Please assist. 20 year old guy needs help. PLEASE

Hi,

I am trying to make a scrapbook for my girlfriend of 2 years for her birthday in a month. I have never attempted to complete something like this in my life before and although I know I can do it, I am feeling a little overwhelmed and confused.

She has a box of a lot of saved stuff (concert tickets, sporting events, movies, pictures, ect....) which I planning on stealing and making into a cute album. If you think this in itself is a bad idea please let me know. I will not be offended at all.

My first problem became evident immediately when I attempted to choose an album/frame. I have NO idea how big, how many pages and worse of all can not make a decision on which one I like the best. It all will be perfect in the end but right now not so much.

I was thinking that 10 pages does seem like enough and it appears that 10 pages is standard with 12 x 12.

Is that large enough? Is that many pages enough? I see that there are smaller sizes but no bigger. I imagine that will be fairly large but again I have no idea.

I do not want a 3 ring binder right? I want a book where I can get creative and add memories.

Here are a few that I was looking at:

http://store.scrapbook.com/pp-7g-cb31352.html
I think this one might be the best. She likes fashion and denim kinda falls into that category. EXCEPT is it

Inside page dimensions: 5.5” x 6.5”
Outer cover dimensions: 6” x 7”

Is that too small?

http://store.scrapbook.com/p-sbx-12bk.html
Cute? But has 3 rings. I think that is a bad idea?

http://store.scrapbook.com/kc-543096.html
Kinda girly and not sure if I really want to go down that route

http://store.scrapbook.com/dwv-al130010.html
Nice but I feel like we have not been together long enough for this but what do YOU think

http://store.scrapbook.com/amm-ucal12-black.html
I could go with a more classy/plain type cover....I thought this one was nice....is plain the way to go?

WHAT ON EARTH IS A BASE COLOR? Is that the color of the pages?

If you could help me in any way it would be greatly appreciated. You can reach me at [email protected]

THANKS FOR THE HELP!

If you have any questions for me I would be glad to help you although I am not so sure how much my opinion counts.

Best of luck to you all

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

actually the 3 ring binders are a cool way to start, it makes moving the pages around much easier.

not sure about the base color question...but I did not look at all the links.

What does it mean to have 3 ring binder?

1st let me say welcome to scrapbook.com! you have come to the right spot!

2nd, very sweet and thoughtful thing you are doing!

3rd. For size, keep in mind most cases, 10 page albums equal 20 (back to back) unless you don't mind the backs of the pages showing

8x8 is a great size for making a gift, not too much room, but not too little - I think if just starting out a 12x12 can be a bit overwhelming - lots of space to go "huh?" 8x8 you can still decorate, but not as big a canvas at the 12x12. The style would depend entirely on what she likes, is she a girlie girl, etc.

You can even take photos of what you want to use, post them in the gallery here, and start a topic asking for ideas, everyone here is so helpful and you will get a lot of ideas! You can also take the items to the scrappy store w/you and see what matches up if anything!

While I do make books for people, I have also helped people make them for others, feel free to pm me if you have any ?'s.

Here are my thoughts. I would not go with anything smaller than 8x8. You should probably "steal" the items that you want to scrap, sort them and get an idea of what you want on the pages. This will help you decide how many pages you will need. Also the albums come with 10 pages, that will actually give you 20 layouts. So, unless she has a really large amount of these items, you may want to stay away from 12 x12, that's A LOT of space to fill!!

Second, you may want to just keep these pages fairly simple. Maybe one or two different colors of cardstock.

As for the albums, I think the black ones look very classy, didn't like the demin one.

So there you go, my 2 cents worth.

Base color is the color of the sheets that come in the album. Many have page protectors that you can just slip your paper into over that.

Most albums are expandable. So, while the album you are looking at may only have 10 sheets, you can purchase extras to add to it.

