How to Make an Accordion Scrapbook

How to Make an Accordion Scrapbook

Shendy   

How to Make an Accordion Scrapbook | This is a cute and easy scrapbook which can be used as a brag book or to capture an event. It makes a great gift!

Things You'll Need:

1. 2 – Cardboard 4 ½” squares (back and front covers)
2. 2 – Decorative pieces of paper cut in to 6” squares (paper cover for back and front covers)
3. Odd number of cardstock pages in 8” squares (must be 1, 3, 5, . . . pages)
4. 1 – 2 ½’ of ribbon
5. Glue stick
6. Photos
7. Embellishments

Step by Step:

Glue the cardboard in the middle of wrong side of decorative paper.

Trim the decorative paper at the corners of the cardboard. Leave about 1/8 of an inch of paper. This ensures a more finished look on the cover of your scrapbook.

Fold flaps down to the inside of covers and glue down edges.

Glue ribbon inside back cover.

Crease cardstock paper. Alternating folds makes the scrapbook come together neatly. When creasing the pages, the perpendicular folds are mountain folds and the diagonal fold is a valley fold. Start by folding your square in half, open, rotate 90 degrees and fold in half again. Open and flip your square over (like a pancake). Now fold on the diagonal

Glue pages together in diamond shapes. Glue the two outside diamonds on top of the center diamond.
Glue back cover down.
Glue front cover down.
Fold into accordion.
Add pictures and embellishments, don't forget the covers!

Tips

1. Since this is a compact book, it is best to make color copies of photos or you can print them from your computer on high quality paper.
2. Don't place any photos in the creases.
3. Create dimension to your scrapbook by gluing contrasting colors to the inside of your scrapbook.

source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Accordion-Scrapbook

How to Make a Scrapbook Diary

How to Make a Scrapbook Diary

Shendy   

How to Make a Scrapbook Diary | Sometimes a plain old written diary isn't good enough. Maybe you want a fancy book devoted to all your thoughts and feelings, with lists, pictures, and souvenirs. Read on to find out how you can make the perfect scrapbook diary.

Things You'll Need:

1. A notebook/journal that you like
2. Magazines
3. Scissors
4. Glue
5. Pencil crayons, markers, pens, etc
6. Pictures
7. Glitter, stickers, etc
8. Tickets, receipts, business cards and other souvenirs

Step bu Step:

Choose a diary or journal that you like. It could be an old fashioned leather-bound book, or maybe it's a 3 ring notebook from the dollar store. It doesn't matter what it looks like as long as you're comfortable using it.

Decorate the outside, if you wish. You could cover the outside in tinfoil and glue on pictures out of magazines, or you could cover the whole thing in paper and draw your own cover. You could even glue pictures or put stickers right on the notebook. It's up to you.

Start the inside! Write about yourself. Include perhaps a picture of yourself, your family/pet, or something that represents you. After you've finished writing a bit about yourself, start looking around in magazines and on the internet for pictures you'd like to include once you really start your journal.

Begin to write! Write about work/school, life, your thoughts and emotions, your friends and enemies. Write lists (of favorites or least favorites, such as food, songs, colors, people, things to do, etc). You could even write a master list all about yourself. Include everything that is your favorite (T.V show, movie, actor, food, type of pop, sport, book, animal, and get creative with your list!)

As you get into the writing, you'll find all sorts of ways to use your creativity. Glue pictures in your diary that correspond with what you write-your family, your favorite animal, a trip you went on last summer. Paste in pictures you've printed from the internet, of favorite actors, singers, places...even embellish your diary with stickers, quotes, different colors of writing, there are no limits!

Get creative with the scrapbooking aspect of the diary. Begin to glue in things from your daily life, or things that bring you good memories. Good things to start with are tickets from that great concert you just went to, bills or cards from your favourite restaurants, plane tickets from your most recent trip, and anything significant to you.

