The Journey

Being a scrapbooker, if that is a title, I wanted to try & keep up with my brother’s travels while in the Army. Of course I didn’t have many photos to use but I had lots of email and updates to create a journal scrapbook. While we were in SC for his basic graduation I took random shots of things most people wouldn’t waste their time on. The door to his dorm was painted with a skull and they all had a not so nice nickname for their Sergeant, I took his photo as well during “family day”. Paul talked about how much walking they had to do in their Army boots, so I took a picture of those when he wasn’t paying attention, his bunk made up neatly like a good soldier, his locker when he was showing it to all of us, and even the mail he got in a pile. Another thing I did was take one of his letters and reduce it on a copy machine, and then put it in the scrapbook. When Paul returned from his first tour in Iraq I sat with him and looked at each picture. I asked him for more details on each. Then I looked up the images on line for more information. Many places are shown when they were newer – no current photos, like Mosques in the 70’s, but I still was able to print additional information to put in the book with Paul’s photos. I found facts about the Tigris River and about the Sword Sculpture that he took photos and video of. Most guys are not good with detail and/or memories so this was a way for Paul, years from now, to have something to look back on when he was a young soldier.

Paul at the Tigris 07

Page Layout & Painting Technique

A Memory for All Seasons – make a layout using 2 pages. One side is geared towards 2 seasons, as is the other. Use seasonal photos showing you or your kids doing something that has become a tradition or represents that season just by looking at it.

*taken October 2006


Shaving Cream Technique – you need cardstock, shaving cream, pan, ink refills, striating tool, cardboard and paper towels. Fill pan with think layer of cream, add several drops of ink, leaving space between colors. Pull ink across cream with your straight tool. Lay cardstock on cream, make sure entire surface touches. Life cardstock off and scrape – do not rub off excess. Let dry.

Things to keep
Photos – Once you get into scrapbooking you start to photograph differently. You put more thought into what you will take a photo of, where to place your subject, and many other things. I have taken pictures of picked through crabs that my family ate, cut the photo in half and then lined the top of my page with it. It came out good and who would think to take a photo of discarded crabs?
When developing your pics do not crop everything on the machine (if you have a digital camera). Why? Because then when you put them on your page you will have to work with all full size photos.

Try to get in the habit of at least putting the month and year on your pictures when you get them. We all know that time slips by and soon we forget when the photos were taken.
Where to start? Just pick a pile of photos that go together and begin. Don’t worry about going back to your child’s birth or your wedding, start with something fresh in your memory that you can journal about. You can always pick up the stack of old black and white photos and do a few pages. So do you stress about this. Sometimes I get tired of working on so many Disney pages or one’s all baby themed, then I move on to something else and eventually go back to finish that first stack.

** look under 'Baby on Board" - then "Baby Ideas"

Getting Started

First you need to understand that you will probably never be caught up in this hobby. I started scrapbooking in 1996 and have been behind since. Life keeps going and doesn’t wait for us to catch up so just enjoy each page you make.
How to start – basic needs / supplies:

1. Album 2. Paper 3. Cutting tools 4. Glue 5.pens

First get an album; they come in different sizes, styles, and costs. I prefer a 12 x 12 book, with top loading pages (so you can rearrange the order if needed). I really only buy fancier ones for a gift or special occasion album, cheap ones work fine. It’s wise to get some refills for the book you are buying just in case you cannot find another one and have extra pages to do. Next you need paper, remember “acid free”, you need to use acid free paper & glue. Do not buy cheap thin paper; quality is important in a nice page. Cut costs somewhere else. Most craft store’s put out weekly coupons; use one to buy a stack of solid paper. Over time you will build up your supply but to start pick some basic color packs. If you are doing a baby album look for pastel, for holidays or seasonal go with that theme colors. I use a complementing solid paper to boarder almost all of my pictures, it helps them stand out. You will make a lot of use out of a cutter and a good pair of straight scissors. Glue is an absolute necessity – they have so many to choice from. I use a variety including glue dots, lines & squares, double sided tape, Zig 2 way pens for smaller jobs and my all time favorite Tombo Mono Multi liquid glue.

I am not a fan of photo corners or glue sticks – which do work well for kids. You can also buy foam dots to raise your “subject” off the page slightly.