Scrapbooking Tuition: Baby Scrapbooking

There is a good article at Loves Scrapbooking that instructs you just how to do "Baby Scrapbooking In 8 Easy Steps."

If this is an area of scrapbooking that you are interested in, I suggest that you go and take a look.

Scrapbook Albums: Buying The Right Cutter

Today, I thought that I would bring you an article about the cutting edge of scrapbooking. Sorry about the pun hehe!


Buying The Right Cutter For Your Scrapbook Albums

Having the right cutting and trimming tools makes a big difference in the final look of your scrapbooking, rubber stamping, and cardmaking projects.

This guide helps explain the differences between tools and what they are best suited for. Your finished stamping or scrapbooking project will look superb when you use the right cutting and trimming tools.

The most popular trimming and cutting tools are the guillotine table top trimmer, mini personal paper cutter, and the rotary trimmer. Paper punches, scoring blades, T-squares, and shape cutters are important to have on hand as well before starting your project.

The guillotine trimmer is the traditional paper trimmer you can find any office supply store. A long sharp blade (often curved) is hinged at the base and is lifted above the paper and down directly on top to make a straight cut. Please keep in mind that not all guillotine trimmers are made well. You're going to need a solid, sturdy guillotine trimmer with tight fittings. Make sure the handle doesn't flex at all or you will be consistently frustrated by crooked cuts. Another great feature is a detachable blade which can be sharpened or replaced.

If your project requires you to work with small pieces of card stock, the personal trimmer is the perfect tool. Small paper trimmers usually have safety features that make them especially suitable for trimming small items, usually held by hand close to the blade. Personal paper trimmers are not suitable for long straight cuts because they are usually made of lightweight plastic.

Rotary trimmers are favorites for scrapbooking enthusiasts because you can purchase different styles of blades. Want to make a curvy edge or a perforated, stamped envelope? The rotary trimmer makes these tasks simple. Many rotary trimmer systems also come with handheld trimmers that use interchangeable blades. You'll need to purchase a good self-healing cutting mat for your handheld rotary trimmer. The self-healing cutting surface is designed to allow you to use your rotary cutter many times without perceived wear.

Shape cutting tools have come a long way and are quickly become a favorite tool for scrapbooking enthusiasts. Because they allow you to cut many different shape styles with one inexpensive tool, they are much more inexpensive than individual paper punches. One thing to look for when purchasing a shape cutter is the quality of the pivoting head. You should be able to cut in one smooth motion without the blade catching on any part of the template.

To insure that you have perfect cutout shapes on every scrapbooking layout, why not use a paper punch? The most important thing to consider when purchasing a paper punch is the punching handle. Your paper punch should be easy to press and cut through any thickness of paper up to 110 lb. card stocks. Quality paper punches also have scrap holders that keep your crafting area free from punch debris.

T-squares are a wonderful tool to have on hand but often get overlooked when you are establishing what things you need for scrapbooking and stamping. They can be purchased at your local hardware store or smaller plastic versions can be purchased at a hobby store. A quality T-square that has a tooled edge for scoring and tearing will last many years. T-squares allow you to line up the edges of paper for your scrapbooking layouts.

Scoring blades are also wonderful tools and now come in decorative or straight edges. They are used to make straight tears or decorative styles on the edges of your card stock.
You should get at least one version of each of these cutting tools to enjoy all of the benefits. Having the right trimming and cutting tools saves time and makes your finished paper craft project look much better. Buying high quality tools that will last for many years will insure inexpensive overall costs and usually a much better look. Give them a try today and see how they improve your work!

About the Author:
Kathy Williams loves working in Rubber Stamping Fun, her online stamping store, and enjoys writing informative articles about rubber stamps and scrapbooking.
Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Scrapbooking: EasyTechnique

We are all trying to improve our scrapbooking techniques, so I hope that you find the following article useful.

Easy Scrapbooking Technique

One of the great things about scrapbooking as a hobby is that the longer you do it, the more possibilities you uncover. As you learn to view the world through the eyes of a scrapbooker, other hobbies like stamping or sewing, start to seem applicable to your scrapbook album as well. Veteran croppers are always on the lookout for new and exciting methods to incorporate into their albums. Here are some scrapbooking techniques you may want to try.

1. Age Gracefully: There are a number of ways to give your paper and documents that vintage feel. Try tearing a recipe out of an unused cookbook so that the edges are frayed. Then spritz it with tea, crumple up the paper, and smooth it out again. After the sheet dries, you will have what appears to be a time worn fragment of history. Ink stamps, when applied lightly, can also give the appearance of being old and faded.

