Scrapbooking for beginners

Buying a beautiful card, photo album or other similar little thing is sometimes extremely difficult, especially if you want to please a dear person. If you have a certain talent for needlework and a great desire, you can independently decorate any objects, radically transforming and decorating them. Scrapbooking is a huge opportunity in this industry.

For those who have never heard of this type of creativity, scrapbooking is worth telling in more detail about the history of the term and the nature of the activity. The name takes its roots from two English words: scrap - cut and book - book. Literally this is a book consisting of scrapbooks, decorated with them. Using scrapbooking, you can make crafts, make a postcard with your own hands or decorate a photo album.

Besides the creativity itself, This method is also actively used in psychology as a means of sedation and relaxation for people subject to strong emotional outbursts and psychological overwork. The essence of the work is not only cutting paper and improvised materials, It is important to create a single composition that will carry a message within itself, which will help to convey certain sensations.

With this decoration, you can make the decor of frames for photographs, a variety of boxes in which something valuable will be stored. Initially, scrapbooking did not pursue the goal of decorating anything, people simply collected their things of interest and placed them in simple albums and notebooks on each of the pages.This trend gained particular popularity in the 17th century, when a book was published on the decoration of poems, which at that time were very popular among different classes of society.

So, gradually, from the original placement of information inside the book, scrapbooking migrated to its cover and became the main decoration. The term itself begins to appear in the 1830s; it is gaining special popularity with the development of photo printing.

For beginners, it can be difficult to understand the essence of scrapbooking, so it is very important to know about his styles and techniques. There are three main techniques.

• Distressing Its essence is aging, which can be achieved by staining the paper with a sponge using ordinary tea leaves. An additional effect can be the creation of torn or scorched edges.

• Embossing. The task of this type is to create stampings that can be done on paper using stencils that are transferred to the foil. And you can also apply special powder on high-density paper, which is also called wet embossing.

• Stamping. This kind can be done by creating ink stamps or applications.

Before using this or that technique, it is important to understand its essence exactly, to understand the principle of placing elements in order to create the right composition, which is rather difficult, especially for beginners. To cope with this task, it is important to study the rule of squares on which it is worth placing elements. It is important to understand the principles of color placement and combination. In the learning process, it is important to study the work of masters and professionals in this industry.

The main task of scrapbooking is the creation of a single composition, where all the details have a different appearance, texture, size and color, but together they create a pleasant and holistic pictureat. If this type of art carries more and more, it is worth paying attention to several styles that you can use.

• Vintage. For vintage, the use of old objects in a composition or their imitation is considered characteristic. All things of past eras are used that only come to hand, no matter what kind they look like. The older they look, the more accurately they will convey the essence of the era that is being recreated. The shades used in such work should be muffled, calm, soft: the color of coffee with milk, beige or khaki.

• Heritage. The essence of heritage technology is to convey the mood and sensations of a past era, which is revealed through family chronicle and history. For work, it is important to use real photographs of the ancestors, letters and all that remains from the old times as a keepsake. Color in this case will be calm and restrained. If it is not possible to use old photos and materials, then modern samples should be artificially aged to the desired appearance.

• Shabby chic. The style of shabby chic or shabby chic is significantly different from the above, as the main emphasis here is on the romanticization of content. Photos and images also grow old, but not much, only a touch of antiquity is created. The color scheme is also softer and more gentle, light beige shades are often used. For the background, paper with floral ornament is used, and the highlight is the presence of a bright accent spot in the form of a ribbon, button or flower, which organically fit into the overall composition without disturbing it.

• American. It is worth highlighting the American style of scrapbooking, as it is classic for this type of creativity. This option is considered the simplest and most accessible for beginners, which explains its consistently high popularity in the world. A characteristic feature is the abundance of elements from different types of paper, which are the decoration of the central part of the work, namely photography.

• European. The European style, in which photographs prevail, will be distinctive. As a modest addition, you can see decorative ornaments. The principle of creating scrapbooking is to choose a plain sheet of paper on which three or more photos are placed, while they are complemented by suitable elements. The photos themselves can be designed in an original way by cutting them in the shape of a circle, square, rectangle or using curly scissors that process the edges.