Don't limit yourself, use whatever you find. You can draw pictures, glue in colourful symbols, diagrams and glitter, whatever you find appropriate for your diary. No one else is going to see it (unless you choose to show it to them) so be as imaginative and strange as you wish. Have fun with it! (source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Scrapbook-Diary)

How to Craft a Lively Scrapbook

How to Craft a Lively Scrapbook

Shendy   

Crafting a lively scrapbook is a fun task, and can be accomplished with minimal supplies and cash. Scrapbooks are a storybook combined with pictures, embellishments, documents, and more. Each step you take to living up your scrapbook will tell an amazing story to the audience enjoying your creation. The photos say a thousand words alone, yet if you add background, stationary, patterns, lettering, titles, captions, stickers, etc, you can living it up even more to present an outstanding story.

Penmanship is important. If you need help with penmanship, you may want to create your own letters from scraps, such as patterns or stationary. When you create a scrapbook, you want compelling messages, lettering, journals, pictures, and more. You will need a genealogy to start telling the story of your family and their history. Next, you will need pens, paper, letterheads, stickers, etc, to finish your story. You will find archival pens in a variety of styles, colors, etc.

Pens available to create lively scrapbooks include permanent markers/pens, waterproof, non-toxic, fade-resistance, non-bleeding, quick dry, and pigment ink. Black, felt-tip pens are great also, yet you want to be careful not to apply too much pressure when writing. You want to avoid the acid-based pens, markers, etc. Search for the CK OK and P.A.T. approved pens in the craft stores.

How choose pens for writing lettering and journals

If you choose, the felt-pens make sure that you understand the point size. The sizes range from .005 to .08-mm, depending on the style.

If you want to invent a fancy scrapbook check out the line of inscription pens. The pens are designed to handle captions, titles, etc. The pen tips have broad, flat tips and when used at a “45-degree” slant you can create beautiful letters. Practice first before using the pen if you are not use to calligraphy styles.

When creating borders, captions, or titles for your scrapbook you can use the Zig writers also. The pens were designed by expert crafters, or manufacturers that specialize in scrap booking. You will find the “Zig Memory” Systems, etc. “EK Success” is the creators of these pens, which include the Zig Writers, Calligraphy, scroll tips, fine tips, dense markers, brush pens, and the bullet pens. You have a selection of colors to choose from. 

Additional pens include the chisel, colored pens, pencils, and the goof-proof rollers, which are gel based. Chisel comes in a variety of sizes, colors, etc, and will offer you versatile lettering. Scroll is designed to the handle sophisticated letters. The pen is called “Scroll and Brush. If you are familiar with computer fonts, perhaps the closest font to the scroll pens is the CASTELLAR font.

In addition to pens, you can purchase the craft paint pens. You will find a variety of colors and pen-tip sizes are craft stores, online, stationary stores, and more. The gel-based pens are similar to paint pens. In the line of pens, you will find lightning, milky, and more. The pens are ideal for writing journals.

Color pens enable you to color in areas of your scrapbook to produce a nice looking design. You can use the color pens also to draw your own pictures and more. Colored pencils are ideal for designing titles, lettering, captions, etc. The pencils come in a variety of colors. Some of the popular craft brands include Berol Prsima, and the Zig brands.

TIP: When using paint pens make sure that you apply adequate pressure without over doing it. To create letters, i.e. fancy letters large or small use the double “fine n’ chisels.

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Fundamentals of a Simple Scrapbook

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Fundamentals of a Simple Scrapbook

Shendy   

Free Scrapbooking Ideas: Fundamentals of a Simple Scrapbook | Maybe you have heard the term, “simple scrapbooking” and have some ideas about what it is. But with exactly is simple scrapbooking and what are its components that gave its name?

