The canvas is the piece of paper (or digital background) upon which you build your page. It’s what holds all of your elements, and it defines the space within in which you’re working.

The canvas shape and size is one of the choices you have to make, and the base material is another. Here’s a look at frequently used bases, as well as the opportunities and challenges each offer.

Solid Neutral Canvas

A plain white, cream, kraft, or black cardstock base is usually the easiest base upon which to place photos and other elements so that they stand out well. A neutral base is often a low-key part of the overall design. Not only do you have choices with regard to color, you can also choose the best texture for your photos and subject.

“H” sits on a crumpled kraft base that makes a warm and homey base for this page of grandkids on the sofa with Grandma.

H by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Classroom Cupid by Brittish Designs; Artplay Girl Craze by Anna Aspnes; Libris by ViVa Designs; Bakers Twine 1, Oiselet Rouge by Katie Pertiet; Key to My Heart by Sahlin Studios; Cosy in Love Library Cards by FruitLoop Sally

The elements on “Whimsical Procrastinator” sit on a textured white base that shows off the photos and colorful elements well.

Whimsical Procrastinator by Debbie Hodge | Lost World by ViVa Designs; Believe in Love by Cinzia; Air Time, La Belle Vie by One Little Bird; Flossy Stitches Brown by Katie Pertiet; Distressed Edge Overlays 9 by Anna Aspnes; GeoSlab703, Lavanderia, Grutch Shaded, Century Gothic fonts

A neutral canvas is also an opportunity for some misting or inking. Doris Sander used a Bingo Card mask and misting on white canvas for “9 Years.”

9 Years by Doris Sander | Supplies: Supplies: patterned paper, buttons, chipboard elements by My Mind's Eye, Mist by Jenni Bowlin for Ranger, Stencil by The Crafter's Workshop, Journaling Spot by American Crafts, Alphabet by Jillibean Soup

Solid Color Canvas

When you layer on a base of color, there’s a good chance that base color will become the dominant color in your color scheme.

The rich blue canvas on Kayleigh Wiles‘ “Keep Calm” is great a great choice for a page on calmness, since blue often has a soothing effect. The blue is the dominant color in this high contrast scheme with complementary blues and oranges as well as complementary greens and pinks.

Keep Calm by Kayleigh Wiles | Supplies: Lucious Kit by Maplebrook Studios; Vintage Photo Frames No. 25, Basic Polka Dot Ribbons No. 01 and Tabbed Dates by Katie Pertiet; Hint at it No. 08 Brushes by Lynn Grieveson; Easy Curled Edges No. 01, LoopDaLoop Artstrokes No. 04 BrushSet, ArtPlay Palatte Special One & Seafoam by Anna Aspnes; Painted Christmas Words Brushes and Stamps by Ali Edwards

The background on “Star Wars Flakes” is a pale textured blue that’s more subdued than the base on Kayleigh’s page. The photos and white and red mats pop against it.

Star Wars Flakes by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Darling Dear by Creashens; Felty Flakes, Yuletide Felt Alpha by Pattie Knox; Retrouvailles by One Little Bird and Vinnie Pearce; Stitched Circles No 2, Stitched Frames No 1 by Anna Aspnes; Digital Date Stamps No 15; Nobile and StarVader fonts

Patterned Paper Canvas

If you using patterned papers, there will be times you’ll want them as your page base. It’s often a little tricky making sure the photos aren’t overwhelmed by the paper, but there are lots of ways to make it work, including:

• using tone-on-tone or tone-with-neutral patterns,
• using paint or brushwork to create a foundation for your elements, and
• matting your elements.

Check out other ideas for making patterned-paper work as your page base.

Emily Pitts likes using subtle patterns for pages bases, with tone-on-tone or a graph/ledger patterns topping the list. For “Boy at 13” she chose a diagonally striped paper to move the viewer’s eye in the same direction as her son’s gaze.

Boy at 13 by Emily Pitts | Supplies: Patterned papers: Simple Stories and My Mind’s Eye. Alphabet: Girls’ Paperie. kraft envelope, wooden rulers, chipboard frame, wooden bingo number, kraft clock, star pin: Maya Road. Twine: The Twinery. Pen: Marvy. Thread: Coats and Clark. Adhesive: Xyron, Scotch.

I used high-contrast elements and white photo mats on a subtle school-themed patterned paper base that supports the story on “Succeeding.”

Succeeding by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Believe in Love by Cinzia; Classroom Cupid by Britt-ish Designs; In Text Paper Pack 2 by Katie Pertiet; Libris, Gearhead by ViVa Designs; Flair Box 4 by Paula Kesselring; Stitch Medley by Quirky Twerp; SNF Sketchy Font

Digitally-Blended Canvas

On this page, Anna Aspnes used a predesigned artsy background from one of her Artplay Palette products. She blended two photos using the Photoshop layer mask function and soft distressed brushes. Anna looks for areas of predominantly solid and preferably neutral color on any predesigned background as a spot for housing photos.

