Heritage Scrapbook Ideas: Windows Of Time.

Scrapbook ideas
See the nice heritage scrapbook ideas here. What better place to fetch a family photo than at a wedding? Annette Mortensen’s clan took the opportunity to capture a portrait of their posterity while celebrating her sister’s wedded bliss last spring. Green patterned papers make a beautiful background for the photo, which is framed in creamy satin ribbon. The icing on the cake is a charming pair of classic accents, which have been crumpled and smoothed out for added texture, resulting in a simple, but sophisticated layout.

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So often we regard heritage albums as preservations of long-ago generation, but Lisa Francis shows us that when a beloved husband and father is lost, preserving the present is paramount. Lisa’s husband, Darrin, died three years ago after fighting a three-year battle with meningitis, leukemia, and a brain tumor. Since then, Lisa has paid tribute to her husband and the heritage they created together in the pages of her scrapbooks.
In this layout, Lisa uses vibrant color blocks as symbols of the energy and attention Darrin poured into planning birthday parties—and into the lives of his family. The poignant narrative penned by Lisa for their daughters, Delaney and Haley, makes this layout a true legacy of love.

Ah, courting ... standing when a lady enters a room, holding a door open, and a sweet kiss goodnight (on the cheek, of course!). It may seem old-fashioned, but wooing your sweetheart—be it your first date or your 50th anniversary—is never outdated. Nichol Magouirk pays tribute to the timeless tradition of courting in this layout about her grandfather, whose romantic gestures toward her grandmother included beautiful corsages on Mother’s Day and other special occasions. Stitching together strips of cardstock and using an eclectic collection of buttons, tags and other trinkets to spell “corsage” evoke a vintage feel. “I like the look of mix-and-matched metals,” Nichol explains. “It creates a ‘shabby chic’ look, and it’s also a great way to use your leftover letters and other metal accents.”

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Scraps of ribbon, old-fashioned tags, silk flowers, and strips of torn paper can make a heritage layout rich in texture without overwhelming the real jewels—the photos. In Kim McCrary’s layout featuring her husband’s parents, the antique accents gently cascade around the photograph, which is offset to add even more charm to the page. The finishing touch is a romantic quote from author Jane Austen. “Of all the layouts I’ve ever created, this is my husband’s favorite,” Kim says. “His comment when seeing it was, ‘Mom and Dad never looked so good.’”  Use these heritage scrapbook ideas for fun scrapbooking.

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Simple Scrapbook Layouts

Simple scrapbook layouts for you. Due to a very busy time in my life, I put scrapbooking on hold until recently. It was about two weeks ago, that I got together with a few friends and we enjoyed a wonderful time chatting, snacking and scrapbooking! What I found interesting as I sat looking through some of the pages that I had completed a few months ago, was that I was happy with all of the work I had done. There was a variety of layouts that I looked at -- some had taken me a few hours to complete, others took no more than a half of an hour, but overall, I liked them all. As I sat looking through these layouts, I came to realize I have a few simple patterns that I tend to use over and over again, yet with different photos and color combinations. I also realized that these simple, timesaving layouts look just as nice as the layouts that took me two hours to complete.

Below I have shared with you several basic scrapbook layout ideas. By incorporating these simple patterns into your scrapbooking routine, you will find that scrapbooking can become much easier and you will be able to produce more beautiful pages in less time.

Idea #1: Corners
Using two different, yet coordinating pieces of paper, choose paper #1 to be your background and paper #2 to be the corners. By cutting off the corners of paper #2, you can then glue them directly on top of paper #1's corners. This method can be used on just two opposite corners, or all four.

Idea #2: Bordered
Using two different, yet coordinating pieces of paper, choose paper #1 to be the border, and paper #2 to be the on top. With paper #2, trim away an equal amount on each edge. Apply glue to the back of paper #2 and carefully position it on top of paper #1, with equal edges showing. If you wish, you can even take a third piece of trimmed-down paper and glue it right in the center, which will give the look of a matted frame.

Idea #3: Top Bar and Bottom Bar
Using any two pieces of paper, cut approximately two inches off of the bottom of one. Line up this two inch piece on the top of the other paper so that it creates a top bar across the paper. On this bar you may wish to give your layout a title. To create a bottom bar, simply place this two inch piece along the bottom of the uncut paper.

Idea #4: Side Bar
Using any two pieces of paper, cut an approximate one inch piece of the long side of one. Line up this long, one inch piece of paper, on the either side of the other paper.

Idea #5: Center Bar
A center bar is created in basically the same way that a top or bottom bar is created, expect that you glue the piece in the middle of the paper. With a center bar, you are able to make it larger than two inches, and you will most likely place photos on top of the bar.

Idea #6: Patches
Cut squares pieces from scrapbook paper and glue it in random order on another piece of paper.

With all of the basic ideas above, you will find that all you will have left to do is add your photos and you will have your albums completed in no time!

Do you have a simple way of creating scrapbook layouts for your scrapbook? Share your ideas with other scrapbookers in comments.