Simple scrapbook is not your usual album that relies on the chronological events. It does not focus on the usual things such as family traditions, daily routines, hopes, and dream. It sits itself outside the traditional album. It is small, short and more manageable. It is simple and focuses on the sidelights of your life or the small details that is overcastted by the usual things that matter to you. In other words, the traditional scrapbook is like moments taken on pictures while simple scrapbook are the things that happen before and after the pictures were taken.

There are 5 terms that describe what simple scrapbook is: Freedom, Format, Framework, Finished, and Fast. These five are further discussed below.

Freedom as referred to making a simple scrapbook means that the one creating it has the liberty to simplify all the events that would be included on the scrapbook. The freedom to explore other aspects of life, use of non-traditional elements, and capture things that may not be seen on regular scrapbook. And most of all; the freedom to make the scrapbook as the exact interpretation of the creator’s idea.

Format shows the uniqueness of one scrapbook from the rest; and somehow, each scrapbook follows certain format. This means, a simple scrapbook has a size, content, and characteristics that is relatively the same with the rest of the scrapbooks but entirely uses different in approach. This makes one simple scrapbook stand out from any other scrapbooks.

Format also sets a particular theme or color scheme of one scrapbook. The colors used and the designs made are some of the usual components that bring out a simple scrapbook into a work of art. The placement of various elements also brings a lot of impact on the overall image of the scrapbook.

Framework is one characteristic of the simple scrapbook that is entirely unique from the rest of the scrapbooks. The framework is often defined as the group of pages including the table of contents and the title, dedication or the introduction page, section pages, filler pages, closing page, and materials file that show that overall structure of the scrapbook. Oftentimes, it is the first thing made since it defines what is the flow of the album. In simple terms, the framework is like the blueprint and the foundation of the album.

Another distinct characteristic of the simple scrapbook is the idea that once it is started, it can be finished. It is unlike the chronological album that is continuously filled up and may not be finished as started. Factor such as unavailability to add pages on the chronological album hampers the excitement once have. In simple scrapbook, you can assure yourself that once you start it, you can finish it. This is because you are working on a specific framework that is specifically made to finish. And since you are working on this framework, you will exactly know how far can you go and how many pages you will use. Once you have met this, your album is done.

A chronological scrapbook takes a lot of time to create. And as was mentioned, you may not still finish it. Simple scrapbook is different. You can finish it as soon as you start it. Again, this is the result of the framework that you follow. In fact, after you have finished the framework, you are that close to finishing it.

If you have decided to create your simple scrapbook, you have to know 3 things.

1. You should identify your purpose. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” “What kind of emotion or celebration would I want to put in the album?”
2. You have to create the format. Identify the size of the album and the theme to use. Know how to organize the ideas and put them to paper. Create the framework.
3. You have to prepare the materials used.

Once you have all these, you will easily create your own simple scrapbook.

Free Scrapbooking Catalogues: Sources of Tips You can Use

Free Scrapbooking Catalogues: Sources of Tips You can Use

Shendy   

Free Scrapbooking Catalogues: Sources of Tips You can Use | So it is spring once again. And you are faced with the idea of doing a general cleaning. In most cases, you find the most valuable materials you’ve always kept when you clean up your rooms, right?

It is not impossible for you to come across with pictures of you with friends and family on several occasions. They may have been just left out in a box or in one corner of the room. When suddenly the idea of compiling them strikes you. How can you compile them by the way? What idea do you have in mind? Would you not allot time for creating a scrapbook for those photos you’ve suddenly found? Yes, a scrapbook will be the best way to keep the memories in the photos alive once again! Are you ready for this venture then?

Several individuals are too much hooked into the idea of scrapbooking. They see the creation of scrapbooks as one fine way of spending a leisure time. While this may be a happy experience for most people, there are also those people who have not even experienced the joyous pleasure brought about by scrapbooking but who are always willing to give it a try.

When you are a novice in scrapbooking, free scrapbooking catalogues can be of great help to you. These free scrapbooking catalogues may be available online or in several local arts and crafts stores. They are in themselves filled with worthy information when it comes to scrapbooking. Simple steps are also given out plus the most essential scrapbooking information that novices will need to know about.