Layout by Anna Aspnes | Supplies: Layout by Anna Aspnes. Supplies: ArtPlay Palette Forget Me Not, Painted FotoBlendz No. 3 by Anna Aspnes

Photo as Canvas

An enlarged photo is another option for your page canvas.

Lynnette Penacho added a blended large-scale photo to her background paper. She says, “I love the fun graphic pop-art feel the blending adds to the page.”

You Me Us by Lynnette Penacho | Supplies: You, Me, Us by Lynnette Penacho | Supplies: Playground Buddies by lliella Designs, Alphabitties No. 1 by Traci Reed, Bad Sewing Machine XXIV - Small N' Round by Traci Reed, Graph paper from Everyday Moments by Lauren Grier and Jenn Barrette

Pieced Canvas

Your canvas doesn’t have to be just one solid piece. Here’s a look at a simple pieced canvas. (Check out more examples of pieced backgrounds.)

“Silent Auction” presents photos, title, and several pieces of ephemera in a haphazard cluster mounted on a backdrop of kraft and gold-on-white patterned paper topped with a bold red strip.

“Silent Auction” by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Holiday Cheer, Round Robin by Lynn Grieveson; In the Loop Frame, Making a List by One Little Bird; Kitschy Christmas by Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studios; Another Very Small Alpha by Allison Pennington; Stitched by Anna Brown Borders No 1; Massana Script, Cardo fonts

Take a look at your pages–and pages by others that you like. What’s your canvas preference? And what do you want to try?

Is your title adding value to the page? Content and design are the keys.

by Debbie Hodge

A successful scrapbook page captures the viewer’s attention, controls the eye’s movement, conveys information, and evokes emotion. The title is one of the tools you have for achieving these ends.

Just as every sentence in a story should either deepen character or advance the action, every item on your scrapbook page should be pulling its weight. Every element you add to a scrapbook page should either deepen meaning or advance visual design.

Are you using titles this way? Make sure you’re not just slapping a title on a page because you think you should. Not every page requires a title. Read on for 4 ways you can use titles to make your scrapbook pages better.

1. Use scrapbook page titles to cue subject

There are times when your focal point and or scrapbook page photos don’t immediately help the viewer understand what the page is about.

“10 Things in July” is a text-heavy page with a photo that represents just one part of the topic being covered. The title is what makes it clear from the get-go that this is a list of 10 things on my mind in July, 2011.

10 Things in July | Supplies: Just Linens No 1 by Maplebrook Studios; Flossy Stitches Yellow by Katie Pertiet; Shutterbug Collaboration by The Digi Chick Designers; Yesterday Alpha by Lynn Grieveson; Journey Back Collection, Apple of My Eye Collection by Vinnie Pearce; Artsy Fotoblendz No 1 by Anna Aspnes

2. Use scrapbook page titles to set tone

Both the content of your title as well as the materials and styling you use for rendering it can set page tone, which makes the page more immediately accessible to the viewer.

The title “Coconut Coalition” paired with photos of my sons and mom fooling around at the table and eating cake tells the viewer there’s a story here that goes beyond just eating cake. The brightly colored alphas and casual fonts help the viewer understand that the story is a fun one. The result? The viewer is more likely to enter into the page, its journaling, and photos to understand just what was going on.

Coconut Coalition by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Artistry de Blanco Element Pack, Rubber Alphabet No. 02, Flossy Stitches: Green, Photo Corner Colors No. 02, Notebook Paper Pack No. 03, Oiselet Rouge Element Pack, Scallop Strip Masks, Doodled Block Alpha Brushes and Stamps, Pick Me Up Rub Ons, Labelled Journalers No. 02 by Katie Pertiet; Brad Bonanza No. 03: Digital Fasteners by Pattie Knox; Everyday Sentiment Strips Brushes and Stamps by Ali Edwards

3. Use scrapbook page titles as a path to deeper meaning

Great fiction tells us two stories: the story of the incidents at the surface and the deeper story of why these characters and their situation matters. Scrapbook pages can also tell two stories, and your title is one of the tools you have for getting at the deeper story.

“Here” is the story of a Thanksgiving gathering and of finding out friends are planning to move. It is also the story of why these characters living HERE in this place matters so to the narrator (me!). “Here” as a title, rather than “Thanskgiving 2011,” emphasizes where the real meaning is.

