Try to use the next scrapbook ideas for fun scrapbooking. When I went to one place for vacation two months ago, I already had my scrapbook pages planned before I got home. I knew I wanted to buy some postcards of my trip, but I ended up buying around 30-40 of them! I wanted to show my postcards in my scrapbook, but not on separate pages. Instead, I used the mosaic scrapbook ideas, and placed several postcards on one page. It was a great space-saver as well as a fun way to display the postcards.

While enjoying my niece's birthday party at Club Disney, I came up with a great lettering scrapbook ideas for my future layout about the event. On one wall was written "Happy Birthday"-the letters were a series of holes lit from behind. I knew the look was perfect for my birthday pages! To re-create the letters, I wrote the title in pencil on purple cardstock. Then I turned my Family Treasures mini-extension, 1/16" circle punch upside down and positioned the hole over my pencil line. Next, I just punched holes along the lines to create the letters. As a final touch, I mounted the title on white cardstock to make the letters stand out. This fun "marquee sign" look can also be used with metallic or glittery papers. It's perfect for a title about a night on the town or a trip to New York!

When my son was born, a co-worker offered to babysit him for me because she decided to stay home with her son as well. And she presented me with a wonderful scrapbook of the entire year with my son at her home. She journalized his development and took pictures of him as well. She has done this for me every year since and I look forward to her gift every Christmas. Not only does this give me a wonderful keepsake, it also helps me to see what I may be missing while working.

Here are scrapbook ideas to display your child's handprints and footprints. Turn these precious prints into the body and wings of an angel. First, prepare a surface for the angel (such as a scrapbook page, album cover, apron or wall hanging). I used a scrapbook binder, so I painted the background first. Next, put white craft paint on a paper plate and have your child place his or her hands in the paint one at a time. (Try not to get excessive paint on your child's hand because it will pool on your project. It's helpful to practice on a piece of paper first.)Have your child apply the right hand print for the right wing, and the left hand print for the left wing. When the wings are dry, have your child dip his or her foot onto a paper plate with soft-colored paint. Press the foot down at the center of the wings, with the heel at the top. When the body has dried, paint a round circle for the angel face and embellish it with details, including hair. You can also outline the body to make a long "robe," adding scallops and dots for a feminine angel or a collar and angular lines for a masculine angel. Be sure to keep your embellishments simple so they don't overpower the prints. Finally, top your angel with a halo and add background embellishments if desired. Remember to put a name and date on your masterpiece!

Something I like to do to help decide on a color to use on my scrapbook page is to close my eyes for a few seconds and then open them again looking at my page. Then I ask myself "What is the first thing I saw?" If it was the paper or embellishments etc I know I need to make a change. If it is the photo then I know it is a good color choice.

In order to stay motivated to scrapbook, I rely on two things: my scrapbook journal and artistic and creative publications. Like any other arts and crafts related activity, one needs a boost now and then to keep going.
My scrapbook journal is one way I stay motivated to scrapbook. I bought a beautiful woman's day book just for recording my scrapbook experiences and ideas. In it, I record pages completed, new techniques attempted, and quotes from my children or anything I want to include in a future page. An added bonus: the daybook includes preprinted quotes on every page! Another helpful task is by checking out art and creativity publications from my local library. I have garnered much useful information from art magazines concerning creativity boosters and design tips. Of course, I also rely heavily on all of my magazines!

My favorite scrapbooking tips follow three basic criteria: cheap, easy, quick. This is one that I like to do: If you want to include your child's favorite characters in their scrapbook, but are having a hard time finding products, look to their books. You can scan, print, and cut out, or, for a more artistic look, place vellum over a page in their book (or cover to a favorite movie) and trace, leaving out any unwanted elements. You can color it in, or leave it as a pencil drawing. You can even make small changes (ie, putting a character's arm around a silhouetted photo of your child) very easily. I like doing this because it personalizes the pages, and it requires no artistic talent.

My children love scrapbooking. Great for rainy and sick days! We keep a large container full of stuff for them when they need it "this also teaches them to recycle rather than discard" Things we have put in it. Discarded magazines, stickers, ribbons, buttons, wrapping paper, crayons, string, yarn, writing items, shoelaces, junk mail flyers with pictures, material scraps, construction paper, safe children scissors, glue sticks.. Always something being added and it all gets used! My children sometimes scrapbook without photos so I don't mind if the things are acid/lignon free or not. It is just for hours of fun!

Help the person celebrating a birthday feel like a star for a day by setting out completed scrapbook pages and/or albums about them at the celebration. Everyone will gain a better appreciation for the unique person that they are and the birthday person will feel even more special!

Every year I take my kids school pictures and create a layout in which I create a special page that shows their change year to year. I use the school picture on one page and on the facing page I take paint and have them press their hand and foot on the page, I also "journal" 10 questions (the same ones each year) and have the kids write the answers down. It's a really neat way to show how much difference just one year makes. So use these scrapbook ideas.

Here are scrapbook ideas for fun scrapbooking. Often we have tons of less than perfect pictures, like the one of your child crying that you took right before you got the great one of her smiling happily for the camera. An ABC album is a great way to use those pictures as long as you're creative with your captions. Consider adding captions like "grumpy girl", "squirmy", and "entranced" to the appropriate pages. You'll be surprised how many pictures you have for an album when you look at pictures that weren't "worthy" of other pages.

I scan my children's drawings or paintings into my computer and print them onto acid free cardstock. Then I crop them and mat them and they look like little paintings! I then use them throughout my Albums to add color and preserve and show how their skills are progressing. Sometimes instead of scanning the art I just crop and matt the original work and just ensure that it doesn't touch any photos.

For those binders that have the insert-slip covers, here's a great cover tip. First, if there are rivets on the back cover use exact knife to cut the clear plastic, so that your cover page will cover them up. Use three 12X12 pieces of paper, cut 2 pages down to 11.75 in. wide by 11.25 in. high, use the third piece to make one strip 11.25 in high and 8.5 cm wide. The left over paper is enough to make an 8.5 X 11 sheet. Insert sheets into the cover and ta-da, easy custom album cover.

I fill my albums as full as possible and so I usually end up expanding them farther than their spine covers will go. To give my albums a finished look when they are on display I make my own spines covers for them. First I choose a paper that coordinates with my album. I then add the information to it that I want to see displayed on the spine of the album and embellish the paper to complete the look. Then I trim it down to a size just a bit bigger than I expect it needs to be, just to be safe, and laminate it with my Xyron. All that is left to do is to trim it to fit the album, punch holes aligned with the posts, and insert it into the album where the old spine cover was. This give a durable, informational, and beautiful touch to the album.

You can achieve really neat 3-D effects by simply cutting a silhoutte of your subject and saving the background. Tape your background down and then put a pop-up dot on your silhoutte. Magically you have an awesome 3-D picture. Try it with some posed sports shots i.e. boy looking like he is fixing to catch a ball or run.

