• Scrapbook with top loading pages is the most popular.
• Acid and Lignin free cardstock
• Acid and Lignin free paper – patterned, plain, velum etc.
• Photo safe adhesive - i.e. photo mounting squares, Xyron adhesive runner and glue dots.
• Paper trimmer
• Scissors (straight and decorative edge)
• Corner rounder
• Acid free pen

Optional extras for embellishing:

• Decorative stickers including letter stickers
• Eyelets, snaps and brads
• Fibres, yarns, threads and ribbons
• Buttons, wire and charms
• Paper embellishment
• Rub ons
• Punches
• Die cutting machine i.e. Sizzix
• Rubber stamps and stamp pads
• Other embellishments

Scrapbook albums are also available in 6"x 6". This size album can make a great gift, containing a collection of wedding photos as a wedding or anniversary present.

Firstly, decide on a theme for your scrapbook, a few ideas are listed below but the only limitation is your imagination. You can create a scrapbook page for any kind of special occasion to capture your memories forever in a safe and lasting way.

Popular scrapbook themes are:

• Wedding
• Children, from pregnancy scan photos, throughout pregnancy, thoughts, cravings, and birth to babies first birthday
• Child’s first year, first word, smile, tooth, crawling, standing and first steps
• Family tree
• Holiday
• Pets
• Special occasions i.e. christening, anniversary, new years eve, etc
• Heritage album (old photos showing the generations)
• Book of me – a book all about you; who you are, childhood memories, school days, first job, first love and dreams for your future

Making a scrapbook page

1. Select a few photos of a single event. Odd numbers usually work better on a page so 1, 3 or 5 would be suitable. Choose the best photo to become the focal point of the page and crop it if necessary. A corner rounder can be used to round off the corners of the photos. As photos are the most important piece of the page, they should be emphasized and not hidden once cropped.

2. Pick out a colour from the photos and use this as inspiration to choose a background paper for the page. This can be patterned or plain paper or card.

3. Stick the feature photo onto the background card or paper and trim the edges, leaving a border all around each side. Repeat this with each of the photos chosen for the page.

4. Next choose the cardstock or paper for the page background in a colour that coordinates with both the photos and borders.

5. Decide on the layout for the page and place the mounted photos onto the background. Allow space for a title or journaling or both.

6. Decide on a title for the page. This can be added by printing onto acid free paper, using adhesive lettering or rub ons or writing freehand with an acid free pen.

7. Journaling can be added by writing on matching paper then sticking this directly onto the page. Alternatively, the paper can be folded, inserted in a small envelope and stuck to the page, a term known as hidden journaling.

8. Finally, add decoration to the page. Embellishments, eyelets, brads, fibres etc can enhance the page without detracting from the photos.

Cropping

This is the term used for cutting elements out of photographs i.e. too much background or other people that would detract from the subject of the photo.

Acid free

Papers or card that have a high acid content deteriorate over time and may become fragile and discoloured. Adhesives can fail and stain photographs. It is therefore essential to use acid free cards, papers and adhesives when creating scrapbook pages. This will ensure that photographs and scrapbook pages do not become discoloured, cracked or damaged over time and will last a lifetime.

Lignin free

It is also essential to use lignin free paper or card when creating pages. Lignin is a naturally occurring substance in wood that reacts with light and causes the yellowing and deterioration of paper and card. Lignin free paper and card is produced by removing the lignin during the paper making process. Using lignin free materials will ensure that photographs and scrapbook pages do not become discoloured and deteriorated over time.

Journaling

Journaling is the finishing touch on a scrapbook page. It provides information to fully understand the photographs and answers the questions who, what, where and when. There are four styles of journaling; bullet points, captioning, story telling and poetry, the style should be selected to suit each page.

Eyelets, snaps and brads

These can be used to attach vellum, photos, tags with journaling and other embellishments to a page layout. Eyelets can be used to thread fibres or just to add decorative elements to a page.

To use eyelets or snaps you will need; anywhere hole punch, eyelet setter, hammer, self healing mat, eyelet or snaps.

Place the item or paper you want to attach your eyelet to onto a self healing mat. Make a hole by placing the tip of your anywhere hole punch onto the paper and tapping firmly with a hammer. Insert the eyelet or snap into the hole and turn the paper over. Place the pointed tip of eyelet setter into the back of the eyelet and tap the end with a hammer until the back of the eyelet is flat.

Decorative stickers including letter stickers

Stickers can be used to decorate a page and add dimension. Letter stickers can be used for journaling.

Buttons, wire and charms

Flat back buttons, wire and charms are decorative embellishments that can all be attached to a page with glue dots. Ribbon can be threaded through ribbon charms as decorations.

Rub ons

Rub ons are acid free transfers and are available in pictures, phrases or individual letters. They can either be attached directly to a page or onto background paper or card for decoration. To use, firstly cut out the rub on you wish to use. Remove the tissue backing and place the rub on where you want it to appear on the page. Using the lolly stick provided, rub the front until the image is transferred to the page.

Sizzix

Sizzix is a die cutting system that allows you to cut out images or alphabets from your own cardstock, paper etc. This enables you to cut out items for pages in specific colours and papers which co-ordinate with your layout and other embellishments.