ve glued the paper down. It
covers the white edges of the paper and the edge of the chipboard, too.
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Paint Pens require priming, much like a bottle of shoe polish.
Snow pens are super cool. They operate like paint pens, but once you
paint in the place you want, heat it with a hair dryer, and it puffs up and
makes snow!
Copic Markers are a world unto themselves. The multitude of colors
and the blending possible will turn you into a marker addict immediately!
You can color any stamped image with these beautiful markers. I don‘t have
any, because I just know I would be hopelessly hooked.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
A good journaling pen is a necessity. The ink won‘t yellow or bleed.
A good brush pen will help you edge your embellishments and photos,
making them stand out on the album page.
When you use a brush pen to edge your photo, come in from behind
the photo, so if the pen slips, it will mark the back of the paper, rather
than the front.
Galaxy Markers are great for writing on dark colored papers.
White writers are great for dark papers, too.
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CHAPTER 9: TOOLS
Besides the basic tools I listed in Chapter 3, there are other tools that
will make your life much easier. I‘ve purchased every one of these tools
through the years, but it took a while to decide which was the most
important. Here, I‘ve listed the ones you‘ll use the most often.
PAPER PIERCER
I finally bought a paper piercer. This is after years of using my Exacto
blade to make tiny little holes for brads. The inevitable result of using my
Exacto for a tiny hole is a larger slit in the paper, and often in my finger!
Here is a page where a paper piercer came in really handy. Those are brads
in the holes. The point of the piercer comes in handy in other ways, too,
when you need to separate a stubborn sticker from its backing. So, my
advice is, bite the bullet and get a paper piercer. They make ergonomic ones
that are works of art. Mine is really simple, as you can see.
A pattern done on a page using a paper piercer. These are brads
placed in some of the holes.
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HOLE PUNCHES
Scrapbooking has brought the use of hole punches to a whole new
level! No longer do you just punch a hole in paper to put it in a binder. Now,
you punch holes to insert eyelets ribbons, tags, brads, and any number of
embellishments. You‘ll find yourself punching holes in metal, felt, fabric,
acrylic – you name it, you‘ll punch a hole in it. So, when you get ready for a
good hole punch, look at the Cropadile. You can get the hand held version or
the table top version. Both of these will punch through multiple layers of
materials, including thick chipboard. You can adjust them to set eyelets, too.
The table top model will punch holes 6‖ in on your scrapbook page, which is
a far as you‘ll ever need to reach. I use the table top one more, simply
because my hands are too small to comfortably hold the other one. I have to
prop the hand held model against the table and press on it.
Cropadile, handheld
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A Big Bite, by Cropadile.
WORK MATS
I have a large quilting mat that I keep on my table top to protect it.
It‘s pretty durable and self-healing, which means that it seals back up after
I‘ve made tiny cuts on it with my Exacto blade. Another terrific tool is the
Splat Mat. NOTHING sticks to this baby! You can glue and glitter to your
heart‘s content, and just wipe this mat clean. Just remember, though – don‘t
cut it! It is certainly not self healing.
A Splat Mat will wipe clean easily. Nothing sticks to it
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STENCILS
Stencils are really useful in several different ways for scrapbooking.
You can use stencil alphabets for titles and journaling with your markers.
One example of this is in the cropping section, with the moose and tree
embellishments. The journaling is with a stencil. You can also stencil shapes
on your pages for extra interest. With a shaped stencil, you can draw off a
shape around a photo and cut it out, cropping it in creative ways.
Here, a stencil was used to draw shapes on the photos, which were
then cut out and matted.
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MISC TOOLS
The tools available for scrapbooking are almost endless. First, you
have die cut machines, which we will look at in a later chapter. But you have
many other options open for you, too. Consider, for instance, decorative
punches. This, as with the Copic Markers, is a whole ‗nuther realm of
possible addiction. I could go wild with punches, as many of my
predecessors have. You have border punches and corner punches, and
punches for every shape you can imagine. Here is an example of a border,
or edge punch that makes the lacy design you saw previously on the ―Just
Because‖ page. If you want pointers on which punches you purchase, look at
the types of pictures you will be scrapbooking. I chose the lace one for
dressy or pretty occasions. Another of my favorite is the bubbles. I‘ve used
this one for swimming, beach, and party balloons. I also have a lot of
flowers, and sometimes echo the centers of the flowers through use of the
punch. You can take classes on using punches. For instance, if you punch
both sides of a strip of paper with your border punch, it can make a beautiful
decorative strip.
The “Bubble” border punch and a lacey border punch
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My “Bubbles” border punch came in handy for scrapping beach pictures
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I also love using my ―Bubbles‖ border punch to echo flower centers.
Corner punches will decorate the corner of your mat, page, or photo.
