how to make a scrapbook 1. Chose your focus 2. Determine the theme 3. Pick an album that best suits this theme 4. Collect all the photo's you wish to use 5. Gather the corresponding cardstocks, papers, embellishments and such 6. And start planning your layouts how to complete a layout 1. The title 2. The photo(s) 3. The matting 4. The accents (embellishments) 5. The journaling (story you wish to share) 6. The overall message (consistency is really the key here) how to set the mood with your background Select a complementary background to your photo. Usually a good rule of thumb is to look for colors from your photo that you can repeat on your background. Shapes, patterns or texture from your photos can be repeated on your background page. how to let a theme rule If more than one photo are used on the page, each photo should relate to the theme or to each other. So that the page could tie together meaningfully as a neat scrapbooking layout design idea. Three to six photos can generally fit into a page. how to create a scrapbook Gather as many pictures as you can to assemble a book of memories. Look at other scrapbooks and think up ideas of how you want to organize your scrapbook. Think about who its for or keep it on your own. If it is yours have all the fun of it! how to arrange photos Choose a main photo that can arrest the eye for a start before leading it to the rest of the page. A good scrapbooking layout design idea would be a photo that represents the overall theme. Generally, such a photo will require minimum cropping. how to adding accents to enhance your layout Fonts, die-cuts and stickers all help to fill up empty spaces and act as finishing touches. These accents can add to your overall theme, supporting the look and feel of your layout, and form a good part of scrapbooking layout design ideas. how to antique it in a second Transform projects into vintage-looking treasures. Just rub the water-based ink pad or sanding disk on the edges or across your work for an inked or distressed look. The tools work magic on paper, metal, wood, plastic, fabric or any other surface. how to spread liquid adhesive quickly over a large surface area Use the plastic phone card to swipe and spread the liquid glue into a thin, even layer of glue over a big surface area. What's more? You can just wipe the card clean and reuse them again and again. how to choose a focal-point photo Treat other photos as "accessories" that help you to tell the rest of the story. As we read from left to right, the top-left hand corner is an excellent point for your focal-point photo when you have several photos you want to use on your layout. how to journal your story You can write directly on the page, but sometimes it’s easier to journal onto a separate scrap of paper, then mat this piece and glue it to the page. You can also journal on your computer and print it out. how to layout your page Arrange your elements (photos, journaling, embellishments) on the background paper. Before you glue them down, move them around to make sure you like the placement. how to mat your photos Mat your photo onto a solid paper so the colors and shapes in the photo don’t compete with the colors and shapes on the paper. Just glue it onto your solid matting paper and cut 1/8”-1/2” away so you have a border around the picture. how to pick your papers Choose a pattern that enhances your theme, like an elegant paper for a page of black-and-white photos, or a fun print for kids’ pictures. Then pick a coordinating plain paper to mat or “frame” the photos. how to cut straight lines Count on my 12”x12” paper trimmer for straight lines. A paper trimmer also makes it so much faster and easier to cut photo mats. However, if you’re using scissors, use a ruler to draw a line on the back of the paper before you start cutting. what is a scrapbook scrapbook is simply a decorated photo album—but it’s different from a photo album because it preserves something more than just the photos. A scrapbook includes journaling as well as memorabilia. what is acid-free Acid causes paper and photos to disintegrate. This aging process is slowed significantly when acid is removed from paper during the manufacturing process. Be sure your paper, glue and markers are labeled acid-free or archival-quality before you purchase them. how to crop photos To “crop” a photo means to cut the photo. Most of the time, you’ll do this to trim out excess background like sky and grass to better focus on the main subject of the picture. why should I mat my photos For the same reason that you frame a picture before hanging it up on the wall! A mat will act as a frame for your photos, giving a visual space or “rest” between the colors and shapes in the photos and those in the background paper. how to personalize your layout Personalize your layout with your handwritten journaling. Lightly draw some straight lines with a pencil, sketch in your words, then go over them with a pigment-ink pen. Erase off the pencil marks, and you'll have almost perfect handwriting.