Scrapbook 101: Mixing Patterned Paper

Does mixing patterned papers scare you? Does staring at rows of papers make you feel clueless and afraid of getting started on patterned papers?

There's many beginner scrapbookers who have a fear of mixing and choosing patterned papers. With so many choices, colours, and patterns out there, the confusion is real and understandable. Even for me, when I first started scrapbooking, I tend to use mainly cardstock and avoid using much patterned papers. Then I started to look out for companies that offer coordinating lines of patterned papers.

It's more about experimenting and having fun actually. There's no right or wrong in scrapbooking. Some mixing will look fabulous, some are merely passable and some will instantly make you go, "No...".

But of course, if there's some tips on how to mix your patterned papers, it'll definitely help things out a lot. Watch this video by Tammy Mitchell and the next time you are at your scrapbook store, you'll be less intimidated about choosing your patterned papers and start getting creative with using patterned papers.

I'll also keep her tips in mind when I want to mix patterned papers on my next shopping trip. :)

To start off, a big tip is look to your photos for the dominant colors. Pick up the blue color from your daughter's sparkling eyes or the red from your son's shirt. Choose the color that catches your attention. Then with the dominant color in mind, you can start picking out the patterned papers.

First paper - Pick a more neutral, solid-colored background paper. If you're feeling more adventurous, you can even pick a very subtle patterned paper as your background paper.

Second paper - You can go for a bold patterned paper. Feel free to choose a big design but there must be something, usually a color in this bold patterned paper that complements your first paper.

Third paper - Pick a patterned paper that's more subtle so that it doesn't compete with your big, bold patterned paper. The tricky part is where you have to select a patterned paper that picks up something from both the bold patterned paper and the background paper.

Enjoy learning about mixing patterned papers!

How to Distress Your Scrapbook Paper

By milenna,

One scrapbooking trend that is becoming more and more popular is the distressed paper look. This rugged appearance is perfect for most scrapbook layout themes. Scrapbook pages for little boys, camping vacations, heirloom pictures and more are perfect for the distressed paper layouts. Another advantage to creating distressed paper layouts is they don’t have to be flawless because the whole idea of the “distressed” look is to make the paper flawed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Scrapbook paper
• Sand paper (fine grain)
• Sanding block (optional)
• Ink pads (brown, black or darker colors)
• Sponges
• Stipple brush
• Paint brushes
• Edge distresser
• Emery board
• Small spray bottle with water
• Iron

1. Step 1

   Select your cardstock for the base of your page layout and decide on your theme. Get your supplies and photos ready ahead of time.

2. Step 2

   Attach the fine grain sand paper to the sanding block and sand the entire body of the cardstock. Sand as much or as little as you would like but be careful not to sand through the cardstock. Your sand paper will sand off some of the color on the cardstock, which will expose the white core of the pape

3. Step 3

   Use a black or brown ink pad and gently run the edge of the cardstock across the ink pad in order to “ink” the edge of your paper. You can also use a sponge and rub it along the edge of the cardstock to achieve the same effect.

4. Step 4

   Cut out your photo mats and crop your photos according to the design of your page layout. Before matting your photographs use the edge distresser to rough-up the edge of the photo mats. This may cause a little tearing so do it cautiously so it doesn’t ruin the photo mat completely.

5. Step 5

   Use an ink pad and a stipple brush to ink your photo mats so they look weathered. You may even want to curl up some of the damaged edges for a more intense appearance. Another method is to slightly mist the papers with water, then crumple the entire photo mat and straighten it back out with a cool iron. This will permanently set the creases into your paper.

6. Step 6

   Embellish your page layout with hemp, brads or other rugged looking embellishments. You can use your emery board to sand some of the color off of the brads or rough up the edges of your photos.

7. Step 7

   Adhere all of the page elements and add your finishing touches, then place the layout into a page protector so it is preserved for your scrapbook album

The History of Scrapbooking

Is it any wonder scrapbooking is such a popular pastime? People have always sought ways to remember the important people and events in their lives. In a way, quilts could be thought of as the first scrapbooks. Quilts were made from old clothing and bedding that was no longer useful in its original state. Thus the quilt became a way of remembering those people who wore that clothing or slept under that sheet, and the events of their lives could be passed down in little squares of fabric.

Today, paper scrapbooks (and Digital Scrapbooking) provide ways for modern record keepers to present the history of their families in a beautiful, meaningful way.

Scrapbooking Through History

The scrapbooks of old understandably look a lot different from those we have today, since for a long time photography, color printing and decorating methods we take for granted today were not available to scrapbookers.

The most common form of scrapbooking in the 1800s took place in what were known as commonplace books, which were little journals where people recorded sayings, events, newspaper clippings and wrote about their hobbies. These books were often homemade and decorated with things like leftover wallpaper.

Mark Twain designed scrapbooks with gummed pages that you could moisten in order to stick things to them, and he sold nearly 60 different scrapbooks through the Montgomery Ward catalog.

The first book on scrapbooking was published in the 1880s and various kinds of scrapbooks were very popular at that time.