You know how hospital's give you your baby's footprints in ink? Well, I take a Versamark Pad (watermark ink pad), ink up my baby's feet (even child's hand) and press it down on colored cardstock. Soon their image will appear and clean up is a quick wipe with no mess! Makes a great Thank You card, Birth Announcement or keepsake card. (don't do too many....baby won't like that).

Recently, I had a baby shower for gal. I got a small memory book, baby stickers, and my camera. Each guest wrote a short note, advise and best wishes and embellished with stickers. On each opposing page I attached that guest's picture and a space for gift description. I also added a few pictures of gift opening, cake, etc. She loved it so much she wants to take it to all her showers. I pre-embellish the remaining pages and added journaling boxes to the facing pages. She isn't a scrapper so this way she won't have to purchase anything and just might spark her to start scrapbooking her new bundle of joy and fun scrapbook ideas.

A fun way for children to send a personalized birthday thank you card is to create a page layout. I select 3 or 4 photos from the event, mat and mount them on a page in fun, theme colors, mat & mount a journaling box (with lines), then color copy as many pages as I need. My daughter can then write a personalized note in the journaling box and each of her guests receives a special momento of the party in the mail!

I appreciate ideas that help me add a homemade touch to my layouts. I mix water and cardstock in a blender, then squeeze the excess water from the paper. Next, I press the mixture into candy mold trays and allow it to dry overnight. The thickness of the shape depends on how much paper pulp I add to the mold. I use glue dots to attach the shapes to my layouts. The shapes have a great texture and are easy to work with. For even more variety, I create my own shades by using colored cardstock and adding chalks. I've used a variety of candy and soap molds, available at most craft stores, and I love the look!

For Christmas this year I purchased double (hinged) 5x7 frames. I put my daughter's Christmas picture in one side and made a 5x7 scrapbook page to put in the other side. Each year I will give my relatives a new picture and page to replace in the frame. The previous year's set can then be put into a scrapbook so that they will have a collection as she grows.

I was putting together a scrapbook page for my daughter's first lost tooth. She came along to see what I was doing just as I started working on the title. This gave me an idea--why can't she print her own title? She printed "I Lost My Tooth". The result was so personal, and it will be neat for her to look back to see her printing at that age.

Once I select the photos I'm using for my layouts, I go ahead and crop my extras (leftovers) into different size squares (I try to crop them into the smallest size possible). Then I put them away by size. Later, when I come to the end of my album, I make tile collages with all my leftovers. That way I don't need a place to store them. I also don't have to trash them.
So, try to use these fun scrapbook ideas.

Let me introduce another part of themed scrapbook ideas. So go on!
I like using my son's baby blankets or baby clothes that I just didn't want to get rid of to cover my scrapbooking albums. I just iron the material out flat, and use a glue gun to adhere to the album like you would do a book cover. It's another memory that gets incorporated into your albums.

While organizing my photos I came across duplicate school pictures of not only my children but of my husband and myself as well. I had already done a school album for our children so I was at a loss as to what to do with these extras. It occured to me that when the kids leave they will take those albums with them, so I decided to make an album that compares all of us at each grade level. One on page you will find myself on the next my son at the same age. The kids really get a kick out of seeing Mommy and Daddy in Kindergarden right along side of them!

Scrapbook ideas: Roles of your life.
I recently did a mini album for my mother-in-law on her birthday of the roles she has taken throughout her life, such as wife, mother, daughter and so forth. For each role I expressed a few things about what she brought to that role and what I felt as her daughter-in-law experiencing the love and grace she brought to each of these roles.

Love Scrapbook ideas.
After Valentine's Day, I thought it would be especially nice if I made two 5 x 7 scrapbooks of me and my sweetheart. I plan to include the story of how we met (from both sides!), "10 things we love about..." lists, and highlights of both our memorable events and 'ordinary' activities like cooking, cleaning, going to movies, etc. The scrapbooks will be identical—one for me, and one for my sweetheart. As our relationship develops and grows, we can add more pages. The downside to this idea is that you have to buy doubles of everything!!!

Annual anniversary scrapbook.
Before my now-husband and I were dating, he had given me a beautiful photo album, just as a surprise little gift for me. When we got married three years later, I decided to turn the album into a record of our marriage, one anniversary at a time.
On the front page, I put a picture of us on our wedding day. I included just a few basic journaling elements - favorite memories, etc. Then on our one-year anniversary, we took another picture and put it on the second page. Next years will be our anniversary, so we'll fill in the next page, and so on... By the time the album's 40 pages are filled up, we'll have a wonderful progressive journal of our marriage!

Baby scrapbook
Recently, while looking through baby books to purchase for my sister's upcoming babies, I was discouraged. I began to make my own baby books with all of the needed/wanted pages and sections. I took ideas from older baby books (they tend to be better) as well as pregnancy journals and put them all in one. They have a section on how parents met, pre-birth, birth, post birth up through school years, leaving room for photos and journal pages for parents. I've now made two and have my sister-in-law making one for a friend of hers. We start with a white covered book and decoupage the outside, then the inside is all scrapbooking except without the photos. Once the book is completed I give it with several color pens and some scrapbooking glue. They look great, and are a very special gift!

Baby’s first days scrapbook ideas
When my son was born last fall, I knew there would be a lot of pictures taken of him during his first days. To jump start my scrapbooking, I took an album to the hospital with me, and asked all visitors, family and close friends, to sign one page of the album and write a message to my son. My husband and I added our own. I also asked visitors to our home over the first few weeks to add a message. I framed photos of each person holding my son on their page, and put greeting cards on the back of the page. There were several advantages to doing it this way! Journaling was easy, and he also has his loved ones' handwriting recorded. My son has a fun record of his family and friends. I'll definitely do this with my second!

Baby’s first scrapbook
With my daughter's first birthday quickly approaching, I dedicated an entire 6x8 album to her familly. I asked each person some personal questions (favorite ice cream, color, hobby, etc.) I am compiling it for her birthday. This way we are learning all about her extended family, colors, and some fun facts about each person! I have also decorated each page with something special about each of them.

Birthday scrapbook ideas
I have a girlfriend that loves scrapbooks, but doesn't ever do any. She thinks that she doesn't have any good ideas. So for a baby shower gift to her, I created a birthday book. It was a simple 5x7 album and on each page I decorated it so she could add a picture of her son at each of his birthdays starting with a hospital picture all the way until he is 18 years old. I put a square in the top left corner of each page with the number of years old he would be (example: 1,2 or 3 etc.), put a triangle in the bottom right corner and added a few stickers of party hats or confetti. Now all she has to do is add his picture and she will have a scrapbook that she can enjoy.

Birthday party scrapbook ideas
I love hosting parties and I love taking pictures but we all know how difficult it is to be the hostess and the photographer. Each time I attend a special party I take my camera and snap photos of everything I can- guests, gifts (wrapped and opened), food, decorations, and of course the guest of honor. (It's fun to use "their" balloons instead of balloon stickers.) I develop the photos then arrange them into a small 5x7 book and give it to that person. This is a nice way to add to their memories without overwhelming them with more photos to scrapbook. (I always present them with the negatives incase I captured a moment they would like to add to their scrapbook.) My most appreciative friends were mom's whose children had a birthday party. For these books I also added simple text to the bottom of each page which turned it into their very own picture book. (I hope I receive one for my daughter's upcoming birthday party!)

