Scrapbook pgs look too blank.

I've been trying to get into scrapbooking for over a year and have only created four pages!

While I have spent over two hundred dollars, I don't feel like I have materials that match well together and my pages look super plain because of it.

A lot of the pages that I like have a lot of white space but also have about 7 unique elements.

What's your advice on creating pages that look complete without having to buy a lot more?

Should I expect to spend this much or more to seriously get into scrapbooking or am I am not approaching this correctly?

Are there any products that I should focus on buying more of? Items you use repeatedly or work with a lot of pages? I don't want to necessarily buy items each time I scrap because of shipping costs. I rather make purchases every few months.

(What I've bought so far)
50 pages of nice pattern paper (wide variety... that doesn't match)
100 page cardstock pack
10+ alphabet stickers
date stamp and a small set of inks
A few embellishments

I would really appreciate any advice!!!

Thanks

Getting started is really, really hard--at least it was for me. I would strongly urge you to make one more purchase and get The Scrapbook Designer's Workbook (hardcover, spiral bound so it lays flat). This is an old publication but you can easily find it on-line at the big A website at a very cheap price. I had no one to help me when I was getting started . I am not naturally talented when it comes to artsy-craftsy stuff, and I found this book to be a huge help with page design and color. It is not long, is easy to understand and has a lot of illustrations and examples. Keep at it and don't give up. You can do it!

Try the free lessons offered here at scrapbook.com - that might be a good place for you to start.

You should not have to spend any more money for quite a while - you have plenty of supplies. Sounds like you just need to learn how to design your pages so you like them better.

I don't know what your pages look like so I'm not help there. My suggestion, beside the beginning lessons offered here, is to go into the gallery and find layouts you like. Then try to copy them.

There are a lot of scrapbookers here who make beautiful pages - absolutely gorgeous with embellishments they have made themselves. There is a lot you can do without spending a fortune to make wonderful pages - sounds like you just need some ideas.

I'd start with the lessons here and pick layouts out of the gallery to use for ideas.

I think you should invest in a few good punches. With punches you can create borders and interest on your pages. Most big craft and hobby stores have a daily or weekly coupon(M's often has 40% or 50% off). You could go twice a month and get a nice Martha Stewart punch at a great savings.

Also, do you know of someone who sews? Ribbons, lace, buttons and string make great additions to pages. You might need to get a cheap glue gun to adhere them.

Most importantly, find a person or persons who are in love with this hobby. Reach out to them or PM them here. Ask a lot of questions, visit the gallery, join a challenge...jump in. The most impoprtant investment you make is of yourself.

I have mixed views on whether or not this hobby has to be expensive. It depends on the look you are going for. If you like the cleaner look you may only need to "invest" in some specific purchases. But if you like the floral with lots of embelishments look it can get pricey. There are of course hacks for lots of thechniques. For example you can use cardboard to give your pages more dimension, dry wall mesh/tape for texture, use onion bags for embellishing, and dont forget all the tools you can make from tools around you house. I use a dental pick and back of a mouse pad for pre-poking the holes for my hand stitching...which is a cheap way to add textrue and pizzaz to a LO. I often wander down random isles at the store looking for things that would work in scrapbooking.
Free Spirit By Notanavgblond I found these wings in the "doll parts" section on clearance... they worked great.
Shake It Off By Notanavgblond The enite BG for this LO was made from the little 1/2 inch scraps of paper at the bottom of a 12x12 paper.
Out of This World By Notanavgblond Onion bag as ganish for my flowers.
Fabulous By Notanavgblond Extra scrap of zipper and tule from a sewing project.

Also keep an eye out for yard sales for little things. If you are looking to build up the begginer's base of supplies check craigs list for scrapbooking materials ppl are selling.

What pages do you like here in the gallery? Perhaps if you linked them to this thread I could help give you pointers on the techniques or products. Without knowing that I am not sure what direction to send you in.

You need to let the process happen organically. If you try to force it, you will not be happy with the results. When I go back and look at the pages I did when I started scrapbooking to the ones I do now, I blow myself away! These are pages I was really proud of but they have hardly any embellishments and there are maybe three pictures on a page. I have been scrapping for about 8 years and my pages have evolved. I have taken some of the elements my friends use and incorporate those into my style and, like I said, my style has evolved.

I think the amount you have to start with is a good starting point. Try matching your color cardstock to your patterened paper. If you aren't happy with the way they are matching, neutrals are your friend. Use the patterened paper with neutral cardstock accents or mattes.

Don't forget to check out Pinterest for page map and sketch ideas and also our classes here for beginning scrapbookers and page maps.

I hope this helps and doesn't overwelm you. Once you get going you'll have a blast!