Here by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: The Daily Details by The Digi Chick Collaboration; Restoration by Gina Cabrera; Speech by Paula Kesselring; Flossy Stitches Brown, Journaling Strip Masks, Art Time Elements, In Words Brushes by Katie Pertiet; A Very Small Alpha by Allyson Pennington; Traveling Typewriter font

4. Use scrapbook page titles to strengthen visual design

A well rendered scrapbook page title contributes to the goals of catching and guiding the viewer’s eye in order to convey information and evoke emotions. Consider each of the 6 basic principles of visual design and see how to apply them with your titlework.

The title on “Finally Snow” immediately tells the viewer that there has been a wait for the snow featured on the page. The “snow” part of the title stands out because I’ve used the principles of contrast and emphasis to make sure it catches the eye. Repetitions of white at two other spots create a visual triangle that includes the title and creates flow through the page.

Finally Snow by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: 11:30am, 11:00am by Amy Wolff; Vintage Tickets by Quirky Twerp; Woodgrain Alpha by Crystal Wilkerson; Oh Joy by Paislee Press; Messy Slab ALpha by Cathy Zielske; Handcut Snowflakes by Valerie Wibbins; In the Loop 4 by One Little Bird; Words and Pictures Paper Pack, Woodsy Trees by Katie Pertiet

The canvas is the piece of paper (or digital background) upon which you build your page. It’s what holds all of your elements, and it defines the space within in which you’re working.

One of the first scrapbooking choices you’ll make is of canvas size and shape. This choice is primarily driven by how you want to print, store, and present your scrapbook pages. Read more about common scrapbook album formats.

Your canvas defines visual space

Putting together a visual design (and a scrapbook page is a visual design) means combining elements within space.  Space is where your page elements coexist. Your canvas shape and size are what define the space within which you create.

Canvas size

An 8″ square canvas (layout on left) presents a 3.5″ x 5″ photo with smaller accent photo well. For a page with more photos, though (the page on the right), a 12″ x 12″ canvas provides the space to get more elements onto the page harmoniously.

Layouts by Debbie Hodge | Supplies below.

Canvas Shape

Combining your page elements in a non-square rectangular shape offers different design opportunities and challenges than those that come with filling a square-shaped canvas. One is not necessarily better than the other — they are just different. The rectangle is a familiar visual format, and there’s lots of design inspiration to be found.

non-square portrait-oriented rectangle

Most books and magazines come in non-square, portrait-oriented rectangular formats.

non-square landscape-oriented rectangle

Movie, television, and computer screens are usually non-square, landscape-oriented rectangles.

square

While we are less likely to view print and electronic media in square formats, the square is, nonetheless, widely used by scrapbookers. Albums and papers for both paper and digital scrapbookers are widely available in 12″x12″ sizes.

Layouts by Debbie Hodge | Supplies below.

Who says a canvas has to have corners?

For eye-catching impact, use a full-size die-cut once in a while. Because Tami Taylor usually leaves generous white space on her pages, she approaches a shaped canvas understanding that she’s only filling a portion of it. Dina Wakley has more ideas for using die-cut papers on scrapbook pages.

Bonding and Books by Tami Taylor | Supplies below.

 The Two-page Canvas

When scrapbook pages are presented in physical albums, two pages sit along side one another — like pages in a book. Many scrapbookers like making two-page layouts in order accommodate their photos and story and, frequently, because they like the look of matching pages facing one another in their albums.

One approach to scrapbooking two-page layouts is to consider the two pages combined as your canvas and consciously create a design that works with this combined space as one. May Flaum took the approach on “Pumpkin Love.” The orange print that backs up most of her photos spaces the two pages and unites them.

Pumpkin Love by May Flaum | Supplies below.

Another approach is to consider each side its own “canvas” or space to be filled, but to coordinate product and design so that the two side-by-side canvases complement each other.

South Pacific by Debbie Hodge | Supplies below.

Tell me:

What’s your preferred canvas size and shape. And, most importantly: why?

For some people the term “scrapbook” evokes visions of construction paper, shaped photos and stickers.

But, for me, scrapbooking is about so much more:

In scrapbooking events and moments from my life and that of my family, I get a chance to re-live them, to reminisce.

In doing so, I’ve found that I’ve learned to appreciate my life more while I’m living it. It’s made me realize that my life is pretty good, and pushed me to be thankful for my wonderful husband and enjoy the crazy times with my ever-growing and changing children. No, my life isn’t extraordinarily interesting but it’s my life and nobody else is living it quite like me.

Just Another Ordinary Day by Paula Gilarde

Scrapbooking has improved my photography skills

Because of scrapbooking, I’ve learned to appreciate photography, and I am actively working to improve my skills.

