The art of scrapbooking is not a very old craft, but more and more people have been enjoying this activity for years as they’ve discovered how much fun it is to put one together instead of just slipping photos into a photo album.The main difference between creating a scrapbook and a photo album is that the creator has so many options in how they craft the book and solidify the memories being preserved. Through background pages, fonts, and embellishments, these designs can vary per page and there is no limit to what can be done to make it both personal and impressive.
Scrapbooking is similar to any other creative activity a person chooses to take part in. It requires planning and a preparation of both thought and materials to avoid any interruptions or distractions.
THE LAYOUT
The first thing needed to envision your layout will be the materials. These include the pictures, scissors, glue, magazines, newspaper, writing material and of course the background papers you have selected to make up each page in the scrapbook.
The best quality scrapbooks are made of paper that is acid and lignin free. These papers allow you to be much more productive by preventing problems such as sticking pictures and cutouts and make it easier to customize when writing on them directly with chalk, crayon, pastel or a pen.
Scrapbooking paper can easily be found in the bookstore, arts and craft stores, and specialty scrapbooking stores. There is an endless variety of prints and every shade of solid imaginable, as well as textures and finishes. The possibilities are endless and many stores make it easier by displaying coordinating papers alongside of one another, making it easier to envision your scrapbook’s color scheme or theme. This will surely help out the person who has no idea how to create the desired look for each page. Manufacturers have also made the paper in a few standard shapes and sizes, allowing each scrapbook to be unique from the next creation.
There is no right or wrong way to come up with a layout. It starts in the imagination of the person creating the scrapbook, and the ideas they come up with during the planning stages. Things to keep in mind are the color scheme, the message the creator wants to convey to the person or event being commemorated, and how the photos will be displayed in every page. If the person is struggling to devise their layout, no worries! There are many websites that offer tips as well as free templates that can be downloaded for free (or a small fee).
The first thing that viewers will pay attention to when looking at each page of your scrapbook is the center of the page. It’s best to place your photo either in the center and put the embellishments around it, or use the top to bottom approach with your photo on the top and accessories below it.
You can even tell a story on a page by placing multiple photos in consecutive order on a single page. In order to make several pictures fit onto a single page, it will require some cropping and cutting of your photos. With the use of scissors and a cutter, you can focus on the key elements of each photo. Keep in mind that once this process starts, there’s no going back, so it’s a good idea to practice this first on scrap paper with the accessories to make each one look perfect.
And of course, if the layout does not fit into one single page, that’s okay! Try laying it out over a two page. The layout concept itself is still the same, but you’ll have a much larger area to work with.
Layout scrapbooking can be a lot of fun and very rewarding to the creative soul. There are no limits to what can be done, and everyone should be encouraged to try scrapbooking to test their creative juices!