Modern day scrapbooking is a hugely popular craft all over the world. It is the art of creating a book full of photographs, mementos and memories.

These days it is easy to find a good craft supplier who will stock all the basics for scrapbooking – either as an actual standing shop, or an online shop. Both will give you lots of information on scrapbooking – many small independent shops will be able to give you help and advice and many online shops have projects and examples for you to look at.

The range of scrapbooking products on the market is vast. Styles are always changing and new products are always being released. Because of this, the idea of wading into scrapbooking can seem daunting.

However, there are a few essential items that every scrapper needs, no matter the current styles:

• Scissors – A good sharp pair of scissors is an essential. Over time you will probably find that you will build up a selection of scissors for different jobs. For example, you may have one large pair for cutting paper and a small non-stick pair for small intricate detailing as cutting self-adhesive items.
• Paper trimmer – If you are planning on cutting any straight lines and wanting 90˚ angles then the easiest way to do this is using a paper trimmer or guillotine. Many of them also come with interchangeable blades that produce decorative lines when cutting.
• Craft knife – In the same way as a small pair of scissors, this is useful for cutting intricate detailing but you will also be surprised at how many other jobs they come in useful for.
• Cutting mat – When using a craft knife this will protect the surface you are working on.  Many also have guidelines printed on them so you can cut papers and photographs down to standard sizes using standard angles. A self-healing cutting mat is always preferable as the rubber of the cutting mat pushes back into place always leaving you with a smooth surface.
• Adhesives – An absolute essential when buying any adhesives for use on your scrapbook is that they are all Acid Free and Lignin free. This will prevent the deterioration of your photograph. Most adhesives you will purchase in a craft shop will now be acid and lignin free but it is always best to check. There are many types of adhesives ranging from double sided tape to glue pens. It is always best to seek advice about which is the right glue to the type of product you will be sticking.
• Papers – This is where the choice gets varied. There are so many different papers with different styles and colours, it is all down to personal choice and what will work best with your photographs and your style. As with adhesives, make sure that all your papers and card and Acid and Lignin Free.
• Embellishments – This can range from purpose built toppers, stickers, brads and ribbons, to many items you will find in your home, such as buttons and memorabilia to accompany your photographs and memories. Again, make sure that these are all Acid and Lignin Free to prevent deterioration of your scrapbook.

For those of you who are comfortable with a computer, or those who want to try something a bit different with scrapbooking…there is another way to create stunning scrapbook layouts rather than with paper, embellishments, glue and scissors. Digital scrapbooking has really taken off in the last few years and is becoming increasingly popular.

All you need is a computer with a photo-editing and drawing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro. Many people use digital cameras which mean all your photographs are already on your computer ready for you to create into pieces of art.

There are so many different potential outcomes of digital scrapbooking. There are two main routes you can choose from. The first is the technological look. This is all about clean lines, geometric shapes and banners. This is the sort of look that you can find on many websites and is reasonably easy to create from scratch all by yourself – ideal for beginners.

The second is the traditional look. This is all about replicating the look of a traditional paper scrapbook on the computer. You can recreate pretty much anything you would use on a traditional scrapbook using programs such as Photoshop. This does take a lot of work and requires you to be reasonably advanced in using Photoshop. There are many websites that will give basic tutorials for digital scrapbooking…for instance, how to create buttons, how to make realistic ribbon and how to add shadows and shading.

However, there are ways of creating this look by cheating.  There are lots of websites that you can purchase digital scrapbooking elements. Elements are all the parts you will need to create a digital page – background, alphabets, toppers etc. These can be purchased individually or as coordinated kits. There are also many sites offering free elements to give you a taste of digital scrapbooking without having to spend any money.

Visiting websites such as these and digital scrapbooking forums are a good way of building up the ideas and skills needed to scrapbook digitally.

If you don’t have access to software such as Corel Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop there is also a software called GIMP that you may want to consider.

Setting up a scrapbooking crop can allow you to share your ideas with others, gain inspiration for yourself and create a circle of friends with one brilliant hobby in common.

If you are already part of a group of friends who enjoy scrapbooking, an easy way of setting up a crop is to host it at your house. Just lay out some drinks and nibbles and invite your friends over for a day or evening of scrapping. This will cut out many of the costs otherwise involved when setting up a crop. To save even more, rotate the host house among your friends. It also spreads around the delights of hosting among friends who enjoy it.

