In the meantime, I’ve almost completely switched over to digital. I’ll probably return to paper and stickers and glue and other fun stuff once my kids are a bit older. But I’ve found digital to be much easier. And if you happen to be in need of an album, and don’t feel like making one, please check out my Etsy site!

I like using gift bags because it makes me remember the gift that came in them! Also, bags are sometimes big enough to get 2 pages out of, which means you can have a two page spread of matching pages. Also, the material is more durable, so you don’t have to glue them onto real scrapbook paper.

Here’s the step-by-step with bags.

Step 1: Find some nifty bags that are big enough.

Step 2: Pull the bag apart at the seams.

Step 3: Remove the handle (sometimes handles are made of ribbon, and you can use the ribbon on pages as well!)

Follow steps 1-6 of the first post on paper making.

That’s it! Then you’ve got some wonderful, sturdy new paper!

P.S. Don’t worry too much about lines and wrinkles in your pages – the photos you add will help cover those up.

There’s two main types of large calenders: square and rectangle. Square ones are really easy to turn into a scrapbook page, especially since they are often 12 x 12 to begin with! Take a look at this calender page:

It’s already 12 x 12. All I need to do to turn it into a scrapbook page is cut the bottom. That’s it!

However, rectangle shaped ones require a little more work. Let’s look at the calender before I do anything to it:

Okay, so it’s about 10 x 15. Not the right size for a scrapbook page. No problem! First, let’s cut out the words and the extra inches on the sides.

Now we’ve got something a little smaller than 12 x 12. What do we do to fill in the extra space? Glue it onto a solid sheet of scrapbook paper! Now don’t get stuck thinking you need to glue it at the top or bottom – there are several ways you can position it. Here are 4 different ways to position the calender paper. I’ve put each position on a different colored page to show you the effect different colors have. The first two leave some excellent room for a title!

Easy, isn’t it?

What about wrapping paper? Or floppy envelopes? Yup, you can use those too!

It’s especially nice if you’ve got some paper that means something to you. The envelope I use in my example was sent to my husband for his birthday. I turned it into paper to use as a background for his birthday page – what could be more personal!?!

 Wrapping paper:

First off, find some paper that looks interesting.

Then follow steps 1-6 of the previous post to cut a 12 x 12 paper for yourself.

But what if the wrapping paper isn’t big enough for a 12 x 12, like the red paper I have pictured?

No problem! Just use that to make a border on solid colored paper you already have! Better yet, use your fancy scissors to trim the edges.

Okay, but what if the wrapping paper is too floppy?

Also not a problem. Let’s take a look at how I delt with the same problem using a floppy envelope.

Here’s what the envelope looked like to begin with:

It was a bit too soft for scrapbooking though. So I needed to strengthen it. When I set the scrapbook paper on top of it, instead of marking the lines where I needed to cut, I folded the paper over and taped it down. It’s a lot like wrapping a present.

Once you’ve taped it down, turn it over and decorate the front! The back of the paper may not look so great, but you’ll be putting it in your scrapbook, backed up to another page. No one will ever know!

Note on taping: You always have the option of cutting the paper down to 12 x 12, then gluing it on another sheet, but I’ve found it makes the edges look a little rough and raw. By folding the paper over and taping it, you create a smooth edge. Just be careful not to get air bubbles in the paper!

One more thing. I found that some of the paper that comes in the big packs of solid sheets is ugly, and I’d never use it. So why not cover it up? A little bit of tape or glue with some fun regular paper works wonders! The two samples below are made with origami paper (quite convenient since they are 6 x 6).

Note on using non-scrapbook paper: Some paper is difficult to write on. You might not be able to journal well on it. If that’s the case, just journal on a different piece of paper, then glue it on to the wrapping paper page.

Here’s the first post in a short series on how to turn everyday stuff into your own scrapbooking paper. We’ll start off easy, with the basics.

Basically, any paper that is sized 12 x 12 (or whatever size scrapbook you’ve got) can be a scrapbook page. You’ve got tons of paper lying around your house, all it needs is some trimming down!

Take for example, this newspaper.

It’s definately bigger than 12 x 12, so why not turn it into a page? It’s got n interesting design, and maybe I can use it for one of my pages on Japan. Okay, so what do we do?

