Scrapbook Clubs

I know for me when I started out I had ideas after ideas of all the scrapbooks that I wanted to create. Then I would have to say about six months or so into it I started to find myself running out of ideas.

It started becoming stressful. It started getting harder and harder to find packs of embellishments. Or that one unique cardstock. So I thought, let me turn to craft stores online to order my supplies. Come to find out the color cardstock that I thought was orange was more of a yellow. My patterns were sometimes not the right patterns that I ordered and I would have the hassle of having to send half of my order back or in some cases all of my order. It really started to becoming time-consuming.


Well, were you aware that there are monthly scrapbooking kit clubs. One of my scrapbooking friends made me aware of this and I have to say I became a big fan.


Well organized scrapbooking kits with all the expert designs you can think of. You can select patterns, embellishments, and different types of cardstock. Those days of running to store after store looking for scrapbooking supplies or even leaping from one website to another was over.


When you join one of these scrapbooking clubs you can order exactly what you want and get exactly what you ordered right to your door. I do want to give you one word of advice. Don't just run and sign up for the first scrapbook club you come across. You need to do your homework.


Ask yourself these questions, before signing up with a scrapbooking kit club.


 1. What is my budget? What am I willing to pay? To give you an idea, the general middle of the road cost-plus shipping and handling is, anywhere from $19.99 to $29.99 or more. It all depends on what you are willing to spend.

2. There are so many kits to choose from. What kind of kits are you most interested in? What I have learned is that there are so many different kinds of kits from cardstock to mini-albums to straightforward scrapbook kits. Sky's the limit to what you are most interested in.


3. Do you want the freedom to order without a monthly fee? Or, do you want to become a member and have a monthly club fee? Another Hot Tip: Scrapbooking Clubs sometimes need you to sign up for six months or even in some cases up to a year membership. Do your research and read the long-term agreement on the sites that interest you the most. 

4. Another question that seems to come up a lot. Is, what if after I sign up for a scrapbooking club site and I start to notice that I don't like the kind of kits that I am seeing? In some cases the sites will give you the option to skip a kit. But in other cases it's not so easy. Make sure you do your homework before signing up for any site.


5. Cancellation Policy? Be aware, again do your homework and go to the agreement policy on that site(s). To see what their cancellation policy is. I always will make sure to read the cancellation policy of a site before I sign up.

Mini Scrapbooks

This is one of my favorite scrapbooks to make. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how easy mini scrapbooks are to make and how cost-effective they are.

Step 1: I recommend your page size be 6"x 6". If you keep the size under 8" x 8" you will definitely be on the right track to making a mini scrapbook. These size pages are the perfect size to hold your standard 4" x 6" photos. This will leave you about and extra 2" or so for you to create the perfect inscription on your pages.

Step 2: When creating a mini scrapbook album. You need to keep in mind that mini scrapbooks are occasion themed. Meaning, this kind of scrapbook is usually themed to suit the occasion at hand. The most favored occasions consist of birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and all the major holidays.

Step 3: After completing step 1 and 2. You are ready to begin the fun side of creating a mini scrapbook. Have you ever heard of a Paper Lunch Bag or using Envelopes or even Coffee Filters to create your mini scrapbook? You can use just about anything to create your scrapbook. When it comes to mini scrapbooks, we the scrapper are looking for the next products or ideas that we like to find or comes up with.


Paper Lunch Bag -


You will need two paper bags placed on top of one another.

You then need to fold both paper bags in half. You are creating the spine feature of the mini scrapbook.

Create spine punch holes 3/4" apart from one another.

I highly recommend in this next step you use ties to bind the mini scrapbook together. In my opinion the ties work the best for this project.

Envelopes -

Embellishments are a wonderful choice for creating your scrapbook. What I love to do is add my embellishments to both sides of my envelopes for added effect. You can use as many envelopes as you need for this project.

Next, make your writing come to life. This is when you can break out your rubber stamps or let your imagination take you on a journey.

You will then punch at least two holes on the side of your individual envelopes.

Tie it all together by adding a tie or some ribbon.

The most important task of all is: Don't forget to added your photos.


Coffee Filter -


The kind of filters that I feel work the best is cone-shaped coffee filters. They really make the scrapbook come to life.