Blackmail scrapbook
Embrace your bad photos!! I took a small square template and cut all of my bad photos (bad hair, weird looks etc.) and arranged them on black cardstock in a black album, affectionately known as the "blackmail album". Every so often, we look through it and have a really good laugh!
I hope these scrapbook ideas will help you to have an easy scrapbooking!

Looking for a new scrapbook ideas? Use these themed scrapbook ideas to create a wonderful scrapbooking projects.

"A Year In The Life" scrapbook as a gift.

Last year I made my best friend a small album with something for every month during the year. We travel together a lot, so I had a photo of her on several trips we took during the year. I snapped her beside the new car she bought in August. In March, I had a photo of her looking hale and hearty after recuperating from surgery. In April, when I wasn't able to get a picture of her, I included a photo of her great-nephew and -niece, whom she adores. The last photo was at her home during Christmas-time, showing holiday decorations in the background. I put borders on one last page, and gave her a sticker set of a small Christmas tree and decorations, which she put in the album herself. She also added notes about what we had for dinner at our traditional gift-exchange get-together, and the other gifts I gave her. It was a real challenge making sure I got something (almost) every month, without giving away why my camera was pointed in her direction so often!

"Tips For A Good Marriage" scrapbook.

The reception is a good time to gather material for scrapping into a surprise wedding book for the newlyweds. The bride and groom are often so busy, they won't notice.
During the reception, have a family friend or relative not involved in the wedding party collect materials.
Arm them with a notepad, blank squares and rectangles of scrapbook paper, acid-free pens, and a camera with a flash, and assign them to visit each table during the course of the reception.
Have "The Collector" and tell the guests that we are secretly collecting materials for a scrapbook for the newlyweds. Ask each couple or family to write down a tip for making a good marriage on one of the scraps and sign it. Then take their photo. Write the name of the guests in the notepad with the frame number of the film for easy identification later.
Match the photos with the tips onto scrapbook pages and title "Tips for a Good Marriage".
This works well at small weddings, but may be difficult at large events.

Song scrapbook.

My two children like to sing their favorite songs before bedtime. So, I decided to make an album with their favorite songs in them. On one page I put a picture that relates to the song and opposite that page is the verse of the song in my handwriting. My children just love it.

50 States.

Travel is a big deal in our family and we are excited to say that we have been all over. To commemorate our daughter's travels, I have started a 50 States and Beyond theme album that has one page per state and one page for Washington, D.C. The last page is reserved for "Beyond" (trips out of the country). She is now 14 months old and has visited 14 states and lived in 3! I keep the pages the same for the most part: a black background, state titles, bright matting and a state diecut if I can find it. I include a couple of facts about the state, a note and picture of her on her first visit to the state and plenty of space to write in her future visits. I hope she will keep this book up throughout her lifetime and continue to work to fill any pages that we don't finish before she leaves home.

A Disney Scrapbook With Character.

Instead of using the same Disney style scrapbooking as I had done in previous Disney albums I decided to try something new. I called the album "Finding Character in the Characters" For each Disney Character that I had pictures of with my children I went through a Character Quality book and found a Quality which I felt best fit with each one. For example: Mickey Mouse - Joyfulness; Pluto - Loyalty etc. Each page had the regular Disney style scrapbooking and included a title with the Character's name, character quality and the definition for that quality. It's been a great learning tool for my children and myself, helping us realize that everyone has character qualities. It's also nice to know that my kids are learning valuable information when they look through this scrapbook! Great Scrapbook Idea!

A Musical Scrapbook.

I was challenged to put together an album for my mother-in-law's retirement in a very short period of time. Her main work was as a wife and mother for most of her adult life with a career after her kids were older, so I wanted to work in her family. I did a time line with each place she worked, a layout of the place she retired from and then a page for each family member. To tie the album together, I printed the words to an appropriate Christian song. Then I recorded a CD to send along with the album. Now when she listens to the CD in her car, she can relive her scrapbook and all the people who love her again and again.

ABC Bible Verses.

I created an ABC album for my daughter using Bible verses. I used an 8 1/2 X 11 album and used two facing pages for each letter. I cut out a large letter for each and decorated the pages with at least on picture that was related and several smaller pictures, stickers, die cuts, etc. But on each page I also added on child like Bible verse (such as "Honor your father and your mother.") that started with the letter. She loves to look through and identify the pictures but she is also starting to memorize the verses at only 3 years old.

ABC Scrapbook.

I love doing theme scrapbooks and have made an effort to do one book for every niece and nephew I have. The scrapbook I did for my youngest niece was an ABC book. I literally went through the alphabet and created pages that corresponded with the letter of the alphabet. Ex: A for Aunties Angel, B for Big Brothers, C for cousins, etc. I also made every page to incorporate the pictures to relate to my niece who the book was about. Not only is it a great book to show her growing up, but it teaches her the alphabet at the same time. I made my scrapbook 12x12, but this would be perfect for 8 1/2 x11 or a special book of 5x7.

ABC'S Of Our 1st Home.

My husband and I moved into our first home two years ago. We took many pictures throughout the first year, including about 100 pictures of him finishing our basement into a rec room. Instead of putting the pictures into an album chronologically, I made an ABC scrapbook of our first year in our first home. Here's the way my letters came out - some of them more personal to us and our life, but all are worth sharing.
A - Aquarium (we built an aquarium into the basement wall), B - Basement, BBQ, Bandit (one of the dogs we adopted soon after we moved in), C - Ceiling construction, D - Disney World (our vacation that year), E - Electrical work, F - First home pictures, G - Garden, H - Holidays, I - Irises and Inside the house, J - 4th of July (the day we moved in), L - London (a work trip I took), M - Moving Day, N - Nags Head (a short trip we took), O - Our street, Our neighborhood, Our town, P - Puppies, Q - Quiet time, R - Remodeling, S - Soccer (I played that Spring), T - Tools, U - Under Construction, V - Virginia Tech (went to the Sugar Bowl that year), W - Walls and Wallpaper, X - Xtra playful in the snow (puppies), Z - Z- End of our first year.

Use your imagination and these themed scrapbook ideas to create great and unique story of your life.

Here are a few scrapbook ideas about cropping. Scrapbooking is an industry that is booming with magazines, idea books, etc. Many scrapbookers find themselves wondering what to do with all of them. Should you keep them all intact or should you cut them up? That is the question. After spending all the money on subscriptions and idea books, wouldn't you like to get the most out of your money and find a way to make the most of all those piles of magazines? After all, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips, but if your idea books are scattered all over your house or piling up a stacks, how can you use them effectively?