I'm going to address the not matching part and the $ issue. I did the same thing when I first started scrapping. And if you talk to 100 scrappers- I bet 97% if not more, will say they initially bought things that didn't work for them.
For me, It took to long to figure out how or what to match with each other. This is the number one reason I love Stampin' Up (there are other companies that do this as well, I just love their quality and matchy matchy that make it so easy...I became a demo!!). I love that ALL of the pattern paper matches the card stock. There are family groups of colors to make it easy. Ink that matches, buttons that match, ribbon that match!!!! All easy to use!!!! To me, I spend less money because I know I have card stock that will match that new DSP colors! I already have buttons that will match. I'm actually using what I buy!!!!

Getting into the art of scrapbooking takes a lot of pages. Looking back on my first pages, I think they're fine for a beginner but I have also redone some of them.

I agree on visiting garage sales that advertise as having some craft supplies. I have found a lot of my crafting supplies on garage sales. My budget is tight so I have to visit second hand stores and garage sales whenever I get the chance and make sure to look at the crafts section.

To this day I am not quite comfortable with some of my pages because there are truly beautiful pages on sb.com and I don't want anyone to compare mine to other pages! I need to work up my self-confidence and post more pages. They are homemade and I put a lot of work and love into the pages. One day I will get to the point where I can show them on here and not feel like they are lacking.

One thing I learned about the gallery. There are a lot of designers posting layouts in the gallery and they make gorgeous layouts!

Many of the most fancy and most intricate are done by people on a design team. They do beautiful work!

I learned to quit comparing my layouts to theirs - they are basically professional scrapbookers and my pages are never going to look like that.

I love to look at their pages for ideas and inspiration but I've learned not to compare my pages. My pages will never measure up.

Once I accepted that I got a lot more comfortable posting my layouts - I enjoy the designer layouts and I keep reminding myself, mine are never going to look like that but they look pretty good for being made by "me".

Henri,
I know where you are coming from, but using the gallery has inspired and motivated me to grow in my craft. I personally don't want to be stagnant. I follow a lot of people on this website and have learned so much. If I were brand new here, I would find some styles I liked and find out more about creating that kind of page. That's just me. I also think one needs a basic stash. It is very hard to change a tire without a wrench or play tennis without a racket.

mmanzana,
Reading your product list I think you have enough to make a kit for yourself.
You mentioned your pattern papers didn't match, take another look. Look for a big bold pattern and then a smaller tighter pattern, then separate them with some coordinating card stock colors to pull it together.
When you are designing your layout start with your photo mats and base page then see what colors you need more of to either compliment your pictures or to balance your layout.

As for other elements on your page, you can use another pattern paper to make your embellishments. Draw a wavy line or arrow then cut it out, maybe a basic shape, or just cut out some of the images on the paper. This saves a ton of money, adds some interest and gives some dimension depending on how you layer it. There are a lot of people who use their papers for embellishments.

When I started out scrapping 15 years ago the industry was just starting to boom and we didn't have paper collections or anything near what we have today. We bought as the latest thing came out and as someone previously stated, there were some costly mistakes. Play around with what you have and from there your needs will emerge. Since there is so much variety on the market you can take the time to figure out what will be a good investment for you.
You don't need everything to start out with, a lot of use have built stashes over the years or as Henri Jean said there are design team members on here whose job is to play with the manufacturer's product and make it shine.

As for the gallery, there is wide variety of styles in the gallery, never feel less than because you are learning or trying something new. Lord knows I have uploaded some real duds especially for some challenges. People have always been kind on here when leaving comments.

Just have fun, trust your creative instincts and let yourself explore things. There is no right or wrong.

Thanks for your post, as I feel the same way at times.

And thanks for all the replies!

I agree 100% Donna - the gallery has really helped me.

My point was for the op not to compare her work to those of the designers - they have a lot of experience and I had to learn not to compare mine to theirs. Mine will always come up short!

But I still love to see the designers layouts and posts - I get a lot of ideas from them and I will always enjoy looking at them for inspiration, I just keep in mind - mine aren't going to look that polished!

I also enjoy having a basic stash - a lot more than basic. But I bought a lot of it hastily when I first started and much was never used. I could have done a lot more on my own in the beginning.

Now I'm a lot more careful what I buy. If I wanted something - I bought it in every color! Now I buy one color distress ink or Sticklers or whatever and see how I like it before I buy the whole line.

I bought most of my tools slowly - many I love and use, many I wish I had never bought!

Hello and welcome to the world of scrapbooking! I really struggle with using limited supplies. I've been scrapping for over 10 years and have accumulated quite a stash over time. I love using punches, stamps, sewing/stitching and creating my own embellishments.