If you don’t have the room to host at your own house or you would like to invite others from the community who you don’t know as well, consider another venue. Community halls, church fellowship halls and local schools are all options worth a look. However, there are other issues that will need to be weighed when choosing a venue in addition to the cost of hiring the room:

Everyone will need to travel to your venue – either by car or public transport, so ensure that there’s adequate parking and that it’s accessible via public transport. As for the room itself, if you are going to be there for more than a couple of hours, ensure that you have access to toilets and a kitchen. Most will have them…but ensure that they’re unlocked and that you have permission to use them (for instance, if you are meeting at a school). Are there tables and chairs provided? Who’s responsible for set up and tear down?

In addition to the cost of the room and refreshment, if you’re hosting classes, keep in mind the cost of class materials. You’ll have to recoup all these costs through admission fees. And if your price is too high, you won’t be able to attract new people and might have to seek out a more affordable venue, etc. There’s no point in hosting a crop if you have to bear the financial burden by yourself.

The final thing to decide is what you’ll do at your crop. Are you just going to invite people to bring in their own projects…or are you going to put on some type of class…or possibly a mixture of both? In order to attract the largest number of people and have them leave the crop satisfied with their investment of time and money, you may want to talk to potential attendees ahead of time and see what they’d hope to get out of the event.

A:

• Adhesives – Glue, double sided tape and glue dots. Adhesives are products that will stick two items together. Adhesives must be non-toxic and acid-free for scrapbookers.
• Acrylic Paint – Not always a material used in scrapbooking, but for those who enjoy creating something a little more artistic and unconventional, they are a must.
• Acetate – Perfect for creating a scrapbook page with a difference – a clear layout. Why not try adding journaling or extra photographs onto an acetate page…so that you can see the following page through it?
• Acid Free – When using photographs, materials need to be acid-free. This will remove the risk of the photographs degenerating and help them to withstand aging over time

B:

• Buttons – Whether you buy them from your local craft shop or recycle them from old clothes, buttons are a reasonably cost-effective way of adding “that little something extra” to your scrapbooking page.
• Brads – Another cost-effective embellishment – brads are perfect for attaching ribbon and tags to your pages or just to add some decoration to complete a look.
• Beads – Available in pretty much every color and design you can think of, they can be added to your scrapbooking page and will co-ordinate with any color scheme.
• Brush Markers – Whether you want to add journaling or color a large title, brush markers are usually non-toxic and acid-free…making them perfect for use on your pages.

C:

• Card – One of the most basic materials for scrapbooking, especially if you are creating a handmade album or mini-book.
• Cutting Mat – Most scrapbookers own a craft knife which makes owning a cutting mat essential to protect your work surfaces. These come in standard mats or self-healing mats. Self-healing cutting mats provide a durable surface which does not create any sharp edges which can damage both your knife and your project.
• Camera – One of the most essential tools. Without this, you wouldn’t have much to scrap…would you?
• Computer – This can be quite a useful piece of equipment – whether for editing photographs, creating journaling or printing papers.

D:

• Die-Cutting Machines – Great tools if you want to use lots of various shapes on your scrapbooking pages. There is a large variety of die-cutting machines… ranging in price from manual machines to automated computer based ones – cutting basic shapes, more complex designs and also full alphabets, numbers and symbols.
• Double-Sided Tape – The quickest and one of the most effective adhesives for scrapbookers. Double-sided tape is immediate – it doesn’t need time to dry – and most on the market today is acid-free and non-toxic. Double-sided tape can be purchased on a roll or for even more ease – in a roller.
• Digital Scrapbooking – Scrapbooking on a computer. Digital scrapbooking uses paint software to create a page with a difference. Pages can replicate traditional paper scrapbooking or can use techniques to create unique pages that are difficult to create on paper.

E:

• Embellishments – Items to add to your scrapbooking pages – anything that isn’t a photograph, paper, card or journaling.
• Eyelets – Eyelets are the perfect embellishment for neatening holes on tags and pages where you want to attach ribbons or fibres. Eyelets can also be used to add a subtle hint of color. Punch holes into your page and layer a colored paper behind the holes so that it shows though in pages.
• Embossing – The technique of using powders and heat to create a raised stamp design. It is also a technique of creating raised areas on vellum or parchment paper.
• Edging Scissors – To add an edge to your papers that isn’t straight cut, torn or a wave you can use edging scissors. These come in a variety of styles – modern or more traditional. You can also purchase paper trimmers with the same decorative edge blades.