2. Lumpy and Bumpy: The use of fabrics has recently become one of the most exciting new trends in scrapbooking. Bulky cords, fibers, ribbons and bows definitely require some planning and understanding of your materials. One very simple technique is to weave a fiber strand through pre-punched holes along one edge of the page. This laced look will pop if a different color paper is used beneath. Plan ahead as these pages will significantly increase the thickness of your album.

3. Sew it Goes: Vellum has become a popular material for displaying words or creating pockets. This next technique combines the icy beauty of vellum with the homemade-feel of stitching to create pockets of fun. Simply apply a poem, words, or an image to your vellum. Them choose some small item like sequins, buttons or small shapes for the pocket. For example, your text could be “Happy New Year” and you could fill the pocket with confetti. Then you form a pocket by sewing the edges of the cardstock over the vellum so that the stitches are apparent. Sew simple!

4. Bold and Beady: Some people avoid using beads because they imagine they are too difficult to adhere well. Try using thin wire with small uniform beads, and then affix with both a clear adhesive tacky tape and liquid glue that is safe on pictures. Then use the design as a border for your photos.

5. Create a Background: Stamps and die-cut letters can offer a fun alternative to plain paper for your background. Consider stamping or adhering die-cut words or letters all across your page. You could use words to a song, names or random word choices. Finally, tape your pictures over your prose. By selecting the font and colors you like, your possibilities are infinite.

When trying new scrapbooking techniques, keep in mind that the proper tools can make or break the experience. Just imagine trying to crop and journal your pages with dull cutting utensils or dried out markers. The first step to using a new technique is to set your self up for success. Seek out the materials you need and then play around until you get it right. Most of all, let your creativity lead you and enjoy.

Barbara Kirby is the author of the Free ebook - The Scrapbookers Directory that gives you instant access to discount scrapbooking supplies, ideas, layouts, freebies and more. For more info check out http://www.thescrapbookersdirectory.com

Discover An Enthralling Scrapbooking Idea!

Are you completely stumped for a scrapbooking idea?

It’s very frustrating when you itch to start on a scrapbook album, but your mind is a complete blank as regards a scrapbooking idea.

Scrapbooking is an exciting and artistic way to preserve cherished memories and thoughts before they are lost forever. So, a way to get going is, to think of and write down all the occasions, the memories of which, you would like to save.

Gather all the photos you wish to add to your scrapbook album and arrange them in the order you want them to appear. Do the same with any other memorabilia that you want to use. Write down your thoughts, feelings and memories connected with the photos and memorabilia and you are ready to go.

Here are several scrapbooking ideas to spur you on.

Wedding Scrapbooking Idea

Whether it’s your own wedding or someone else’s, are you going to preserve the memories for future generations or lose them? With everything going on, you would be hard pushed to remember every single detail. Write everything that occurred down including all the thoughts and emotions.

You could group the events as they happened starting off with the pre-wedding arrangements. These could include the engagement party, wedding invitations and rehearsals.

Include photos of the wedding day itself with all its events, of the bride and groom, service sheet, church seating and rings etc.

You could preserve all the events of the wedding reception, the guests, toasts, cake etc.

Where you went on honeymoon and the places you stayed and visited.

Baby Scrapbooking Idea

The magical moment of the birth of a baby is a scrapbooking idea that you might like to do. You could include a family tree, photos of relations with baby, the hospital, birth certificate, first steps etc. The list is endless.

School Scrapbooking Idea

Keep memories of those days at kindergarten, high school and college. Include class photos, school reports and proms etc.

Vacation Scrapbooking Idea

All the excitement and planning, brochures, tickets, photos, hotel, places you visited and all your memories can be saved to look back on.

Graduation Scrapbooking Idea

Wherever you are graduating from it is an important milestone and worthy of preserving the memories. Include documents like certificates and results. Have photos of the school, friends and ceremonies.

Retirement Scrapbooking Idea

Here is another milestone, the end of a working life. Include all the careers that you may have had work places and occupations, colleagues and associates.

Christmas Scrapbooking Idea

There is so much that you could include involving the celebrations at this festive time. You could have photos of relatives and friends celebrating with you, festive parties, Christmas meal and gifts etc.

Other scrapbooking ideas that you could use are:
Anniversaries
Easter
Career
Family
Teenage Years
Sports
Pets
Halloween
Funeral

I am sure that you will now be able to think of many more.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful and interesting way of preserving those precious memories. To create your scrapbook album, you have to do one thing and that is – START.