June 16, 2011

how to choose craft paper for your scrapbooking

Now that you have everything ready its time to pick out the paper that you will be using. Craft paper with seals of approval is optimum when creating scrapbooks, Craft paper includes the CK OK products. Paper designed for photocopying, journals, and well scrapbooking of course. The ideal level is between 6.5 and 7.5 un-buffered paper is the choice for many crafters, yes some recommended partition paper with alkaline base.

The paper should not be acid base. Paper without dyes, and are colorfast are pickaxe merchandise also P.A.T. approved paper is the photo activity test products, which is ideal for scrapbooks.

The paper outlined is ideal for photos. If you intend to add extras, consider pH levels no higher then 7.5. Buffer paper should have very low contents of zinc, magnesium, and calcium carbonate. Use the lignin-free and colorfast paper that do not dye well.
Paper includes the basics of decorating designs, their are a lot of colors and styles to pick from, bold solid colors, funky designs to marble effects or lines in random detections. You can also find matching stickers, frames, banners, stamps (shapes and designs) for your scrapbook.

 When you create nice patterned scrapbooks just keep in mind that, you are trying to make a memory that will carry on from the past to the future. You are creating a memo that tells the person/s looking at it about your past or your friend and family's past. So remember when choosing a pattern paper try out different kinds of designs and patters remembering  also if you choose an extreme patters it may rob your viewers of seeing what you crafted in the first place.



General patterns paper have many designs including floral stripes and dots, you can choose the general pattern if you want to have variety allowing you to do so with the big selection on the market today.


If you are designing vacations or holiday decors you would want to choose colors of the appreciate vacation/holiday   for example you would want to use red or green, papers with Santa on the side allowing you to add photos of the kids close to him, you can add stickers or other accessory's to liven up the scrapbook page and give it more then just that plane look it will personalize it to make it your own.



How to choose die cuts.
Choosing from small and large patters you can also use scraps of papers from the your scrapbook pile, you could  punch out holes and make a borders or frames.

Paper piercing is an adventure basically your creating layers, such as matching templates, cutting, tracing, and joining the layers together, using solid patters with the general scraps of paper to finish off the process.


You can also use scraps from your paper to create letters, you can label the pages with the date maybe the people that are in the photos, location were it took place etc, with pens and markers (acid free), try using the scraps and or paper patters for the tital of your page it will enhance your scrapbook. The use of patterns to also creat letter heads for journals, captions, and title pages and so on.

If you want to make a basic layout, use two different patters. The first should mount your photo while the other is used as a background setting. You can add matching stickers and other do dads to enhance your decorative scrapbook page

Once you choose your paper for your design that mach your scrapbook layout, patters include the framed designs. In fact the framed designs can off set your photos dramatically. For example if you have a photo of a child playing hockey, why not choose the framed patterns with  "Hockey" and hockey pucks and or sticks around it or something like this

June 15, 2011

What you might need to start scrapbooking

 The best thing about scrapbooking is that although there are a many scrapbooking supplies avaliable on the market, you really don't need a lot to make your very own scrapbook.here are a few things you may need and others you can get over time.

  • Glues
  • Tweezers
  • Scissors or an exacter knife
  • Background paper
  • Stamps 
  • Hole punchers (different types)  
  • Photographys or newspaper clippings 
  • Some ribbon, yearn, stickers or fabric
  • leftover things from craft projects
  • Pen's and marker's 
  • Buttons and snaps

As you become more acquainted with scrapbooking, you will find cretin products that will save you time, many of these products are well worth the extra cost. The exacter knife has a strong versatile blade that allows you to cut almost anything into any shape, and when the blade starts to get dull, simply brake off the end and another fresh clean sharp new blade is revealed. Just make sure that before you go to cut you place a mat or a wad of scrap paper like newsprint because if you don't and your not careful you'll end up cutting ether the papers in your scrapbook or the your table (been their done that).

Your next best tool is a good pair of tweezers. Trying to pick up and place small gluey pieces can be a hassle you get glue on your fingers and most of the time its just dame near impossible to get the little pieces right.
Tweezers the not so very high tech item, allows you to move pieces without touching them with your hands 

Speaking of gluey pieces their are veracious types of glue and affixing options available, they are quick and much less messy options including glue dots and strips both 2D and 3D, two-sided tapes,Glue tape rollers, Glue pens, acid free photo tads and corners both in black and white. The 3D  foam dots are really neat, you can place one on top of another and really make your items stand out, slightly overlapping your pieces really give them that 3D look and feel. 



To increase the preservation of your scrapbook and your treasures, make sure you look for acid free products after all you want your scrapbook to last for many years