F:

• Fabric – Not a traditional material for scrapbooking but when used effectively can create a very special scrapbooking page. There are endless possibilities with fabric – sewing, decorative stitching, photographic transfer etc.
• Felt – Used extensively for kid’s crafts, but is being introduced as another material for scrapbooking. New ranges of felt letters perfect for children-themed pages that available on the market now are allowing scrapbookers to be more creative with a basic material.
• Feathers – A great example of the range of materials that can be used on a scrapbooking page. For certain occasions, feather can be added to a page to finish the look, for instance white feathers on a wedding page or bright-colored feathers for pictures of parrots.
• Foam Pads – These are an adhesive that are used widely in card making and for decoupage but can sometimes create a space between items that is needed on your scrapbooking page.

G:

• Glue – The wet types of adhesive. Scrapbookers need to be wary when using glues as they need to be checked that they are acid-free and non-toxic. Most craft PVA glues are non-toxic but are not acid-free.
• Gel Pens – Gel pens are another tool for adding journaling, doodling or any other writing or drawing to your pages.

H:

• Handmade Paper – Looking to add something special to your page? Handmade papers come in a range of designs – plain papers, those with metallic threads added into the paper, embroidered papers and embossed papers. Most of these look great with a torn edge as they fray nicely – just use a small paintbrush and water to allow the paper to tear in the shape needed.

I:

• Ink Pads – A variety of colors and types are available. You can stamp on pretty much any surface nowadays – perfect for adding to your scrapbooking pages.
• Inks – Ink are used mostly for drawing and writing with but they can be used to add journaling or something special to your page.

J:

• Journaling – The technique of adding writing to a scrapbook page. This can be used to add details such as dates, names and places. It can also just be a few sentences to remind you of the memories in the photograph. Journaling can be added in a variety of ways – handwritten, rub-ons, using a computer or old typewriter and more.

K:

• Knife – Craft knives are very useful tools for most crafts. They have a flexibility that you cannot achieve with scissors – for instance when wanting to cut a curve across a 12” x 12” page.
• Keepsakes – Keepsakes are items that are kept as a memento. You can collect keepsakes to use with your photographs or alone to create a theme for a page. Examples of keepsakes are pressed flowers, tickets, maps, postcards, cake ribbon and badges.

L:

• Layout – This is how your page is set out. For some albums it can be easier to draw out sketches of your layouts before putting them together to ensure that a continuous theme runs through your album and draws all the pages together as one whole project.

M:

• Mulberry Paper – Mulberry paper is a paper which has a special look and a unique property. When torn, mulberry paper has a feathered look about it – this can add to the complete look of a page.

N:

• Non-Toxic – Using non-toxic materials in scrapbooking is essential to protect your photographs and to allow your album to last through many generations.

O:

• Organizers – These keep all your stash neatly sorted to ease clutter. It also keeps it clean and protected…for example, a paper organizer keep your pages flat and allow you to organise them into themes, colors or however you will find them easiest.

P:

• Paper – This has to be the most obvious material for a scrapbooker. With so many different types, colors, sizes, textures and effects on the market, it’s a difficult choice when trying to choose the right combination for a layout.
• Peel-Offs – These come in all sorts of designs and colors. As well as for card makers, these stickers can add pictures and extra touches to your layouts. They are particularly useful for journaling.
• Paints – Paints can be used to add extra color and design to your layouts.
• Punches – A simple way of cutting out shapes for use on your scrapbook layouts. They can be easily made into small embellishments or you can use border and corner punches onto your papers and photographs themselves.

Q:

• Quilling – Traditionally used by card makers, this technique of curled and shaped strips of paper can easily be adapted for use on scrapbooking layouts – especially suited to floral layouts.

R:

• Ribbon – Ribbons have many different purposes for scrapbookers. They can be used to attach tags, charms and other objects to your pages. Ribbons are also a good way of adding a splash of pattern and color to your pages. There are so many designs, widths, colors and patterns there is something for every layout.
• Rub-On Transfers – Easy to use and a subtle hint to any page, these are perfect for scrapbooking. The alphabets and words work really well for journaling.
• Repetition – This is a technique of creating a running theme throughout a scrapbooking album or mini book. This can be something that stands out like a color theme, or it could be something small like the use of a flower on each page or the way in which you add your journaling. This technique helps to make each page run into the next and look part of a finished project instead on each page being something separate.