You can also get sets, with which you can punch the design around the
corner and down the edge of your paper, making a beautiful accent piece.
You can even get border punches that make circles.
A corner rounder is one of the more useful items you can purchase.
It‘s great for rounding off the corners of your photos and mats), giving them
a softer look. If you get a Corner Chomper (fig. 106), you can mount your
photo and mat on chipboard and ―chomp‖ the whole thing. A regular corner
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rounder won‘t cut through chipboard, but you can trim it with scissors if you
don‘t have a Chomper.
An example of photos and mats with rounded corners. The page on the
left is a stationery page with a window cut out. The journaling is penciled in,
from a pattern in a book. Then, I colored the journaling with an acid free
marker.
Here is how a corner rounder works. This one is a big Chomper, but for
pictures and cardstock you would just use a small corner rounder.
Corner rounders come in different sizes. The most common are ¼‖ and
½‖. The Chomper has both sizes on it. This one is the ¼‖.
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This is the ½” side of the Chomper.
This is a comparison of the two corners. The top one is ½” curve, and the bottom
one is ¼” curve.
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A really cool binding system is the Bind-All. It has glue in the spine of
a hard book cover. You put your pages in it, place it on the heater, and it
binds your pages into a book.
This is the cover of a Bind-All book, decoupaged
The inside of the Bind-All book
One of the more valuable tools you can rely on is Undu, pictured in the
basic tools list. This is a magical liquid that removes sticky things from your
scrapbook pages. So, when you get your page together and decide you just
aren‘t happy with it, drizzle a little Undu under the edge of the paper. It will
cause the adhesive to release without leaving a mark on your paper. And,
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guess what? It leaves the sticky on the adhesive! So, you can reposition
your picture or sticker on the page, press it down, and keep going. No need
to throw away the sticker, because it still works! It makes a kind of oily
looking puddle on the paper, but that evaporates quickly, leaving no stain on
the paper.
Undu in action. It leaves the adhesive on the back of your sticker. The
oily looking wet spot dries out, without leaving a ring. On this page, I placed
the hearts on the page, then decided I needed a ribbon under them.
Sticker makers are another must-have, especially if you are going to
use die cut machines or lots of small embellishments. The X-Box made by
Xyron is a marvelous toy. Mine, as you can see in the picture, is an old one.
The new ones are cool neon colors. Some of them are even animal print! But
I‘ve been good, and stayed with my tried-and-true little orange one. This is
a great tool for items that are 1‖ or smaller. You put the object in the top
and pull it out the bottom. Rub around the edge to make the adhesive
release. Pull off the clear cover sheet and peel the object off of the strip. It‘s
ready to go down on your page! I also use the X-Box for ribbons. It makes
the entire back of the ribbon sticky, so that it doesn‘t sag or snag in the
page protector.
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An X-Box Sticker Maker
Place the item you want to adhere into the top of the Sticker Maker.
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Pull the newly created sticker out the bottom of the X-Box, and rub the
edges to separate the adhesive from the clear protective sheet.
Carefully remove the acetate covering, and pull the sticker from the backing.
Another great sticker maker is the Xyron Create-a-Sticker. You can run
3‖ items through this machine, and they come out on the other side sticky
on the back. You can also purchase this sticker maker in 6‖ size.
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A 3” Xyron Create-a-Sticker
Glue dots are terrific for attaching small items and corners. They come
in all different sizes. You can even get them in lines for ribbons.
A Cheetah Runner is a great adhesive tool for large projects. Available
in 2‖ and 4‖ models, you can zip a strip of adhesive down the back of an
appropriately sized paper, and keep going. This is great if you are putting
together kits, say, for a swap. Just zip some adhesive on the back of the
recipe and stick it down on the mat, then zip the mat and stick it to the
scrapbook page.
Of course, there are many more tools you can use. Most of them
involve the use of embellishment on your pages.
One of the neatest techniques you can use is inking. I use a cat‘s eye
ink pad, usually, or a brush pen to ink the edges of my work. This helps give
dimension to the page, and adds the appearance of another layer. If you just
want a little ink, hold the ink pad straight up and down. This catches just the
edge. If you want a more antiqued look, angle the ink pad at 45 degrees to
get more ink on the paper.
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To get just the edge of the paper, hold the inkpad at a 90 degree
angle to the edge. This print is inked from the top right corner down to the
ink pad. You can barely see it.
Here, the ink pad is at a 45 degree angle to the paper. You can see
that there is more ink on the edge, for a more antiqued look.
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POINTS TO REMEMBER
To get more ink on your paper, hold the ink pad at a 45 degree angle.
To get less ink on the paper, hold the ink pad at a 90 degree angle.
With the X-Box, remember to rub the edges of the item you have run
through the sticker maker. It makes the clear acetate cover separate
from the adhesive so that it comes off cleanly.