Scrapbook Ideas: Variation on a Scheme

Scrapbook ideas for simplicity.
I love classical music. Did you know that Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is the most recognized piece of classical music ever composed? You know the one—I’ll bet you’re humming it in your head right now. Did you also know that the entire symphony is composed of variations on the initial theme? While classical compositions are divided into a variety of sections or movements, some fast and some slow, scrapbooks are separated into a variety of schemes. A page scheme is the way the elements on a page are arranged.

One of scrapbook ideas is to help you streamline the process of scrapbooking. By helping you get your layouts done quickly, you can focus on creating theme scrapbooks that can then become your own family “classics.”

 As a long time chronological scrapbooker, I had an ideas that each scrapbook layout I created had to be completely different than any other. With all the photos I have to scrapbook, this way of thinking was eating up hours of precious scrapbooking time. As I reviewed my favorite layouts, I realized if a specific page scheme worked once, why couldn’t it work again? It certainly worked for Beethoven! I would simply vary the elements of each scheme to fit the theme and feel of each scrapbook layout.

I put my scrapbook theory to the test using the scheme from a layout I love (Figure 1a). I chose other photos with the same vertical orientation, and by changing just a few simple elements—but sticking with the same basic scheme or arrangement—I was able to complete three additional layouts in record time, each having a uniquely different feel(Figures 1b–1d). Chances are, no one will even notice the variation on the scheme because the pages will be dispersed throughout my albums.

Variety in the Scheme of Things
As you become more comfortable with varying the elements of a scheme, you can begin varying the arrangement itself. I selected a basic scheme (Figure 2) and adapted it to fit my needs. For my layout in figure 3, I had two photos I wanted to include. Notice how I used the second photo in place of the journaling block and added a tag and basic journaling block to make up for the lost journaling space? I used the original scheme with the addition of the tag from the variation, then added a larger title with letter stickers (Figure 4). From elegant to playful in three notes flat!

I play my favorite pieces of classical music over and over. They become my favorites because they are familiar and composed of elements I love. I want my scrapbook pages to be classical works of art composed of the elements I love, too. Check out a few of my favorite schemes and go play—over and over again!

How to Find Dream Schemes

So how can you find your own dream schemes? Start with simple schemes that feature fewer photos.
Find or create schemes that allow you to change the elements in a variety of ways.
Go from elegant to bright and playful by choosing the colors, papers, and accents that match the “mood” you want to create.
Select elements you enjoy using most, and create schemes that include them. (Obviously, I love tags!)
To maintain visual balance of your page, interchange accents on your layouts that are approximately the same size.
Once you’ve gathered a variety of basic schemes, organize them into categories according to the number and orientation of photos (vertical, horizontal, or a combination).
Create sketches or keep reduced copies of basic schemes together.
Want to get the most out of the process? Work with one or two schemes at a time to create several pages, exhausting the creative possibilities. This will build your confidence and help you get more scrapbook ideas and help you get more scrapbook pages done.

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Figure 1a. Begin by identifying a favorite layout; use its scheme as a pattern for new layouts.
Figure 1b. Simply replace key elements to adapt your page scheme to new themes or events. With a new photos and accents, this page has a new look and feel.
Figure 1c. Here’s a Christmas variation on our theme. A black and white photo and classic colors, fonts and accents give this page a timeless feel.
Figure 1d. Here’s another completely “fresh” variation that came together in minutes with ready-made tags as accents.







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Figure 2. A good, basic scheme has simple lines and elements that can be easily interchanged.
Figure 3. A few simple changes produces an “appealing” new look using the same basic scheme.
Figure 4. “Play around” with varying your basic scheme to fit your needs.









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I like to organize my page schemes according to the number and orientation of photos that appear on them. Here are several to get you started. Keep in mind you can mix and match individual schemes to create two page spreads and adapt 12 x 12 schemes to work with an 81/2 x 11 page format.

Scrapbook Ideas: Creating a Photo Mosaic

You have no some new scrapbook ideas?  Sometimes after you have been scrapbooking a while, you might become frustrated with doing the same old things over and over. I know that this is the case with my scrapbook buddies and I! In an effort to keep our scrapbooking fun and different, we brainstormed ideas for creating new scrapbook pages and came up with one idea, which is just a variation of a project many people have done before. This scrapbook idea is called Photo Mosaics. Have you ever create a mosaic before? Well, a mosaic is traditionally created with colored glass or tile and it is usually laid in a decorative way in cement or plaster. This beautiful method is the perfect change in pace we were looking for and the more we thought about it, we realized that it could definitely be done with photos.

Creating a photo mosaic is even easier than creating a tile or glass mosaic and when you are done, you will end up with a scrapbook page that looks absolutely fantastic! Here are some basic tips to creating your own:

1) The first important step is to your mosaic is to determine which photos you will use. Depending on the actual size of your photos, you will probably want to chose about 4-8 photos, which will work well for a 12"x12" or 8.5"x11" size page.

