ScrappinWAHM

When you get started in scrapbooking, it can start to seem very big. There are so many options to choose from for every decision involved in making a scrapbook. There are thousands of products, philosophies, and opinions. While all these options are what make your scrapbook so special and unique, they can also make getting started a daunting task. If you want to sort through all the mess and find your voice, you can find help from millions of people online who are just like you and who have been where you are right now.

Whether it’s scrapbooking or any other sort of art, looking at the work of professionals can get me very down. Sure, you can find inspiration, but you can also find a lot of frustration because you’re just not good enough to repeat their results. Online, you can see the layouts of thousands of scrapbookers from professionals and people who just started. This way you can get inspiration and support without feeling down about your own work.

In addition to seeing others’ designs, you can also share your own with the world. Showing scrapbooks to your friends is great, but if they don’t scrapbook themselves, they may not be able to give you helpful insights and opinions on your designs. Plus, you only have so many friends to help you out. If you find the right website, you can find thousands of people to give you honest and helpful opinions to get you on your way to successful scrapbooking.

Online, there’s a good change you can find someone who’s used a specific product and can give you an honest opinion. This is great for knowing which products to buy and saves you money by knowing what to avoid. I will also help protect your memories from faulty products that could destroy it years down the road.

Be careful about who you’re getting your product information from. If you talk to someone regularly and they’ve voiced opinions on all kinds of products, you can likely trust what you say. The problem is that many product reviews are written by the manufacturers to boost sales, not by the consumers. Once you’re comfortable with the internet, you should learn to spot these phonies pretty easily. Remember that if a product seems to good to be true, try your best to find a second opinion.

Probably the best part about meeting other scrapbookers online is that you can make friends with people who share the same interests as you. And once you get to talking, you’ll probably find they share other interests as well. Whether they’re from your neighborhood or across the globe, they can still become trusted lifelong friends.

Posted in Scrapbooking Resources

Scrapbooking is one of the most popular ways of keeping keepsakes intact and fun to look at. Coined from the root word “scrap”, scrapbooking involves the use of a lot of materials and supplies such as photos, papers and cardstocks. There are journaling tools such as pens of various tips and colors, plus adhesives of all shapes and sizes such as tapes, glues, and dots. Embellishments such as buttons, laces, pins, eyelets, patterns, and the like dress up scrapbook layouts. Cutting supplies, especially a pair of scissors come in handy, but also cutters, die-cuts, cut-outs, punchers and so much more.

Since scrapbooking requires a lot of materials, a scrapper needs a place and space where he or she can stock up and store the materials needed while doing the craft. Today, more and more people from the scrapbooking industry come up with various products that can help scrapbookers organize their stuff and store their scrapbook and their scrapbook supplies. Several items include bags or scrapbooking totes where you can put all of your precious scrapbooking materials.

These totes can help you keep your photos, tools, stickers, markers, and other supplies from other people’s reach. Buy using this scrapbooking storage, you can store away your scrapbooking stuff in just one place to keep them handy and organized.

Aside from bags and scrapbooking totes, another useful means of scrapbooking storage is the scrapbook cases, which usually come in handy and removable snap cases. Here, you can store your scrapbooking supplies and keep them from being lost or damaged. Usually, scrapbook cases are space savers and can perfectly fit into chest-style storage units with a divided top.

You can use this scrapbook case for holding scrapbook pages, photos, stickers, and other scrap-booking tools. When buying a scrapbook case, make sure that you buy an item which enables you to see the contents inside easy so you can easily identify photos and other materials you wish to use. Since you will be putting photos inside the scrapbook case, make sure that it is acid and PVC free. In the market, there are various scrapbook cases available which enables you to transport, organize, and protect 25 to 75 pieces of 12×12 pages or photos.

The scrapbook organizer, on the other hand, is a very practical and sensible scrapbook storage solution. Usually comes in different cases, you can neatly organize your scrapbook papers, stamps, stickers, markers, and other supplies in its handy and easy-to-remove snap cases.

Scrapbook organizers are a must for a scrapbooker who is always on the go because it can help you keep all of your supplies in one place. Scrapbook organizers can be folded into half for easy transport with wide shoulder strap or carrying handle for easy use.

In looking for a scrapbook case or scrapbook organizer, make sure that you look for those that can fit neatly into a chest-style storage unit and those that occupy minimal space in your closet or craft room. Also, look for scrapbooking organizers that are great for storing art projects, office supplies, and other accessories you are using. It is best if you look for those scrapbook organizers that offer top features such as divided areas that are also perfect for drawing utensils such as paintbrushes and many more.

Posted in Supplies

by Dawn Stegall

Distressing is a popular trend now in scrapbooking. Whether you like shabby chic or want to go for a more aged/weathered/heritage style, distressing your papers will give you the look you desire. Here are five fun ways to add distressing to your scrapbook pages.

1. Distress by wadding/crumpling your paper. Simply wad up your paper into a ball. You may want to experiment with how much or tightly you wad your paper. Now unfold your paper and flatten with your hands. (You may need to wad again if you haven’t achieved the results you were hoping for). Besides using your hands to flatten out your paper, you may choose to use a brayer or even a warm iron.

2. Achieve a weathered look by sanding with a fine sandpaper, emery board or sanding block (I found some sanding blocks for nails at the dollar store). Gently sand your cardstock/paper where you want it distressed. Continue to sand and alter the surface until you reach your desired look. You can sand the edges or gently sand the entire surface for a more weathered look. Another method is to fold your paper and sand on the fold. When you reopen the paper it leaves a prominent line as in an old document. Do you have some older papers or stickers lying around with a nice slick and shiny surface? Take these outdated products, sand them to remove the shine and give them a whole new look.

3. Easily tear or roll your paper for a vintage look. Tearing away from you or towards you provide different results. Cardstock with a white core will have a white edge shown through. Experiment and find what you like best. If you find your cardstock difficult to tear, try wetting lightly with a paint brush or Qtip first. You can further age the torn edges with ink or chalk. Roll the edges for a fun look as well.
Scrape or use a wire brush to achieve a distressed look.

4. Scrape the edges of your cardstock carefully until you reach the desired look. Check for specialty scrapers made just for paper. A wire brush can be gently brushed over your paper to weather it. Try random brush strokes, or lines and even plaids. Have fun experimenting.

5. Now that you have wadded, crumpled and sanded, add some color back to your paper. You can use chalks, ink, metallic rub-ons or stains. Using your fingertips, Qtips, sponges, tissue or whatever else you want apply using a circular motion until the desired result is reached. You can also apply ink directly to your paper. My favorite technique is to ink the edges by directly brushing ink pad to edge of paper. Stains made especially for scrapbooking can easily be found now including walnut ink, stains, washes, etc. You can also use items found around the house such as coffee, tea and Kool-Aid.

Are you ready to try a distressed look in your next scrapbook layout? Crumple, wad, sand, tear, roll, scrape, ink, chalk and stain to your hearts content. Which technique will you try first? Have fun distressing your next layout!

Need answers to more of your scrapbooking questions? Dawn Stegall povides 102 of them at http://102ScrapbookingIdeas.com.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Posted in Techniques