Modern Times

As photographs became more widely available, some people stopped scrapbooking in favor of photo albums. But the resurgence in interest in genealogy in the 1970s sparked a trend back toward making scrapbooks to record family history, past as well as present.

Today, scrapbooking is one of the most popular crafts out there. Combining rubber stamping, card making, stickers, art, design, journaling, photography and many more crafts, scrapbooking is a versatile and very creative craft.

A visit to the craft store will offer a huge selection of scrapbooks, papers, die-cuts, stickers, glitter pens, pre-made layouts, stamps, brads, envelopes and much more that can be used on your scrapbooking pages.

Digital Scrapbooking

The newest technological development in the world of scrapbooking is the digital scrapbook. Since more people have digital cameras today (or use a scanner to make digital copies of older photos) a whole new market has cropped up around building scrapbook pages entirely on the computer.

You can add your own borders, layouts, pictures, journaling and other effects, then either print out the finished page, post it online, e-mail it to friends or burn it onto a CD to share with family and friends all over the world.

While traditional scrapbookers might not like the lack of sensuous appeal of a digitally designed scrapbook page (compared to the funky textures and complex combinations of materials available for paper scrapbook pages), doing your scrapbooks on the computer is a great way to share them with others.


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Scrapbooking without photos

Scrapbooking Without Pictures
by Angi Anderson (May 13, 2009)

The Scrapbooking 101 Program is a SUDSOL program which seeks to assist you at incorporating Scrapbooking into your Stampin Up Business sharing information, tips, and ideas about scrapbooking. If you have specific questions or articles you would like to see in this program, please contact scrap101@sudsol.org

Occasionally you will miss the shot – maybe you didn’t have your camera, your batteries were dead, or the lighting was bad. Or perhaps, you want to record heritage events in your scrapbook and you simply do not have photos for. Even the most avid scrapbooker like me, can be caught without a camera at a memorable moment. Sometimes I participate in a conversation or experience an emotion I want to capture on paper. Here are a few ways to scrapbook your precious memories when photos aren't available. These are all reasons why you might find yourself scrapbooking without photos.

Use Memorabilia:


* Movie/concert/show ticket stubs
* Restaurant menus, matchbooks, napkins
* Pressed flowers
* Ribbon or trim cut
* Bills for service or receipts
* Maps
* Programs
* Copies of Birth/death/marriage certificates
* Invitations & greeting cards
* Military records
* School/work records
* Letters
* Pages from bibles
* Announcements
* Newspaper articles
* Census records
* Children's drawings, paintings and other various artwork
* Report Cards
* Greeting Cards

I hope this list gets your creative juices flowing, cuz it's just the beginning of a ton of things you can use in your scrapbook when you find yourself without a camera.


Use Journaling:

Scrapbooking without photos is a wonderful way to further your journaling skills. What a better way to practice your descriptive writing than to try and re-create a picture with words. Use your thesaurus to find descriptive words that will have your reader picturing it in her mind. This is a time when you have to tell the story completely through your journaling, so take the time to really tell about the events, the feelings of the people who were there, and why it was important to you. Journaling that tells how the people in your story felt, what they heard, smelled, saw, and enjoyed is journaling that completes the story when you find yourself without photos. On your next scrapbook page, ask yourself these questions: Why do I love this picture? What was special about that day? How did I feel when I took this photo? For me, the journaling is the star of any layout, you don't need pictures to tell the story. A picture may capture a thousand words, but your words will convey exactly what you want your readers to know.

For many scrapbookers, journaling can be a tremendous challenge, here are a few ideas to help you get started:

* Use a dictionary or thesaurus to find descriptive words
* Use song lyrics
* Poetry
* famous phrases/sayings or quotes
* greeting cards or greeting card phrases
* Use a simple list like those "Priceless" commercials
* Put your memories in a "recipe" for example recipe for the perfect day, recipe for love, recipe for a temper tantrum etc.
* Think back to elementary school: Who, What, Where, When, How, Why and don't forget those adjectives and adverbs!
* Use historical facts from the time period
* Use historical photos from newspapers/magazines/books


Use Pre-made Embellishments:

Scrapbooking manufacturers have created embellishments for almost every situation imaginable. A glance through our Simply Scrappin' line, you can find embellishments to match most any emotion.


Use Printed/Scanned Images:

For many memories, you can find a photo using a search engine online. For example, I was horrified to lose my film from my trip to San Francisco, but thanks to FLIKR, I was able to use photos on my layout of all the sites and scenes I wanted to remember. Sure, I am not in the pictures, but I was able to scrapbook my thoughts and or feelings about the golden gate bridge by borrowing someone else's photos and putting them in my scrapbook.

* album covers
* google photo search
* FLIKR
* advertisements

Use Stamps:
With Stampin' Up! fantastic lines of stamps, you can find a pictorial image to suit most any memory. Let your stamps be the picture to embellish your memories.


Don't leave a special memory out of your scrapbook just because you don't have a photo to adhere to a layout. The idea is to use whatever facts you have about a person, family, area, or history to tell the story. Use pictures if you have them, but when you don't, try some of the above techniques. Remember, it's the story of life that you are preserving, not just pictures.