Three camps emerge when this discussion comes up: those who believes you should keep them intact, those who cut them up and file them away, and the third camp (where my office seems to be at the moment) those who pile them up, because they had to have it, but haven't found time to read it or do anything with it.

Camp Keep Them Intact

The first camp is the purist camp and likes to keep their magazines intact. There are many reasons for doing this. Perhaps they like all the complete magazines all lined up or perhaps they feel that their tastes might change over time.

So, if you decide Camp Keep Them Intact is for you, well then, how do you find all the neat ideas that you have seen in the magazines over the years? There are about as many methods to organize as there are magazines out there.

ORGANIZE: First gather all your magazines by title and then sort them into years by the publication. Place them into magazine holders. I can usually fit 10 issues or so in one holder. You could then make labels for each magazine on the front of the holder for quick viewing.

What about annual magazines/books and miscellaneous idea books? Those can be further grouped together. For example, I usually put all my Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fames together. You could also put all your idea books by author together in one holder.

Many of the magazines even offer cool binders that you can hook all your complete magazines into that show their logo and the year or publication. Or, if you like the look of binders over magazine holders, there are many places (like Wall-Mart and office supply stores) that carry plastic magazine hooks that you place through the center of your magazine that are three ring punched for you to store whole magazines in binders.

CATEGORIZE: So, now you have them all organized into magazine holders, but how do you find that adorable Valentine's spread you saw months ago with the cool tag? Here are a few methods:

POST-IT METHOD: Purchase those small flag Post-Its in bright colors and flag pages in your magazine with layouts you want to return to while you're reading it. I like to additionally jot a small identifying note on the flag so I can glance across the top of the magazine for what I want. Since the little flags come in many colors, you could go so far as to assign each color a generic theme, such as tags being green, techniques being red, photo ideas being yellow, and lettering are purple. Then when you went back for the Valentine's spread with a cute tag idea you could glance over all the green Post-Its.

INDEX METHOD: Another method is to create a list of layouts, articles, techniques within the magazine you want to refer to later as you read along and write the page number down on a piece of paper with a title and maybe a short description. Then either clip it to the front of that issue or inside the cover of the magazine. You could also make these notations in a notebook designated just for this purpose. Magazines also offer end of the year indexes which you could place with your lists to have a more extensive index of where things are in the magazines. You could make indexes by magazine title in your notebook, or you could make categories and jot down all the layouts/articles you see that fit into those categories into your notebooks as you read the magazine.

CAMP CUT IT UP

Then there is the camp that cuts their magazines up. The reason for this is usually a space issue. If you decide this is the camp for you, as your magazines are taking up more square footage than your scrap space, then the first thing you need to decide is how you are going to store all your cut up pages. Will you place them in plastic sleeves in folders, glue into a book, or another method?

Let's start with ways to keep your archive of scrapping magazine clippings organized.

ORGANIZE:

PLASTIC SLEEVE METHOD: Archival page protectors are a mainstay in scrapbooking stashes and a good way to store whole pages clipped from magazines, as well as partial pages glue to another sheet of paper. The positives for this method include: you can see both sides of the page, you can take out only the page you need to a crop and use it, you can easily throw away clippings when they are no longer your style, and you can move them into other categories if you don't like your original method.

The only negative for this method really comes from the cost of purchasing all those sheet protectors.

GLUE THEM DOWN IN BOOKS: I love black hard bound books. You know, the ones used as journals or by artists. Something about bound black books all lined up just makes me feel so organized. I go so far as to attach little index tabs to sections in the books and glue my layout designs in categories. You can also jot yourself notes or draw layout sketches in the book next to your clippings. I also like doing these by year as styles change so quickly and with this method I always have the freshest, up to date layouts grouped together.

The negative is it is only one-sided. If you have a two sided clipping you can either stable the corner into the book or glue down just one side so you can still flip the page. Also, clippings are permanently affixed where you place them first, so no reorganizing or tossing out old styles is possible. You also have to take the whole book with you to crops.

FILE CARD METHOD: Like recipe cards we use for our favorite recipes to find them quick, many scrappers have used the same system for page layout ideas. Just cut out the layout or scrapbook idea and glue it to the card and file according to your system. A cool thing with this method is you can actually pull the idea card out and store it with your pictures until you scrap them. You could also do this method with a large Filofax and place each layout on a card. Filofaxes have index tabs you could use to distinguish your categories.

The negatives would be the size limitations as you could only use this method for small layout clippings. Also, spilling the box or Filofax would mean a lot of reorganizing.

CD ROM/HARD DRIVE METHOD: This is for the futuristic scrapper with space issues. This method would involve scanning them onto your computer and storing on CD-Roms. If you really want no paper trails, this is the one for you. Just like the way your organize the online ideas you collect , this method would be along the same lines. Subfolders can be made for categories on each CD. Rewritable CD's would allow you to add ideas until you fill a whole CD.

The negatives include a lot of time scanning and potential loss of data from computer crash or CD malfunction, i.e. scratched CD roms that will no longer play. This method, though saving a lot of paper, would require a lot of backing up on multiple mediums (hard drive and disks).

CATEGORIZE:
The next thing you will have to decide is how you are going to categorize the ideas.

Once you have picked your method of storing your clippings, now how will you categorize them? There are so many ways to categorize, but through trial and error you will find which one allows you the fastest/best access to ideas you have saved. Here are some subcategories:

TOPIC METHOD: Here you could sort by season, holiday, children, adult, birthday, or beach: general categories you see most layouts organized into on online scrapping sites. In fact, using those lists provided by the sites might be a good starting place for you.

TECHNIQUE/EMBELLISHMENT METHOD: This method would have you putting all the clippings (regardless of season or topic) into one section by embellishment or technique. Again, you can look at subsections on scrapping sites to get a feel for these categories. Examples would be tags, eyelets, fibers, paper tearing, or funkier techniques like shrink dinks.

PICTURES PER LAYOUT: Another subcategory could be by the amount of pictures on a layout. This would be similar to Becky Higgins' book, Creative Sketches, where you would place all layouts with 3, 4 , 5 or 10 pictures in a section, regardless of the theme or technique.

MANUFACTURER: Another way to categorize could be by manufacturer. This is a great place to put all the ads that companies place in the magazines using their products. I find that I see a lot of layouts with a product style and want to be able to reference them when I buy that product.

COLUMNS/ARTICLES: Layouts are not the only thing in articles -- consider also articles on techniques, journaling topics, and recurring columns in magazines, such as 3 layouts, 1 sketch, or the theme albums in Simple Scrapbooks. I like to make these a book of their own. If you have certain column you love, make a tab in your method for each column. Then as you read each magazine, you can cut it out and place it with the rest of the clippings from that column. It is really neat to have all those similar columns together for quick reference. You can also have sections for journaling ideas, theme books, and techniques (like metal embossing).

AD METHOD: Another thing you might not want to overlook is the ads. Many times I see an ad for an upcoming product, a new line, or just something I want to buy and then time goes by and you forget all about it. Try making a section in your method for products you want to purchase or new product releases to look for. Another thing I like to do is collect various web site information from articles and keep them all located in an area for reference.