Undu is a necessity.
Sticker makers rock!
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CHAPTER 10: DIE CUTTING
SYSTEMS
Die cutting systems are like paper dolls for grown women. The fun of
choosing your die, cutting out and embellishing the shape, and placing it on
your page is quite fulfilling. There are, basically, two types of die cutting
systems: professional and personal.
PROFESSIONAL DIE CUTTING SYSTEMS
The professional die cutting systems are the ones that you see in
teachers‘ workrooms. These are the Ellison and Accucut die cut systems.
With the Ellison, you have a levered press attached to a platform. The die is
large, with foam rubber surrounding the cutting blade. You lay the paper
over the die, place it under the press, and pull the lever down. It cuts out
the shape quickly and neatly. This is often how your child‘s teacher gets all
of those cute shapes to use on homework folders and locker tags.
The Accucut system is very similar. In fact, they use the same dies as
Ellison, but the press is a roller press (fig. 120), rather than a lever press.
The reason for this is that the Accucut is designed to handle much larger
dies, such as 12 x 12. Here is an example of a page cut out with a 12 x 12
Accucut die. Also, notice the text on this page. This is done with the personal
die cutting system we‘ll talk about in a minute.
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The orange paper was cut with a 12 x 12 Accucut die. The letters were done with
Quickutz
The number and sizes of fonts, shapes, borders, even words available
in the Accucut die cutting system is almost unlimited. To use the Accucut
system, place the die foam side up on the rollers. Place the paper on the
foam, right side down. Place the acrylic cutting board on top of the paper
and roll it through. The result is a perfectly cut-out shape for use in
scrapbooking, or just about anything else!
PERSONAL DIE CUTTING SYSTEMS
The personal die cutting systems are like the Ellison and Accucut,
except small and portable. The widest die you‘ll find with the personal
systems is 6‖ wide, and the longest is 12‖. They usually have storage
systems available. Some of them are manual, and some are motorized. Most
of them are now adaptable to the use of other system‘s dies. You can cut out
borders that help decorate your pages, or alphabets, or shapes. There is no
limit to possibilities!
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This border was cut out using a Quickutz border and an Epic press.
LIFESTYLE CRAFTS
The Quickutz die cutting system was the first one to catch my
attention. Now owned by Lifestyle Crafts, the Quickutz dies are thin, capable
of cutting one sheet of cardstock, or a couple of pieces of scrapping paper at
the same time. The alphabet you see on the ―Trick or Treat‖ page, pictured
above, was one of the Quickutz alphabets. The main cutting platform for
Lifestyle Crafts is the Epic which operates much as the Accucut system, with
a rolling platform. Dies for this machine come in many sizes. You can even
get 3-D dies that produce 3-D die cuts, like these flowers. I used brads as
centers in these flowers. The paper, by the way, was from an antique song
book.
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Three dimensional flowers from a Quickutz die, with paper from a songbook.
Here is a display of nesting dies from Quickutz. Sizzix has nesting dies,
too. They‘re on the cutting platform of an Epic. In most cutting systems, you
place the cutting edge facing up, and the paper right-side down.
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Place the acrylic cutting mat over the paper, which is wrong-side up.
Roll the platform through the die cut machine.
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Tip the acrylic cutting pad off, and the cut out shapes are revealed beneath!
SIZZIX
Sizzix is very similar to the Lifestyle Crafts (LC) cutting system. The
dies are larger and deeper than the LC system, and can cut thicker paper.
The style of the dies is different from LC, so you have a variety there. Sizzix
is also available in a motorized version which is really nice – especially if
you‘re cutting out a LOT of figures, like for an entire class or several of the
same page.
CRICUT
The Cricut is an automated system that is a dream to use. You buy
cartridges with certain alphabets and images available. The cutting surface is
a large, sticky mat. You press your paper onto this mat, and load it into the
front of the Cricut cutter. Then, you program in your selection from the
cartridge. You can choose the size, too, which is an advantage over the
other die cutting systems, which are one size only. You can also cut out the
images in any size you want, up to the maximum available on the machine,
anyway. The only problem with the Cricut is the price. The manual machines
are much less expensive, but you don‘t have the programmable function.
Another nice feature of the Cricut is that you can cut your letters out in
―shadow‖ size, and have an added dimension to your page. I‘ve done similar
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things by cutting out 2 sets with my LC and offsetting the darker set
beneath the top layer.
CUTTLEBUG
The Cuttlebug is another manual cutting system. Smaller in scale than
the LC, they have some of the cutest dies on the market. You can adapt
them to use on your LC, if you have one.
SLICE
The Slice is a small device, about palm size, that functions much as
the Cricut. You insert a cartridge with the image you want to print, then set
it down on the cutting mat and paper. It will cut away there on the table top,
leaving you nice little die cuts to scrapbook.
