There are many different ways to scrapbook. With the birth of the internet you can now scrapbook using your computer. You can buy the software from the internet or from a store.  There are programs for doing a full scrapbook, or for just a few embellishments. The most popular scrapbooking computer programs are ones to modify your pictures. Using computer programs for scrapbooking will not only be easier but it can also improve your scrapbooking pages. Scrapbooking on the computer gives you more choices instead of the traditional style of making them yourself and pasting them to the pages. Using computer programs will allow you save time and improve your pages.

Photo editing programs like Photoshop are a great alternative for your photos that you want to add to your scrapbook pages. You can use these programs to improve the quality of your photos. It becomes easier to crop your photos when you are doing them digitally. You can make changes and if you don’t like them you still have your original photo intact. With the photo editing software you can add or subtract elements. You can make fuzzy pictures focused.  This will save pictures you had thought were trash but look perfect on a scrapbook page.  All these Photoshop elements will improve your scrapbooking pages by adding an extra artistic quality that you may not be able to get any other way.

You can also use computer software for titles, captions, or your journaling pages. Any word processing software will work for this and most of the time it is already on your computer.  You can use all the different fonts and colors that are available with the software. This type of software will automatically align when you use the built in rulers so there is no more guessing. You can print on cardstock or decorative papers try using transparencies or vellum for use as a layering technique. This type of software will improve your scrapbooking in many ways. Play around with the software to get exactly what you want in less time then it would be by doing everything by hand.

In addition to photo editing and word processing programs you can use computer programs to make the full pages of your scrapbook.  This type of digital layout will give you everything you need at the touch of your fingertips. You can have everything from the background paper to embellishments and the ability to alter your pictures on the computer. Then you are able to make the choice of printing it all out for use in your scrapbook or to keep it on the computer as a digital scrapbook. These photo editing computer programs can improve your scrapbooks because you can erase anything before making a hard copy, something that is harder to do with raw materials.

To find the computer program that is right for you take advantage of the free trial offers that are included on many of the programs. These can be downloaded to your computer and will give you a good feel for how the program works and if it will fit your style of scrapbooking. This will make it easier for you to use giving you a better chance of improving your scrapbooking.

Using computer programs to improve your scrapbooking is becoming very popular. There is no need to become intimidated. If you can cut and paste onto a webpage you can use computer programs to improve your scrapbooking. It may seem hard at first but the improvements you can make on your scrapbook pages will be worth any troubles you could have. If you add a computer and printer to your traditional scrapbook supplies you will have unlimited possibilities of creating beautiful scrapbook pages.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Wed 19 Mar 2008 No Comments 

There are many different themes you can use when you are doing a scrapbook. Most themes or styles of your scrapbooks will be about your family or special events in your life.  For a toddler’s book there are some styles to make it specifically for the toddler and certain things you will want to include to make it special for your toddler.

You will first want to choose an album. This album should be archival safe so you can enjoy the pages for generations to come. There are many different styles available so look for one that fits your child’s personality. Look at the size of the pages. Larger pages may be better to add more embellishments to the pages for a fun filled look.

There are so many milestones during these young years that you will want to record. Events that you may want to use in your scrapbook to record those special moments can include:
    Birthdays and birthday parties of their friends.
    Favorite toys. Journal why these were favorite toys and where they got the toys.
    First words, sentences, or funny sayings. These are great for journaling, text boxes or speech bubbles.
    First teeth. The date can be put onto a tooth cut out of when the tooth came through along with pictures of your toddler showing off those teeth.
    First haircuts. Use pictures you take before, during, and after the haircut.
    Favorite TV shows, movies, or songs. These can include the show or song as the title of the page. These can also change from time to time so include the dates as when they were favorites and why. Put in the child’s favorite parts of the songs or shows.
    You can do favorite colors and the page theme is that color. Like most toddlers they will have many things in their favorite colors. Take pictures of all them and include on the page.
    Foods, either likes or dislikes. You can make one on each side of the book. In later years your toddler can see how their food tastes have changed. Have pictures of your child eating both the liked and disliked foods.
    Do a day in the life of your child, starting with waking up and ending with going to bed. Include the normal activities your child does in a journaling page. You can make this into one page or a few that chronicle each part of the day.
    Record their first steps. Use footprint cutouts including how many steps, the date, and who all was there.
    Use your child’s artwork in some of the pages. You can use a scanner or printer to get the pages to a usable size. Include pictures of your child making their artwork.
    Include other family members or important people in your toddler’s life. Include how they are important and special moments they have shared with your toddler.
    Zoo or museum visits. Include what your child thought of all the exhibits.
    Pictures of your child playing in sandboxes, flying kites, coloring or just having fun.