Step 1: Turn the newspaper over.

Step 2: Set another piece of scrapbooking paper on the back (I’m using black because it shows up well). If you want, hold up the newspaper to the light so you can see where you’re positioning the cut.

Step 3: Mark the corners of the scrapbook paper. Remove the scrapbook paper.

Step 4:You should now have 4 marks where the corners are. Connect the dots with a ruler.

Step 5: Cut out the paper. If you’ve got a paper cutter, this is really easy and the lines look better, but regular scissors work just as well.

Step 6: Turn the newly cut page over and admire your work!

That’s it! Ridiculously easy, isn’t it? We’ll look at some other materials you can use in the next few posts.

I strongly recommend getting a case for keeping all your paper, like the one I’ve got pictured. It keeps them flat and safe, and if you ever take your materials anywhere (like to a scrapbook meeting or party) it’s very useful.

Extension bolt things can be bought for relatively cheap at many scrapbook places. They allow you to extend the size of your scrapbook to allow you to fit more pages. It’s extremely useful, especially if you want to fit all your pages in one album (for example, a wedding album).

Page protectors are absolutely necessary for keeping your pages safe. I’ve seen top load and side load pages. Top load are more common (and therefore likely cheaper), but I like the side ones better, since things don’t fall in and out of your pages as easily. Beware of buying cheap page protectors, because I’ve found that sometimes the sizes are a little off. For example, I bought cheap page protectors, and I had to cut off a centimeter on the side and top of my page – after I made it. It was extremely inconvenient.

One of my most important tools is actually ziplock bags. I like to print several sets of pictures at once, so that I always have materials around when inspiration hits me (that, and then I don’t have to go to the store as often). I use ziplock bags to separate photos into page categories because they are cheap, they seal, and you can write on them if you want, or just see through. I can’t get along without them!

(Sorry this weekend post is a bit late – I was out of town for the weekend. Next week’s will be a bit late as well.)

Basically, it’s a trial and error thing. Sometimes it’s very easy for me to figure out where to put pictures, sometimes it’s more difficult. The more you scrapbook, the easier it gets. Basically, the thing to look for is balance. If the page looks uneven when you’ve have only pictures, chances are it will look uneven when you’re finished.

Another hint: When I’ve got a really big embellishment to use, I include it in my positioning stage, not in the embellishment stage. Also, when you’ve got fewer pictures, you need to do embellishment and photo positioning at the same time. (For example, my honeymoon page.)

One more thing: when the page has subcategories, I often separate pictures in that manner. Here, for example, the bottom half is going to San Francisco, while the top is just 2 random pictures. For more division, see my Dates 2006 page, where I used colors and fancy scissors to divide the sections, or the Chanel and Kristin page, where I used different color backgrounds.

That said, let’s look at some of the positions I considered for this page:

(This is too top heavy)

(This is too heavy on the top right, and the pictures at the bottom look too clustered.)

(The title would be awkward and off balance the page.)

(This is close, but the positioning on the bottom left looks funny.)

(This looks pretty good. Your eye moves down at a slant, but it looks pretty balanced.)

And here’s what I ended up with after trimming the pictures and looking again:

(The amount of the big picture that I lost when I trimmed it forced me to rethink my positioning. That sort of bubble cut would look strange right next to the square, corner trimmed picture.)

While we’re on the subject of trimming the pictures, take a look at this last picture and the one right before it. Can you see how much trimming the corners softened the page?

Before this point, I’ve already decided which pictures to use, re-sized them on my computer, printed them out and cut them to their correct size. Let’s assume you’re that far too (since that’s all prep work anyway).

Also,in this example, I’d already decided what background paper to go with. Sometimes I decide after figuring out the positioning of the pictures – it all depends. I will later have a post on how to choose the right paper for the page you’re making, so just hold your horses!

Step 1: Positioning. Figure out about where you want the pictures to go. Figure out what looks good. Next post I’ll go more in depth.

Step 2: Trim the pictures. Use fancy scissors, cut the corners, or cut the pictures based on the shape (like the one in the top right corner).

Step 3: Check positioning again. Adjust if need be.

Step 4: Add the big embellishments (here, stickers). That way you can journal around them. Note: step 4 and 5 can be reversed.

Step 5: Add the title.

Step 6: Journal.