S:

• Stickers – Stickers are available in many designs made of many materials – paper, foil, vellum, with glitter and much more. These can add simple extra touches to your scrapbooking pages.
• Stamps – You can either use these to add an image or words to your scrapbooking page, use alphabets for journaling, or use them to create your own background papers.
• Scissors – A very basic tool but a necessity for any scrapbooker. Small detailed scissors are ideal for cutting small items and non-stick scissors for cutting stickers and adhesives such as double sided tape.
• Stencils – You can use these with so many different materials to add pictures to your layouts, to draw and cut shapes and to create background papers.
• Stash – This is the term used for all your craft materials.

T:

• Trimmers – These are used for accurate cutting. There are two types – those with runner blades and guillotine style trimmers. Most come with straight blades but many also fit decorative style blades for adding fancy edges to your papers and photographs.
• Theme – Many scrapbooks have a theme, whether this be a wedding, holiday, family history or just special events in your life. There is some reason you choose to include certain photographs and usually this is because of a theme.
• Totes – Craft Totes are a type of organizer. These usually involves organiszrs, pockets and a carry handle to allow you to take it with you to classes and groups etc.

V:

• Vellum – A semi-translucent paper that has many uses for crafts and can also be used on your scrapbook layouts. Emboss, perforate or just use as a paper. As vellums are semi-translucent they need special care with adhesives.

In addition to a traditional scrapbook album, there are many other ways to use your scrapbooking skills. The techniques of using photographs, papers and embellishments can be applied to lots of other projects.

When spending a large amount of time creating a scrapbook page, sometimes it can seem a bit disappointing to put it away in a scrapbook where not many people will probably see it. Instead, why not have your page framed? If there’s a page you have created that you really like, you could have a frame specially made specially fit it. Alternately, if you know in advance that you are going to want to frame a scrapbooking page you are going to create, you can purchase a frame ahead of time and make the page to suit.

Many pictures are also framed using card mounts which can either be bought in standard sizes or cut to your specific size.  These mounts can also become part of your project by adding embellishments, papers or doodling to them. You could try adding a title onto your mount, or continuing a pattern from your background papers.

One thing to be wary of is that if you’re using large embellishments on your project then you will need some way of being able to set your background off your frame. A black box is one way of adding depth to your frame.

One other way of hanging your creations on your wall is to create your page onto an artist’s canvas. Canvases can be purchased in many different sizes and you can also get black or natural canvases to add interesting backgrounds to your project.

You can stick papers, photographs and embellishments to your canvas, just as if you were creating a traditional page. You can either add eyelets and brads to your canvas (so long as you keep away from the wooden frame around the edges). Just be careful not to put too much pressure on the canvas, to keep it from ripping. It’s way too easy to ruin your canvas doing this. This is also a useful way of using canvases that have small dints or holes in them as they can be covered up.

One other craft that you can put your scrapbooking techniques to is altered art. You can alter almost anything – picture frames, tins, boxes and trays. A popular theme to altered art is books. You can create an altered book in a very similar way to a scrapbook. You’ll need to find an old book – you can pick them up cheap at a charity shop. You’ll need to stick several pages together using glue to create a sturdy page to work on. You can also work on the front of one page, then on the back of the second page so that you can stick them together…hiding any piece you have folded over the edges or backs of brads – this will leave you with a neater-looking book.

Then, you can create your pages on the pages of the book just like you would do with a scrapbook. The texts on the pages of the book lend to an interesting background but you can cover them up if it doesn’t suit the theme of your page. Also alter the front and back of the book to create a completed look. This sort of project is ideal as a gift for someone special.

There are so many different types of embellishments suitable for scrapbooking it is often hard to choose what to use. Whether you look at purpose-made, shop-bought embellishments or you decide to create your own, the choice is vast. This guide will give you a bit more information on some of the types you may come across.

An embellishment is anything other than your photographs or papers. This could include items you attach to your page to accompany the theme…but it can also include decorative techniques such as stitching and lettering.

Machine stitching is something that has become increasingly popular as scrapbooking has become more and more artistic and experimental. With almost all techniques, a lot of experimentation is required to get “just the right effect”. It’s always a good idea to test out any stitching on scrap paper beforehand. A good guide to follow: keep your stitching reasonably large so that your paper doesn’t perforate and tear. You can also play with the different types of stitching – straight, zigzag and all those other decorative stitches that various sewing machines can create. You can also hand-stitch your scrapbooking pages as well as machine-stitch them…but obviously this takes longer and needs more patience.

