Ideas for Using Ribbon on Your Scrapbook Pages

Ribbons Aren't Just For Little Girls!

Add style and texture to your scrapbook pages with ribbon. There's an unbelievable selection of scrapbook ribbon on the market today. Adding ribbon is a quick and easy technique for fast and fabulous scrapbook pages. Scrapbook ribbon can be used in a variety of ways.

Punch a hole in tags and tie ribbon in the hole.



Wrap a length of ribbon around a mat or your whole page tucking and attaching the ends underneath



Try punching holes along the edges of a mat and tie scrapbooking ribbons in each hole.

Make your photo look like it is hanging from a ribbon by "hanging" it from a brad or charm



Fold your ribbon in half, fan the ends and staple onto tags and mats.



Staples are currently very popular. A relatively new product called the Fastenator, is a stapler designed specially for scrapbookers. You can purchase special wide staple bars for it that are imprinted with words or designs.

There are all sorts of themes for the staples like: kid stuff, holiday, bride and groom, sentiments, brights and many, many more.

Although they make a mini version, I like the large Fastenator because it can reach anywhere on a 12 x 12 page.

Use the same kind of fold and rather than staple, fasten down with glue dots, then use another glue dot to adhere a charm or button on top of the scrapbook ribbon, or
insert a brad through the ribbon and tag.



Cut a mat about one inch longer on one edge of your picture. Tear the edge, then fold it over your picture. Tie a ribbon, string or twine under and around the fold. You can slip a charm on to if you like.



Tie scrapbooking ribbons along the spine of your albums with metal-rimmed tags attached to them to label your albums by year or subject.



I like to use glue dots to adhere ribbon to my pages. They are clear, come in small, large and pop-up varieties and stick like nobody's business.

Fabulous Scrapbooks to me has nothing to do with how fancy my pages are or how much time I spend on them. Every page is individual and my mood may be different everytime I sit down to work on pages.

When I was working on my daughters graduation album I kept the pages simple and clean. I was under a time constraint and didn't have time to spend hours on each layout. But I still think it turned out fabulous.



It was fabulous because I got to spend one on one time scrapbooking with my daughter. It was fabulous because it was a treasure for her to always keep. It was fabulous because it was about family and her history.

Family is what fabulous scrapbooking is all about. The pages don't have to look like they came from a magazine. They can, but they don't have to. Your scrapbook is yours and that is what makes it fabulous.

Whether you do simple pages or elaborate ones doesn't matter. Do what works for you and your scrapbooks will be fabulous.

Happy Scrappin!

Break Out of a Scrapbooking Rut! Start Your Own Scrapbooking Club

Are you in a scrapbooking rut? Has the idea well run dry? If the thought of dragging out all your scrapbook supplies and sitting down at your dining room table all alone with no one to share ideas with keeps you from scrapbooking, consider starting your own scrapbook club.


Getting together with friends, sharing memories, laughter and food (chocolate!) and scrapbooking to your hearts content - now that is my idea of a fun day!


It doesn’t need to be a huge event. Do you want to keep it cozy and personal? Invite 2 or 3 of your best scrapbooking buddies. Take turns at one another’s homes hosting the club.


If you love lots of people, consider asking your church or community center for use of their space. If there is a fee, split it among the group. Some large groups invite instructors or scrapbooking consultants to come in to teach a new technique.


Many groups meet in the evenings or on weekends, when they can leave the kiddos home with dad. But if your group needs child care, consider hiring a sitter(s) and all chip in to pay them well!


Decide if you will serve food or have everyone bring their own sack lunch. You could also make it a potluck event for large clubs. Don’t forget the chocolate!


Set up a table of supplies to share such as punches, cutters, idea books, and other tools.


You can all pitch in together to purchase special tools such as a Sizzix that the whole club can use. Decide if you would like to charge a "fee", such as $5.00, to put in the kitty to save up to buy special tools.
If you don’t have the space to have a crop in your home, or if you have to pay to rent a facility, consider signing up for crops held at scrapbook stores. There is usually a small fee, but often this includes some instruction or a class on a new technique.


The advantage of having it at a store (or disadvantage if you can’t control yourself!), is that all the scrapbooking supplies you would need are right there available for purchase. Don’t have that perfect shade of red paper? Go shopping!


Call up your scrapbooking friends, get your heads together and decide on the best times for your scrapbook club. You’ll have a wonderful time sharing ideas, laughter and of course chocolate!


