Basics of Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is the art of creatively displaying photos, newspaper articles, ticket stubs, or any other item that has personal meaning in a photo-album type book or a handmade one. Not only do the pieces being displayed in the scrapbook reflect the personality of the creator, but the ways in which they are organized and creatively displayed also reflect the creator's personality. In recent years scrapbooking has become the fastest growing craft in America.

One of the most basic layouts of a scrapbook page would use a few photos with the theme of the page being related to those photos. You would use the photos to help you choose the colors for the page and any embellishments you wish to add to your page. Embellishments can be stickers, die cuts, clip art, or any other type of page decoration. Your photo(s) become the focal point of your page. You may wish to enlarge or match one photo on the page to show that it is your main focal point, and use other smaller photos to compliment your main photo. You may also wish to use repeating shapes or textures on your page to promote consistency in your layout.

You can scrapbook about any number of things. Popular scrapbook themes are weddings, major holidays, the birth of a child, family reunions, family vacations, and so on, the possibilities are endless! You can also choose to create a paper scrapbook or an online scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a great activity to do with friends, co-workers, or kids.