Prior to taking up scrapbooking I really didn’t have any interest in photos. In fact, I recently discovered that I possess only two photos from 2001, a year when many very big things happened in my life and in the world in general: I got engaged to my husband, we bought our first house together, we traveled all over Ireland among other places, we went to multiple weddings, I became an aunt for the first time. My nephew is the only reason that there are any photos of me at all from that year, and now, I could kick myself for not making more of an effort to record such a time of change in my life.

Photos are important! Even if you don’t think they are right now, you will later.

2001 by Paula Gilarde

Scrapbooking has ensured I’ll remember the “little things”

The devil is in the details – and so many of those are quickly forgotten.

Photographs are a large element in scrapbooking but the story and the details are just as important. Thinking back to my 40th birthday (which wasn’t that long ago!) I remembered the people who were there, the weather, and the fun. It was when I read the journaling on my scrapbook page, that I recalled that my husband bought TWO cakes for me – one chocolate, one vanilla, one said happy and the other birthday. Tiny little details that make me smile now – I’m glad that I recorded them. And let’s not forget all those cute things the kids do and say, relegated to the past sooner than you’d think.

Celebrate by Paula Gilarde

Scrapbooking has given me a greater appreciation for color and design

Paper crafts have always been a love of mine, and scrapbooking is a way for me to play with lots of paper. Digital scrapbooking has the additional benefit of playing with the same paper over and over!

I love learning new skills and there are so many techniques and tools to learn in every medium that I can satisfy that desire every single day. I’ve learned about graphic design and it’s made me look at the world in a different way – I never flip through a magazine now without noticing the layout/design/colors. The following layout was inspired by a magazine ad for Kleenex!

Ice Cream by Paula Gilarde – ad challenge inspiration

Through scrapbooking, I found friends with shared  interests

I’ve made many good friends through scrabooking.

Online message boards, challenges and design teams have provided me with many friends who share my interests. I’ve been fortunate to meet many of them in real life, also. We chat every day, not just about scrapbooking, but about everything going on in our lives. I feel very lucky to have these women in my life.

O Canada by Paula Gilarde

10 ways scrapbooking could change YOUR life…

I’m such a believer in the positive impact of scrapbooking, I made a layout listing MORE ways in which my life has been improved by scrapbooking:

10 Ways my Life has been Improved by Scrapbooking by Paula Gilarde

1. Leaning Photoshop can make you more employable.
2. Scrapbooking can inevitably lead to improved photography skills.
3. Scrapbooking message boards introduce you to new friends and ideas.
4. Meeting other scrapbookers creates a feeling of acceptance and understanding.
5. Recording memories gives you a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
6. Having a handy stash of scrapbooking supplies increases your readiness when it comes to last-minute projects, gifts and crafting with your kids.
7. Scrapbooking helps remind you of the importance of capturing self portraits and personal thoughts.
8. Looking at scrapbooks is a great way for children and adults to pass time, share stories and reminisce.
9. Scrapbooking gives you an excuse to buy pretty things.
10. Now you can remember all of those extra special memories…because you’ve scrapped them!

Make some time to try out a craft that could enrich your life.  As the old slogan goes – “try it, you’ll like it!”

by Debbie Hodge

Photos are easier to come by today than ever before.

You take them with your phone as well as your camera. Your partner, parent, child, friends are taking photos on their phones and cameras and sending them to you via email or facebook or their preferred photo sharing website. You can even find photos you didn’t get a chance to take (i.e., of a place you visited) online from generous Flickr photographers or stock photo sites.

Photos are streaming into your life now from multiple sources. If these photos are not organized and explained, they quickly become a mass that’s not meaningful and that’s even too overwhelming to begin looking through.

How can you catalog and record the memories of this stream of photos efficiently and meaningfully?

Scrapbook them.

Scrapbook? Really?

Some of you are all over the idea of a scrapbook. It appeals to your story-telling, photo-cataloging, crafty selves.

Others of you will have no desire to make a weighty book of photos and memorabilia that will require more time to create and space to store than you’re willing to afford.

Let’s redefine scrapbook

A scrapbook is made up of scrapbook “pages.”

A scrapbook “page” combines some or all of the 5 basic scrapbook page elements.

1. photos
2. journaling
3. title
4. embellishments
5. the canvas upon which these sit.

A scrapbook “page” can be

1. on and of actual paper
2. a digital rendering of the traditional scrapbook page
3. a blog post
4. a slide in a slideshow
5. anything and any size and any medium you want it to be.

Here a scrapbook page is shown as: 1) a blog post, 2) an arrangement of photos, journaling, title, 3) a 12"x12" scrapbook page, 4) a slide in a slideshow.