SPELLBINDERS
Spellbinders are another system of thin dies, similar to the LC. These
are usually used with embossing mats over the top to aid with cutting.
People who do a lot of card making like the Spellbinders because of all of the
nesting capabilities. They give you multitudes of sizes of different shapes.
Here is an example of nested Quickutz, or LC dies.
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Quikutz nested dies, very similar to Spellbinder’s brand.
COTTAGE CUTS
Cottage Cuts are absolutely the most adorable dies! You‘ll find cute
seasonal items that are perfect for anyone‘s scrapbook or cardmaking
purposes. They work with other presses, so you can run these little dies
through any die cutting system.
TIM HOLTZ
Tim Holtz dies are my new favorites. They work especially well with
the Sizzix machines. His dies have very grown-up, vintage look to them.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
The professional sized die cut machines are Accucut and Ellison.
There are numerous personal sized die cut machines available.
You can usually find a way to use dies for each of the different die cut
systems interchangeably.
Nesting dies give you a series of sizes of the same shape.
Some personal die-cut systems are manual, and some electric.
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CHAPTER 11: IDEAS FOR PAGES –
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Now that we‘ve gone through almost 15,000 words on how to
scrapbook, let‘s look at some page ideas you can put together. Since you‘ve
already seen quite a few photo pages, here are some that aren‘t full of
photos.
The first one is for cards. Valentine cards, to be exact. This two page
layout features some of my favorite papers – the red music with a love song
on it, and the felt polka-dot paper used for the heart. I used a coordinating
red on the bottom half of the page, but didn‘t clue down the top of the red
bottom piece. I left it open, instead, to make a pocket. The red and white
polka dot ribbon echoes the paper in the heart. The title block is done with a
Quickutz die, as are the ―love notes‖ letters. I inked all edges. I included a
photo of a note my hubby wrote on the note board.
Valentine Idea Page, for your Valentine cards.
On ―Winter Wonderland‖, I ran the letters through my X-Box twice and
put clear glitter on the top. It was kind of messy, but made really pretty
letters for the page. I also ran the light blue rick-rack through the X-Box,
too, to make it stick immediately. I didn‘t have to wait for glue to dry.
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The title has clear glitter, adhered by running the letters through the X-Box twice.
A note on tying bows– if you have a length of ribbon, tie a bow with
the 2 ends, then cut the loop of the ribbon to wrap around the page. Or, tie
a bow with the same print of ribbon and stick it on with a glue dot.
Tie two ends of a ribbon together.
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Cut the loop at the bottom
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Now, you can place the ―bow‖ where you want it on the page. This is
the beginning of your layout.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Now that you‘ve read about all the techniques, and have seen pictures
of everything, let‘s see how it all goes together.
Cut out and ink your picture – in this case, an embellishment.
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Mat and ink your main embellishment.
Cut out additional embellishments, in this case, hearts. Don‘t forget to
ink these, too.
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Lay everything out. You‘ll have to use glue dots for the metallic ribbon.
I‘ve taken a Galaxy Marker in purple and doodled around the hearts, with a
different pattern on each. The picture is mounted on pop dots.
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Cut a mat out of the remaining cardstock. Round the corners and add
a lacy border. In this case, I kind of liked the extra piece across the bottom,
so I left it. Ink everything, and mount the mat on pop dots for dimension. I
also added a little bling. Now, your mat is ready for a picture!
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Inking the edges of everything with either an ink pad or a brush pen
creates the look of an extra layer on your page.
Three dimensional dots will make embellishments and photos stand
out on a page.
Group items, rather than spreading them out on the page. It helps
focus the attention.
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ABOUT THE EXPERT
Donna Fisher has been scrapbooking for over 10 years. She has taught
classes for beginners and advanced students alike.
A teacher, with a Master‘s Degree in Education, Donna admits to being
a hobby-a-holic! She and her husband of 25 years enjoy gardening,
admittedly made more difficult by two Alaskan Malamutes and their granddog, a collie. Besides scrapbooking, gardening, and training two
rambunctious dogs, Donna enjoys making soldered jewelry and writing. She
does bemoan the fact that housework is not one of her hobbies, but freely
admits that the bemoaning is less and less frequent.
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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
www.HowExpert.com
o Get more ―How To‖ guides at our website.
The Simple Guide To Scrapbooking
o Learn how to make beautiful, timeless,
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500 Scrapbooking Sketches
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How To Make Money with Scrapbooking
o Quickly start your own scrapbooking
business from home.
The Scrapbooking Academy-Scrapbook
Video Training
o Learn the art of scrapbooking with video
online training. Get scrapbooking ideas to
help you save money and create amazing
scrapbook layouts.
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