Guide to Buying Scrapbooking Supplies

Filed in archive suppliers on June 30, 2007

Do you have photos, family recipes and other personal mementos lying around the house? Are you looking for an outlet to your creativity? If you answered yes to both of these questions then you should try scrapbooking. Scrapbooking can be a good source of income, too, if you do scrapbooking as a home-based business.

Scrapbooking, which is now a global craze, is very easy to do once you get the hang of it. All you have to do is learn the basic techniques and you are half way to starting your scrapbooking project. But before you let your creativity and journaling skills flow, you must first try to find the starting supplies so that you can begin scrapbooking. Do not start your shopping spree yet. Invest first in supplies that you will need for the rest of your scrapbooking days. These are albums (preferably with sheet protectors), scissors (straight-edged), adhesive, papers (plain and patterned), pen (black) or computer and printer (journaling purposes) and your photos. Take note that the key supply in a scrapbooking project is the memories that you have to provide. Another important reminder is to select materials that are lignin-free and acid-free to avoid disintegration of your photos.

For albums with sheet protectors there is a lot to choose from especially if you are very particular about sizes and shapes. An 8.5" x 11" album will cost you around $10.00 while a 12" x 12" one will be about $20.00. Check the craft store in your locality for these photo albums which may allow adding and removing of pages according to your desire. If you would like to place more photos on a single page and still add trimmings then a 12" x 12" photo album will be advisable for you.

One thing that comes in handy for people who love scrapbooking is scissors or paper trimmers. A crafter needs just a good pair of scissors but many prefer paper trimmers that will trim your papers or photos in a more exact manner.

For the adhesive, ask other people what they can recommend because of the variety of choices under this category. A glue stick which costs around $1.00 to $2.00 is one of the basic adhesives and is easy to use in adding trimmings or journaling to your page. Photo splits or photo tabs can also be used if you want to maintain cleanliness at the back of the photos or if you will remove the photo in the near future without destroying the page. An alternative to people who suffers from carpal tunnel or arthritis is a dry adhesive. This dry adhesive is used by simply rolling onto the paper and usually comes in a dispenser. Remember to select adhesive that is acid-free and avoid cheap craft glue or rubber cement.

The foundation of your scrapbook is the paper. If you decide to choose a patterned one, remember to mat the photo first on a solid paper. This should be done so that the patterned paper and the photo do not compete. Matting is just gluing the photo to the solid paper and then trimming to 1/16" to 1/2" for the border.

In journaling, a black pen is the simplest way to go. But if you do not prefer your own handwriting then use the computer and type away your stories and memories and then print it out. The good thing about using the computer is that you can try on several sizes and fonts and use the spell and grammar checker at the same time. Again, remember to use acid-free paper in printing your journaling.

With photos, do not bee shocked with the massive amount that you are using in scrapbooking. Try to work on the most recent ones and then work your way backwards.