Events and milestones are not the only things to include in your toddler’s scrapbook. You will also want to show how much your child changes. Your toddler will grow fast and their look will change from baby to child in just a few short years. Here are a few suggestions on chronicling the physical changes your child will make these few short years.
    Take many pictures including the same pose. Use the same pose monthly to show the gradual changes that your child is making.
    Take pictures from your child’s eye view. These views will change as your child grows taller.
    Take pictures of your child being a child. The silly things they do whether it is good or bad. These will become the memories your child will have.

Scrapbooking for your toddler can be an easy task. The toddler has so many changes and milestones in their life that there are plenty of opportunities for page ideas.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments on Sun 16 Mar 2008 No Comments 

Having children in elementary school you know how much they change as they go through school. These are also important years for your child. To keep all the memories and to record how much your children grow you may want to think about doing an elementary school book. This is the perfect place to keep all the important life changes your child will grow through and then be able to look back on them.

First you will need to find an album that has many pages for the elementary school years starting with kindergarten. You will want enough pages for every year of elementary and more pages to record things that happen during the elementary years. You need to have plenty of space to include any awards and report cards to display on the pages. Look for scrapbooks that have more of a library type of feel or look about them.

Things you may want to include in your child’s elementary school book will include:

    The first day they go to school of each year. Pictures of them getting ready to go then pictures of them at school. You will also want to include the last day of the year to show the physical changes your child has made through the school year. Try to take these in the same place if you can it makes for easy reference.
    Record the date they begin school, the name of the school and what city the school is in. This can be done on a clip art of a school or as a journaling page.
    Get a picture of your child and their teacher to put on the pages, include the teacher’s name.
    You can journal or have your child journal things that they are looking forward to each new grade. At the end of the year you can journal again on the things that they are happy to have learned.
   Include class pictures and individual pictures in the scrapbook.
    Add pictures of other friends your child makes each year. You can even journal what makes them friends or game they play.     Any holiday programs or other special performances that your child is involved in you will want to include in your scrapbook. Record the date and what the program was for. Take plenty of pictures to add to the pages.
    For all of those lost teeth use a clip art of a tooth to add the date the tooth was lost and what the tooth fairy brought.
    Awards or special certificates you child receives should also be included. Attach pictures of your child receiving them.
    You can add all the report cards your child brings home or just the last one from the year. These ones usually show the full years grades.
   Field trips your child went to throughout the school year.
    Parties the class has throughout the year for the holidays. The dates and plenty of pictures.
   Do some of your own journaling on how proud you are of watching your child grow up. How much they change through the year and what you look forward to for the coming year.
   Don’t forget to add some of the things they have learned throughout the year. This is great for the first book read or first science experiments.
   Funny sayings or things they did in that grade level.

Remember to take plenty of pictures for the full school year. In scrapbooking it is better to have too many choices then not enough. Take the time to record each year so that it is a great memory when your child looks back on it.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Fri 14 Mar 2008 No Comments 

Your wedding is one of the best celebrations you will have in your life. It only makes sense that you will want to record this special event in a scrapbook to share with future generations. There are so many things you will want to include from the very beginning of your relationship up to the wedding day.

The album you use is very important in the scrapbooking. You will want a scrapbooking album that will have an intimate feel. Try to find a smaller album with plenty of pages. You can have the cover decorated with your names and wedding date or you can choose an album that has a decorated cover already.