You will then need scrap paper and card stock. I like to add the scrap paper and the card stock in between the coffee filters to bring more character to the mini scrapbook.

• Embellishments

• Photos

Instead of punching one hole. You will be punching three holes on the end of the filters.

You then will be using a tie or ribbon, what ever you prefer to bring the mini scrapbook filters together.




This is an overview of how to create a mini scrapbook and always remember to bring your creativity to the table.

Digital Scrapbooking

This is for all you beginner scrapbookers that are looking for that professional digital scrapbooking designs.


Like in my last post, I truly believe in bringing your creativity to life. I was once you're so called traditional scrapbooker. But as I started to really get the hang of things, I started to experiment with as we scrapbookers like to call it Digital Scrapping. Now, my so called scrapbooker friends that were more on the traditional side of things were against the idea, but I didn't let that slow me down. I started to dip my toes into the digital scrapping world, and I have never looked back. 



To give you an overview of what Digital Scrapbooking is. It's the ability to be able to transform or freeze your images/photos into a digital design, instead of the more traditional way. It eliminates your scissors, glue and embellishment but of course, not your paper. Or in some cases you won't even need any paper. 

Do you have a digital camera to take your photographs? I take my photographs and store them on my computer in a folder named Digital Photos. You need to be able to have easy access to your photos. So, I highly suggest you create a folder on your desktop to store all your photographs that you intend to use.  This step alone will help to eliminate the time and energy spent. Let's not forget the expense of getting copies of your photos made.


Are you wondering how to resize your photos? Adobe Photoshop Element is as easy as 123. Adobe Photoshop Element is a software tool that will become one of your best friends when working to create a digital scrapbook. This software alone will help to resize and or clear up all of your photos to the utmost professional images you desire.   


You will be pleasantly surprised on how easy a lot of the digital scrapbooking software works for you in this day and age. What I like about the digital scrapbooking software that is out there today; is that most of them have a free 30-day trail for your convenience and you can also find free digital scrapbooking sites. But please don't just settle on the first site you come upon, do your research.


These digital scrapbooking sites have so many wonderful scrapbooking designs. I also love how you can create your own photo collage frames without in some cases the slightest effort. 

Don't get me wrong my passion is still in creating traditional scrapbooks. But to get that more professional look, that is when I turn to digital scrapbooking. If you want to learn the digital scrapbooking side. Don't think you need to be a so called digital scrapbooking guru. By all means don't let fear of failure discourage you, what you create doesn't have to be perfect. 

Keep in mind what ever you create will be wonderful memories to you and your close family members.

Let The Scrapbooking Begin

Have you always wanted to be a scrapbooker? I wanted to eliminate some of the difficult parts, and show you how scrapbooking can be very enjoyable from beginning to end. When you start to implement the overall steps of this scrapbooking blog. You will start to understand that scrapbooking; once you get the hang of it, is a very enjoyable hobby to learn. 

Themes:

How I like to look at it, is that Scrapbooking is an Art. Before you start you need to think of a theme for your pictures. Deciding on a theme is one of the most important steps you will take. If you don't make choosing a theme the first priority, you will fall short and the thought of becoming a scrapbooker will turn into a chore and not a hobby.

Matting:

After you have chosen a theme. Matting is the next step you will really need to understand. This is a process of taking your photos and applying them to your pages. In some cases scrapbookers like myself, like to double or even sometimes triple mat our photos for an awesome added effect. This overall will make your photos pop right off the page with character and creativity. 

Embellishments:

This is where the fun begins. Embellishments are decorations that are used for your individual scrapbooking pages. I love when I get to this stage, because this is where I feel my creative juices start to flow. You can buy packaged embellishments at your local craft store. Or you can create your own home made embellishments with leftover scraps like (ribbons, beads, lace, and some leftover scrap paper). 

Words:

Don't forget your words. When I first started out; I have to admit that I had a hard time coming up with creative words to use. The thesaurus and I became best friends and I also went to my local Michael's to buy rubber stamps that said it all. You can find some really cute rubber stamps to really compliment your pages.




Overall for you the scrapbooking beginner, this is a fun and enjoyable learning process. Don't be afraid to allow your imagination and your creativity to come together and start to make beautiful scrapbooking memories.