Scrapbooking for Beginners

Matting your photos instantly changes the look of your picture and makes it stand out on the page. Double matting is even more effective to making a picture stand out.

Use white or light colored mattes first and a contrasting color to matte the picture in last. For the contrasting-colored matte, use a color that's in the photo to really make it pop.

Scrapbook Kit In A Stack 8"X8" Pad-Friends/Family

Pre-made designed pages are perfect if you're not comfortable designing your own pages for your pictures.

You can buy some pre-made scrapbooking pages from any hobby store. You can simply attach your photos on these pages however you want and add any extra things - like stickers or content.

Consider using scrapbooking rubber stamps to add a little spice to your themed scrapbooking pages.

Take a day at the zoo and bring more life to the scrapbook page by rubber stamping zoo animals periodically throughout the page.

No scrapbooking page can be complete without some text scattered here and there on the themed page. You can use your own handwriting to write what you want or print something off of the computer and cut it out to place on your scrapbook page.

Words can help keep the memory of that special day alive. You can even use scrapbooking sticker words to create a one-of-a-kind message!

To make a scrapbooking page more personal and special to you, add some sort of physical item from that day. For example, a wedding scrapbook page could use something like one of the flowers from the bouquet or a wedding napkin to immortalize that day in your life.

Stencil Factory w/ Storage Box

Recruit your children or friends and have them design their own pages for their photos. It can be the perfect way to pass the time on a rainy day when you can't get outside.

If the kids aren't old enough, you can do the cutting and pasting, but let them add scrapbooking stickers and choose the colors they want. They can even add some of their own artwork to the pages if they want!

If you want to add some little graphics to your scrapbook, but can't draw, consider using stencils. There are many stencils out there that have all kinds of shapes you can trace onto your scrapbook page.

There are millions of free tips online to help you advance your scrapbooking skills as you move from mastering one type of creative design to the next!