So you have decided to create your own piece of work of art. Here is the step-by-step process you can follow to creating a one of a kind scrapbook…

·Shopping.

Yes, the best part of everything. It is as exciting as your birthday celebration. And no one can resist it. Shop for the supplies you need. Shop for the essentials such as the album, album refill, adhesives, card stock, embellishments, papers, pens, punches, stamps, embossing, stickers, a pair of scissors and everything you need for your scrapbooking.

Tip: Buy only acid-free adhesive, permanent marking and non-fade pens and inks. Your aim is to preserve memorabilia for years. These things will save you from messing up with your scrapbook.

·Gather your memories.

Get as many photos as you can. Depending on your theme and the aim you want to achieve, you can sort them according to their relations to one another. For example, you can make a bibliography through scrapbook, then, you grab pictures from your childhood up to now. Sort them out according to the year they were taken.

Tip: If you are grabbing old photos, make sure that your hands are clean. Old photos can easily be destroyed with oil and dirt from your hands. Old photos are also brittle so you may want to handle them with extra care.

Another tip: If you want to preserve old photos, you can scan them to your computer and make a copy. Doing this would also let you edit the quality of the photo or crop the particular portion you only want to have.

One more tip: If you want to take some recent photos, use digital cameras. In this way, you can take as many photos as you could without wasting film. Upload all the photos you have taken, then, print the ones you have selected.

·Gather your supplies

Let your imagination takes you anywhere. From the supplies you have, create a scrapbook that is truly yours. Decorate the front page of the album with your chosen general theme. A delicate combination of colored papers, pens, photos and creativity would let you create a good front page. On the inside, decorate each page with distinct designs.

For additional decorations, you can consider using paper trimmer, punches, circle cutter, decorative rulers, paper rolling ball glue pen, or putting on some templates, stickers, computer clipart, rubber stamps, and colorful decorations you can find on magazines. Use the right adhesives to secure what you have placed on your scrapbook. There are several of these: double-sided adhesive dots, photo tape, glue pens, photo corners, non-permanent glue, squares or strips, glue sticks, and bottled glues.

·Putting them all together

The most difficult part of the whole scrapbook making is putting all the stuff together, so here are some of the tricks:

Your options are more flexible if you are using photocopied pictures. You can cut them in to different shapes and sizes or you can decide the picture’s size. Placing them to the pages is easier if you keep the space free, then decorate it afterwards.

The best way to cut papers and photos would be using this trick: think twice and cut with no hesitation. Use a sharp pair of scissors. Exploring your creativity in cutting would give better impact to every page of your scrapbook.

·Journaling

Adding some handwritten text also involves creativity. Putting some captions, names, dates by your hand would let give some personal touch on each page. The use of templates and paper cut outs would also be great.

When using pens, make sure that they are acid-free to avoid degrading the scrapbook’s image. Use different colors for each page.

You can ask your friends and family members to help you write something on the pages.

·Finishing touches

Put some additional decorations for final touches. Stickers, handwritten shapes, and paper cut outs are some of the things you can add as your final touches. Compile the pages carefully and share it with friends.

Now that your have your own scrapbook, you can add pages anytime you want to and you can keep your memories alive for as long as you keep your scrapbook alive.