BEYOND THE SCRAPPING MAGAZINE: As a final note, don't forget to look at your home decorating magazines and other magazines in terms of scrapbooking as well. Advertisers pay lots of money to professional graphic designers to have slick layouts made for their products, which can be easily scraplifted for your layouts. Be on the look out for picture placement, cool title ideas, color combos, quotes, and placement of embellishments. I add these clippings into my above categories just like my scrapping page ideas. Ideas can come from anywhere, not just scrapping magazines.

CAMP PILE THEM UP: (We won't go there.)

Whatever method you use, I think we all agree that unless you have some system, you may never look at some of your magazines twice. In today's society with all we already have on our minds, trying to remember where you saw something is stressful and frustrating. Creative juices can flow much more freely if you aren't stressed about trying to find a layout you remember seeing or article on how to use your latest toy. Try these scrapbook ideas to organize your cropping.

Here are some fresh scrapbook ideas for your ABC album.When I first started scrapbooking, I wasn't really interested in doing an ABC album. I had several years of general family pictures that needed "saving", so I just dug in and got those in order. Then I completed 2 family albums and 1 vacation album, and I was looking to broaden my knowledge into new avenues.

This stage in my hobby happened to coincide with my 5-year-old son's learning of the alphabet. His preschool had been highlighting one letter a week, and he could now recognize his own name in print. So he started coming to me and asking "What's this letter for?" meaning "What letter does the word for this object start with?" What better way to show him than to create a book for him that illustrates words that he already understood? So began the process of creating a singularly personal book for my family.

In looking for items to go the each of the letter pages, I thought about our days, and what things are important to my kids, what things they come into contact with frequently. Since I was actually using this book as a teaching tool for my pre-kindergarten son, I wanted to include things that I knew he would recognize. This is what makes my book so personal. No one else on earth will have a picture on their "C" page for "Cheese Mia", a recipe my son created from his own imagination. Nor will they have the same combination of favorite TV shows, games, and books. My ABC book is be a perfect portrait of my kids as they are right now, right down to phrases they say frequently. Use your ABC book to portray the same importance, and place in your family history.

Things to consider when choosing letter subjects:

• Favorite TV shows and characters: I included stickers from Blue's Clues, coloring art for Bear in the Big Blue House and Sesame Street, paper-piecing for Pooh, and images from web pages for Scooby Doo and Pokémon.

• Habits, mannerisms, or phrases: I included a picture of my son with his stuffed bunny, punchart of a baby with a binky, and several quotes from my kids -- "U is for Uh-Oh!"

• Favorite toys: I went to E-Toys website and saved several images to my computer of my son's favorite toys, and also used pictures of my kids playing with favorite toys.

• Important People in your life: grandparents, godparents, family friends, school friends

• State where you live/have lived/where relatives live

• Favorite foods - I used pizza stickers, and small circle punches for M&Ms.

• Favorite books - I scanned an illustration from The Wizard of Oz for "O".

• Favorite computer games - I went to the manufacturer's website and saved an image to my computer.

• Halloween costumes - "T is for Tigger" in my case!

If you can't find a picture for something you think should be included, have your child draw a picture of it for you! I gave my son small pieces of acid-free paper cut to the size I wanted to include on my page. Then he used my scrapbooking colored pencils to draw what I needed. It's a great reminder of his drawing ability at this age, and he feels really proud of contributing to the book. He drew me a rainbow, a treasure chest with an "X" on it, and colored in several clipart pieces I had chosen. I feel like we made this book together.

Talk to your child(ren) about what they think should be included - I don't think I would have thought of "P is for Pokémon," but he did! And he chose which Pokémon went on the page (because there are over 150 of the little buggers!)

Finally, numbers. "T is for two."

I used a Creative Memories 8x10 red Kids' book. This size is just perfect for a smaller book like this, and it's a size the kids can easily handle. Plus, you don't have to drive yourself nuts trying to fill a 12x12 page for "X"!

My album came in a box (a wonderful friend mailed it to me), so that was my starting point in collecting my goodies. My back was out as I started on this project, so I couldn't just sit down and start scrapping. In hindsight, however, this proved to be a boon. I was forced to simply collect things - stickers, photos, clipart, punchart - for weeks, without scrapping a thing. But this forced me to be able to make sure that I had a full array of items for each letter. I was surprised at how often during any given day that I would think, "Oh, 'K is for kisses'" when I kissed my daughter's cheek, or whatever letter popped into my head as I began this project.

Had my back been healthy, I probably would have started scrapping straight out of the shoot, and missed a lot of things. As it was, I collected each letter "goodie" in a separate sandwich baggie for each letter. I stacked the baggies in alphabetical order in the album box. That way whenever I ran across a picture I needed, or my son drew me a picture, I could just slide it into the corresponding baggie. It worked wonderfully.

I also did a lot of research on the Internet, looking for different scrapbook ideas, styles and formats of ABC albums, as well as pictures to go on my pages. I used the Internet to find pictures from TV shows, videos, toys, a paperdoll, and clipart and coloring pages. See my links for sites I found helpful in my planning process.

I decided to give my ABC album a look of continuity by making the top of each page look the same. I used a 1" by 7" strip of acid-free paper, trimmed with ripple-edge decorative scissors. Then I placed the letter at the left corner of that strip. I formatted each letter's page this way, from A to Z, before putting any pictures (etc) on, so they would all have the same amount of border space, and just look the same. Then I went back laid out my page with the photos, et al. I labeled each item with very simple lettering, and double-underlined the first letter in each word, like this: Superman.

I learned a lot about my children. I learned what is important to them, and to our family. I learned to step back and let my son make decisions and color choices that I may not have made, so he would be included in this project. I learned to take my time, setting items aside for weeks, and waiting till a certain picture was developed, before actually putting the album together so I could have letters that fully represented my children.

I learned that the best way to prepare to put together an ABC scrapbook is to put everything in baggies as a collection point, one for each letter, and keep those baggies in a box. I learned how to do paper-piecing and punchart for things I couldn't find pictures of, as well as requesting artwork from my son.

And I learned just how fast my kids are growing up, from looking at all the older pictures of them I included in my book. That’s what will make this book so special in 5, 10, 15 years from now - how distinctly this book captures my kids are they are at just this time in their lives, with a few glimpses at how they got here. Consider these scrapbook ideas.

At least once a week, I go to scrapbook and share some scrapbook ideas with my friends . Sometimes we are scrapping at my home, but often I am at their homes, which means that I must tote my scrapbook supplies around. I have been constantly re-examining the methods that I use to bring my supplies to these scrapbooking get-togethers, but I am fairly content with what I am currently doing, so I thought that I would share my method with all of my readers.

When I first starting scrapbooking at places other than my own home, I tried to assemble all the items I needed for a particular layout -- the paper, stickers, photos, etc -- and place these items in a page protector so that all I would have to do later is assemble everything. Well, I didn't stick with it very long. I found that I was much happier when I had just about all my of tools with me, and I only brought the photos I was currently working on.

