What is Paper Scrapbooking ?

Paper scrapbooking is exactly what it suggests – you are using photos, construction paper, and other supplies to create decorative displays, or scrapbooks. In earlier decades, scrapbooks were very straightforward – they contained pictures that were mounted on grey pages and appeared very uncreative. Who would have thought that twenty years later paper scrapbooking would bring the displays to life and evolve into a craft – easy even for the beginner – and can lead to spending a lot of time, energy, and money on the hobby.

Some people have even gone back and restructured their old scrapbooks – there is an upside to the fact that adhesive tape loses its adhesiveness over time, making the pictures easy to remove from older albums.

New to Paper Scrapbooking?

Some of the words in this article are newly formed for the latest phenomenon; scrapbooking is now a verb, and a scrapbooker or scrapper is one who creates scrapbooks. For someone who has never scrapped before, it can be very fun – like learning to knit, paint, or ride a bike – however, as the new artist gets more involved in creating different pages, they might find themselves running back and forth to the craft stores for different papers, stickers, or supplies. There will even be times when the artist has an idea for a page, but can’t find anything for sale to create their vision. In that instance, there are creative ways to make stickers or other graphics.

Making Paper Scrapbooking Accessories

For those scrappers who are comfortable on the computer, it is possible to create stickers for your album if you can’t find them anywhere else. Avery and Staples sell full page transparent sticker sheets; you can print clipart or text or anything else onto the transparent sticker, cut it out, and then glue it to your pages or plastic sleeve. It is also possible to make paper scrapbooking stickers by simply gluing pictures from the computer or magazines directly onto the pages. If you are not web savvy, you can find many different topics of accessories online or even through catalogues, such as the Oriental Trading Company.

Adding Text While Paper Scrapbooking

One of the most fun aspects of paper scrapbooking is the ability to add text in boxes and/or thought bubbles to the page, either of which can be created individually, or they can be purchased ready to be written in. Adding captions to pictures is always fun, but sometimes you don’t even need a picture; try adding a favorite saying or poem to the page? You can even create a border around a picture or the entire page, with words, texts, poetry, etc.

Creating a Paper Scrapbook Album

Once a new scrapbooker is comfortable with the concept, further skill allows for the making of the actual album. There are numerous courses on TV or in craft stores, as well as how-to-manuals available for purchase, that provide an instruction on how to create an actual paper scrapbook album. Some require folding paper along guidelines; some include gluing fabric to cardboard that has been folded, and some involve creating pockets or adding adornments.