Best of all, I'll bet it will shake you out of that rut! Keep meeting at least once per month and you will really make great strides on your scrapbooking projects.

Happy Scrappin!

Ten Simple Tips For Better Photos

Do your pictures leave something to be desired? Are they blurry or are the subjects in them too far away? Maybe they are too dark or people all appear to be frowning or squinting into the camera. Read on for some simple tips you can use to take better pictures. I promise you don't have to be a professional photographer!

1. STEADY GIRL

A shaking camera equals blurry pictures. Hold your camera steady by using both hands and pin your arms to your sides or rest your elbows on a ledge. If you really struggle with this, try using higher speed film. I generally use 400 speed and rarely have a blurry photo. And for real clarity with action shots try 800 speed film.

2. YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE

The very best light for outdoor pictures is early morning, evening or an overcast day. The glare of the sun often creates harsh shadows and makes your subject squint. If you are taking picture in full sun, position yourself so that the sun is behind you and to one side. This will shine light on your subject’s face and cast a little shadow to outline them. Better yet, place your subject in a shady area with a shadowy background. Use fill-flash to add light to the face and fill in shadows.

3. YOU’VE BEEN FRAMED

Sometimes you want a wide angle shot to include the background, but more often than not I’ll bet you crop at least a third off of most of your pictures before using them on your scrapbook pages. For really great shots, zoom in. Fill the frame of your camera with your subject. Most people take full body shots. Try using your telephoto, or just get closer to your subject. Check the edges of your frame before you snap that photo and see if you can get even closer. Try taking some very close up shots of faces that even overflow the frame.

4. DON’T LOOK AT ME

Usually we line people up, tell them to look straight at us, smile, say cheese, and hope no one blinks. Instead, try getting sneaky. Go for that candid shot when you catch your subject unaware. In some of my favorite pictures of my kids, they are looking intensely at something (profile shot), or even walking away (holding daddy’s hand). My sister recently took a picture of my very tall, strong 50+ year old uncle holding his frail, almost 90 year old mother’s hand as they were walking away. It was breath-taking.

5. UP, DOWN OR SIDEWAYS

I used to take almost all my pictures horizontally. Once in a while I might tip my camera on its side and take a vertical shot. Now I take about an even split of each. In fact, most shots of people fill the frame better vertically. It eliminates excess background. It also makes your scrapbook pages more interesting.

6. AVOID A BULLS-EYE

Instead of framing your subject smack dab in the center of your picture (unless of course you plan on using it for target practice), use the rule of thirds. Imagine your photo divided up like a tic-tac-toe board. Position your subject on one of the lines or intersections. They will be off-center and your picture will be more interesting.

7. SPICE IT UP

Don’t take all close-ups or all landscape shots of one event. Mix it up and don’t forget to take some identifying shots of where you are or what you did to get ready: street signs, campground or hotel signs, preparing the Thanksgiving turkey, the plate of cookies and glass of milk for Santa and the stockings all hung in a row!

8. JUST OVER THE HORIZON

The horizon line of your picture is where one element meets another: where the sky meets the ground or ocean, the ocean meets the beach, a building meets the ground or the wall meets the floor. Usually you want to avoid that line running through the middle of your picture. Place it above or below depending on what you are trying to photograph. If you are taking a sunset picture, the sky should fill most of the frame, with the horizon line (the ground) in the bottom third of your picture.

9. WHERE AM I OR WHO AM I?

When taking pictures of large buildings, monuments or majestic scenery, take a variety of angles. Just taking a photo of a person in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa from close up leaves us guessing, “Where are you?” Then again, if you back off and get the whole tower in, we’ll be guessing, “who is that” standing next to it? Those shots are great to take, but be sure to get a shot of the person close up with the tower in the background. Then we know both who and where you are.

10. CRAWL ON YOUR BELLY OR HANG FROM A TREE

Well, maybe not, but do experiment with different angles. Instead of just shooting a picture from your normal perspective, get down low and take a picture of your child at their level or even looking up at them. Lie on the ground and take a photo of your flower bed looking up towards the sky. Then again, sometimes you may want to get a shot from above. Stand on the stairs and take a picture of your hotel lobby from above. If you have a balcony above your living room, take a picture of the kids opening Christmas gifts from above.


Try some of these tips the next time you pull out your camera. I think you'll find your scrapbook pages will come alive!

Simple Scrapbook Journaling Tips

Don't Let Journaling Scare You Away From Scrapbooking!

