Step by Step Instructions
for Creating a Scrapbook

Step One
Once you have deceided on a theme for your scrapbnook gather and sort your photos. An accordion file or envelopes work well for sorting. I used envelopes and wrote notes as I sorted. Some theme suggestions are:
Baby Book
Brag Book (great for new grandparents)
Family Recipes
Family Tree
Hobbies
Happy Holidays
New House
School Days (great as a Graduation Gift
Vacation
I started with a tribute to friends of ours for a Christmas gift. We have been friends for 20 years and have stored up lots of memories.
Step Two
Gather other embellishments you may have such as movie stubs, tickets, matts, paper doilies or paper punches and sort with specific photos into page protector sheets. In other words for your Christmas page sort yout christmas photos, papers, wrapping papers, calender pages, cards, whatever seems appropriate into a page protector.
Step Three
The first choice you will need to make now is the size of your pages. 12 x 12 , 8 1/2 x 11 , or the smaller pocket size options. There is even a company that makes a scrapbook 18 x 24! My thought is that the 8 1/2 by 11 will store in a bookcase. If you plan on keeping your scrapbook out on a coffee table that the larger size may be appropriate for you. Your second choice should be color scheme. Primary, pastel muted or country? If the colors are all in the same range the pages will flow. Now you can plan a page layout that seems pleasing to you and weed out what will work within your plan.
Step Four
Once you have the plan, the photos, and the embellishments you're ready to shop for the paper, pens and paper embellishments that will tie your page together. For archival quality make sure your papers, pens, stickers, and glues are all acid-free and lignin free. I don't reccomend going to shop without a plan or you'll end up spending money needlessly on all those cute pages, papers, stickers and so forth that you may not need or may overpower the real star of the scrapbook - your memories. Include journaling as a way to personalize your memories. You can add a bold touch with Krylon Opaque Metallic Markers. I do one page at a time but add and adjust to other pages as I go. Arrange the photos pages carefully before using any glue.
Ideas
If your scrapbook page is too nice to put away, why not frame a special page?
Stencils and templates can be used to "crop" photos. Try alphabet stencils for page titles. Place the photo under the template and use a grease pencil (which will wipe off with a tisue) to draw around the opening. You may want to try a few silhouettes - this is where you cut away the background leaving only the person or object. Or use your computer to print out titles or create your own die cuts to coordinate with your page. Simply print and cut out. They can be sized for your requirements and saved. Be careful when cropping old photos. You may crop out important "dating" details. Polaroid Corporation has done lots of testing on their instant photos, and are happy to report that they are scrapbook friendly. They recommend waiting 24 hours after the photo is emitted from the camera to crop the photo. At this time, the image has fully developed and the internal chemicals have neutralized, making them safe to cut for creative use. To achieve the best cut edge, Polaroid recommends using a sharp, straight-edged cutting tool. Use acid free markers or computer print to journal. Stamps can be used to embellish pages as well as die cuts and stickers. Whatever method you use, keep it simple.
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