Scrap happy! (Scrap Books)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Scrap Books
Date:	12/01/09 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relaxing, creative hobby, possibilities are endless

Disadvantages: Expensive

I started scrapbooking a couple of years ago when I had just returned from working at summer camp and had a gazillion pictures. Much as I love digital cameras, I do find that I tend to forget to get prints made and after I dump them onto my computer, and usually Facebook, that's the last I see of my pictures.

So I went off to the craft shop and bought a nice 12 x 12 scrapbook and whatever pretty little things caught my eye. I know scrapbooking does have a bit of a reputation as being an old lady hobby, but it's not! I really enjoyed making pages for my camp experience and wrote my favourite quotes from the summer, words from camp songs, and random memories amongst my pictures and keepsakes. It's nice to be able to flick through and laugh at some of the things I'd forgotten.

In scrapbooking the only limit is your imagination. I'm quite particular and tend to try a few layouts before I decide what looks best. For newbies who need some inspiration to get started, Googling "scrapbook layouts" will bring you literally thousands of results which you can make your own to get you started.

Besides your pictures, decorative paper and any writing you want to use, you can adorn your pages with ribbon, stickers and embellishments, rubber stamping, decorative "brads" (I believe this is the American term for split pins - scrapbooking stores have colourful ones which you can attach to the page with tags of writing etc, on) and die cuts.

With so many add-ons, scrapbooking is a pretty expensive hobby. I find it very easy to get carried away in craft shops, and supplies are not exactly cheap to begin with.

Say you buy a decent 12x12 scrapbook. That can be up to £20. There are certainly cheaper alternatives and sizes, but that is the general price tag across the board for various of the big name brands. I have a Pioneer album, which I somewhat regret because I bought it in Canada and it looks like I will have a hard time finding refills over here. Despite the fact that the size is the same, bindings etc are not so you generally need to get refills for your specific album.

Okay, so you have the scrapbook. That has 10 page protectors inside, which means 20 pages. While you can buy paper packs and books, paper tends to go for about 50p plus a sheet. Another £10. Photo corners £3, various pens £2 each, rubber stamps or alphabet stickers, stickers and embellishments...as you can see it soon adds up.

Now I mostly buy online so I can fully evaluate my cart before I check out (to see what I really truly need or will use) and there is a far better variety. My favourite site is paperarts.co.uk where they have a really wide selection, reasonable prices and really fast delivery.

For your scrapbook to stand the test of time it is important that some things you buy such as glue and pens are specialised, as they are acid and lignin free. This is important if you don't want your hard work to fade and pages yellow.

For a new scrapbooker - I would suggest investing in a decent 12x12 album (it seems the widest range of papers are this size), a paper cutter, photo corners/double sided tape/photo glue, a rubber stamp alphabet and some useful stamp pad colours eg. black/gold/silver, a few papers in plain colours and some decent pens. At first I got carried away with whatever looked pretty, but I still have the majority of those patterned papers unused. Investing in decent basics to begin with means you will pick up embellishments and papers related to specific page projects as and when you need them and waste less money.

I find scrapbooking to be a relaxing, creative hobby. I like to get my pages just right so I it takes me a while - I still haven't even finished the pages that came in my album because I keep adding and improving those I've already done. It's nice to come back from a holiday and spend time choosing the best snaps and thinking about how they can be displayed, and scrapbooks are great to share with friends and family to show what you've been doing.

For more info on scrapbooking, check out ukscrappers.co.uk for layouts, information on basic techniques and links to online shopping.

Summary: A fun way to preserve your memories.