What Tools Do I Need To Get Started Scrapbooking?

What Tools Do I Need To Get Started Scrapbooking
By Bryce Doster

A scrapbook can be made from almost anything! There is even a video that shows you how to use recycled beer cartons as the pages! Tools can range from ordinary paste to computer software. Tools for cutting your materials the way you want them are good to have on hand. Such as, scissors, exacto knife, or even those page trimmers you probably used in school. Something to punch holes comes in handy as it is common to bind pages, and attach items, with ribbon ties and such. That same video that demonstrates the use of beer cartons shows a tool she call her "crocodile". It is a hole puncher on steroids! Many consider a decent digital camera as a useful tool. Don't have that perfect picture to use? Maybe you can snap it and print it out.

Basically, all you need to get started is an album, some glue, a pair of scissors, and some photographs or newspaper clippings. Any ribbon, fabric, or bits of leftovers from various household uses can be used to enhance your scrapbook. You do not have to be a creative genius to produce a cherished keepsake. On the other hand, there is no limit to how creative you can be on a project! One way to look at your scrapbook is as a fancy frame or photo album.

A good beginner's toolbox might include a paper trimmer (12 inches should be fine), scissors capable of cutting whatever material you have chosen, adhesive, various archival pens. That, along with your materials should be a good start! The investment of a plastic bin or an empty toolbox to keep all your scrapbooking tools together in one place is worth considering!

As you get more experience with scrapbooking, you will find the need for many more tools and items. Mostly, these will be driven by what kind of materials you are cutting, hole-punching, etc. and/or you ideas for achieving a certain effect.

Find a craft store (or craft area of a larger store like Walmart) that has many of the materials and tools needed for scrapbooking. Many of these stores have trained employees who help beginners. Often classes are offered that are either free or require a minimal fee to attend.

A first project scrapbook does not have to be perfect. Or, to say that another way, if you are happy with the results then maybe it IS perfect! Enjoy. Have Fun. And, dare to dream of the next project. The wonderful thing about scrapbooking as a hobby is that it is cheap and easy to start, then you can go as far as you want from there!

Much more scrapbooking insights (and the mentioned video) can be found at
http://www.scrapbookcrossing.net

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Preserve Your Family Memories With Digital Scrapbooking

Preserve Your Family Memories With Digital Scrapbooking
By Erik Birkeland

Scrapbooking is a great hobby and art form. Preserving your family memories and histories is an excellent thing to do for yourself and for your family. Traditionally people go to their local craft store purchase a scrapbook and the materials that go with it. This entails using a lot of room at their home and a small mess with clippings and glue. With the advent of the Internet this scenario has changed. Now there is a vast amount of information online that allow for digital scrapbooking. With the Internet you will not have to deal with all the clippings and glue.

Now with doing things on a computer you will have some distinct advantages over traditional scrap booking. Keep in mind that you will be giving up some things also. But we'll talk about that later. With the computer you will be able to regenerate a photo an endless amount of times. If you happen to mess one up while you are working on your scrapbook then it isn't that big of a deal. You will also have many different fonts and labels. Most of these will be for free. You see avid scrapbookers are more than willing to help you out for free.

Another great advantage to digital scrap booking is that getting the scrapbook out to your loved ones is much easier than with a traditional scrapbook. With a traditional scrapbook you would either have to take the scrapbook around, ship it around or make multiple copies of it. Not that easy of a thing to do. With digital scrap booking you can email it, post it to a family website or burn a CD and send it in the mail. How much easier is that not to mention less expensive?

Another tremendous advantage is all the effects you can do to your scrapbook at the click of a button. You can easily color your letters. You can apply various effects to your pictures to make them standout. You can remove the red dots in people's eyes that seem to always happen when you take their picture. You can digitize your own handwriting. If it is a Christmas album you can make it snow. In one of my last albums I had specific songs playing for each different page. The effect was very powerful and got exactly what I was feeling across to my family. The options are almost endless.

You will need a few items to be able to do scrap booking. The first is a computer, of course, his. The next is quality scanner. You will need this to get actual pictures into you computer. You should also invest in a decent digital camera. Pay special attention to the software that comes with the camera. These packages are normally quite good and will definitely enhance the pictures in your albums. If you don't want to buy a digital camera then don't worry there are a number of free packages available online.

Make sure you don't pass up this great new trend in scrapbooking. Now earlier I mentioned that there are some downsides to digital scrap booking. Digital scrapbooking, like all things on computers, can be a little on the non-personal side. Traditional scrapbooking is great because you share the creation of the albums with your loved ones. You can spend an afternoon putting one together with your kids and reminiscing with them about the pictures of your family. This is quite powerful. There are also scrapbooking clubs so you can socialize while doing your hobby. Interaction with other people is important and I think gets lost in these days of computers. Ultimately I expect you will find that blending digital scrapbooking with traditional scrapbooking is the best way to go. Each have their strengths and put together they benefit greatly.

Erik Birkeland writes on various issues related to business and families.
You can learn more about scrapbooking and how to make stunning scrapbooks at my site:

http://www.freeprintablescrapbooking.com

Visit my other site to learn how to be successful online: http://www.wolfmediaonline.com

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