Adding lettering is where embellishments really get interesting. Popular methods include using rub-on transfers, stickers, chipboard letters or die-cut letters. Computers are also widely used to add writing to pages where the scrapper isn’t confident with their own handwriting or they want to use different, more imaginative styles.

Die-cut letters and shapes can be bought pre-cut from most craft shops. And, if you’re a bit more serious about all this, you can always invest in a die-cutting machine that can do this for you. Die-cutting machine all have their own range of different alphabet and shape dies…which mean you can cut those shapes over and over again using your machine. Many die-cutting machines now on the market are also able to adapt to use other companies die-ranges, as well…something well worth looking for if you decide to invest in one. Many also offer embossing folders, which will add an extra touch to your crafting.

In addition to decorative touches and alphabets, many people like to add embellishments that will co-ordinate with the theme of their scrapbooking pages.  For example, new baby scrapbooks have a variety of embellishments available.  You can buy stickers, chipboard shapes, 3D toppers, ribbons and much more. Many styles of papers also include a range of embellishments to accompany them ensuring that your page looks harmonized.

Items found around the home can also be used as embellishments. Buttons are quite popular in this regard. When discarding old clothes, by keeping the buttons (and asking friends and family to do the same) you’ll soon built up a large collection of various colored buttons.

Memorabilia is another item that many people like to include on their pages. Baby hospital bracelets, confetti from weddings or birthdays and concert tickets are some of the items that have been used to accompany photographs on scrapbook pages. These all add extra memories of special occasions or people and make ideal personalized embellishments.

Up until now I have forced myself to scrapbook for large chunks of time, at events mainly. I’d only drag out my stuff at home if I either had a three-hour minimal chunk of time or someone was coming over to work on their stuff with me. Otherwise, it seemed even an hour was not worth the hassle of getting everything out and putting it away.

However, I have found over the past 5 years that 3-hour chunks of time are getting very hard to come by, with two small children. Another problem is that I really don’t get a ton of ideas all in one chunk of time and I feel forced to produce at least some amount of pages and be thrilled with it (perfectionism, I know). Another point was I felt I should stay at the event since the time was allotted and the crop or whatever was paid for. My new approach is simple. I am going to try to do more at home with small chunks of time.

My end goal is to set up my area (nothing fancy, just a sliding door closet in the guest BR with a table surface) and keep it out when a page is under construction and do a little every day or whenever I can. This will be a real challenge, since I’m on the hyper-focused side of creating or doing any project. So I’m going to try the steady-as-she-goes-method. Just like I have found out the hard way with email and housework; a little each day will get more done. Just a little some days, in fact, is better than what happens when I do nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still up for a crop when I get the chance and childcare aligns (i.e. my husband obliges). But I’m thinking the pressure will be off a little and I won’t feel so creatively cramped if you will. At the event, I can just enjoy myself and the ladies at the event and be satisfied with whatever I get done. Sometimes I might even just leave early if my brain is fried. After all, I can do a little on another day if it’s at the ready. Those are my new revelations and I’ll let you know how things go.

I hope these ideas help someone who is feeling like throwing in the towel, perhaps even after a difficult time at a crop. I think it’s worth it to keep trying, the time passes so quickly and kids and people change so much! I like to be able to look at how they’ve changed and remember the wonderful people I have to be grateful for. If the desire is there and you’re able to tweak some things, try something new…and who cares how imperfect it may be…it’s yours.

I hope you find this free scrapbooking idea helpful!

Take it from someone with ADD–even scrapbooking can get stressful if you’re not organized.  It’s now a week out from my last cropping opportunity.  I found out I needed to change a couple of things about my approach to make things less stressful for me during my valuable scrap time.  One thing I realized was that I get confused when I can’t find things and I tend to get messier as the crop goes.  I quickly learned I need to change my organizational approach, to accommodate the confusion in my brain when paper and tools are strewn about all over my workspace.