How to start making your kind of “scrapbook page”

Include some or all of the scrapbook page elements.

1) Photos.

Select one or more photos of a moment or event that you like looking at and thinking about right now.

Sure, you might like to remember everything (at least all of it that’s good) but if you want to keep living a life that’s worth taking a photos of there isn’t the time to record all of it. So pick the photos you want to record right now.

2) Journaling

Write the information that you’ll need in order to recall the who and what—and, most importantly, the details that make the particulars of the photo worth remembering.

Ask yourself: Why do I like looking at this photo right now? It might be a sentence. It might be a longer piece of writing. The key is that YOU are telling the story now so that when someone (including you) comes across this photo in later years they comprehend it in a meaningful way. They see and read the story as you told it. They know why it was important enough to select for special treatment (special treatment=your version of a scrapbook page) by reading this journaling.

3) Title

A title can be a great cue to deeper meaning, a reminder of something fun, or simply a label of place or event or people that you then may or may not have to include in your journaling. You can include one or not.

4) Canvas

Combine photos, journaling, and title onto a “canvas” that works for you. When choosing your canvas, understand that it will need to be stored in a way that you can access tomorrow and in 10 years. For paper canvases, that could mean an album or archival box. For digital canvases, that could mean a folder on your computer’s hard drive, an “album” at a photo storage and sharing site, printed pages or even a printed and bound photobook.

Your canvas could be:

- a physical piece of paper

- a digital canvas

- a blog post

- a slide in a slideshow

- you tell me!

NOTE: YOU can define size if you’re not using traditional paper albums or an online service’s photobooks.

Your canvas background could be a solid background or you could use patterned papers (paper or digital) or a combination of papers and other elements (it’s up to you: ribbon, memorabilia, mats . . .).

The benefit of choosing a background that’s not simply solid white or black, is that it offers you the opportunity to set the tone for your page and perhaps even include a relevant motif.

5) Embellishments

Embellishments are the little decorations that add charm (and that should support your page subject and or tone). Maybe they’re not for you — but there are useful functions embellishments can play on a scrapbook page.

Start scrapbooking because it makes your photos accessible records of your life.

So that’s it. You should start scrapbooking because otherwise your photos will become part of an undefinable mass that doesn’t tell your stories. Photos can be preserved to evoke feelings, trigger associations, and tell those who see them in the future what YOUR story was. If you don’t scrapbook they will be part of a large collection that doesn’t really convey why the individual photo matters.

There will even be times when you don't have a photo but there's an important story or milestone in your family's life that should be preserved--that will matter to those involved tomorrow and in 25 years. Looking through my scrapbook pages from 2010 and reviewing where my family had been that year, I realized I never told the story of my husband's surgery for prostate cancer. Talk about an important story! And, talk about this being the kind of thing you'd like to remember not only in details but in feelings. That's what scrapbooking does for you -- it tells your stories the way you'd tell them -- not the way others looking through photos guess at them.

Think of scrapbooking as:

1. Selecting photos that compel you.
2. Writing about them.
3. Perhaps titling them.
4. Putting them onto some kind of “canvas.”
5. Storing that canvas in a way that you can access in years to come.

Let’s start a pictorial-memoir, photographic-story-telling stampede. If you’re already a scrapbooker, show this to your friends who are not so they’ll see just why you scrapbook (and maybe get going themselves).

Scrapbook Page Elements is an upcoming product from Get It Scrapped that provides a roadmap to the 5 parts of a scrapbook page so that you can made any kind of scrapbook page efficiently and well. Click here to receive early bird information and pricing when Scrapbook Page Elements becomes available.

1. Digital scrapbooking software

To make a digital scrapbook page you will need software for combining your photos and journaling with digital scrapbooking elements. The most widely used programs for digital scrapbooking are Adobe’s Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS. The free tutorials and online classes here at Get It Scrapped are all written to work with either of these Adobe products.

There are, however, other options and Steph at The Daily Digi has put together this helpful guide for choosing digital scrapbooking software.

2. Digital elements for scrapbooking

You can find the digital equivalent of almost any paper supply in digital scrapbook supply stores. The very basic supplies would include cardstock, patterned paper, alphabets (for titles), embellishments, and a font for journaling.

Use cardstock for page canvas, photo mats, “punched” elements. These are sold as 12″ x 12″ 300 ppi resolution digital elements.

Use patterned paper for page canvas, foundations, and embellishing. These are sold as 12″ x 12″ 300 ppi resolution digital elements.

Use alphabets for titles and even embellishing. These come in many forms, most replicating paper scrapbook page looks like chipboard, stamping, sticker, and acrylic.

Use embellishments for those extra touches. There is a huge assortment of digital embellishments available including fibers, buttons, metals, stickers, and much much more.