My current method may seem odd to some scrappers, but for me it works and I am assuming it would work for some of you too. The first thing you will need to know about is how I organize the individual supplies I own. I have taken a plastic shoebox and in one half of it, I have a square shaped plastic container with a hinged lid.

In this square container, I keep my punches, and anything else that is very small in size. In the other half of this plastic shoebox, I keep all of my scissors. In a shallow container, I keep my pens, pencils and markers. One idea I heard of, but have not tried, is to keep your markers in a recycled baby wipes travel container. At one time, I also kept my smaller scrapbook tools in fishing tacke box, which allowed me to create sections that would fit everything.

The biggest problem I had was sorting my pattern paper that I had purchased. Orginally, I had it organized in file folders, but I didn't find this to be very convenient. What I have done now, is I have categorized all of my paper into sections such as baby, kids, Christmas and winter, and so on. Then I have taken each section and placed it in a side-loading page protector and using a label, I write what the particular protector holds (for example: "Baby").

I then take all of these filled page protectors and I place them all in one large three-ring binder. In this binder, I also have a page protector with die-cuts and also a section with stickers. I have found this new method much easier to use and bring with me.

Someday, I intend to purchase a nice scrapbooking tote, but for now, I have found something that will get everything from here to there, without costing me too much. First, I take a large, rectangle sized duffel bag. In this duffel bag, I have placed an empty copy paper box (minus the lid). I use the copy paper box for stability within the duffel bag. Within this box, I organize the following: magazines or books with ideas, my plastic shoebox container, my pen container, my paper binder, and the current album I am working on.

Outside of the copy box, I occasionally tuck extra items that I decide to take with me. I have found this to work very well, especially because it has handles and even a shoulder strap, and it cost me nothing to put together.

Last month my family took a camping trip to Death Valley, CA. We had a great time, and I was sure to bring my camera and take lots of photos. Another thing I did was I collected different memorabilia from Death Valley - a map, my receipt, a few brochures, a small local newspaper - just to name a few. With every picture I took and every piece of memorabilia I saved, I was already mentally preparing my scrapbook pages!

When we returned home, I sat looking at the various keepsakes that I had brought back home. This was probably the most memorabilia that I had ever collected from a single outing, and I was excited! I just couldn't wait to get my photographs developed and put all of the great stuff on the pages of my scrapbook. But at the same time, I began to realized that I have some memorabilia that I have not done anything with. As a matter of fact, these "piles" are not even located in the same areas of my home - some is in boxes in the garage, while others are filed away. They are just waiting for me to do something with them.

So I have decided that I will be spending this week organizing all these wonderful keepsakes. I have already started with my method of organization for these special items, and I would like to share them with you.

First, think of every place in your home that you might have different memorabilia "stashed". Go to all of these areas and collect everything. Put everything on a table (or even a floor), so that you are ready for the next step.

Not sure what is considered memorabilia? Well, it is anything you consider a treasure. It is very personal, what one person would save, another person may not even look twice at.

Now think about your albums. Do you have one for each child? If so, you may want to keep a file folder or box for each child. Do you have memorabilia that dates back over a few years? Divide each child's folder or box with years so that you can easily find what you are looking for.

Do you have a family album or one devoted to trips? I would recommend sorting the memorabilia by the occasion. For example, all the special keepsakes from our Death Valley trip should be put in a file called, Death Valley. That way I can easily find the Death Valley items when I am ready to work on my scrapbook pages.

I would recommend not filing your memorabilia with your photographs. Nearby is fine, but to avoid any damage to your photos, I would not place them directly together (like in the same file folder).

I hope my scrapbook ideas will help you to organize your scrapbooking.

Use this four-part formula to analyze layouts and create a lot of new scrapbook ideas.

It’s time to scrap now. You stare at a pile of photos on your scrapbook table. You’re thinking you will never again have a creative thought, so you pull out the latest issue of your favorite scrapbook magazine and begin the hunt for ideas. On one page you see a great layout, but the colors aren’t quite what you’re looking for. Then you see a layout with a technique you love, but the stores are closed and you’re missing the necessary supplies. And none of the layouts is about in-line skating at the park – the subject of the photos sitting in front of you.

What’s a scrapbooker to do? Not to worry. You can gain inspiration from any layout no matter the color, style, or subject. Simply examine a page’s four core elements: theme, photography, design, and technique to see what makes a page work. Then it’s a snap to use the parts you like to inspire your next masterpiece.


1. Themed scrapbook ideas.

The theme of a layout includes the overall subject of the layout as well as specifics related to the journaling and title. Look at how the following features work together to establish a theme.

a) Six essentials. Better known as the who, what, where, when, why, and how, these elements document the theme of the layout. The people, activity, place, time, motivation, and activity depicted in the layout and described in the journaling can inspire ideas for your own pages. Perhaps your family has a similar tradition or participates in a similar activity.

b) Title. Whether a clever play on words or a perfect quotation, the title succinctly presents the topic of the layout to the viewer. Try experimenting with descriptive words. For example, the title “Our Home” takes on new meaning when a descriptive word is added to form “Our Country Home.” Pay special attention to the way layouts incorporate a long title or how they create impact with a one-word title.

c) Communication Style . When you read journaling, observe how the writer conveys her message. Is the journaling written in the first person (I), second person (you), or third person (he or she)? What seems most comfortable to you? Is the journaling written in past tense, or does it project into the future? Do the words make you pause and reflect, or do they make you laugh?

2. Scrapbook photo ideas.

Photographs are the basis of any scrapbook page. They illustrate the theme, and their mood and style should spark the design.

a) Subject. The photos in a layout may remind you of similar photos you’ve taken but have yet to scrap. Or perhaps the action depicted is similar to something a member of your family does and now you’re inspired to capture it for the first time on film.

b) Technical Aspects. Look for photos that interest you from a technical standpoint. Perhaps the angle of the subject in the photograph, the setting, or even the lighting captures your attention. You might even try your own photo shoot to practice skills.

c) Quantity. One photo makes an impression; multiple photos tell a story. Study how designers combine more than one photo to convey their message. Watch for layouts that pull together photographs that reveal little in isolation but tell a compelling story when combined. And remember that multiple photos on a layout need not be from the same event or photo session.