2) After you have determined which photos you will want to use, you may wish to crop them. I prefer to leave them uncropped which allows me to discard certain squares as you will see in step # 5.

3) With your photos in hand, you are now ready to cut them into equal sized squares. The easiest way to cut your photos will with a craft knife, a ruler, and a cutting mat that had a grid on it. Cut each photo in strips from the top to the bottom. Then take each strip and cut off squares. The most important things to remember is you want your squares be equal in size, for this type of mosaic.

4) After you have cut your photos into equal sized squares, you are now ready to create your scrapbooking page. Spend sometime laying out your pieces so that you will have the look you want - before you glue. To create the actual mosaic, you want to be sure that a small amount of your background paper shows through on all edges. My preference is to use the entire page for my mosaic, while leaving a 1/2" border on the edges for some journaling.

5) If you didn't crop your photos (which is what I recommend), you will find that there may be parts of a photo (usually on the edges or corners) that you can do without. To continue with your mosaic theme, you can remove these squares, but fill them in with squares from one of the other photos, which will create an overlapping effect.

6) Glue your squares in place.

The steps above are for creating uniform squares, but if that is your not your style, you may want to try creating your mosaic with fun shapes. Using your stencils, trace the shape you wish to use (like a heart, circle, etc.). Cut out your shape and then cut it into random sizes pieces, just as if you were making a puzzle! After your pieces are all cut, glue them together just like the steps above. Voila! Good scrapbook ideas! A scrapbook page your friends are sure to admire!

How To Include Your Scrapbooking Memorabilia On Your Scrapbook.

Scrappers loves to hold onto scrapbooking memorabilia and mementos. Envelopes and scrapbooking - what a beautiful union. It's no surprise that scrappers are using envelopes in their layouts. Not only are they made of paper - a main staple of scrappers - but they also hold "stuff". We scrappers like things that hold stuff. Have you ever visited an online scrapbook community or read one of the several scrapbook magazines? I have and I see two common factors: scrappers have a lot of stuff and scrappers want ways to hold their stuff.
These little pieces of our lives help us to remember a certain time, place, and feeling. There are many ways of storing all that stuff in your layouts. Read on to find some great ways of using and creating envelopes in your scrapbooking.
As you probably know, there are dozens of varieties of envelopes. I enjoy using envelopes in my layouts, but I usually prefer to make my own. To make my own envelopes, I take an existing envelope - even one that was sent in the mail to me - and I carefully open it up. I then take the envelope and trace it on pattern paper or cardstock that fits the design of my layout. I cut out my new envelope and fold it in the same manner as the one you traced. Glue flaps as necessary.
Most of the envelopes I use in my scrapbooking are smaller than what is usually sent through the mail. Luckily, taking a standard mailing envelope and reducing it in size is easy with the use of a copy machine or scanner and printer. This way, you are able to create just about any size of envelope you wish.
My favorite paper for creating envelopes is vellum. I like the look of vellum and have made envelopes from just about every color there is. Another favorite is any paper that is double-sided. If a paper is double-sided, it will show both patterns or colors once I finish folding my envelope. Almost any paper will work for creating envelopes; choose one that will work best for your page.
Over time, I have accumulated several different envelope templates. If you keep your eyes open, you can also find a variety of envelopes to use. I have found that envelopes from friends in other countries and greeting card envelopes tend to provide you with the most variety. The next time you are sorting your mail, look at it with a new perspective - could that envelope look charming on one of your layouts?
Envelopes hold just about anything you want them to hold. Here are just a few ideas:
-Journaling that you wish to have slightly hidden
-Journaling that you want to dress up a bit
-A tag - either as an accent or with journaling on it
-Lock of hair
-Jewelry
-An actual letter someone sent you
-Important documents
-Notes to be opened at a later date
-A card you received
-Photos
-Money, such as a child's first dollar
-Any page accent
Here are some great ways to use envelopes and how you can make yours unique.
    Create an envelope and let only the very top of your journaling show. This method is best when you aren't hiding the journaling.
    Create a clear (white) vellum envelope and place your journaling inside, so that it shows through the envelope, without your reader having to pull out the paper.
    Don't feel limited to just one envelope. Add several small ones to a page, with each holding different items.
    Rather than gluing your envelope together, sew it.
    Don't glue your envelope together - trace it, cut it, and fold it. Unfold it and add your journaling to the "inside" of the envelope. Fold it back up and secure with ribbon, a paper clip, or other closure.
    Be on the lookout for other materials that you can make envelopes with such as tissue paper, old greeting cards and calendars, fabric, and more.
    Create an envelope and mat your photo directly on it. The envelope behind the photo now saves space on your page.
    Envelopes don't have to hold stuff -- create an envelope and embellish it for a stunning page accent.
    Creating a unique look - once you've assembled your envelope, tear off a top or side portion of the envelope. Then use the envelope to hold a tag or scrapbook journaling.
    To give your envelope an aged look, chalk or ink the edges before folding and gluing it.
I hope these ideas will help you to create your own ways to store your scrapbooking memorabilia.
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