As you progress, you’ll start using digital brushes and overlays to get new effects that digital scrapbooking makes possible.

Here’s a look at an example of each of the basic products listed above — all of which I used on “Proof” shown here. I did use more supplies than these (and you’ll find them linked up if you click on the layout image) but these are the basics with which I could make an entire layout–with the addition of a font for including journaling.

Noemi Solids Cardstock by Maplebrook Studios; Awakening Paper Collection by Ali Edwards; Grunged Up Alpha No 2 by Katie Pertiet, Lil Metal Charms Numbered No 1 by Katie Pertiet

“Proof” by Debbie Hodge

3. Scrapbook page templates

Scrapbook page templates are digital files that have laid out where your paper and photos (and often title and journaling) will go. They make it easy to drag photos and papers onto your canvas. You can then “clip” the product to the template elements for a quickly-made and well-designed page. I made this page with Pattie Knox’s “Speedbyte #114.”

Notice I rotated and flipped the template to get the orientation I wanted for my photos. Using templates is probably the quickest and easiest way to get started digital scrapbooking–Pattie Knox has created a self-paced online class on this topic. It includes 6 of her templates that you can access immediately.

Speedbyte #114 by Pattie Knox. “Riding the magic carpet at Disney in the rain” by Debbie Hodge.

4. A way to print your pages

You can print your pages on your own printer or with a service. Many people like to make bound books from processing services.

These three articles at The Daily Digi provide a comprehensive look at the options.

Printing digital scrapbook pages

Review of layout printing services

Review of photobook printing services

So you’d like to start collecting, preserving, and presenting your photos. You’ve heard this referred to as ”scrapbooking” traditionally and, more recently, as “memory-keeping.”

Whether you scrapbook with paper supplies or digital supplies, whether you think of your collections as albums or photo books, understanding the elements of a scrapbook page, basic design principles, and all the options at are available today makes memory keeping more satisfying — and easier!

Here are a collection of posts to get you started with your memory keeping adventure.

Why everybody should scrapbook – even if they think they can’t

How Scrapbooking Made My Life Better

Scrapbook album and page formats

Alternatives to the traditional scrapbook album

Supplies for paper scrapbooking

Supplies for digital scrapbooking

How to make your first paper scrapbook page

What to consider when you start making a scrapbook page

Using scrapbook page sketches

What does “archival” scrapbooking mean to you today?

A Brief History of Scrapbooking in America

The elements of a scrapbook page

Scrapbook page design

I approach making scrapbook pages by asking myself questions that are based upon my understanding of:

• 5 scrapbook page elements (canvas, photos, journaling, title, embellishments), and
• 6 design principles (emphasis, contrast, balance, alignment, repetition, and flow).

It’s not really as formal that sounds, though. The premise is:

• If you know what the 5 page parts (or elements) are (and can hold them “loosely in your mind”) then you know what pieces you might be working with.
• If you know what the 6 design principles are (and I always think “ECBARF” or emphasis, contrast, balance, alignment, repetition, flow) and you “hold them loosely in your mind” and trust the process—you’ll make a page that gets the job done!

Is that too much “loosely holding” for you? Don’t worry. The more you do this, the more subconscious the process becomes.

Here are three questions to work through.

1. What is this page’s purpose?

Knowing the answer to this will drive your page element choices and decisions.

There’s a good chance your purpose in creating any page will be one of the following:

• for your creative expression.
• to provide an opportunity to experiment and/or play with product and/or design.
• to explore a topic and better understand it.
• to create a record of a something that happened (anything from a brief moment to a big event).
• to express how you feel about a specific subject and/or person.
• to convey a message to whoever you plan to share this page with.
• . . . or it may be something else . . . just figure that out and hold it in your mind as you move forward.

My purpose with “New Spot” was to play with the design principle of balance and to make something really pretty to present this moment that I was primarily recording for myself.

2. What role will photos and journaling play on this page?

Ask yourself about these two page elements first because they are the ones that usually define space needs.

ask yourself about photos:

• what photos do you have?
• which do you want to include?
• which do you need to include to achieve the purpose of your page from step #1?

For more on the basics of making photo selections and organizing photos:

• Scrapbooking Stories on Two-Page Layouts
• How to Select Events Photos for Scrapbooking
• Organizing Events Photos
• Organizing Everyday Life Photos

ask yourself about journaling:

• how much journaling will this story require?
• how much space (relative to other parts) will you need for the journaling?

