National Scrapbooking Day is next month.  It falls on the first Saturday in May which is May 1^st this year.  If this craft has intimidated you with its masses of expensive products and elaborate Martha Stewart like facade, I’d like to tell you that it doesn’t have to be as complex as it may appear.  This next month is a great opportunity for you to fall in love with the simplicity, or complexity if you would like, of this craft.  With scrapbooking materials going on sale this month and stores and independent consultants offering classes, workshops, and “cropathons” (think, scrapbooking retreat), if you ever wanted to see why so many people call this their favorite pastime, might I suggest jumping into scrapbooking head first this month.

Where do I start?

The basics you’ll need for scrapbooking is an album with blank pages, your pictures and mementos, an acid-free pen, and some adhesive.  That’s it you ask?  Yup, that’s really it.  But what about the cardstock, the pens, the beads, ribbons, punches, brads, stickers, scissors, and overlays?  Truthfully, they are all secondary items.  None of them are necessary in scrapbooking.  But I’ll tell you what, they are what make scrapbooking so addictive.

Adding embellishments and dressing up your pages so that each page takes on it’s own feel and characteristic has become a very large part of scrapbooking.  Embellishments are also the #1 thing that intimidate potential scrapbookers.  Don’t let the walls upon walls of stickers and cardstock be the thing that is keeping you from organizing and displaying your much loved and cherished photos and memories.  If you don’t know where to start, start with the basics.  From there, you can develop your own style with color, eyelets, and die cuts.

Quality Counts

Even if you are only out for the basics, there are so many books, pens, and adhesives for you to choose from.  What’s the difference?  Is one better than another?  There are some people who will swear up and down that a certain brand is the only way to go.  I’m actually one of those, but not for quality reasons.

Usually the goal of scrapbooking is to organize and preserve memories.  With this goal in mind, you want materials that will keep your photos adhered to the page and will keep them looking as good as the day you put them in there.  As far as your pictures are concerned, there are a number of factors that age your photos and ultimately ruin them.  Light will fade your photo, acids will dissolve it, dust will scratch it, and lignin will discolor and weaken it.  The elements are against you when it comes to preserving those precious memories.

When looking for materials for scrapbooking, you want things that will not accelerate the aging process that is already happening.  Regular paper, pens, and adhesives contain compounds that will hurt your photos, so when purchasing items you plan on using in your scrapbook (be it pens, cardstock, scrapbooks, stickers, glue, or anything else that will touch or go near your pictures), at the bare minimum you will want to make sure that the items say acid-free and lignin-free.  That will ensure that your photos won’t get eaten by the paper or tape it’s attached to and that it will not become prematurely brittle and discolored.

Other terms used to ensure you are getting good quality materials are archival quality and ISO 18902.  These usually mean that no only is the product acid and lignin free, but the product is made with photo preservation in mind. ISO 18902 indicate the item meets the International Organization for Standardization standards.  These standards include being acid-free, lignin-free, buffered, and bleed-resistant.  Buffered paper ensures that acids don’t travel from non-acid free items (like newspaper clippings) to your pictures and bleed-resistant is just that, that the item will not bleed ink onto your mementos and photographs.

Now what?

So you’ve decided that scrapbooking isn’t as scary as it first seemed and you’re ready to dive in but you want a little more direction.  I would suggest first looking for a local scrapbooking store.  They will usually have resources and knowledge beyond your standard craft store employee (much love to the standard craft store employee).  If you don’t have a scrapbooking store near by, try looking for a local Creative Memories consultant.  They are direct sale consultants who sell Creative Memories products exclusively but they should have a wealth of knowledge, tools and inspiration to get you started in the right direction.  Also, see if there is a local group that gets together weekly or monthly and join them for a night.  Ask your friends if they like to scrapbook.  You might be surprised to find that some of your friends have a secret crop life and crop groups they attend regularly that you would be able to join.

In the end, scrapbooking isn’t about making each page look like something out of a magazine.  It’s about organizing and displaying your precious photos, mementos, and keepsakes in a way that will preserve them so you will be able to cherish them for years upon years.  So take this opportunity, as National Scrapbooking Day is approaching, to pick up a new hobby that can make an impact for generations to come.

1. Erin Reason Says:
   April 7th, 2010 at 11:43 am

   I think sometimes people focus on products being photo safe,but forget that the added paraphernalia like ticket stubs and gift cards, etc. are usually NOT photo safe. It’s a good idea to be sure to treat those items with an acid-neutralizer before adhering to you precious scrapbook.

2. Amie Says:
   April 7th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

   very much agreed. That’s one reason why I stick with buffered paper. So I don’t have to deal with acid-neutralizers. Thank you for sharing!