In this Scrapbooking how-to guide I share with you my process of creating scrapbook pages from start to finish. I will go through each aspect and then I will pull it all together with an example of an actual page.

Photos

Photos, for me, are the most important part of scrapbooking! Remember to take photos of all the important moments in your life, happy ones and sad ones. Take photos of everything and anything that has meaning to you! Sometimes we forget documenting everyday life, but these moments also form part of fond memories!

I have found photos of my grandmother sweeping the yard and my grandpa painting their house, wearing a white overall! I love these glimpses into their everyday lives!

I have collected many old family photos. With technology today you can easily scan or copy the old photos without taking them from the owner!

Remember to document not so happy times too. This often helps in the mourning or healing process.

Store your photos in a way that makes sense to you, so that you can find them again without effort. (I am currently in the process of re-filing my photos and will share my process in a later post).

Print the photos that you want to document. Size depending on what you want to do with them!

When you have your photos ready, we get to the fun part! What do we do next?

Paper

When you have your photos, the next step is choosing paper!

With the range of plain and patterned paper and card stock available, the choices are endless when it comes to paper! How to choose what paper to use?

I often buy paper with a specific photo in mind. That makes it so much easier!

But say you have to start from scratch….

1. Look at the colours in the photos

I always look at the colours in the photo when choosing paper or cardstock. Choose complementing or contrasting colours to use.

Play around till you find a perfect match!

I chose these two photos to illustrate this process:

2. Using plain colours (part 1)

See how different colours enhance different aspects of your photo!

I placed the aloe photo on different plain colours of cardstock:

See how every colour affects the way the photo is displayed differently!

Now I know this is probably going to remind you of an eye-test….

Look at 1 & 2. I think that the darker colour brings out the colour of the aloe so much better.

Looking at 3, 4 & 5 they are all different greens. Of the 3 colours, I think number 5 brings out the colours of the photo the best.

Between 6 & 7, I prefer the accent provided by number 7.

Number 8 is white (believe it or not) and that only brings out the white of the waves.

Number 9 is a black background. This is not a true representation as the iphone somehow brightened the colours in the photo when I took this picture! But I have to say it looks great!

Hope this gives you an idea of how to try different colours until your photo pops!

3. Using plain colours (part 2)

Another example of how a plain colour can enhance certain details of a photo.

The butterfly photo posed a whole different challenge!

See how every colour affects the way the photo(and specifically the blue and black butterfly) shows up!

The light green acts very neutral and doesn’t really accentuate any part of the photo.

The orange brings out tiny orange leaves that I bet you didn’t even notice in the previous photo!

Some of the leaves have a yellow colouring, as you can see when you put the photo on a yellow background.

With the darker green you can already start to see the butterfly a bit clearer.

The blue definitely shows off the blue on the butterfly.

I had some photographic problems with the white background, but I think that you get the idea that with the white background the little white flowers are the stars!

To me the bright green makes the photo come alive!

Black definitely shows off the beautiful butterfly!

Finally the turquoise accentuates the stripe in the butterfly.

I hope this provides some more inspiration on how to look for the perfect accent colour for your project!

4. Combining colours

Sometimes combining two colours, by adding a matt to the photo, accentuates all the important parts of the photo:

5. Busy paper

You should take into account how “busy” your photo and your paper is.

Busy paper combined with a busy photo can lead to visual chaos.

If you have your heart set on using the busy paper with a specific busy photo, see if matting the photo will lift it out of the chaos.

These photos show how you can add a matt to a photo to lift it out of the chaos:

It works for busy colours and busy patterns!

If the colours in your photo and your paper clash too much, consider trying a black and white version of the same photo!

For me, the photo is always the most important part of documenting the memory and whatever you add should enhance it!

Journaling

The next step in my process, is to decide on a title and journaling.

Journaling can be a whole story or as simple as title and a date, there is no wrong way to journal!

Sometimes the photo is worth a thousand words, but I do like to add at least a title and the date.

Journaling is a very personal thing. Some of us can write books about one memory and some of us can barely come up with a title!

That is fine too! Remember when you document a memory, however you want to do it is the right way! You should be happy with the end result.

Also remember that someone else might look at it years from now, so try to include enough basic info on your page – who, what, when and where.

Titles and journaling can be created in so many ways! Literally anything with words on can be used!

I have used boarding passes, access tickets, brochures, certificates, invitations, maps, playing cards and even teabag wrappers as part of my journalling. These items often have the date, time, place and event already printed in fun ways!

Look out for fun tags on clothing and other items!

Stamps, stencils, sentiments on scrapbook paper, chipboard sayings, date stamps, label makers, washi tape and journalling pens can also come in handy!

If all else fails, just write something! Your handwriting will mean the world to someone one day!

Embellishments (The icing)

Now that you have your photo/s, paper, title and journaling all ready to go, the fun starts!

The last thing you have to add, is what I like to call the “icing”!

Choose some fun embellishments or techniques to add to your page. Remember the “icing” should enhance your photos and not distract from it!

“Icing” can include any embellishments or decorations that you want to add to your page!

This also means any techniques with inks, paints, gels, pastes or whatever else that you want to use to make your project stunning!

Fussy cutting elements from paper can create embellishments that perfectly match your page. Keep that in mind when you choose your paper.

Always remember that the “icing” should enhance your photos and not distract from it!

Now we have to put all your elements together!

Layout

With everything that should go on the page gathered together, you must decide on the layout.

Play around till you find the perfect layout or use layout sketches for ideas!

Most of the time I print the photos that I would like on the page and get together all the other stuff I want to add to the page.

I then put everything down on the paper and move it around until I find a layout that suits my photos the best.

When I really have no idea, I make use of page layout sketches or I browse the internet, especially Pinterest (you will find a board with sketches on my Pinterest profile), for ideas.

I always save any instructions that come with purchased kits. They usually have a layout sketch included.

You are always welcome to browse my feed for layout ideas.

The end product

A step‑by‑step example of how I followed the five steps explained above to create a scrapbook page!

1. The PHOTO

Like most of my pages, this one started with the photo! A beautiful underwater mermaid photo of my daughter!

I tore the edges of the photo to make the photo stand out and to add texture.

2. The PAPER

I immediately knew what paper I wanted to use!

I used the underwater themed paper from the Paradise range by Penelope Dee. The striped background page is from the Meadow range also by Penelope Dee.

3. The JOURNALING

I kept the journaling simple with a celebr8 chipboard title, coloured with Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide ink. I stamped the date with the same ink.

4. The ICING

I fussy cut parts of the paper to create the embellishments for this page.

I lifted some pieces with foam tape to create depth.

I inked the edges of all the elements with various colours Distress Oxide inks.

I brushed on some glitter craft paint to accent parts of the elements and the chipboard title.

5. The LAYOUT

I used a very simple layout with just one photo for this page.

(Click on the layout to download)

A single page layout that I am very happy with!

Sometimes everything just comes together perfectly without too much effort!

I hope this inspires you to create something precious.

Scrapbooking 101- A how-to guide to Scrapbooking