I agree with several of the other posters here - look through the gallery for inspiration but you will need to find and get comfortable with your own style. I personally like having "white" space on my pages.

Another tip that has really helped me is using sketches. It helps with photo, paper and embellishment placement. You can create your own "embellishments" too like tags or other shapes. There are several other challenges here that will help you stretch your creativity as well.

Enjoy the creative process and have fun!

You might want to think about posting a few of your layouts in your gallery and maybe asking for suggestions. And rather than just randomly buying, I'd suggest you pick two or three sets of photos that you want to scrap, then go specifically purchase things that will work for those pages. You'll have left-overs from those things, so file them away to be used at another time on related pages. Don't fall into the trap of buying something just because it's cute or the latest thing. Also, pick one or two people whose gallery postings you like and reflect your style, and follow them. You can always branch out later on. I tend to scrap very CAS (clean and simple) as compared to some of the absolutely gorgeous fancy pages. I love looking at them, but they just aren't me. And most importantly (1) There is no right/wrong in scrapbooking; (2) Remember you're scrapping memories for YOUR family, not for the rest of us.

I did the same thing when I started. I bought way too much that I did not use.

My thought, find a scrap community or scrap store. Go to garage sales at scrapbooking stores. Find cheaper paper and supplies at yard sales and Craigslist....that is how I started.

I found a small crop group and we always bring paper we don't like and others in the group can pick anything they like out of it.

A lot of times I also feel that my papers don't match. If you ink the edges it's sometimes easier for them to blend in.
Also, I find that when I work on a big page, it's harder to make it feel 'full'.
If you upload some of your layouts to your gallery I don't mind taking a look and giving some advice. Feel free to PM me.

If you can find a friend or two to scrap with that will be positive and kind you can learn a lot from them. I started with a small glue tape, lunch out letters, cardstock,trimmer, and some pictures. My daughter took me to a crop and the ladies there gladly shared their tools, ribbon, buttons, and kind encouraging ideas and encouragement.

My page is finished when it makes me smile.

Manzana??? Did we lose you?

I wanted to add that there is someone called the frugal scraper. Just google it. You can learn a lot with this woman.

Isn't it awesome the people you meet at crops?! I have met the sweetest people while cropping and all are willing to share, just like you said!

Well. . .I can tell you what I do. . . if I don't have something in my "batch" that doesn't match (no pun intended! :-) I make it match :-). . . re-color, bleach it, stain it, wet it, tear it, spray it, ink it, color it with pens . . . I've had papers that I loved and it didn't really go, but I used distress inks over the paper to match another paper and if that "other" paper didn't have the color on it either. . . I distressed that too. And if you don't want to spend money on a ink pads and things just buy yourself a nice set of multicolored pens. . .either the Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress pens or the Memento Pens. . . you can use them straight from the tip, or you can color them on a non-pouris (sp??) surface and use a paint brush and water and use them like water colors. . . or rub them on a stamp, spray with a spritz of water and stamp on the page. I make it a point to buy a lot of white things. . . like flowers or clear jewels - basically anything. Or I punch items in white paper and color them to match my page. . . :-) Have some fun and get messy . . .

Tips:
1) Try mixing one or two patterned papers with one or two plain coloured cardstock papers to use on your page. Maybe invest in some white cardstock if you don't have any already for the background.
2) A "flat" page will look plainer than one with 3D elements.
Try layering your papers and embellishments....cut a scalloped circle from a paper and add your sticker on top with a pop dot, for example, to make your own 3D embellishments. You can buy pop dots (adhesive) at your local craft store and they are not expensive.
3) If you are not sure about design, browse the gallery or Pinterest for layouts that you like and just "scraplift" them. Lots of people do it. Its just copying someone else's design but inevitably, it ends up looking different because it will have your spin on it.
4) Layering. The pages that have a lot of white space will most often layer papers or embellishments. This is what makes it look NOT plain. Mat your photos and add layers of embellishments, a tag with a sticker on it and some twine pulled through the top, for instance......
5) 6x6 paper pads are invaluable for making your own embellishments and layering. All the papers in the pad are from one collection and will all "go together".

I think you can scrapbook with what you have until you are more experienced and know what you like and don't like. Cut into that paper to make your own tags, labels, shapes, 3D embellishments. It might help to grab a few punches for easy shapes but it's not necessary.
Commonly used punches could be scalloped circles, circles, edge punches (whatever designs appeal to you), hexagons, flag shapes........
Good luck and have fun!

Scrapbooking is a non-stop journey. My pages are cute but need more embellishments. I think I need to plan out my pages more instead of just sitting down and putting one together.

Elizabeth, I loved your post!
Scrapbooking really is a journey. Each of us has many layers of creativity inside of us. It takes time....