At a simple glance in your photos, they may have been mixed up with those from other occasions. Why not sort them out first according to events? In such way, your photos for scrapbooking will be organized. The essential steps that you need to dwell in before starting with the scrapbooking are gathering your photos, sorting them out, labeling them, and of course finally, storing your photos in the scrapbooking album. These steps are likewise included in the free scrapbooking catalogues that you will likely find whether within your locale or via the internet arena.

Let us dwell with the discussion of the steps first.

Gather all photos you have. As time passed by, you’ve earned a lot of photos and all throughout these years you may likewise have misplaced them. They may be in the garage, in the attic, in the closets or drawers, in the basement, and so on. Cleaning time provides you with the time to gather them up and recall the moment when they had been taken. What occasions are involved in the pictures? Who are with you? After gathering them up, go to a larger space so you can all spread them out. In this way you can decide on which photos to include in the scrapbooking. Think of what kind of scrapbooking album you will use. The size of which is determined by the number of photos that you will include in your scrapbooking project.

Start sorting out the photos. There are certainly several ways to sort out your photos like doing it according to family, relatives, and friends or by sorting them out according to chronology. Most people go for the latter option. Your pictures may date back to several previous years but that will be okay. Just allot time to do that. After you have sorted them out, start thinking about the theme of your scrapbook. Will it be holiday seasons-related? Baby’s baptismal? Heritage or family stuff? Whatever theme you are able to come up with, make sure that the photos you’ve chosen will explain a story and will definitely make sense!

Label the photos. After sorting them all out, label them according to occasion or event so that you will be given a clue as to what category they belong to. You need not label each photo for it will be too hard on your part. Simply categorize some portions or better yet put them inside an envelope with labels so you know what to get once you start with your project.

Finally, store them in safe places. When you are not yet ready with your scrapbooking materials, first keep the photos safely. Likewise, safe keep the rest which you will not be using. Three elements must be kept away from the photos. They are the humidity, heat, and light.

You see how beneficial free scrapbooking catalogues are? They surely mean to help you a lot!

Free Digital Scrapbooking Programs: Product Samples to Test before You Buy the Real Stuffs

Free Digital Scrapbooking Programs: Product Samples to Test before You Buy the Real Stuffs

Shendy   

Most of us have been so used with the idea of scrapbooking as a combination of paper cutting, photo gluing and sticking bits of nice materials together. All these would be laid on a piece of cardboard, paper or any foundation the scrapper would like to use as a medium.

But there's nothing that computers can't infiltrate. They influenced literally everything from our works to our personal lives and even the crafts that were supposed to be made by hands. Well, some people may have viewed these changes negatively. Nonetheless, so long as a person does his art on whatever technique he prefers, he still is able to fulfill many of life's pleasures.

Computer scrapbooking or betterly known as digital scrapbooking is done by means of laying out pages with the aid of computer softwares. This basically entails the manipulation of photos, graphics, borders, texts and add-ons using digital devices.

Like with conventional scrapbooking, the pages may be printed on high-resolution color printers that the scrapper will then paste on traditional scrapbooks. If you would not want to get bothered with pasting or the bulk of storing albums, you always have the space saving option of strong these in your computer or on a CD or DVD as tokens of memories you would want to share with others.

There are a number of computer programs that you can make use of when doing digital scrapbooking. The three most popular are Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0 and CS, Microsoft Picture It!, Lumapix, and JASC's Paint Shop Pro.

All these programs are so effective in helping their users manipulate the designs. The basic features include photo cutting, background replacements, change of colors, text adding, border placing and over-all graphic designing.

The common problem though with many computer softwares for digital scrapbooking is that users tend not to get the full controls. All have their learning curves and would require some mastery. Often, it is difficult for the user to make the program do things as they wish. Now, if you are more experienced with a single program, try to master it first before you choose to switch softwares. After all, if it worked great for you then it might help you better with your other projects.