3. Scrapbook design ideas.

The design of a layout encompasses the overall look of the page. The components of a design include the color palette, typography, image size and shape, and placement of elements on the page.

a) Color Palette. Because humans respond so strongly to color, a great palette may be just the thing to inspire your creativity. Examine layouts for pleasing color combinations. Note how designers use colors found in their photographs to devise a color scheme that compliments the images.

b) Typography. The look of the letters you choose for your titles and journaling is key to creating the mood and expressive quality of your page. When you find yourself admiring a title, consider how the font and materials contribute to the effect. How does the choice of font fit the subject? Is it casual or formal, subtle or in-your-face? What emotion does the font evoke?

c) Image size and shape. Note the size and shape of the photographs. Did the designer crop the photo in an unusual way? How does the crop concentrate the eye on the focal point of the photo? If a large photo in a layout inspired you but it’s too late to run to the photo lab, try scanning, enlarging, and printing your photo on textured card stock for a different look. If a layout groups several small photos, you can substitute a larger photograph in their place. Conversely, try replacing one large photo with a grouping of several smaller photos.

d) Placement. How do the photographs relate to journaling blocks and embellishments? Does the title wrap around an element or is it layered onto the layout in a creative way? Remember that embellishments are flexible. You can mimic placement on the layout even if you switch soccer balls to flowers. Or you can increase or decrease the number of embellishments to suit your taste.

4. Scrapbook technique ideas.

Scrapbookers use a wide variety of techniques – and materials – to create their art. The challenge is to take a technique or material and bring it into your layout in a unique way.

a) Scrapbook supplies. Take special note of layouts using products you already have to jump-start your creativity. Or perhaps there’s a product you’re eager to try. Mark layouts that use that product so you can refer to them when you have the supply in hand.

b) Substitutions. If you like a certain patterned paper or embellishment on a layout but don’t have an exact match, dig through your stash. Look for a similar pattern or color family and substitute. If a layout uses jute or string but you don’t have any, try raffia or fibers. Employ torn paper for a fabric’s frayed edge. Substitute clip art for rubber-stamped images and vice versa. If you like the look of ink along the edges of a layout but don’t own any ink pads, use chalk.

c) Alterations. You like the way a certain product was used on a layout, but the color isn’t right. Alter the look of premade cutouts, die cuts, borders, and photo mats by sanding, chalking, inking, tearing or heat-embossing them. Change the color of metal embellishments by inking them with a solvent ink. Paint embellishments and then sand them for a textured look. An extra touch here and there can make a layout your own.

d) Clever fakes. If you’re uncomfortable using bulky elements in your scrapbook, you can still gather ideas from layouts peppered with brads, eyelets, buttons, and other embellishments. Use a hole punch or group of punches to punch circles from metallic and colored papers to create the look of brads and eyelets. Use circle, rectangle, and square punches to create fake metal-rim tags from metallic card stock, tying a string through the tag for an authentic touch. Create a button using a combination of circle and hole punches. To give it added depth and dimension, glaze the top with dimensional glue.

Using the principles outlined here, you can find inspiration to create scrapbook ideas in every layout. It may be a small touch, such as a folded corner on a photo mat, or something big, such as a background design. Any spark that feeds the flame of creativity is worth pursuing.

Here are some scrapbook ideas for beginners. Do you look at boxes and bags and drawers of photos and wondered where to start and if it is really worth all the effort that it would take? Have you hesitated to get that roll of film developed because you know that the photos will be added to those in the drawer from last Thanksgiving, last Christmas, etc.?

Well, don't throw up your hands in despair, it is easier than you think. If you are not in the mood (or don't have the time) to organize, sort, etc., start today. Start with Thanksgiving Day and work your way backward. If you use a loose-leaf, 3 ring binder with page protectors, you can change the order of your photos at any time.

Do your autumn photos, your summer photos, your back to school photos, and your vacation photos, your office photos or school photos. Start with the ones that are the freshest on your mind and work your way back. Keep it simple and don't get carried away with fancy layouts. You can always add to them later if you find appropriate stickers, etc.

You can even change your whole layout if you don't get carried away with cropping. Don't worry if you can't find commercially printed background papers appropriate to the subject you are doing- just make your own.

If it's a choir concert, scan or photocopy a piece of sheet music, the program, etc. If it's your daughter's dance recital, you can even place her ballet slippers on the scanner or copier and copy them (or take a photo of the slippers and scan it or have it enlarged for a background).

There are many programs with wonderful clipart that you can use to make your own background papers in much the same way as the folks who love to do rubber-stamping. Choose an object that you like and then cut and paste it at intervals on the page.

There are also great background pages and borders in many of the computer programs . Before you know it, you will be a fanatic just like the rest of us! You will see everyday occurrences as pages in life's scrapbook, waiting for you to record!

Today we have various ways to record and preserve family history. Today, we have photo printers, die cuts, acid free paper, gel pens, and fancy albums, but we are still recording the same events. From recording everyday life at home, work or play to engagements. Weddings and holidays, a first tooth, or first steps to even potty training, these are memories that are treasured and linger in our hearts, minds and albums forever.

An album doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate. It doesn’t have to have the most stickers or the latest die-cuts. It does need to be a work of art. It needs to reflect who you are and record your life for those who will enjoy it in years to come.

Some people have cropped valuable vintage photos, or one of a kind wedding proofs only to regret it later. Stop and think before you crop any photo. And never crop any for which you don't have the negative. If you feel an uncontrollable urge to crop a vintage photo, use your scanner and computer to make a copy. You will be thanked for generations to come!

Scrapbooking is an art form. Don't be afraid to treat it as such! With all the idea books and magazines that are available, it may be tempting to simply copy what others have done. This can be great and yield beautiful results. However, we each need to develop our own personal style. If your inner artist says 'yuck' to something, don't do it! If you see an idea or technique that takes your breath away, then use it.

We don't have to succumb to all of the newest trends, nor do we have to limit ourselves to the things we are already doing. Allow your personality to shine through; your scrapbooks are a unique expression of who you are. Your family will appreciate all the work you have put into them, and will love seeing what you thought looked good.

So next time you sit down to crop, close your eyes and think for just a moment about what work of art you want to create today. Then do it! Take the time to journal to your children and grandchildren. Leave with them the knowledge of knowing you. Some of the things you might include would be:

1. What the happiest times in your life were and why.
2. Your religious beliefs.
3. People that made a true impression in your life and why.
4. What was the saddest event in your life and how you felt.
5. Your virtues, beliefs and moral beliefs you would want to instill in future generations.
6. Your favorite place to vacation and memories of it.
7. The way you like to "de-stress"

Continue on with this line of thought and tell a true story of you to future generations. I hope these simple scrapbook ideas for beginners will help you to start.

If you want to get more original scrapbook ideas, try to use scrapbook software. Digital scrapbooking is very popular now. You can find a lot of scrapbooking software programs.

You can get various scrapbooking tools for free download or use them online. The Internet is a great source of digital scrapbooking accessories and offers a magic technological tricks for creating an unique scrapbooks. Softwares for scrapbooking has a big number of fonts, layouts, embellishments and a vast custom flexibility. You can create any courage ideas and use them in your scrapbooking activity in a creative manner.

Software for scrapbooking allows you to upload your photos and create a layouts in various combinations that you want. You can edit your photos, add any borders, attach text and notes. You can use printed text in your journaling room instead of a handwritten variant. Also you can to print a whole album or save it in a digital way.