Just mentioning the “J” word around some scrapbookers is enough to cause groans of despair, sweat to break out on their brows, and tremors to set in. But honestly, if you can talk you can journal in your scrapbooks.


Do you email? Then you can write. I don’t recommend the abbreviations often used in email, but you can journal just as if you were describing something in an email.


There is no need to pontificate prolifically in poetic prose. Blah! Just write like you talk. For example, under a picture of my 9 month old asleep in the middle of his toys, I journaled:


“Jared is a very busy little boy…and very hard to get to sleep. I noticed things were too quiet and found he had fallen asleep right in the middle of his toys! He was just too pooped to play!”

Create a Scrapbook Journal Box

Instead of trying to come up with something to write under every picture, create a little journal box and write the story of the event or series of pictures all in one place. It flows much more smoothly than when the journaling is scattered all over the scrapbook page.


If you are having trouble remembering details, ask your family. What do they remember about the event? Your husband, kids or other family members will often have a completely different perspective. Ask them to each write or dictate a sentence or two about the event, then put them together into a little story. Don't tell them they are sharpening their writing skills - that will be our little secret!

Who, What, Where, When, Why?

Ask yourself some questions (not just who, what, when or where):

*What is my favorite memory of this event?
*Did something funny happen?
*Is there something special about the setting?
*What was the mood of the person in the picture?
*Why did I take this picture?
*What happened right before or after this picture was taken?
*What does this picture make me feel?
*Was there special sights, sounds or smells that this picture reminds me of?

My Favorite Things

Try making a list of favorites:

*Favorite vacation memories
*Child's favorite foods, toys, etc.
*Favorite holiday food
*Favorite family traditions
*Favorite music
*Favorite season of the year
*etc., etc., etc.


I save my scrabook journaling for when my kids are tucked in bed, I'm all by myself and it is finally quiet. I find I can concentrate best that way. But hey, if you can concentrate with the TV blaring, the kids yelling and the dog barking, go for it!


Now you can stop groaning, sweating and shaking. Go pull your pencil back out of the wall and fear no more!

Happy Scrappin!

Simple Scrapbooking is Not an Oxymoron

Simple Scrapbooking - Is There Such a Thing?

Simple Scrapbooking may seem like a oxymoron like "almost
exactly" or "old news." Pick up almost any scrapbook
magazine and you will find page layouts that you know took
hours to create. Simple? How?


I've come a long way since my earlier days of scrapbooking.
Having taught scrapbooking classes for four years I learned
a lot of short cuts, tips and techniques along the way.


Listening to my students, I realized most of them felt
overwhelmed by their backlog of photos. I knew there had to
be a better and faster way to design page layouts. But they
still had to look fabulous!

Won't My Pages Be Boring?

Simple Scrapbooks don't have to be boring or uninspiring.
Some of the most stunning pages I have ever seen are very
fast and easy to create.


Scrapbook design isn't about using as many techniques and
scrapbook products on your page as possible. Good design
focuses on enhancing your precious photos. The pictures and
the story are what it's all about right? That doesn't mean
you have to settle for boring pages.


Let the pictures talk. Let them tell the story. They will
also tell you what colors to use and what theme (if any) for
your page. Don't get caught up in always having to use a
"theme" for every page. Often the best pages simply pull in
colors that are in the photos using two or three papers.


The simplest page of all is a monochromatic one. If your
pictures scream blue, choose two or three shades of solid or
subtle printed blue paper.

Button, Button Who's Got the Button (or brad, or eyelet, or diecut...)

Embellishments are all those wonderful eyelets, brads,
fibers,and doodads on the market. Of all the embellishments
available (and I love them all!), the most effective and
versatile scrapbook product is paper. Scrapbook paper can
take your page from ho-hum to fabulous in an instant. There
is an almost limitless variety of paper available today. If
I had to throw away all of my scrapbook embellishments
except one - you guessed it - I would keep my scrapbook
paper.


That isn't to downgrade the importance (or fun!) of other
scrapbook embellishments. I love using buttons, fibers,
tags,brads, and all the rest. The key is to use restraint.
Stick to one or two scrapbook embellishments and don't
plaster your page with them.


Don't be afraid of some empty space (negative space) on your
pages. Often the temptation is to fill all the little empty
areas of the page with stickers or some other embellishment.
The negative space serves to focus your eye on the photos.


In my earliest attempts at scrapbooking I made many
mistakes. Among several other mistakes, like using too many
pictures and chopped-up pictures, I tried to fill up all the
negative space with stickers. I didn't even leave room to
journal.