For more on rendering journaling as well as the kinds of considerations to keep in mind:

• Scrapbook Page Journaling: Justification that Strengthens Design
• 10 Ideas for Placing Scrapbook Journaling on Your Page

On this page, two photos would probably have sufficed, but I loved all of these and how together they conveyed that this went on for a while. I also loved how they showed the interaction between my son and husband. Also, my personal tendency is to use multiple photos. I needed space for more than just basic descriptive journaling—but not tons of space. By using a linear/blocked design I was able to get everything on the page.

3. How will title, embellishments, and canvas support your photo and journaling choices?

Everything becomes more intertwined.

Start to think about these three page elements and how they should be approached to achieve a solid design. You’ll circle around, revisiting these pieces in your mind – not for a long time, but as you begin moving things around on the page.

It will be an iterative process.

consider title:

• do you need a title?
• would you like to use a clever title or would a simple label work?
• how much space does it seem you have for your title given the photo and journaling requirements?
• would you like your title to be a strong part of the design?
• would you like to use it to create flow?

For more on choosing and rendering a page title:

• Scrapbook Page Titles
• 10 ways to make a scrapbook page title
• 4 Formulas for Generating Scrapbook Page Titles You’ll Love
• How to come up with scrapbook page titles from sayings, quotes, titles, famous lines & lyrics

consider canvas:

• Given the amount of space it appears your photos, journaling and title will need, what kind of a design will work well? For example, will you need to fill the entire page or could you create a design with generous white space.
• Given your page purpose what kind of tone do you want to set? A linear or blocked design will evoke different feelings than that of a freestyle design with flourishes and layers and unusually-shaped white space.

For more on the canvas:

• Scrapbook page elements: the canvas
• What is your scrapbook page foundation?
• Improve scrapbook page design with white space: 1 layout 3 ways
• Scrapbook Page Design: Asymmetrical Balance

On “I Am a Schlepper,” the title is probably the most important page part. It sets a fun, confessional tone and, along with the photo, cues the viewer to the topic. One revealing photo is all that’s needed and the result is lots of white space and a layered approach to the canvas. A cute bird and a row of aligned (but different) buttons are the embellishments.

consider embellishments:

As you start to understand how things are coming together, keep in mind the tone you want to set, and, thus, the type and number of embellishments to include.

• What motifs will support your meaning?
• How will you use color?
• Will you use your embellishments to guide the eye around the page (i.e., create flow)?
• Where’s the “charm” factor?

For more on embellishments:

• Place Embellishments to Support Scrapbook Page Flow
• Choosing Embellishments for the Scrapbook Page

And now start moving things around the page

The approach described here entails becoming familiar with the 5 elements of a scrapbook page and 6 design principles for visual design so that the questions presented here become second nature as you move things around and make a page you love.

Let’s be honest for a moment–we haven’t exactly chosen the most earth-friendly hobby in scrapbooking–now have we?  However, I happen to think that preserving the memories of our lives and those of our family, is just as important as preserving the planet we live on.  Now for some people “being green” is a lifestyle and that is commendable!  But rather than building my life around being green—instead, I try to see the opportunities within my everyday life to give back to our earth and to lessen my impact on it as an individual.  In the literal sense, the idea of a being a “green scrapbooker” is somewhat of a contradiction in terms.  But if you feel like I do in that: we should make an effort to do what we can, when we can—then you might agree that there are steps all of us can take toward being more eco-conscious scrapbookers.  Here are just a few of the things we as scrapbookers can do to be more GREEN!

• Use What You Have On Hand- It’s difficult, but try to avoid the temptation to buy new products all of the time and start looking at using up some of that stash!  Challenge yourself to use that piece of paper you’ve been passing up for years now in an inspiring way.

• Put Those Leftovers to Use- Are you going to finish using that adorable patterned paper?  Or how about those leftover alphas?  There are numerous ways for you to use up those scraps—with a little bit of creativity your leftovers can be the star of your next layout or project–instead of a wasted opportunity.

• Re-Purpose Household Odds & Ends- Repurposing your household odds and ends in your scrapbooking can be very inspiring!  Whether it be those left over coffee filters after you kicked the habit or even paper bags from your latest grocery shop, these items hold hidden potential that is just waiting to be harnessed!

• Buy Recycled Products- There are fabulous scrapbooking product lines–made in part or some entirely–from recycled products.  Buying these types of products not only gives you a certain piece of mind, but also help to support a very worthy cause!

• Make Your Own Products- Explore the wonderful world of diy recipes for paper, adhesives, paints, mists and more.  Making your own products can be just as fun as using them!

• Explore Digital or Even Hybrid Scrapbooking- Take the plunge and dive into digi–where your products are always reusable, you print only what you need and there are virtually no scraps to discard!