Once you have your album you will want to make the scrapbook spotlight the two of you and the love you share. To have a great wedding scrapbook you may want to include some of the following items in your scrapbook:
    Your information, who you are and where the two of you met. Start at the beginning of the relationship so you can follow the path that led the two of you down the aisle.
    Include both of your favorite foods, colors, places to visit. Anything to show the two of you as a couple. Think about what you want future generations to know about you and include them. This is a record book of your life.
    To keep the album intimate you will want to do more journaling by hand instead of the computer. If you don’t like the look of your handwriting then try a computer font that has a romantic or intimate feel to it.
    Include how and where the proposal happened. Record the date and the feelings of the both of you in a journaling box. You can also add pictures of the rings if you would like.
    Take pictures of all the wedding dresses you tried on. Include some of the ones you didn’t choose in your scrapbook.  It will make the one you did choose seem more special.
    Take your camera everywhere you go when you are doing the wedding planning. Include visits to the florist, bakery, and places you want to hold the reception. You don’t have to use all the pictures but it gives you some great options when you finally make the scrapbook.
    Have pictures that show the two of you together having fun while leading up to the big day. Highlight the relationship.
    Take lots of pictures at the rehearsal dinner. Include quotes from friends and family about the two of you. These should also be done in a handwritten journal box. Tell what was served and where the dinner was held.
    On the wedding day get pictures of the bridal party getting ready. Have pictures of what the girls did and then what the boys did.
    Take lots of pictures of the wedding site both before and during your wedding.
    At the reception ask for people to say some things about you two as a couple. Keep them in your album as a remembrance.
    Record your first dance as a married couple. Include the song title and who sang it.
    Include the honeymoon destination if you took one.
    You could also record your gifts if you like. But this is not a necessity.
   

Wedding albums can be done in many different ways. The most important thing is to take a lot of pictures of everything included in the wedding. You don’t have to use all of them but you will be glad you have so many choices when you do the scrapbook. Remember to keep the album as a reflection of the two of you.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Thu 13 Mar 2008 No Comments 

Your child is a teenager; they are learning more about themselves and becoming more like an adult. This is a busy social time in your child’s life. You or your child will most likely want to make a scrapbook to record these few years of being a teenager.

First you will need to find an album that has many pages for the teenage years. You will want enough pages for age 13-19 and more pages to record things that happen during those teenage years. You need to have plenty of space to include any awards and report cards to display on the pages. Look for scrapbooks that have more of a library type of feel or look about them.

Making a teen year’s scrapbook can be done together or by just one person. However you make the scrapbook there are things you will want to consider putting into your scrapbook to record these years. These things will include:

    Start with the day they turn 13. This is a big moment for your child. Take pictures of them throughout the day.
    Do a journaling box or page to record your teenager’s favorite things. You can do this for every year. It gives a nice reference for how they change and discover things about themselves through these years.
    Still try to take pictures of your teenager on the first day of school. They may not like it some years but it is nice to look back on.
    Record the date they begin school, the name of the school and what city the school is in. This can be done on a clip art of a school or as a journaling page
    Let your teenager take the camera out with friends for them to record things that they did and friends that they had.
    Make text boxes of favorite sayings or phrases that your teenager says.
    Put their class schedules for each year onto the pages.
    Include school projects that they have. Science or art projects with a brief description and a picture of the project.
    Include any sports that your teenager may be involved in. Add newspaper clippings and game schedules also.
    You can journal or have your teenager journal things that they are looking forward to each new year. At the end of the year you can journal again on the things that they are happy to have learned.
    Special performances your teenager may be involved in like drama, music, or band.
    Awards or special certificates you child receives should also be included. Attach pictures of your child receiving them.
    You can add all the report cards your child brings home or just the last one from the year. These ones usually show the full years grades.
    Any class trips your teenager went on. Where they went and what it was for should be included. Use photos your teenager took while on the class trip.
    Do some of your own journaling on how proud you are of watching your child grow up. How much they change through the year and what you look forward to for the coming year.
    Include college applications and acceptance letters.
    Take as many pictures as you can. The teenage years are hard to do this sometimes.
    Remember to take pictures of the formal or semi-formal dances your teenager attends.

The teenage years are all about growing up and finding who you are and what you want to become. Having a scrapbook to look back on is a great way to record these years.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Tue 11 Mar 2008 No Comments 

When you have a baby you want to record and preserve as many things as you can. Babies grow so quick it is nice to have some type of book to keep the memories in. Scrapbooking is a good way to keep records of the important dates in your baby’s life and also to write down memories that you don’t want to forget. Making a baby book or scrapbook can be easy. Your baby grows so fast there are plenty of opportunities to take pictures. Your baby is also being shown so many firsts that it should not be hard to make a wonderful scrapbook of your baby.

Choosing your album to record these memories should be one of the first things you do. You will want to choose one with plenty of pages for journaling and pictures. You can use a traditional baby book but you could be limited on space on what you can record in these books. It is best to find one that is blank so that you can record all the facts that you want.