Scrapbooking is so much fun and so rewarding. But if your
time is limited, keep your scrapbooks simple and get your
pictures in them for you and your family to enjoy!

Happy Scrappin!

Basic Scrapbook Supplies You Need

Help! What Should I Buy?

Picture this scenario: You’ve decided you want to start
scrapbooking. So you wander into a scrapbook store and
stop dead in your tracks. You never imagined there could
be so much variety for one innocent little hobby! You are
bound to be overwhelmed by the amazing amount of choice
there is.


If you’re just starting to scrapbook you may wonder what
tools and basic scrapbook supplies you really need to get
started. How on earth are you to decide what you need and
what you can live without for now? To help you get started
I've whittled down the possibilities to just the basics.

Be Safe Not Sorry

Before you spend your hard earned cash for anything, be
sure you are purchasing photo safe products. These days
almost every paper, pen, die cut and album in scrapbook
stores is marked photo safe, archival, acid-free or lignin
free. Still you should always check to be sure.


Be wary of scrapbook products sold at discount stores.
Sometimes they aren’t acid-free. Check the packaging and
if in doubt, you probably shouldn’t buy. You can check
products at home with a ph pen. They are very inexpensive
and worth the bit of insurance to make sure the products
you use in your scrapbook are really safe.


You should also use it to check your memorabilia. If you
find something that is acidic you can use archival mist, a
spray that neutralizes the acid in paper, or you can encase
the item in special photo sleeves.

Making a List, Checking it Twice

If you are just starting out, the basic scrapbook supplies
list below will get you started on the right track:

1. Scrapbook album - Of course you will need a scrapbook
album. There are more choices today than you can imagine
with different sizes, bindings and covers to choose from.
The most useful for the majority of scrapbookers is either
an 8.5” x 11” or a 12” x 12”. Most importantly be sure it
is archival quality (i.e. acid and lignin free).


2. Photo trimmer - Secondly, you will need a photo
trimmer. Of course you could use a sharp pair of
scissors. But why would you want to? It is almost
impossible to cut a straight line by hand. Would you use
lawn clippers to mow the lawn? I doubt it! I find a photo
trimmer a complete necessity.


"But", you say, "I don't want to trim my pictures."
Well... you may think you won't, but I’ll bet when you start
putting pages together you will want to trim a few pictures
to bring the focus in on the subject and to leave room on
your page for more pictures and journaling. Even if you
don't trim your photos you will want to cut mats and
probably trim paper for borders etc.


3. Adhesive - The next item is scrapbook adhesive. You
will need some way to glue your pictures, mats and other
items to your scrapbook pages. Again, be sure to use acid
free adhesive. For now you will just want a basic photo
tape or photo squares. You can always add specialty
adhesives later.


4. Pens - Photo safe pens are another necessity. Please
don’t use ordinary ball point pens or markers. They
contain acid and may bleed and fade over time. Choose pens
that are acid-free, bleed proof and fade proof. For now
you can just purchase a black pen, but if you love color,
you might want to invest a little more in a pack of pens
for some variety. You usually save by buying by the pack
and if you're pretty sure you will use them go ahead.


5. Page protectors - Page protectors may seem like an
unnecessary purchase, but believe me, I speak from
experience, they are a must! After you've invested time
and money into your scrapbook, and you've gone to great
lengths to make sure everything is acid-free, don't make
the mistake of not protecting your scrapbook pages with
page protectors. I did and lived to regret it. One little
spill can ruin an entire album. Pages rub together and
your photos will get scratched - I know - some of mine did.
Some albums come with page protectors, but if not, please
be sure to purchase them when you buy your album.


6. Cardstock - Finally invest in at least a few sheets of
cardstock. You may also want to pick up a few printed
papers too, but be careful. It's best to do a little pre-
planning of pages and buy the paper you want to go with the
pages you plan to put together, at least until you have
some experience and you feel a little more at ease deciding
what you need.


One other item that is not essential but is very helpful
is some type of idea book or magazine.

Now For Some Real Fun!

There are scads of embellishments you can purchase to add
fun and beauty, depth and character to your scrapbook. If
you just can't resist, I suggest buying a kit to start
with. That way everything will coordinate and you usually
get ideas for using them.


Once you've purchased and used the basic scrapbook
supplies, you can always go back and add embellishments
such as stickers, charms and ribbons later. Get started by
creating very simple pages using paper, then go nuts and
add all the embellishments you want. Just remember to keep
it simple.

Happy Scrappin!