Scrapbooking Tips

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Most scrapbooking experts will encourage you

to USE YOUR OWN HANDWRITING.

To speed up my scrapbooking process

and finish as many pages as possible,

I will use my own handwriting,

not only in my journaling, but in my title as well.

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Here's a tip for you if you don't like your handwriting...

when scrapbooking with a friend,

ask her (or him) to write something for you

(as long as you admire their handwriting, that is.)

Provided you don't ask them to write a novel,

I am sure they would be

more than happy to push your pen!

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Squeeze it in!

Most scrapbook pages I see online

or in scrapbook magazines/idea books

always seem to sport only one photo.

Are you kidding?!

I have so many photos I want to cherish

and so many memories I want to keep.

I would have a gazillion albums

if all of my pages had only one photo on them!

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Trim and tilt one or two photos

to "squeeze them in" and onto your page.

You can see I've done this to both pages above and below.

This will actually add dimention to your page.

It's fun too!

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Scrapbooking Tips

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Most scrapbookers already know this tip

but I believe it's well worth repeating.

Use up those sticker letters!

I love the sheets of BIG sticker letters

but most of the time there is only one of each letter.

You can trim most any letter to create

the letter you need for your title.

Notice below how I trimmed a "C"

to create my "U" in the word "FuN."

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Scrapbooking Tips

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Flip it!

I love to visit Triple the Sketch or Page Maps

when I am scrapbooking!

By utilizing skeleton sketches (black & white layouts,)

I can use one sketch and "flip it" four times

to create four different pages and looks.

Talk about speedy scrapbooking!

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Notice how these two pages are pretty much the same.

The page above has two photos at the top

while the page below has two photos at the bottom.

The single photo above verticle with the page

while the photo below is horizontal.

The journaling block above is coming from the single photo

while the block below is coming from the two photos.

Otherwise, everything is the same.

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Scrapbooking Tips

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USE THAT DECORATIVE PAPER!

Many decorative papers can be used for

many different themes and photos.

Take a look at this decorative paper.

It's neither masculine nor femanine.

The colors work well for just about any theme.

Even if your photos are not from the same event,

the same decorative paper can be used for

several pages continuously and still look very nice.

When I use the same paper on several pages,

my work area stays cleaner longer

which allows me to work more efficiently and quickly.

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Scrapbooking Tips

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I love using CHIPBOARD LETTERS on my titles!

These are so inexpensive and easy to apply.

However, some of them can be rather large

so fitting an entire title of big chipboard letters

into one title would overwhelm my photos.

I like to use only ONE chipboard letter to begin my title.

The other letters in my title can be created with

stamps, stickers, or diecuts (as I've used here.)

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Stumped on embellishments?

Slap on a sticker or two!

I don't always match every single aspect of my page.

As you can see here, these stickers

don't coordinate perfectly with the other page elements.

That's okay.  The little orange fish pops and looks adorable!

Scrapbooking Tips

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Along with one of last week's tips

about using STICKER LETTERS

to speed up the scrapbooking process,

this week's tip is about sticker letters as well.

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What to do with all of those left over letters?

COMBINE THEM.

Create a title using two to three different colors

(and yes, even two to three different styles)

of sticker letters.

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Scrapbooking Tips

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You ready for this one...

DO NOT BE CREATIVE!

Yes, I can hardly believe those words came from my mouth.

If you know me personally,

you know this is not something I would usually encourage.

Hear me out on this one.  he he he.

There are so many amazing designers around!

Let them create for you!

COPY COPY COPY!

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Sometimes I will create from a skeleton sketch

(such as the ones you see on Triple the Sketch or Page Maps)

and sometimes I will create from a finished page of someone else's.

My paper and embellishments can be completely different.

My placement of those items can be exactly the same.

I get so many pages completed using this tip!

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"Stick to it!"

Using sheets of sticker letters really speeds

up my scrapbooking process.

I actually prefer to STAMP my titles because

I can create a much more eye-catching title with stamps.

However, since I have SO MANY photos

I'd like to have in albums and

very little time to get them there,

I need super fast techniques to speed the process.

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When I am scrapbooking multiple pages at one time,

I will use the same sticker sheet on many of my pages

(especially if the theme is the same.)

This may seem a bit boring to some scrapbookers

but again, I'm going for speed.

And let's face it, when my family members

are looking at my albums long after I am gone...

the great great grandkids aren't going to notice

that Granny used a certain lettering system over and over.

he he he.

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Scrapbooking Tips for the New Year

In 2010, I plan on scrapbooking much more than I use to.

I LOVE scrapbooking!

It is such a fun way to remember!

I've also decided to share some scrapbooking tips

with you, my friends/readers.

Not that I am an expert on scrapbooking by any means...

these are tips that encourage me to preserve memories

in a way that enrich not only the lives of my own family members

but of those I know and love as well.

How can I resist sharing with YOU?!

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Top loading albums are my favorite ablums to use

when I preserve photos into a scrapbook.

These albums give you the chance to "go back"

and add, take away, or rearrange pages if you need to.

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I have created scrapbook pages within hinged albums

only to end up finding a few photos that were misplaced

or were chronologically out of order.

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Top loading albums make my scrapbooking

chronologically easy to stay "on track" with scrapbooking.

Hinged albums are very nice.

I personally prefer top loading albums

due to the reasons stated above.

  

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I can save money and card stock by utilizing

BOTH SIDES of my scrapbook page.

Notice the base of these three pages is

a bright orange card stock.

My first page (titled "fun and games") is actually

the reverse side of my second page (untitled.)

NOTE...

This technique can only be performed

when my pictures are in chronological order

and I know for sure I have no other pictures to add within the

time frame of the pictures I am working with at the time.