Things to consider adding into your baby scrapbook will include:
    When you found out you were expecting your baby. Journaling is great for this one; add the date and your feelings. Include a picture of you at the very beginning of your pregnancy.
    Include dates of your Dr. appointments. Record your weight and feelings at the appointment. Add any ultrasound pictures you may have taken.
    Take a lot of pictures of your growing belly. If you can then take them in the same place in the same pose. This will show exactly how much you grow in those 9 months.
    If you had a baby shower include the invitation and the guest list. Along with pictures of the refreshments served and the guests that attended.
    Record any nicknames you may call the baby already.
    You will also want to record the first kicks and movements you feel.
    Write down any names you may be thinking about naming your baby whether or not you know the sex or you name them any of those names.
    Take pictures of going to the hospital if you can. Sometimes in labor it is easy to forget. If not at least get a picture of the hospital your baby is born at.
    Don’t worry about how you look during labor. It is the memories that are important.
    Take pictures of your delivery room and the staff that is helping you. Include notes from the staff in journaling pages if you can.
    When the baby is born take pictures of the staff weighing and measuring your new baby add these statistics in a journaling box.
    Make sure you get a picture of the delivering doctor and staff with your newborn.
    You can then include the hospital bracelets that you all wore into the baby book.
    Add cards and pictures of any flowers or balloon bouquets you received while in the hospital.
    Record the day you brought your baby home. Including the trip home, the weather, and if you stopped anywhere to show off your baby.
    Make a montage of pictures of the baby’s room. Include all the walls if you can to give a full view of where your baby will stay.
    Just as you took your picture in the same place while pregnant you will want to do the same thing for your new baby. This will show how they grow so fast. Take it on a monthly birthday so it is easier to remember.
    Record all firsts: Sleeping through the night, visitor, outing, rolling over, sitting up, crawling and standing up. There are many more and extras that may be important to you. Do these in journaling boxes. The more you journal in a baby book the more intimate the book will feel.

Take plenty of pictures and record anything you want. Make these recordings fun with lists or as a news headline. Let your imagination run wild. There is no right or wrong way to make your baby book. Just make it special for you and your baby for memories to share.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Mon 10 Mar 2008 No Comments 

Staying up to date on scrapbook techniques can be a challenge at times. Scrapbooking is always changing. Since scrapbooking is a very creative hobby many new styles or techniques are always showing up. There are new ways to use tools or better tools are coming onto the scrapbooking market. It can be very intimidating for someone starting out or even a veteran scrapbooker. You can stay up to date though with some time and patience.

To try and stay up to date on scrapbook techniques you may want to join a scrapbooking group in your local area. This can be in someone’s home or the local craft store. If there aren’t any groups in your area then you may want to start one. Joining or creating a scrapbooking group will help you to stay up to date on the newest scrapbooking techniques because all members will bring something new to the group. All group members will have different ways of using their techniques. These same members will get their information on scrapbooking techniques from different places. Sharing ideas and techniques with other people is a great way to stay up to date on scrapbook techniques.

Another good way to stay up to date on scrapbooking techniques is to get a subscription to a scrapbooking magazine. You can get these magazines on a monthly or bi-monthly subscription and they are delivered right to our door. These magazines will have articles on some of the newest tools that are on the market. They will also have articles for many of the newer techniques that are being used in scrapbooking. Many of these magazines will also help guide you through using these newer techniques. Sometimes they will even have discounts to buy any supplies you many need to use for these new techniques.

To stay up to date on your scrapbooking techniques you may also want to look at joining an on-line scrapbooking site. This can be a chat room or community where scrapbookers go to share their ideas. These sites are usually free. They work the same way a local scrapbooking group would work except that the members are from around the world. When you join these sites you can trade ideas with the members. Some of the ideas may not be new but they are new to you. However, on a well run site they will also have places to discuss the newer techniques that are out there. The benefits here are that you can discuss with other people how these new techniques work.

You can also use the television to stay up to date on your scrapbooking techniques. If you have cable there are plenty of home improvement channels to find a scrapbooking show you like. These shows will let you know some of the newer techniques. You will also be able to watch how these techniques are used. The host of the show will sometimes give you other ways to use the newer techniques. They may also show you how to make the technique simpler. Along with showing you how to use the technique they can demonstrate how you can incorporate the newer technique into your scrapbooking layouts. Many of these shows will include what tools are necessary and where to buy them.

Another way to stay up to date is to use DVD’s that you can buy to teach yourself the techniques. The DVD’s will be mailed to your home like the magazine subscription. They will show you how to do the new technique and example of layouts that they have been in. You will have some of the newest techniques mailed right to your front door.

