Where do i start??

[*Jadey*]

Hey everyone,

I am new to scrap booking and bought my first album the other day with a few bits and bobs, I bought it from argos for £19.99, i loved all the bits i had with it

Now i am stuck, where do i start and what do i do? Am i suppost to stick the patterned paper to the card sheets in my album and then put my photos on top?

Are you suppost to use both sides of the card? or just the one side?

sorry for all the questions, i just havent got a clue what to do and i dont want to ruin my things already. Ill prob have more questions in a bit.


Jade xxx

[stillcrafting]

Hi Jade, welcome. You've certainly come to the right place to get helpful hints, tips and advice. I would suggest using the cardstock as your base and cutting or tearing the patterned paper (known as PP) before sticking pieces of it onto the plain card and adding photos and anything else you want. Why not have a browse through the gallery here and see if something jumps out at you that you could try? Don't forget to show us what you do though

Oh and most people use just one side of the card rather than both, so that if they choose to, they can use things like brads / eyelets / stitching

[sarahsarah]

Another reason for only using one side of the cardstock is if you fancy rearranging all of the pages when they are done...
So if each page protector in your album only has one sheet in, you'll need to get some more maybe?

I would recommend pagemaps website, if you go onto september pagemaps you can print out a pdf of different sketches to use... Or also pencillines has a new sketch each week, but if you look on the left hand side and down a bit you can download a pdf of all the old ones from the beginning..

Sketches are definitely a good idea!

[sarahsarah]

Just looked on argos website and it looks like you got some coloured cardstock with your kit.. You don't get much for £20 though do you!!!

[heather belle]

Ah, the card sheets in the album. How they confused me too! Your question is a very good one indeed.

I don't 'use' them as such but I simply leave them between the two LOs. It protects the underside of a LO from the other one which is in the same sleeve. Say for example you use a brad, the metal on the underside may 'dig into' what is underneath it or worse still, rust a little (I know they shouldn't, but...).

Anyway, that's my way of using them. Some of the refills don't come with them but I still sacrifice a piece of cardstock for the purpose (one of the cheaper variety...not my Bazzill!!) There is a small problem in that it increases what you have in one sleeve, so unless your sleeve is a 'generous' one you may have to cut a slither off the side of a LO (particularly if your LO is lumpy with lots of embellishments).

I make LOs using either patterned paper as a base or cardstock, depending on what I fancy. When I started I was more likely to use the patterned paper whole as a base, but now I tend to use cardstock as base and cut the PP up and mix and match more. It takes a bit of courage to cut into a favourite bit of PP!

Interested to hear what other people do. The thing is there is no right or wrong way and you will find people do different things.

Good Luck and Welcome!

Heather x

[Nerlly]

I started off a bit like this, with a couple of scrapbooking packs from Partners. Interestingly, they had no cardstock in them, but the pages were laid out with preprinted frames and stuff. I moved on to using cardstock as a background, but these days I'm more likely to use patterned paper, or paint on my cardstock because personally I don't like the 'flat' look of cardstock. But everyone's different.

It seems that many people feel compelled to cut their photos into shapes when they start scrapping. There's nothing wrong with this, but whatever you want to do USE COPIES OF YOUR PHOTOS AND NOT THE ORIGINALS!

If you enjoy scrapping you will inevitably want to re-scrap your favourite photos later on, when your style has changed, as it will. I've ended up having to scan my funny-shaped photos and use them with odd bits disappearing in the corners....not to be recommended, lol!

I would suggest you check out websites and mags (I suggested you buy some mags in the other thread - this is really the best way to see other people's LOs I think). Then start by matting your photos, which is the basis of layering, and maybe clustering some embellishments around it. There's no substitute for practice! Good luck..

[stressed]

this may help with some layouts for you.

http://www.clubscrapcommunity.com/ma...ectlink&id=172

if its doesnt come up directly go to the home page, click on projects and then scroll to 'club scrap team relay' on the right and you can watch the video.

but hopefully the direct link should work

sorry, forgot to say hi and welcome too

[g61]

Hi Jadey, welcome to the wonderful world of UKScrappers! Hope you are prepared to become totally addicted.

If there are sheets of thin card (thick paper) inside the plastic page protectors, I wouldn't scrap on them. Just leave them in there and slot your finished layouts either side of them. As heather_belle explained, they help protect your finished layouts.

Your basic ingredients for 1 page are likely to include a sheet of 12x12 card, some patterned paper, and photos (oh and I agree with Nerrly - don't cut up irreplaceable originals!). I often cover part of my photos with something (a flower, part of the patterned paper etc) rather than cutting bits out of them.

Many people use a repositionable glue (eg made by Herma) so that you can play about with positioning or trying out different colour combinations before you glue forever.

There are many styles of scrapping, from the simple and minimalist, to the seriously multi-layered, and everything in between. The wonderful thing about scrapping is - there's no "wrong" way to scrap your photos. If you like it, then it's good.

Have fun.

[*Jadey*]

Thankyou for all you replies,

Everyone here is really helpful. I cant wait to get stuck in now

Jade xx

[Judith]

I hope you enjoy your scrapping. Pay a visit to sarahs cards a sponsor on here they have a blog that if you look through, you will find that some of the layouts they feature have step by step guides to help you get started.