AN INTRO TO (OLD SCHOOL) SCRAPBOOKING
If you have wanted to create an "old school" scrapbook but haven't taken the plunge yet, this post will hopefully give you the nudge you need. It's not terribly complicated but you have to put perfectionism and self-criticism off to the side and just enjoy the process. Pages aren't perfect. Skills improve and evolve. (I cringe when I look at my very first albums - I really chopped up the pictures and I think I used every pair of decorative scissors I could find!) That doesn't detract from the joy of looking through those albums and reliving those moments!
If you're new to scrapbooking, there are a few options:
My favorite - the traditional paper, glue and scissors way of scrapbooking. Long gone are the days of scrapbook stores and the amazing trove of paper, stickers, die cuts and all sorts of other items that could be used to enhance scrapbook pages. But you can still find lots of items at most craft stores. An upside of this is that albums are far less expensive than they used to be years ago.
There is a huge amount of digital scrapbooking websites such as Pixel Scrapper and Scrap Girls where items can be purchased or downloaded for free. The unlimited array of items is staggering. The creativity of the artists is amazing. These are used with a program such as Adobe Photoshop Elements (a simpler version of Photoshop) to create a digital page with pictures that can be printed.
There is also the option of using photo websites to create books for you such as Flickr, Photobucket, and Shutterfly.
I'm an "old school" scrapbooker. So if you'd like to give it a try, a simple tutorial is below.
As you can see in the photo below, I have all my photos in folders. You may be able to see that most of the folders have a check mark at the end of the title. When I was uploading all my photos to my favorite photo store website (Fullerton Photographics) for printing, I would add the check at the end of the folder name so that I knew which ones I had already done. Some folders were not printed, but I wanted to keep the photos. This year is the first year I printed up the entire year of photos at one time, so this little trick really helped!
As you go through the folders individually, you can remove duplicates or crop them. If you're really ambitious, you can replace the default title with your own, such as "Aunt Betty's Cake", to make a future search even easier.
When you are ready to start your album, you will need to decide what type of album you're going to do. My first albums were always chronological and one year ran into the next, sometimes with one album having a year and a half worth of pictures. But then we went on a cool vacation and I wanted to do a small album just for that trip. So now I do a combination of both.
Once you have your pictures printed, sort them in whatever configuration you like. The options are endless ... chronological, all pictures of a single person together, selfies, landscapes ... whatever makes you smile.
There are a couple of options for journaling or titling your photos and I've used both. In my older albums I handwrote all the comments. I worried about the lettering being "perfect". But one day I read an article that said part of the legacy you leave in a scrapbook is your unique style of writing - perfection is not necessary. That really hit home - I know my grandmother's handwriting. I know my mother's handwriting. I know my husband's handwriting. I have an emotional response when I see them. How cool is it to have your own writing in your album?
The second option is one that I use when I don't have a ton of time. I pull up a new Word doc and do all the writing ahead of time. Sometimes I download some cool free fonts off of websites such as 1001 Free Fonts, Font Squirrel, Da Font, or other reputable sites. I then take photos that will be grouped together in the album and write captions, or memories, or whatever tickles my fancy. If a title is needed, I increase the size of the text and maybe use a different font. Leave a lot of space between each entry so that you can easily cut them apart. An example is below:
Once you have your supplies, take a look on Pinterest or Google for page design ideas if you don't know where to start. Don't try to replicate them item by item, but just find one or two things you would like to use. A couple of the easiest ideas are to put your pictures and some of your text on a contrasting background and to use two patterns of coordinating paper on one page. In the photo below I put a second pattern strip at the top and a third pattern behind the pictures and text.
This is currently how my workspace looks. I have my photos sorted and stored in the bottom left cubby. My paper pads are on the left under the page in progress. I have my handy dandy paper cutter on top of some colored cardstock. Additional 12"x12" plain colored cardstock is in a container on the right. The drawers have stickers and letters in them - things I've collected randomly over time.
Having a space to work that doesn't have to be cleared off every day (like a dining room table!) is a luxury and for which I am very grateful. Most of the time I'd set up a card table or white folding table and leave it up as long as I could. If you can't leave things out in the open over time, find some plastic storage boxes or drawers on sale and put your items in them as you purchase them so it's easier to set up and put away. Sometimes if it's too much trouble to pull it all out, it's easier not to start. Believe me, I know!!
Best of luck in your scrapbooking and remember that whatever you create is amazing because you created it! Enjoy!
If you're new to scrapbooking, there are a few options:
My favorite - the traditional paper, glue and scissors way of scrapbooking. Long gone are the days of scrapbook stores and the amazing trove of paper, stickers, die cuts and all sorts of other items that could be used to enhance scrapbook pages. But you can still find lots of items at most craft stores. An upside of this is that albums are far less expensive than they used to be years ago.
There is a huge amount of digital scrapbooking websites such as Pixel Scrapper and Scrap Girls where items can be purchased or downloaded for free. The unlimited array of items is staggering. The creativity of the artists is amazing. These are used with a program such as Adobe Photoshop Elements (a simpler version of Photoshop) to create a digital page with pictures that can be printed.