Even if you were to give one of these ideas a try, chances are you could stumble onto some new and exiting inspirations for your scrapbook pages –all while saving the world, one scrap of paper at a time ;)

Have A Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Take a look below at the favored techniques of ten different scrapbookers, and–while you’re doing this–look:

1) for what you like (and, perhaps, what you’re already doing), and
2) for what you’ve never done but might now try.

 

On “Getting to Know You,” there’s evidence of the phase I was in a couple of years ago when loved using my Cuttlebug die-cutter and lots of different materials to make my titles. Have you had any titling “phases?”

hand-cut

Lisa Dickinson often combines a hand-cut word with purchased alphas that contrast in shape and color to make her titles. She’s done this in the past with fine-tipped scissors, but now that she has a Silhouette cutter, the title-cutting process has become much easier. Here Lisa cut around her hand-lettered outline to give the word “love” more definition.

“Flower Love” by Lisa Dickinson in the Oct ‘10/Layers issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design.

layered

“Skipping Stones” is the perfect example of what Kayleigh Wiles likes to do with her titles. Kayleigh says that her formula for titles includes two alphas (or a mix of alpha + font in similar colours) with a journaling tag or paper piece to ground the grouping. She places the title within the larger grouping of photos/papers/journaling, and she adds extra depth with digital drop shadows to make the letters on the uppermost layers look like they are popping off the page. Kayleigh adds, “I also really like using a visual triangle for flow and placing one embellishment cluster from  that triangle close to my title.

“Skipping Stones” by Kayleigh Wiles in the Feb ‘11/Titles issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design.

wide

While Kayleigh likes to layer her title right in with the other elements on her page, Celeste Smith frequently takes a different approach. Her titles often span the width of her page, creating a border. Other times, Celeste uses smart alignments, and if her title doesn’t span the entire page, it spans the width of a key element, like a photo or her journaling block.

“Last Day of School” by Celeste Smith

contrasting

Dina Wakley said (in the October ‘10/Layering issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design), “I think the key to layering paper is to think about your colors. So you could use papers that are analogous, which means the colors are next to each other on the color wheel. This way you you know they’ll be pleasing and calm together–and, then, throw in a complementary color, (that means a color on the opposite side of the color wheel from your initial colors)—but . . . just a little.

You can see this in the way I approach titles. I will very often purposely contrast my title with this way. You’ll often see that my titles will be in a color hasn’t been emphasized anywhere else. It’s only there for contrast.

“So Big” by Dina Wakley

the basics

Doris Sander gravitates toward alphas in small, basic fonts. She prefers solids (mostly neutrals) that blend in easily without throwing her design off balance. Here she used a black sticker alpha rendered in a mixed-case font. She subbed in a green “i” for a little interest and to juxtapose that idea of green growth with snow-covered ground.

“Florida Girl” by Doris Sander in the February ‘11 issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design

mixed

Aaron Morris says, “My most commonly used title technique would be mixing the alpha I am using with either small word strips, a word spelled out with small snipped alphas, or small fonts for the “supporting” words of the title. There are two or three products that I use to do this, and feel that when I use this technique I am able to put the focus on the important words in the title.”

“Fall in Love” by Aaron Morris in the February ‘11/Titles issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design.

long

Of  her very-long-titled “I often wish you could talk but even more so in these sad moments”,” Karen Grunberg says, “This is a typical title for me. My titles are generally quite long. I use varying sizes and color and shapes but each word is spelled using the same sized letters so there’s uniformity within a word but not for the whole title. I also often use the tiny alphas on most of my layouts (as I did in the beginning of this title)”

“I often wish …” by Karen Grunberg in the February ‘11/Titles issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design.

hand-drawn

Michelle Houghton likes to use her “handy” skills to make a variety of hand-lettered titles for her pages.  She says, “I take for granted the things I learned in high school art class. That is until someone says, ‘Please tell me you did not do that lettering on your own.’  The response is usually, “yes,” and I have Mr. Carlson to thank for it. In high school art we learned block lettering. I have since evolved this basic block lettering into my own handwriting style. I’ve added tricks that I like to use on fonts and for creating lettering for my pages.” (You can check out these trick and techniques in her self-paced class, Hand-Lettering for Scrapbookers, Journalers, and Crafters which is newly available in self-paced form at Get It Scrapped!)

“You Are My Sunshine” by Michelle Houghton inHandlettering for Scrapbookers, Journalers, and Crafters.

graphic

Katrina Kennedy’s titles are very often rendered with word-art or her own type treatment, and, thus, they have less depth. The result is modern-looking pages with a clean and graphic feel.

“Memory” by Katrina Kennedy

stamped

“Mark” by Sharyn Tormanen in Get It Stamped 101

So which of these titles appeals to you? Which approaches gave you ideas for your own titlework?