• Clean and simple. Simple and uncomplicated is the style of pure and simple, in which photo and journalism will be the main techniques. The background color is usually dim and monophonic, on which photographs are placed, mainly close-ups and a small amount of decorative elements.

• Retro. For the retro style, the main thing is the fashion of the 50s, 60s and 70s of the last century. The use of a print in large peas, a cage, flowers, additional elements in the form of clippings from old newspapers and magazines, advertisements, posters and stickers of that time are an integral part of the style in this case.

• Freestyle. For freestyle, completely different laws work, here the main criterion is our own inspiration and creativity. There are no clear rules and laws, bright colors and decor elements are used, products are complemented by man-made inscriptions and drawings. In this case, it is possible to combine different techniques and scrapbooking styles in one product.

• Mix media. The mix media style belongs to the most complex style, since it completely lacks any framework. This style will depend only on the artist.

• Modern vintage. The last style that is worth talking about is a modern vintage, it also retains a worn background and basic elements, but the color scheme is bright and saturated. Using vintage techniques for modern materials and photographs allows you to get an original and creative version of the product.

To take scrapbooking quite seriously, you need to have all the necessary tools and materials with you, which include the following:

• simple and curly scissors, which are worth having at the disposal of several pieces;
• adhesive tape simple wide and narrow, double-sided and decorative;
• paper glue: PVA, pencil or glue gun;
• figured hole punch, 1-2 varieties for starters;
• a set of threads of different colors, a needle, an awl, the presence of a sewing machine will be useful;
• decorative elements: beads, beads, rhinestones, sparkles, ribbons;
• cardboard of different densities and colors;
• specialized cutting mat;
• stamping dies, ink and powder;
• for those who have a certain experience, you may need a kit for installing eyelets;
• rulers of different lengths and shapes;
• stationery knife;
• a set of color and scrap paper of different colors, one-sided and two-sided, an album for drawing, a set of pencils and colored pens.

Very useful for beginners will be scratches. They are blanks on which you can make any version of the product or be inspired by a certain idea. You don’t have to buy all the items at once, it is important to have the tools with which all the work is created, and to buy those materials that are needed for each particular product.

For beginners, scrapbooking may seem too complicated and incomprehensible, so the proper organization of the workplace and the whole process will help to master all the necessary skills and cope with any future goal.

For work, it is worth choosing a convenient place so that you can place all the necessary materials and tools. Lighting will play a very important role.if it is weak, then very soon eyes will get tired and the desire to create will disappear, if too strong, it will cause headaches, and creativity will end soon. It’s best to choose a specific work area where everything will be necessary, and most importantly - peace and quiet, without which it is impossible to focus on the object and create something worthwhile.

It is often difficult for a person without experience to catch inspiration and find a worthwhile idea. The secret is simple, it consists in creating masterpieces at the moment when an interesting thought came, and not by a specific date or time. If you don’t have experience with cardboard and paper, then you should immediately learn the basics, on the basis of which in the future to create your own masterpieces. In order to learn how to correctly place elements, creating a composition, you should first use scratches, where there is already a ready-made template that you can move around by repeating it or supplementing as you wish.

Once a certain minimum of knowledge and skills is obtained, you should devote some time to continuing education, what a master class, sites of this orientation or pictures of different styles and techniques found on the Internet can help. In this case, the abundance of knowledge in some way will not harm, it will only provide a support base on which to build their own creations in the future.

For the first work, you should choose something as simple as possible, without an abundance of parts or complex elements. It is important to learn how to work with the existing task and the materials that are needed for its implementation. Complicate the composition gradually, adding new decor details. Initially, paper and cardboard are used in the work, later you can include beads and ribbons, if everything worked out, add photos.

When the basics are completed, you can try to age paper, photographs, make stamps and all the other interesting nuances that are owned by real scrapbooking masters.