Keeping up to date on your scrapbooking techniques does not have to be hard or challenging.  You may have to join groups but the benefits will be beneficial. Scrapbooking can change so fast that it may be easier to use some of these ways to stay up to date.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Techniques on Sun 9 Mar 2008 No Comments 

When it comes to scrapbooking supplies it seems like there is always something new, or at least something that you may not have ever seen before.  Usually different scrapbooking stores have contracted with different suppliers so chances are that you will find different gadgets depending on where you go to shop.  If you are looking for the latest and the greatest in the world of scrapbooking, you may have to venture out beyond your local or favorite scrapbooking store.  The internet is a quick and easy place to go to look for what’s new in the world of scrapbooking.  You can search for the new items that you are looking for online and order them directly from the site or you can see where your local distributor is and purchase that item in person with a sales rep or in a store near you. 

As far as what’s new in the world of scrapbooking at this very moment, there are several different items that have actually maintained a steady presence in the category of the newest items that are flying off the shelves.  Here is what the list of new scrapbooking supplies looks like for the end of the year 2007:

Intricate templates - More and more scrapbookers are looking to get a more professional look from their scrapbook.  This means that hand-drawn or cut shapes are out, and templates are the way to go.  With templates you can have perfect lines every time whether it is for shapes, letters or even all-over page designs.  Templates provide the user with the flexibility of determining exactly where the template will go, with the assurance that it will look perfect (and hand crafted) every time. 

Detailed brads - Remember the days of circular brads?  No more, not only do brads now come in hundreds of different shapes and colors, but there are some brads that are so intricate you’d think that they were meant to be worn on your lapel!  You can find brads with intricate tiny shapes that are filled with multiple colors.  Although primarily made from metal, you can even find brads that are made to look like ribbon or fabric. 

Seasonal papers/patterns - In the world of scrapbooking the seasons definitely dictate when it is time to look for new inventory.  Usually seasons center on largely celebrated holidays.  Christmas is a huge one.  If you go to your scrapbooking store around the month of December, you can bet that you will find a completely different stock than what you would see in July.  Manufacturers also know that avid scrapbookers are going to want different patterns and papers every year and will be scrambling to supply the demand for new.

Paper crafting materials - Scrapbooking has a variety of different off-shoots that avid scrapbookers usually become excited about.  Card making is gaining in popularity especially among scrapbookers, perhaps because many scrapbookers already have the supplies needed to make a card.  Therefore, you will likely see "paper crafting materials" encroaching on some of the scrapbooking supplies’ space. 

New uses for bead board - Bead board is not just for adding strong emphasis to pages any more.  As was briefly mentioned above, scrapbookers are getting excited about transferring their scrapbooking skills to other mediums.  Bead board is definitely a versatile and stable material that can transform into a number of different craft embellishments.  Bead board is being used for such things as clip board embellishments, room decorations, picture frames, etc.

Embossing metals - You may be familiar with the embossing process, but have you ever tried embossing and scrapbooking with metals.  As scrapbooking becomes more tactile, the need for the use of more materials besides paper grows.  Avid scrapbookers are finding that the newest way to use standard embossing materials is to incorporate them with metals and had plastics. 

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Sat 8 Mar 2008 No Comments 

Scrapbooking can become a very expensive hobby. There are so many the tools and supplies that you really can’t recycle and have to buy more of.  If you do a lot of scrapbooking it can get really expensive and become a strain on your budget. That is why many scrapbookers are always looking for a good deal. Here is a list of how to get discounts on your scrapbooking supplies.