Step 7: Add small embellishments (here, stickers).

Step 8: Jazz up the title. (I wrote over it in glittery gel pen, but it’s hard to see here.)

Step 9: Look back and see if there’s any holes. Look for balance. I added a bit of glitter to the empty sports because it looked too flat.

Step 10: Admire your work. Here’s my finished page.

Glossy or Mat?

I almost always use mat, but that’s just a personal preference. I think glue (from a glue stick) is less visible on glossy though. Funny, I get fingerprints on my pictures all the time when I am gluing them – maybe I should switch to glossy!

Special Stuff:

Try printing your pictures in black and white for a dramatic effect, or in sepia for an aged, more historical look!

My Photos:

If you’ve looked through any of my pages, you’ll note something different about them. For example, compare one of Chanel’s pages with one of mine. While most scrapbookers use the common size pictures: 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 inch photos, mine are often much smaller. I still print my pictures on the same size paper, I just cut them down first. Why? I like to have lots and lots of pictures – 3 or 4 per page just doesn’t match the experience of the event. Instead, I choose to use several small pictures with the occasional larger picture thrown in when something is important.

Pros and Cons of cutting down pictures:

Pros:

• You can fit a lot of them on a page.
• It’s a money-saver! More pictures per dollar, even if they are smaller. If you used the same number of pictures at size 4 x 6, you’d pay TONS of money for the paper and materials needed to make all the pages.
• When you crop the pictures before you print them, you can get more of the important stuff in the picture. That is, you don’t waste valuable printing paper on useless stuff you’re just going to cut out anyway.
• You can scale down things that are less important. I print my best pictures on a full 4 x 6, my good ones at size 2 x 3, and my others around size 1 x 1.5. When you look at one of my pages, it’s really easy to tell what is important.
• You can use photos as embellishments. For example, you can take a picture of a stop sign in Greece, size it down to 1 x 1, and use it like a sticker. Try that with a 4 x 6!

Cons:

• The pictures are more difficult to see because they are smaller.
• It takes a lot of time to crop, resize, and trim all the pictures. A LOT of time.
• You have a lot more pictures to work with per page.
• You need to know a little bit about the computer.

If you are interested in cutting down your pictures to get more bang for your buck, I’ll soon post about how to do that using a very simple program called Microsoft Picture It Photo!* which comes with most program sets of Windows, Word, Office, Excel, and so on. So there’s a good chance you’ll already have it! That post is coming soon…

One more note: Though most of the photo ideas I give you throughout this site will involve these smaller pictures, the concepts can be adapted to any size photo.

*Edit: Apparently this program has been replaced with Microsoft Digital Image Suite. Once I get a copy and figure out how it works, I will post on how to resize pictures. Unfortunately, you may have to wait a while.

Confetti / Sequins

These can look incredibly cool on pages because they are so small and shiny. They add great depth to a page. However, I rarely use them because it is difficult to get them on without making a mess. They tend to be too strong for just a gluestick, so you’ll have to put a drop of glue down, then put the sequin on top. Glue often smears when you push down, which can destroy a page. Be careful, but go for it!

Ribbon

Ribbon looks really great if you know how to use it. It works well as a frame for the page or for large pictures, or you can use it as a border. I particularly like it because I use ribbon that’s important to me. Look at my Animal Magnetism page (it has ribbon from a costume) as well as my Dormal page (which has ribbon from flowers given to me by my boyfriend when he asked me to that dance).

Tape

There is actually some tape for sale that has patterns or shapes. These make wonderful pre-made border stickers! Just be careful laying them down!

Glitter

Glitter is fun, but messy. It gives a nice sense of depth without the defined lines of a gel pen. Check out my Adri and Kristin Page for how it’s used – I put it in the empty spaces because the page looked too flat to me.

Fabric

I’ve never used fabric, but theoretically, it should be possible. I wouldn’t go for fabric in general because it’s hard to glue down and glue on and nearly impossible to write on. However, if I made a Halloween costume or something important, I might try to figure out a way to slide fabric in.

Brackets

I am not a fan of these. They are difficult to put in without tearing the paper or picture, and they cause dents in the page protectors. Effectwise, you can get the same thing with 3-D bubble shaped stickers. Unless you’re dying to try them, stay away.