scrapbooking

It’s a common mistaken belief that traditional scrapbooking and it’s digital counterpart are 2 separate hobbies. Personally I see them as the same but the way in which you eventually get your scrapbook page ideas down are different.

Thus the process that follows can apply to both traditional and digital scrapbooking. The steps are the same just the medium that you use is different.

Step 1. Choose the photos

The key purpose of any scrapbook page is to capture memories. Almost all of the time this is done by using pictures as the centerpiece of the design. So it’s only fitting that the initial step in the process of making your first scrapbook page is to pick your photographs.

There are no hard and fast rules of how many photographs you should use. I’ve seen many successful page layouts made using just 1 image and others using as much as 10 or more.

My tip is to choose one photo as the primary focus, the entire page design can then be based around it, which makes your job as a scrapbooker all that more straightforward.

After you’ve picked your main photo you might want to use others to compliment it. Try to use further pictures that reinforce the tale that you’re attempting to tell. These maybe pictures taken from different angles/view points.

Step 2. Pick a theme

Picking a theme is generally easier when you have selected your principal photograph, as everything can be based around that main focus.

Pick out 1 or 2 colours from the photo to base your page around. Or for a bolder statement try a contrasting color.

Also see what textures are present in the image and incorporate those into the design. For traditional scrapbooking this could be gluing similar textures and objects to the page. For digi scrappers you might use digital elements or extra textured overlays.

Step 3. Organize your materials

This step is generally directed towards traditional scrapbookers who have picked up a huge stash of scrapbooking supplies. Going through your supplies now will both save time later but could also give you more inspiration for the next step. If you are scrapping digitally sort through the files on your PC in the same way will help. You might even need to have a look online and see if a kit is available based totally on your selected theme – this alone is one of the great benefits of digital scrapbooking – the convenience and speed of gaining more supplies by a click of the mouse.

Step 4. Plan the layout of your page

My tip here is to have a look at what other scrapbook designers are doing. This is good way for inspiration and new ideas to try in your scrapbook layouts.

Whatever you do always attempt to add your own stamp (no pun intended) and do not copy everything precisely.

When you start to work out your layout try to not be too symmetrical. To the eye this may be uninteresting. A page can be far more engaging with 1 or 2 layout tweaks.

Many artists around the world use the rule of thirds when they’re composing a work of art. The same rule can apply to scrapbooking too. Divide the page into thirds. This is horizontally or vertically and attempt to include an interesting element in each 3rd. Try not to be too rigid with the structure by laying your pictures and elements a little outside of the 3rd to link everything together.

If you are traditional scrapbooking don’t fix anything down till your certain on the layout. Clearly digital scrapbookers can experiment and play around as much as you like, even saving variations of the layout which could even be used on different page later along the line.

Step 5. Add depth by layering

One of my fave systems of giving my scrapbook pages a lift are by adding depth. I do this by layering.

Now this could be using 2 or 3 different papers with a touch offset overlaps as the base of the page. Or I use the same technique underneath my photos.

Step 6. Add journaling

The final step is to add journaling. Don’t include journaling for the sake of it. Everything on your page ought to have a purpose. Regularly I won’t include any journaling . But if I have got a story to tell that reinforces the photographs, or there had been an event that proceeded the actual photo being taken, I will document this memory on the page.

Making your first scrapbook page shouldn’t be disconcerting. There isn’t any wrong or right way to scrapbook. There are only easier ways. It’s a simple formula that I find works for me. Give it try yourself.

Rich Pargeter is an artist and digital designer based in the United Kingdom. In his free time he enjoys making digital scrapbook designs and shares them together with more scrapbook page ideas on his blog at TopScrapbookPageIdeas.com

scrapbooking