There is also the option of using photo websites to create books for you such as Flickr, Photobucket, and Shutterfly.
I'm an "old school" scrapbooker. So if you'd like to give it a try, a simple tutorial is below.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Start by organizing your photos. This is my least favorite thing to do, so I make sure that in January of every year, I pull all my photos together for the previous year and put them into a folder just for that year on my desktop. I then delete them off my phone and iPhoto. (You may choose to keep them all in your photo apps but for me, I find thousands of pictures overwhelming.)
Once the photos are in the "Year" folder, I go through them and put them into sub-folders for each event. Tedious, but so much better because if at some point five years from now you are looking for Aunt Betty's birthday party, the search is easier. I then copy all the photo folders to a USB flash drive and label that with the year. I have a little box in my desk drawer where I keep the flash drives.
As you go through the folders individually, you can remove duplicates or crop them. If you're really ambitious, you can replace the default title with your own, such as "Aunt Betty's Cake", to make a future search even easier.
When you are ready to start your album, you will need to decide what type of album you're going to do. My first albums were always chronological and one year ran into the next, sometimes with one album having a year and a half worth of pictures. But then we went on a cool vacation and I wanted to do a small album just for that trip. So now I do a combination of both.
Once you have your pictures printed, sort them in whatever configuration you like. The options are endless ... chronological, all pictures of a single person together, selfies, landscapes ... whatever makes you smile.
There are a couple of options for journaling or titling your photos and I've used both. In my older albums I handwrote all the comments. I worried about the lettering being "perfect". But one day I read an article that said part of the legacy you leave in a scrapbook is your unique style of writing - perfection is not necessary. That really hit home - I know my grandmother's handwriting. I know my mother's handwriting. I know my husband's handwriting. I have an emotional response when I see them. How cool is it to have your own writing in your album?
The second option is one that I use when I don't have a ton of time. I pull up a new Word doc and do all the writing ahead of time. Sometimes I download some cool free fonts off of websites such as 1001 Free Fonts, Font Squirrel, Da Font, or other reputable sites. I then take photos that will be grouped together in the album and write captions, or memories, or whatever tickles my fancy. If a title is needed, I increase the size of the text and maybe use a different font. Leave a lot of space between each entry so that you can easily cut them apart. An example is below:
I print the document on cardstock. Packages of cardstock are available in lots of colors at your local craft store. Using a small papercutter (I have an old Fiskars one that I love!) or scissors (not quite as accurate), chop up your text and match it with your pictures. If you have things like ticket stubs or other souvenirs, put them with the pictures. This is the time to use those $1 photo boxes from Michaels - store your pictures and text together so that you can easily find them when all the prep is done and you're ready for the fun part!
The best thing of all is..... SHOPPING! 😊 At a minimum you will need some basic supplies.
- Cardstock for text and for backing pictures if needed
- Adhesive - I use ZIG 2 Way Glue in the blue container
- Paper cutter
- Background paper - I like the pads that have a variety of patterns. These are sometimes cheaper than buying paper by the piece. Even better if you get it on sale or have a coupon.
- Album (I like the "three post" albums because you can add pages if needed)
- Extra pages for your album if you have a lot of pictures
Once you have your supplies, take a look on Pinterest or Google for page design ideas if you don't know where to start. Don't try to replicate them item by item, but just find one or two things you would like to use. A couple of the easiest ideas are to put your pictures and some of your text on a contrasting background and to use two patterns of coordinating paper on one page. In the photo below I put a second pattern strip at the top and a third pattern behind the pictures and text.
The next page had some of the same elements. I used pad sheets as the base paper.
When actually putting your pages in your album, keep in mind: sometimes albums have a white sheet of paper in each plastic pocket. I usually pull them out and put two finished pages back-to-back instead of gluing everything to both sides of the white paper. This allows you a LOT of flexibility in the order of your pages.
This is the album that I'm working on for 2017. I got it on sale at Michaels. I haven't decided what will go in the pocket on the front yet. As you can see in the picture, I have a scrapbook magazine nearby and some decorative brads that I found at a store - I'm hoping to add them to my pages at some point.
This is currently how my workspace looks. I have my photos sorted and stored in the bottom left cubby. My paper pads are on the left under the page in progress. I have my handy dandy paper cutter on top of some colored cardstock. Additional 12"x12" plain colored cardstock is in a container on the right. The drawers have stickers and letters in them - things I've collected randomly over time.
Having a space to work that doesn't have to be cleared off every day (like a dining room table!) is a luxury and for which I am very grateful. Most of the time I'd set up a card table or white folding table and leave it up as long as I could. If you can't leave things out in the open over time, find some plastic storage boxes or drawers on sale and put your items in them as you purchase them so it's easier to set up and put away. Sometimes if it's too much trouble to pull it all out, it's easier not to start. Believe me, I know!!
Best of luck in your scrapbooking and remember that whatever you create is amazing because you created it! Enjoy!
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