Aside from the softwares we have already mentioned, it would be good to point out some other choices that you would find interesting. Some of the easiest programs that you can manipulate are the Hallmark, CK, Scrapbook Studio, and Scrapbook Assistants.

All these are designed specifically for digital scrapbooking. S compared with high-end softwares such as those we have mentioned above, these lower-end choices are quite less expensive and easier to use. However, they offer less flexibility in creating layouts.

Digital scrapbooking softwares that have higher learning curves have the tendency to require you to bring out the best of your creativity especially when you're done figuring out how the whole thing works. on the other hand, there are programs that are so versatile that they would allow good use other than scrapbooking purposes.

If you would want t meet the balance and stay in the middle of the road, you might want to choose Microsoft Digital Image Pro. It is less expensive than PhotoShop and will offer lots of advantages over scrapbooking programs. It is not also as hard to master as compared to other programs.

Well, if you are having doubts on what computer program to buy or you are still more comfortable with traditional scrapbooking, the option of downloading free digital scrapbooking programs in the net is always available for you.

Be forewarned though that many free digital scrapbooking downloadable are not as efficient as those you can buy from online and local retailers. They serve more like samples from which you can base your judgement of the products. Well, that expected. The web is a large pool of business propaganda and advertisements. We mean nothing wrong with this, only you have to lower your expectations. After all, websites are not giving you the products, they're only showing you how a specific product works.

If you are wondering how to make things work, be assured that most free digital scrapbooking programs are equipped with tutorial lessons that will lead you to simplified step by step instructions.

Digital Scrapbooking Software: Preserving Memories Without Hassles and Extra Expenses

Digital Scrapbooking Software: Preserving Memories Without Hassles and Extra Expenses

Shendy   

There was a time when taking pictures and collecting them can really put a big hole into your pocket. Aside from the initial photo taking, there would be the hassle of choosing where they will be developed so that you will get the perfect photo quality. After that, you still need to buy the things you need to make a scrapbook. Sometime later on, you will finally see the end result with only a few dollars left in your pocket.

That was before. With the creativity of human mind along with technology, people can use digital tools and equipments to save on the effort and resources needed to have those photos stand the test of time.

People can now say goodbye to films and albums that are only left in one dark corner of the house. Photos can now be saved in computers complete with scrapbooks that you can add words and messages into.

The need of digital photos and scrap booking arose from the need of people to take more and more pictures of themselves, their families and friends to look into some years from now. The need to share them with other people is also another reason.

The traditional way of sending pictures through mail can be a great waste of time. Besides that, you are never certain if the photos will arrive on time and in proper condition.

The Internet has brought about the modern way of sending photos without you leaving the comfort of your own home. All you need to do is compile them into a scrapbook file and share them with people in any part of the world. Before you know it, your photos will be seen by your loved ones wherever they may be.

With all these capabilities, the only thing that is required of people is to be creative on how they are presenting their photos. Digital scrap booking is the solution.

It is said that when digital scrap booking was introduced, its market already reached up to millions. Just imagine the number of people wanting to have their photos stored and shared to others and you will be able to figure out why they embraced this technology easily.

This has become the answer to keeping photos intact and in good condition so you can always look back at the happy times whenever you find yourself lonely and out of contact with the persons that you love.

This is also the solution to eliminating the need to have an expert do the work for you. You may find yourself out of idea on how best to present your picture and is just wasting your time staring at them laid out in front of you.

Have you also ever felt frustrated when you cannot seem to get the proper shade of color or the perfect background when you took your picture? With digital capabilities, you will be able to do that with just a click of your mouse. All you need to know are what functions to use and how to better enhance the quality of your photos using the software available.

