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To some, starting your first scrapbooking page is a big challenge. You want to do it right the first time and you're afraid of messing something up. To others, scrapbooking comes easily and quickly. This step by step guide is for both types of people. It will help you figure out where to start and get you through your first page quickly and easily! Before you begin scrapbooking, remember a few things.
- Nothing in life is perfect; therefore your first scrapbooking page does not have to be perfect.
- Some pages look best if they are kept simple. Your first page doesn't have to be elaborate.
- Don't bother buying all the supplies that you've read about at this site to get started. Just use the minimum supplies needed. Too many supplies will overwhelm you at first.
- Relax!! This should be an enjoyable experience for you. Remember why you are creating this scrapbooking album.
Choose a few pictures of a single event. Pick out the best photographs. Do not use blurry photos and the photos that don't show anyone's face clearly. If a picture does not help tell the story you want, don't use it.
You should now have about 3-5 photos of the event. Some people think that using an odd number of photos on a page will make it more pleasing to look at.
Do you have one great photo that would make a good focal point of your page? If so than consider it in the steps to follow.
If you have one perfect photo, most likely you won't need to do much to it. Crop it if you want. You may want it cropped to a circle or an oval; or you can just round the corners.
Now look at your other photos? If there is anything in the background that would distract the eye from the subject of your photo, crop it out. You want the focus of your picture to be the subject of your picture.
Place your photos on your scrapbooking page in a way that is visually appealing. Or, if there is a logical order of sequence, place them accordingly.
Borders can be very simple or as elaborate as you like. A border could simply be a strip of paper across the top, bottom, or side of a page. When using paper in your scrapbook, be sure it is acid-free and lignin-free. If you'd like to mat your photos, crop a piece of paper to a slightly bigger size than the photograph you will be matting. Then, center the photo on the mat and adhere it with a scrapbooking-safe adhesive. Pick the colors of your papers based on the colors in the photos, or coordinating colors of the event. Crop, mat and add color to as many pictures and in as many ways as you like. Remember: The photographs are the important part of your scrapbooking page, so don't overwhelm them with too much flashiness.
Using acid-free adhesives, place your photos and borders where you had decided in your layout plan.
Now is the time to tell the story that goes along with your photos. In the space that is left or in the space that you set aside for journaling, tell what is going on in your pictures. For journaling tips, check this out!
If you still have space left and you have extra supplies such as stickers, punch outs, die cuts, or mementos, you can place them now. It's okay to overlap some items on your scrapbooking page as long as it does not detract from the focal points. If you don't have any of these extras and would like to add them, you can always add them later.
If you're finished with your first page, Congratulations!! You can now add it to your scrapbooking album!
If you like to have your instructions with you as you are working, then print these pages and take the hard copy with you!