3 Ring binder - Think school notebooks. That is the type of binding.

How sweet of you! Very thoughtful! If I were you, I'd bring my stuff to a local specialty scrapbook store if there is one around and get their opinion. You have a lot of options. One thing you may want to ask about is how to keep the items from deteriorating over time. You can scan, use special spray, laminate, etc. Good luck!

i think this is a GREAT idea and as many have already said.. id start with a 8x8 book that way theres enough room for pics and a few decorations but you dont have ALL that room to fill in...as for the books appearance you can get an 8x8 with lots of different covers take her personal likes in to consideration here her favorite color!!!! as for the pages 10 is really a good size gift book!! that will give you 20 pages to put pics and such on anything bigger then that might overwhelm you.. if you need any help feel free to post on here even if its a pic that you donno what to do with the people on this site are SOO helpful and they all will want you to do your best work and will be able to push ya in the right direction!! also you can look thro the gallery and scrap lift which means you copy the work of the original artist most people wont mind this at all but its always nice to msg the person to make sure they are ok with it and that you liked thier work! if theres anything i can help you with feel free to pm me!!

What a sweet thing to do!

I personally think you should go with 8x8 so as not to get overwhelmed and it's the perfect gift size, plus it's not too big.

Steal the tickets! She'll love it!

Good luck!

(and go to the local scrapbook store or Michael's or wherever and get a pad of matching paper and then you won't have to worry about matching things up ... )

michaels actually sells a lot of "kits". You can get them anywhere from like $5 to $20. Plus you can use their 40% off coupons so it doesnt get too costly. It has the coordinating paper, stickers, titles. everything. you can get diff ones depending on the activity you are scrapping as well.

i myself scrap with 12x12 albums. it allows you to fit more pictures on a page as well as putting in the tickets/stubs. versus a smaller album it would seem to take up too much room to add them in.

i would say add in the tickets. i like to use those sometimes as my "journaling spot/title". bc it has the essentials already like activity and date.

good luck! if you have any more questions just let me know.

i think it's awesome youre doing this for your gf. i made my bf one and he expects new pages every so often lol.

Great idea and you've had good advice. If I was her I'd like to see you hand write things on the pages also...little comments about how fun 'it' was; or how pretty she looked that night...etc. My heart would melt if my guy did that for me.

I would say go with a 3 ring binder...you or she can always add more pages. you can make the pages any color you want with papers or cardstock too. does she have a favorite color(s)? maybe start with colors you know she likes or has told you she likes. And do not forget when you have the book ready to give to her, be sure to put in there somewhere that YOU have created this for her with love(or however you choose to word it)
Have fun and know you set a great example for other men on the planet by doing such a sweet thing for your lady! And your opinion DOES count, don't let anybody tell you otherwise!

If there is a JoAnn store near you, they also sell kits for about $5 each and you can also use a 40% off coupon found in the Sunday paper ad. The kits will make scrapping it a whole lot easier!

Good luck - and kudos. Your GF is going to LOVE this present.

I agree with the kit thing...when you get the kit, you might see some paper or stickers near it that you would like. If she has a LOT of memorabilia, then an 8x8 might be a bit small. Michael's has 3-ring binders in black.
My personal idea when using the 12x12 pages is that you will have some room on the pages, possibly for her to journal as well, some of her thoughts on the occasion next to your thoughts would be a nice touch for in the future when you look back on it.
You have time so don't fret... the kits will help you get jumpstarted.
YouTube sometimes has videos on things if you are stumped as well.

How sweet you are to think of this for your girl! I agree with some of the others...a kit might be the way to go, also agree with adding your own little journaling on the pages telling how you were thinking/feeling the day that such-and-such happened. An 8 x 8 album seems to be the consensus here and I have to agree with that as well. I wouldn't worry about being too detailed...seriously ... I think she's gonna be wowed by whatever you produce! Good luck!

I have to be honest with you... I didn't even read all of your post because my heart started palpitating when I read your first question. If my boyfriend were to make a scrapbook for me, that'd be awesome... the sweetest thing ever... but, if he took my concert tickets and used the originals... that gives me a bit of a panic attack thinking that could happen. Does she scrapbook also? She might have other ideas for her tickets, so I'd suggest making copies of them to use in a book you'd make for her. Then, if she doesn't mind, she could put the originals in herself over the copies you made.

