Teach A Class (#NHBPM Day 12)

Today I am supposed to teach a class about something that I know about.  First I think, what am I good at?  What can I teach a class on?  Then I thought, I can teach about scrapbooking.  It is not exactly thrilling but it is something I am currently engaged in so it seems timely.

The Steps To Scrapbooking

1. The first step is to decide what you are going to make your scrapbook about.  Is it about the birth of a child?  Your vacation?  Family reunion?  Puppy dog?  Whatever it is that is the theme you will purchase the items to decorate your scrapbook.  In the example to the right, my theme was a trip to Florida and Disney World.
2.  The second step is to decide on the photos you will be using in the scrapbook. If you don't have them printed, get them printed.  You can also edit the photos if they are not exactly perfect.  If you want to crop or resize the photo.  View this video from Scrapbook.com to learn about photo editing.  I prefer matte print but glossy is good too.  The larger scrapbooks hold three 4x6 photos on each page.  Once you have an idea of the photos you will be using you can move onto the fun part.
3.  Going to the art store!  This is the part that is fun and can cost you a lot of money if you aren't careful.  First choose an album.  The most popular size is the 12x12.  There are also smaller sizes but the 12x12 is the most common.  Albums come in all colors and styles so choose an album that coordinates with your theme.
4.  Now you are going to choose the background paper.  You can choose single pages or you can buy booklets that have up to 180 sheets.  The benefit to buying the booklets is that they a) are cheaper and b) will give you more choices and extra pages for other projects.
5.  This is the time to choose the embellishments to use in scrapbook.  The embellishments are what make the scrapbook a scrapbook and not just a photo album.  I call them the do-dads.  They are the words and sparkles and swirls and flowers and stars and all that stuff that you see in a scrapbook.  If your theme is family reunion at the shore then your do-dads will be words that say "family", "shore", "vacation", etc.  It might also have sayings such as "family reunion" and "reunion memories".  You will also look for sticker do-dads such as little flip flops, beach towels, beach balls, boats, picnic items, barbecue stuff, etc.  Whatever activities your family reunion at the beach participated in.  As you can see in the example above, I went to a fair and the do-dads I got were farm items since we saw all sorts of farm animals including a pig race.  There are also borders and frames.  Be careful: each of these embellishments are not very expensive but once you choose a bunch of them and get up to the sales counter, you may find that your bill will be much higher than expected.  Those $1.99 items add up quick.

6.  Once you have chosen all your items, you need to make sure you have the correct adhesive to adhere your photos and embellishments that don't come already with sticker backing.  There are also stamps, pens, cut outs and the list goes on.  I would start out slow and simple at first.
7.  Now you are ready to get started!  Find a flat place to lay all the items out so you can plan.  You will see that other than the first and last page, each page has two pages when the book is opened.  I enjoy using the same background paper on both pages to have continuity.  I lay the whole book out page by page with background, photos, and embellishments. See the example to the right.  This way you can get a good idea of what the whole book will look like and how you want it to read.
8.  Each page needs a focal point, reason, or theme.  Please view this video from Scrapbook.com to teach you about focal points.

9.  Once you have figured out where the photos will be placed, you can decide if you want borders.  If you have "fancy" scissors, you can use them to cut regular colored paper or you can buy pre-cut borders to put around your photos to give them the look of a frame. View this video from Scrapbook.com to learn about borders. As you can see from the example to the left, I use paper to frame the photos.
10.  Now you just have to put it all together.  This is where you get to be creative.  View this video from Scrapbook.com to see some page ideas.

So now you know how to scrapbook.  Go have some fun!  Keep your memories in a creative way.


This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J