Hi there! So Christmas is coming up and I decided I wanted to make a scrapbook for my girlfriend, full of pictures and memories of us. The only problem is... I have NO idea where to start. I have pictures and ticket stubs and notes and such I want to use, but I have NO clue how to start the actual book. What do I do? Do I buy a book and put patterned paper in it, or what? I currently have a scrapbook that is all white plain paper, white hard front and back covers, and a purple spiral spine. I think this would look nice.. but it's so plain. It's just too white. I wanted patterned paper on it so it would look really inviting and unique. Would I just cut the paper to size and glue it onto the page in the book, or would that not be acceptable? ANY tips at all would be wonderful. Thanks so much!

Is there an Archivers near you? They have great introduction to scrapbook classes - I took one in Atlanta 5 or 6 years ago.

Michaels also has scrapbooking classes.

On this site there are free tutorials.

The biggest advice I will give you is to not go crazy buying stuff. If you want to do your journaling and notes by hand, buy one journaling pen and try it. If you are going to type your jounaling like it do, then don't waste you money on a journaling pen. Just depends if you can live with your handwriting on your scrapbooking pages. Mine is horrible.

If you have never stamped buy one stamp and one stamp pad and try it to see if you will use it.

Just take it easy but there is such a selection of things. Stickles are wonderful - but I would start with one bottle if you wnat the glittery effect and then if you like them buy more.

Check your local scrapbook stores if you are lucky enough to have any and see what classes they offer.

There are special books made for scrapbooking. Most of us use 12 x 12 but there are minis and other kinds of books too. Check a scrapbooks store or the scrapbook section of the large box stores (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Joannes).

Other advice - make sure everything you use is acid free if you want the book to last more than a few years. Other wise it may yellow and desentigrate. Especially papers - if the paper is not acid free, lignen free it can discolor the photos that are touching it over time.

Good adhesive is a definite must - acid free is all most of us will even think about using.

The patterened paper usually goes in sheet protectors. When you go to the store they will show you.

Find a class if you can. ALso check out the tutorial on this site. It will get you off to a good start. ALso check out the gallerly for ideas.

Do the books come with patterned paper already in them, or no? If not, how exactly do you go about putting patterned paper on/over the pages? Sorry if I sound so lost, I wasn't kidding when I said completely new.. haha

• tehprobe Said:

No, books don't generally come with patterned paper unless you're buying a kit that comes with a lot of items.
How you add patterned paper depends on your book - there are several different styles and sizes.

• Quote:

I'm more of a visual person...can you post a photo of your book in your gallery so we can see it? Like I said, there are several different kinds of books. Depending on what kind you have, instructions on how to alter it will be different.

You need to first read all the print and see if the spiral notebook you bought is acid free. If it is not then the book will not be permanent - acid in the paper pages will ruin your photos in time.

It it is a smash type book that is made for scrapbooking then it is perfect.

If you glue patterned paper to the pages it is important to use acid free adhesive. Glue sticks, even if they say they are acid free are a bad idea in my opinion. They warp the pages and they don't lay flat. They also tend to come unstuck in time.

I actually was given an old antique sort of book to use, from my teacher. It looks very similar to this, thought not 100% it is very close.

http://media-cache-ec2.pinterest.com/upload/56928382760...

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzA0WDQ5NQ==/$(K GrHqF,!q0FBeb...

I'm definitely thinking that I'll use this, because it's just so unique, they don't exactly make them like this anymore. Any ideas or suggestions on how exactly to set this book up? I feel like once I get it started, I'll be able to keep going, but just getting started is the hard part.

No matter what you do, your girlfriend will love it! That is such a sweet and thoughtful gift and will mean so much to her!

You can look in the gallery here for ideas. That helped me a lot when I was getting started.

To start, decide how you are going to tell your story? In chronological order? Start sorting your photos and memorabilia in the order you want. You want the photos/ticket stubs, etc, to take center stage and design around those. Handwriting journaling is also nice. You can write right on the pages or on separate paper and glue it on the page.

I would first think about how the whole structure of you scrapbook should be like. Do you want to create a timeline of your time together until now or do you want to sort things by events (holidays, trips, birthdays..)