So, I thought I’d share my valuable lesson in organization with you.  I realized the simpler my supplies are organized, the easier it is for me to use them and make decisions and put them back where they belong.  So here is my new organizational idea; all of my paper is going in a P3 Tote by Crop-In-Style, second hand from Craig’s List (someone was having a baby and forfeited the space for the nursery).  Then I can keep it all in stacks (9 in the tote) that expand upward when the handle is pulled.  All paper is visible and easy to get out and put back.  All of my tools that cut or do tricks (cutting mat, circle cutter, 12-inch trimmer, corner rounder, punches, etc…) are all in one tote (no this isn’t a paid advertisement:) that when unzipped exposes all the tools at the ready.  Again, the same idea, it is still transportable and yet it makes taking out/putting away easy to do.  My theory is that if all of this is organized I can see my options all at once instead of having to remember what they are and where they are stored.  For the tools purpose, I bought the Tools Tote Creative Memories makes.  Now, I am a cheapskate and I don’t really ever like to spend my hard-earned cash, but here is my thought; I am wasting the money I have already invested in supplies if I can’t see them to use them.  With that in mind I got what made sense to my brain and I really think this will work.  I hope this round of Free Scrapbooking Ideas has helped you.

Many people would love to start scrapbooking but are simply unsure where to begin. Those boxes of photos may seem overwhelming and walking through the aisles of supplies may be intimidating.

I’ve found there are five simple steps you can follow to get started scrapbooking.

1. Gather Your Supplies. No, you don’t need one of everything. Start simple.

Choose an album, a few sheets of acid-free paper, acid-free adhesive, maybe some stickers, rubber stamps or embellishments and the pens you’d like to use to add captions or journaling.

2. Organize. Take out your photos and memorabilia (if you want to use them) and sort through them. Discard any photos that you simply cannot use. Next you’ll want to choose which ones you’ll include in your scrapbook.

You may also want to take a little extra time to sort other photos into shoeboxes or organizers for future scrapbooks.

3. Take a Class. Taking a class is an excellent source of inspiration and motivation. You’ll also learn techniques that are sure to make your first scrapbooking experience more enjoyable and memorable.

4. Be Creative. You’re scrapbooking for fun so go ahead cut away, hearts, stars, whatever you like. And don’t be afraid to crop your photos.

You may even want to try a pair of edgers to add some decorative edging to your photos. Add some stickers or try out rubber stamps. Then lay everything out and play with your arrangements until it’s just the way you want it.

You may want to check out some of the layouts that can be found in galleries on scrapbooking web sites.

Remember, it’s your scrapbook, so why not make it what you want it to be. There’s no right or wrong way to make a scrapbook, the choices are personal.

5. Take Your Time. Set aside a little time every day, or a couple times a week, to work on your scrapbook. Doing this you’ll be less likely to lose interest since you’ll be able to see your scrapbook coming together with each session.

Equally you’ll be less like to rush through it and end up disappointed.

There are many different things to consider when planning out your scrapbook. You want to decide on your theme and then coordinate your scrapbook accordingly.

It’s not unlike decorating a room in your house orplanning the decorations for a party. You don’t want one aspect to overpower or detract from the others and you want it all to be coordinated.

You may be a bit overwhelmed at times when trying to choose the right embellishments for a scrapbook.

With all the wonderful products out there you may have a difficult time making a choice.

The key here is to take your time and shoparound. There’s no rule that says yomust buy all the embellishments you’re going to use on your scrapbook from the same
place, either.

Where you purchase your supplies is a matter of preference, like many other decisions you make about your scrapbooking.

Rubber stamps, stenciling, rub ons and stickers are all common and popular examples of embellishments.

The techniques that can be used with many of them vary, as do the mediums you can use with them. Although stickers can’t be used in too many different ways, the wide variety of stickers available makes them almost an essential item.

Let’s not overlook the embellishments that we can make ourselves. You can use a needle and thread or a sewing machine to make some wonderful embellishments.

Whether you’re sewing ribbon on to pages or using embroidery for your title page, these embellishments will add just as much pizzazz to your scrapbook as anything you could buy from a store.

A wide variety of other items that can be used as embellishments include beads, seeds, shells, ribbon, fabric, scraps of paper and so much more. The fact that many of these items are laying around the house make them very popular.

The homey feel that they inspire is also a good reason for their use.

Like many of the other choices you’ll make while scrapbooking, your choice of embellishments is a very personal one. What works for one person may not work for another.

Many times it’s merely a difference in style or taste that guides our decision. Other times it’s skill level or budget. However, there generally isn’t a right or wrong choice, so go ahead, experiment and have fun!