You can in addition to modify the pics you choose by fixing the faults, adding shades, and matting pictures. You'll be able to also include your lovely backgrounds and individualize the album in artistic manner and customize your project in your own creative style. You can add various magic artistic effects to enrich your photos and pics. The great idea of using scrapbook softwares is to modify your traditional methods on scrapbooking and enhance your creative scrapbooking skills.

Also scrapbook software tools are well-matched with a various multimedia. You can use lovely pictures, audio and video clips. You are able to work with music and some told pieces . These digital special tricks and effects will allow you to express your creative scrapbooking talent in a rich and full ways. These great features shows that now scrapbooking has turned into an artistic form of creative expression.

You don't have to download on your computer these wonderful software and have a troubles of installing. Scrapbooking websites allows you to make the scrapbooks onsite. They allows you upload photos, choose premade layouts and backgrounds. These tools facilities makes your scrapbooking more easy and fan and helps realize all your creative scrapbooking ideas.

You can work with scrapbooking programs in a simple way. A scarpbooking softwares are very user-friendly and can satisfy any taste and needs. Scrapbooking tools are actually flexible and allows to make wonderful layouts that allow you to play around with them. You can create various designs of your pages, use various colors schemes, choose a lovely layouts from a big number of pre-designed ones. These features helps you to create a perfect and unique scrapbooks and express your personality and ideas.

Editing software features helps you to import your photos, arrange them, crop them, fix the visual disorders, make particular impressions, make more attractive the scrapbooking page look.

Scrapbook software bring you a freedom on using embellishments. It's a great and a magic opportunity to express your creative scrapbooking ideas with fonts, clipart images and borders. You can choose various designs and visual effects in the background.

Digital scrapbooking is taking the country by storm! For those of us who don't feel that comfortable around a pair of scissors, wrestling with glue or lack the skill to put together a book that looks professional, digital scrapbooking on your computer is the way to go. Basically, you use your computer with a graphics program such as Paint Shop Pro to create your scrapbook pages.

There are lots of advantages to doing a scrapbook this way and we will try to explain all the ins and outs to you with this article.One of the main advantages to constructing a digital album rather than a paper form is that . With digital your main costs are for discs and copies of photos to scan if you don't have a digital camera.

A disadvantage is that if you choose to print it you will not have the same 3D effect as a paper version. Another advantage with digital scrapbooking is that you will be able to make copies of your book to share with family and friends either by emailing the finished product or printing them off a copy. These days, with the imaging software such as Photoshop and Corel you can do your own photo editing by manipulating, cropping and changing the colors of your photos to give them a custom look that is not possible with paper scrapping. If you make a mistake with your cropping you can Undo your error - something you can't do with paper.

Scrapbooking software will give you an endless number of options for color, pattern and size. It is much easier to size a picture in a graphics package than to figure out how to size it to a paper page. Good graphics packages will have different clip-art options and layouts. It really is one stop shopping without the hassle of searching through shops for just the right color or pattern.If you hate to have to put all your scrapbooking supplies away each time you have to leave your project for a little while you will like to do your book in digital format. All you have to do is save the pages you are working on onto your hard drive or a disc.

Scrapbook software components will allow you to raise your scrapbooking on a new level of development. Try to realize your lovely scrapbook ideas with these magic scrapbooking tools.
Have a fan scrapbooking!

When you need some new scrapbook ideas, the easy way is relax and listen to your heart. Your creative scrapbooking talent will start to produce a lot of great unique ideas. And you will be able to reuse some traditional techniques in new creative ways. Here are some ideas to help you to get an inspiration on creative scrapbooking.

Use a colorful quotes. You choose a lovely photo but have no any ideas about journaling. Describe an important event using quotes instead of simply telling what it was happened.
Include the other people citations about these events, their point of view and mention. It will add a new dimension to your memories.

You can make more creative scrapbooking with newspaper clippings. Use a clippings as a simple colored background. Also you can cut out newspaper letters or whole words and make a creative journaling, titles and notes.

Try to create a smaller or larger album instead of an usual one. You can use ready-made scrapbooks or create your own by using various paper or cardstock. You will use an unusual products in a new creative ways and recycle various things such as clothespins, paper bags, CD covers, coffee filters. These unusual tricks can enhance your creative scrapbooking activity.

Do you wish to create 3D scrapbooking? Consider these scrapbook ideas to enrich your creative scrapbooking.

And what you think about creating your own scrapbook page as a picture puzzle. Check out a new creative scrapbooking method.

Try to use advanced scrapbooking techniques to enhance your creative scrapbooking skills. Incorporate them into your scrapbooks. Create a mosaic pictures with using your leftover scrapbooking scraps. Think about creating a small scrapbook akin to a matchbook. Try experimenting with decorative scissors for cutting your papers, photos, images, pics. Make an experience with creative punching techniques. Be creative and you will find more new advanced ideas.

Make journaling or keepsakes as the focal point of the page and use photo enlargement or photo collage as a creative background.

Recycle and reuse everything without having to buy new scrapbook supplies from craft stores. Use magazines, newspaper, stationery graphics, old greeting cards as stickers. Making own project from recycled papers.

Add dimension to your pages. You are able to use various embellishments such as buttons, ribbons, die cuts, brads, fibers, etcetera. Try to incorporate pressed flowers or an imprint of leaves into your pages.

You have no time to create a nice layout. Don't worry. Purchase prepared scrapbook pages that already include layouts and designs. Add your creative scrapbooking touch by using ready-made stickers.

Most scrappers will do a special layout for a portrait that they have had taken by a photographer. Many will choose to have their child photographed yearly and then want to showcase this portrait in a special way. Just using this one photo on a page makes the picture stand out from the rest of your pages.

I myself used this method with my boys portraits that I had taken yearly, but as for the rest of my layouts, I had a completely different style.

Using only one photo on a layout is a fairly new type of layout design for me. In my earlier scrapping days, I felt that I needed to place as many pictures on a page that would fit. I also cropped many of my beautiful photos into small shapes and sizes. This is definitely something that I regret doing! I am sure that many of you can relate to that. As my scrapping skills have improved, I have found that I just love the simple, uncluttered look of just one or two photos on a page.

When using just one great photo on a layout, the focal point is on the picture, instead of any embellishment on the page. Your eye is immediately drawn to the subject in the photo.

I have found that my photography skills have improved greatly since I have started this technique. When taking photos of your child, zoom in closely and fill the frame. This way you will ensure that your subject is the main focal point of the picture. Also, try to use contrast in your photos, in the background of the picture or in the clothes the subject is wearing. This will help your subject really stand out.

As for layout designs with just one photo, the options are endless. I like to keep my layouts simple and uncluttered, so that nothing will distract from the subject of the photo. Try using colors that enhance your pictures, which will make then sand out more. Color blocking, borders, frames all work well with this type of layout. With just the one picture, there is plenty of room for journaling and a title. Try placing your photo off centered or in one corner of the page for a unique look.

Using this style every now and then will enhance your scrapbook and showcase your favorite photos. So, get your camera and go take some fabulous pictures of your loved ones and try this scrapping technique!

You will really enjoy with these quick and simple scrapbook ideas.