    Look on-line to find discount stores. Search for scrapbooking stores or sites these will generally have the best deals.
    Buy in bulk, generally the more you buy the better the discount.
    Share and trade with another scrapbooking friend.
    Look at yard sales. You never know what you can find. You can at times find a yard sale of someone who is selling many of their scrapbooking items.
    Shop at scrapbooking clearance stores. They may just be a craft clearance store but you should be able to find scrapbooking supplies.
    Join on-line scrapbooking communities. As a member you can gain discounts on the supplies.
    Join scrapbooking chat rooms to learn from other scrapbookers how they get discounts on their supplies.
    Look into joining on-line scrapbooking warehouse stores. You may need to bring in so many people to qualify but with enough scrapbookers the money saving discount may be worth it.
    Get on the mailing lists of local craft stores. They will usually have a coupon in the mailer for you to use.
    Shop the sales at the local craft stores to get your supplies at a lesser cost. If you are on the mailing list you may have a coupon on the weekly or monthly ad you received.
    Don’t have the attitude that you need to have the newest and the best right away. Sometimes the better product will come out later. Waiting for the tools or products can be better on the budget.
    Take a look at on-line auction sites for some good deals on bulk scrapbooking supplies. You might not want everything in the lot but you can then turn around and trade or sell the items you didn’t want.
    Look through your local paper for scrapbooking swaps to exchange or buy supplies from another avid scrapbooker who is looking for a deal.
    Put an ad in the paper yourself as to what you are looking for.
    Scrapbooking magazines will have coupons for many supplies and tools especially if they are new. There are also ads in these magazines for trading or buying other tools and supplies. Getting a subscription may be a good idea.
    Watch scrapbooking how to shows on television. These shows will sometimes have discounts they give to callers. They will also run contests for you to enter and most times will give you more scrapbooking supplies as a prize or even for just submitting to the contest.
    Joining a scrapbook craft of the month club may also help. You get a full kit every month with all the supplies. They also give other inserts and ads with these mailings and you can then find other ways to find discounts.
    If you are familiar with your local craft stores and the employees it may be a good idea to ask about getting discounts. For a loyal customer many stores will help out.

Getting discounts on your scrapbooking supplies is not always easy but for an avid scrapbooker it may be a necessity. Finding good craft or scrapbooking stores will help. Also find other scrapbookers or scrapbooking groups to join will allow you to share information on ways to get discounts. Join mailings or groups and these can lead to other ideas for receiving discounts on your scrapbooking supplies.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Sat 8 Mar 2008 No Comments 

There are so many techniques for scrapbooking and just as many tools. Cropping is one of the many techniques for your scrap booking. There are also necessary tools for adding the cropping technique to your scrapbook pages or decorative cards. In this article we will discuss the cropping techniques and necessary tools.

Cropping is defined as the removal of the outsides of a picture or other image to improve the framing of the picture or image. In scrapbooking you will want to add your pictures onto your pages with some type of decorative finish. This is done more easily when you first crop your photo. Here we will take a look at some of the different cropping techniques including some do’s and don’t for cropping. We will also look at some of the necessary tools for easier cropping of your pictures or other images.

You will want to start with a picture that was taken after 1950 or from an instant camera this will insure that the picture is preserved well. Make sure you aren’t cropping out any special elements like landmarks or signs that were meant to be in the picture. Basically you will want to keep anything on the picture that helps indicate the place, time or mood of the picture when it was being taken.

After you have your photo or image that you want to crop you will need to mark your lines. Tools that are necessary for this would include a straight edged ruler and a marking pencil. You can also use a personal trimmer to help you keep the lines straight or there are tools for rounding the corners of your photo to give a unique look. These tools will mark where you want the cut and some will even cut it for you. You will then use scissors to cut out the empty spaces or anything else you want cropped out.  A good pair of straight edged scissors should also be a necessary tool, even if you do have a personal trimmer.

Some techniques for cropping your photo or image would include using different shapes to highlight your photo. You can buy plastic templates with certain shapes that are ready for you to use. You just trace the shape on the back of the photo and then cut along the lines. This will give you many different techniques to use with different photos and page layouts.

Decorative scissors are also a good technique in cropping your photos. This will give a nice decorative edge to the photos. There are many different types of scissors to choose from, they are also available in sets. Just make sure that the scissors are sharp before cutting into a picture and possible ruining it.

Another technique would include cropping and then enlarging the photo. First you would crop the unnecessary parts of your photo and then enlarge the photo with either the internet or help from a photo store. This way you get the image you want and not the unwanted background. You may also need to crop the photo to add a balance to the photo if it was not centered right.

The only tools that may be necessary when cropping photos or other images is scissors, straight edged rulers, and a marking pencil. There are many different types of personal trimmers out there to make an easier cut but it all depends on what you feel comfortable with and how much you want to spend.

Remember when cropping your photos or images that your main reason for cropping is to give you more space per page and to enhance some of the pages. Don’t crop everything. Make sure that you really want that certain photo cropped because you won’t be able to go back. Make sure your scissors or trimmers are sharp so they don’t pull the photos and cause tearing.

Posted by Don under Scrapbook Embellishments , Scrapbook Techniques on Fri 7 Mar 2008 No Comments