Questions from a Beginner Scrapbooker

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I answered a set of questions from a beginner scrapbooker on a message board so I thought I'd share my answers here too! Feel free to post your answers as well, I'd love to hear how you do it.

I'm starting from scratch as a scrapbooker and these are my "burning" questions to get started:

1. When you start an album, do you just do layouts in any order and then assemble them in the album?

2. Do you print out all pictures in 4x6 and then get different sizes as needed? I order from online picture places and tend to order a lot at a time to save on shipping...

3. Is your entire album in a matching color scheme or does it vary widely?

4. If you've got 2 years worth of pictures, where do you start?

5. What is the best way to organize your pictures?





. When you start an album, do you just do layouts in any order and then assemble them in the album?

I do layouts according to whatever mood I am in and actually have a bunch of layouts sitting waiting to be put into albums. You'll want to purchase plastic sleeves to protect them. If you do it this way, getting binder albums is a good way to be able to put layouts into proper order without having to re-arrange the whole album.


2. Do you print out all pictures in 4x6 and then get different sizes as needed? I order from online picture places and tend to order a lot at a time to save on shipping...

I sometimes order through Walmart.com. 4x6 is a great size and the magazines are trying to show more and more examples of how to scrap 4x6 photos lately. I personally print my photos at home as I need them and print various sizes. I use an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer.


3. Is your entire album in a matching color scheme or does it vary widely?

When I first started, I tried using the planner pages from inside Simple Scrapbooks magazine and started my wedding album with everything co-ordinating. I quickly got bored with using the same colors and patterns. I would say it's a personal preference. You might want smaller theme albums to match and the rest of your regular albums to be different.

I suggest buying only what you need for one layout at a time, otherwise it's way too easy to overspend!


4. If you've got 2 years worth of pictures, where do you start?

You might look for Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class at www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com to be offered again. She suggests going through your printed pictures and pulling out the most scrappable photos. The rest can go into cold storage.


5. What is the best way to organize your pictures?

Again, Stacy J. suggests to pull out your most scrappable ones. The rest you can store and organize chronologically. The best photos you organize according to 4 categories:
1. Immediate Family
2. People We Love and Admire
3. Things (things we like and things we do)
4. Places

1 Share your thouughts:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed your input. I thought I needed to scrap book every picture I had and now I have learned to put the so-so ones away in a photo box and leave the scrapping to the better photos.