Scrapbooking 101 – For Beginners

Now that you know the Theme and Color Scheme of your scrapbook, you now need to focus on how you want to present your cherished story to your readers… do you want a
traditional 12″x12″ scrapbook to be used for years to come or do you want to be more
creative and present your cherished story in a memory box or journal or something
smaller like a brag book.

I find that it is much easier for beginners to use 12″x12″ scrapbook sized pages.  I prefer
the post style albums to the ring binder kind.  To me the post style albums are classier
and more durable over time.  Remember though the ring binder kind are easier to work with when you want to rearrange your pages… with post binders you need to remove all the pages leading up to the insertion point of where you want to put your cherished memory.  Stampin’ Up! has a wonderful selection of sizes and album types in both post and ring style.  They also have a beautiful leather bound album in the post style.

If you are journaling though, you might want to try something smaller like 8.5″x11″
where your journaling, not the picture would be the focus of your cherished memory.

As your scrapbooking skills get more experienced, you can learn easily to use smaller
sized papers…

Laying out your page takes time and patience and I suggest for your first couple of pages
to find a layout that attracts your eyes and heart and mimic it.  There is a lot of learning
in simply copying a layout… this way the hard work of laying out your pages is already
done for you… there are many many places on the internet where you can gleem ideas
from…

Here’s some quick tips on choosing a scrapbook layout:

1. Designate your focal point, first thing, by choosing your layout’s main photograph. Ask yourself, “Where do I want the viewer’s attention to be drawn first?” Then you can choose your supplementary, supporting photographs, if appropriate.
2. Group accents and small embellishments in groups of three or five. Aesthetically, we are drawn to groupings that contain an odd number of items.
3. Place related accents close in proximity so the eye processes them as one unit.
4. Create a triangle on the page, placing photos or embellishments at each of the triangle’s three points. Our eyes like that, too.
5. Create sections in multiples of two. Two sections or four sections are more aesthetically pleasing to our eyes than 3 or 5 sections.
6. Apply the “Rule of Thirds.” Think of your page as a grid, divided into thirds horizontally and vertically. Place your focal point on one of the convergences of these lines.
7. Maintain balance with the size of your elements. Consider both the size and complexity of your page elements as you distribute them in your layout.
8. Achieve a natural sense of flow by placing the photographs so that the eyes of your subjects turn toward the center of the page – or toward your focal point.
9. Use repetition. Repeat shapes, textures, sizes, colors, or other attributes.
10. Sketch your favorite layouts in books and scrapbooking magazines. Try to determine which design principles are at work to create such visual appeal and work to incorporate those principles into your own layouts.

The first rule of art, of course, is not to be bound by rules!!! The second rule of art is that
mistakes can turn into beautiful ideas… so don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Now that you know the basics of what our eyes are naturally attracted to, see what kind of beauty you can create.