Digital scrap booking will let you have the designs and styles you need and make it look like the real thing. The only advantage is that you need not visit every bookstore of stationery and shop around just to get the right materials. These things are already built-in in the software of your choice.

You can start by looking into sample of scrapbooks that are available in every software package. Once you have an idea on how to make your own, you can make use of your creativity to make one that suits your personality and style. You do not need to cut out or choose lettering styles. You can do that with the drag on your mouse.

If you want to take your creative juices into another level, you can also do slide shows and turn your pictures into screen savers. With the Internet at your disposal, you can look up tips and techniques to use with your digital scrapbook. There are articles and advices you can read online on how to perfect that scrapbook.

You can also take an online tutorial from the experts who can help you with layouts and designs. You do not have to have that talent within you. Your creativity is enough to make you a scrapbook that your family and friends will love and will want to see some more of.

Digital Scrapbooking: Is it for you?

Digital Scrapbooking: Is it for you?

Shendy   

The digital artwork is making its way into the mainstream; so as the digital scrapbook. For sure, we have certain understanding about digital art, but what about digital scrapbook? Is it the same with digital art?

The two are both similar and different in many ways but we are not here to discuss deeply their differences and similarities. We are here to focus on the digital scrapbooking as an alternative to the traditional scrapbook making.

Traditional scrapbooks are make by hand with several materials such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments you can think of. The main principle is; to create a wonderfully decorated page that would give better meaning on the message you want to address. Digital scrapbooking works on the same principle too. You create unique page with decorations to enhance the meaning of the massage you want to address.

What sets the two apart is the method of achieving this principle. As mentioned, traditional scrapbooking uses material such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments. Digital scrapbooking on the other hand uses computer graphics that replaces these traditional materials. You may say it is harder to work on the page design on the computer than on the actual page (traditional scrapbook). But, to be honest, it is almost the same.

Take the following for example:

The traditional scrapbook will work on a background or layout (sometimes called a template), pictures, texts, and embellishments. The process goes like this: you place the pictures on the background, place some embellishments of your type, and write some texts.

The digital scrapbook will work on software with all the available digital embellishments and texts. You have scanned pictures to be placed on a chosen background. Put some texts and add more design. Then, with some more editing on the colors and borders, you have created a scrapbook page.

(Speaking of software. There are several software that would let you create digital scrapbooks. These are Microsoft® Digital Image Pro, Photoshop® Elements or Adobe® Photoshop®, Ulead PhotoImpact®, or Jasc Paint Shop Pro®, to name a few.)

Oftentimes, it is much easier to create a digital scrapbook than a traditional one. This is because software that lets you create digital scrapbook with ready to use templates for texts and backgrounds, not to mention the editing tools you need. These features make it easier to create one unique page. Downloadable templates are readily available over the internet to widen up your choices on text, embellishments, and background. This is unlike traditional scrapbook that every thing is yours to make; from the background to the cutting of the decoration.

To further illustrate how does a digital page is created, here are the steps to follow:

· Create a new image from a blank canvas

· Define the size of the page you will use.

· Enter the settings you want to adapt.

· Add the photo

Photos determine the color scheme of the layout, therefore, you may want to see first what picture will you going to use before determining the mat of the canvas.

To add a photo, you must first save one on a file. You can either scan pictures or take them from your digital cameras.

· Create the background

Now that you have a determined canvas and photo, it is time for you to select your background. Here, the choices are endless. You can download images from the internet or use your photos to be the background itself. You can edit the texture of the background to match the theme you want to achieve.

· Create the photo mat

Photo mats let the background and the photo meet on a certain point.

· Add the text and embellishments

Ready made texts and embellishments are one good feature of digital scrapbooking software. This helps you to put important touches fast and easy.

· Apply some finishing touches

Final editing in scrcapbooking is as important as placing everything in order. Make use of built in features such as shadows, emboss, effects, and others. This would help your page look more attractive as it highlights whatever you want to be highlighted.