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Scrapbooking Ideas for a Beginner and Beyond

Scrapbooking is a process of collecting and displaying photos and souvenirs from your past to create memories for your future. Each page of a scrapbook should convey the 5 W's for each of your pictures: the who, what, where, when and why of them.

Scrapbooking is a fun and fulfilling hobby not only because it preserves your precious memories but also because it allows you to be as creative as you want. There is no set right or wrong way for a beginner to start scrapbooking. The point of scrapbooking is to express both the mood and tone of the pictures while displaying your personality.

You can put pictures from any occasion in to a festive scrapbook. Some ideas include scrapbooking for:

• an anniversary
• a baby's birth 
• a birthday
• a holiday celebration 
• a graduation 
• a vacation
• a wedding.

Beginner Scrapbooking
Whether you are just a beginner to scrapbooking or have been doing it for a long time, learning new ideas and strategies is helpful for preserving your pictures better and for creating new designs.

While there are no hard and fast rules to scrapbooking, one thing you should keep in mind is to stay organized. Choose a method of organization and stick to it. While you may want to organize your scrapbook chronologically, you could also do it by group of friends, location or holiday events over the years. Those who do a lot of scrapbooking suggest that if you have a lot to work with, you start with the present and go backward. You can keep notes with the pictures to be used on your pages or just to remind you of the event.

Basic Tools for Beginner Scapbooking
Having an organized storage space is important because it will allow you keep track of all your supplies, photos and souveniers. While some supplies (such as a photo book and photo adhesive) are essential, others (such as glitter and stickers) are at your discretion to purchase. You can always add to your supplies as finances permit. Here is a list of supplies to consider: 

• Pens, pencils, colored pencils and markers can help you create colorful designs to decorate the pages of your photo books. If you are concerned about fading or color changing, then you may want to use archival products that are specifically designed for scrapbooking.
  
  
• Pinking shears with different shaped edges can add a fun twist to photos or other scrapbook additions that you need to cut or resize.
   
  
• Temporary or permanent adhesive comes in a variety of styles. You can also use corner tabs, two-sided sticky tape or photo sleeves.
  
  
• Colored cardstock paper can be the base of your photo pages or can be cut into fun shapes and glued on pages.
  
  
• Glitter, stickers and ribbons can all add exciting textures and pizzazz to your decorations.  

One of the most important things to keep in mind when choosing your accessories is to use acid-free, photo safe or lignin-free products to preserve your creative expression.

Digital Scrapbooking
For the technologically savvy scrapbooker, creating a digital scrapbook may be more appealing than more traditional methods. In the digital forms, scrapbooking software produces layouts in which you can insert, decorate and enhance your photos. Once you have completed your digital scrapbook, you can print it out and arrange it in a traditional album.

Alternatively, you can choose to frame the individual pages or email them so your friends and family. In fact, digital scrapbooking is becoming so popular that some galleries are beginning to hold exhibits of them. You may also want to submit your digital scrapbook to an online gallery. If you do this, remember that online photo archives can be tricky because they can shut down at anytime, causing you to lose your beloved memories. 

The ideas for traditional or digital scrapbooking are as unique and personal as you are creative. Scrapbooking is a very personal project to be shared with many or can be enjoyed alone. Start making yours today to preserve your favorite memories for years to come!