Welcome to our Scrapbooking 101 Page! Following the helpful hints and suggestions in this tutorial will help you make scrapbooking a fun and rewarding experience.

After collecting all of your photos, organize or sort them according to your needs. The most common way is to organize them in chronological order, but you may want to sort them by theme or event (example - baby pictures, graduation, family, etc.). After your photos are organized, it makes it easier to choose a specific scrapbook project to begin with!

As you are sorting your photos, it's a good idea to label your photos at this point, in the interests of saving time. When you are labeling your photos, you want to keep in mind a few things;

• Who is in the pictures?
• What are the people in the photos doing?
• Where were the people in the picture?
• When was the photo taken?

You probably already have an idea in mind for your first scrapbook project. If you don't, organizing and labeling your photos will usually give you ideas. You can always check our Idea Gallery or our online examples if you are still drawing a blank. Keep this in mind when you're planning your first project;

• Keep your first project small - you will continually improve as you complete more projects
• Use your most recent photos - they are fresh in your mind and it's easier to complete your first project
• You may want to use pre-made scrapbook kits (Make-and-Takes, etc.)

Using the correct scrapbook products will ensure a more rewarding experience. The most basic items you will need are;

• Scrapbook album
• Straight edge cutter
• Adhesive - glue and tape runner
• Scissors
• Writing utensils
• Backgrounds and borders
• Page enhancements

When you choose your album, keep in mind that there are different types and sizes. A 12"X 12" album is the most common and can fit 4 to 6 pictures per page. An 8"X 8" album will generally fit 2 or 3 pictures per page. The differents types of albums refers to how the scrapbook pages are affixed within the album (strap-hinge, post-bound, etc.). This is a personal preference, depending on which one you like better.

Before you affix your photos to your scrapbook page, you want to choose your page background and page border. Depending on the border size, you can now see how many pictures can fit onto the page (leave room for journaling and enhancements!). Journaling is important because the pictures only tell one-half of the story. There are several different methods to journal your scrapbook pages;

• Include a caption above, below, or beside each picture
• Writing a paragraph that describes the entire page
• Use a bulleted list to describe highlights or main points of the page
• Using poems, songs, or quotes that capture the theme of the page
• Using the title to describe the theme or spirit of the page

Below are some useful tips when scrapbooking;

• When labeling your photos, do not use ball point pens or regular lead pencils (can damage photos)
• Don’t be afraid to cut down your photos taking away the excess space around the primary image
• Only use products that are Acid-Free (acid will damage photos)
• Keep your pages personal - while it's nice to show off your album to others, it means the most to you!
• Keep the negatives to your pictures or save them on a disk
• Store you photos in a safe place (keep safe from heat, humidity, and light)
• Creativity is the Key to creating beautiful scrapbook pages...