Good luck!

I actually love the denim! It may be to small and the pages don't come with page protectors. That might be something to take into consideration. It will help it last longer.
you are brave for attempting this, but will surely get rewarded! I would definitely find a kit to match with your theme and use that. It will make your project so much easier!

You are such a sweet boyfriend for even thinking of making her a scrapbook! I have a few thoughts for you.

I think a simple style album such as the black one would be best. I think a 12X12 is a good idea if you have multiple photos of events. If you are thinking of doing one photo per page, or only have one photo for each event/date then I would go with a smaller album.

I agree with a previous comment about not using originals. PLEASE make copies of the photos and use those. She'll appreciate it. Also, you can make copies of the tickets at a photo center so they'll be on photo paper, or you could make high-quality copies onto cardstock at a copy center.

As for the actual creation of the book...

First, I would decide what you want to include and choose which photos/tickets/etc. will go together on which page. This will prevent problems later on.

Then, once you have in order which elements will be contained on each page, it is time to pick out paper. You have two choices; 1) go with a packet that coordinates, or 2) choose papers for each page separately. (Option 2 can be a little overwhelming because of the amount of decision-making.) Either way, I would pick certain elements (journaling tags, paper flowers, buttons, etc.) that will be interspersed throughout the book. This will give it a more pulled-together feel.

Finally, I like to stick each set of elements in the page protectors that they will eventually go in. This means each page protector will have, for example, the photos, background (12X12) cardstock, tags, flowers, photo matting papers, buttons, and extra papers (cut-out shapes, etc.). If you do this planning ahead of time, you will be able to mix up the papers and elements so that you don't have a "chunk" of pages that all look the same, and then a different "chunk" later in the book. This will keep the "feel" the same throughout the book.

At last, when you are ready to scrapbook, choose one of the page protectors (full of elements) and start creating a page. You will have only stylistic decisions to make at this point, keeping the project more manageable.

Notes:
I think journaling pockets are great if you want special memories to stay private when she shows off the book to her friends.
Don't be afraid to mess up! She will appreciate that you spent the time to do it yourself!
Add dates to the pages if you have them!
Don't worry about chronological order. She can re-arrange the pages later if she wants to.
If you're worried about making your writing look nice, buy a rubber stamp alphabet and ink pad and use them to create titles, etc.
A booklet of journaling tags is cheap and very valuable!

Good Luck! I'm sure she'll appreciate it!

I agree with everyone else...go with an 8X8. perfect size and not overwhelming. I say go with a black book unless she is really girly then find a color that fits her. Pick up a pad of cordinating color pages or get some kits since you are doing this on the fly. Give it your special touch also-she will love it!!

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELPS!

The response I just received is absolutely amazing to me. I cant believe that 1 day later I have 20 or so pieces of advice.

How do I pm people? Kinda silly i know but i cant figure it out. What does that even mean

There is such a great community here.

Thanks for all of the help it will really come in handy.

Thanks for all advice

Click on their name to the right where they have made a reply, and this will take you to their my place page. There you will find a spot where it says to pm them.

Um - to the left.

Yep, my fingers got in front of my brain!

They pretty much said a lot of what you have to know.

You are very thoughtful. your gf is lucky to have you.

To PM someone, click on their name then when you get to their home page there is a bar below their picture that says 'send --- a private message' click that and it will take you to the message box, you have to give the message a title and then add your message.

Everyone has given you some really helpful advice!! I just wanted to say that I think what you are doing is wonderful!! I would be beside myself if my boyfriend did something that thoughtful for me.

I actually called him and said "There's a guy on scrapbook.com who is maknig a scrapbook for his girlfriend. Isn't that sweet?"

Best wishes to you! This is an excellent site to find help!!

To send a PM click on the users name which will take you to their Profile.At the bottom of the profile square is "Send PM" click and you're all set. P.S. We'd love to see some pages when you're done.