For beginners who want to master scrapbooking, The following simple truths are worth understanding:

• a beginner should not take up complex compositions, even if they are to their liking;
• to perform multicomponent products, you need to master all the basics of activity;
• you can learn to create both yourself and through the Internet;
• anyone can learn to scrapbooking, even from scratch, you should not be afraid of failures, those who want will always achieve their goal.

For training in scrapbooking, you should try your hand at the simplest - a postcard. To make a creative and interesting product, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:

• white sheet of paper;
• brush and gold acrylic paint for decoration;
• lace tape;
• scissors;
• thread with a needle;
• some old newspapers;
• smooth and dense polyethylene;
• glue;
• beads.

A master class for creating such a product will be as follows:

• the workplace is covered with newspapers, on top of which polyethylene or oilcloth is placed;
• A4 sheets need to be well wrinkled and moistened with water;
• PVA glue and water are mixed in a container until a creamy consistency;
• dip wet paper into the paste;
• pieces of paper in the paste are laid out on a flat sheet, it is important to place them so that the edges coincide;
• on the resulting surface, lay the threads in any order, you can add any other additional elements;
• the finished product is covered with polyethylene and placed under a press from a stack of books for several hours;
• when time runs out, books and polyethylene are removed so that the sheet is completely dry;
• the edge should be absolutely even, if there are inconsistencies, they are aligned with scissors;
• on the edge of the paper is sewn with machine or manual stitching for additional fixation of these sections;
• To wet a brush in paint and to cover with it a preparation; movements should go from top to bottom, unevenly, with different effort;
• the edge of the card is decorated with beautiful lace, if desired, it can be supplemented with beads, rhinestones or sparkles, as well as make an original and beautiful inscription.

If you want to do something more ambitious, for example, a photo album, then using scrapbooking will allow you to create something unique and inimitable. For the creative process, you will need to have such materials and tools with you:

• original cover weekly;
• photos to be posted inside;
• pencils, pens, felt-tip pens, markers;
• adhesive tape: double-sided and decorative;
• glue;
• ruler;
• curly scissors;
• stamps, stickers, ribbons, beads and so on;
• paper designed for scrapbooking.

The work will consist of activities such as:

• depending on the size and number of photos, consider their location in the diary, so that there is a place for decor and signature;
• choosing decorations for pages, you can use all the tools and materials at hand, you should use what is best suited to the image in the photo;
• photos are attached in any meta and in a variety of directions using double-sided tape.

If there is a need to make a postcard for children, then it can be stylized as a piece of clothing or everyday life associated with children. You must have the following tools and materials with you:

• cardboard for the main product;
• a set of colored paper;
• cardboard for decor;
• glue, a simple pencil and a ruler;
• hole punch and tape.

The order of work will be reduced to the following:

• choose the base color of the card that matches the newborn - blue or blue for the boy, pink for the girl;
• the base folds in half;
• we cut out the body, which will be the decoration of the card, you can make it look like a real one or it is interesting to stylize it; for a girl you can cut a dress;
• with the help of a hole punch, circles are made that become buttons on the body;
• on the sleeves, cuffs in the lower part and on the neck you can attach a pattern cut by curly scissors; for the dress you can make the same decor;
• the final chord will be the formation of a bow from a ribbon and its fastening on a postcard; if desired, you can supplement the card with the name of the child or congratulations to the parents.

In order for scrapbooking to end in an interesting hobby, it is important to approach this process correctly, being guided by certain tips, since each craft has secrets in itself, without knowledge of which it is difficult to achieve the desired heights. So, it is worth taking into account the following recommendations:

• knowledge of terminology will be an important factor, therefore it is necessary to study the interpretation of all concepts;
• visual perception - to create something of your own, you need to have a certain experience, gone away earlier; Scrapbooking sites will be a good help, you should save your favorite work on your computer;
• Before you start work, it’s worthwhile to understand which product you want to create first, where to start getting acquainted with the craft; the simplest and most correct option is a postcard;
• Before you begin to work, it is worthwhile to look at several master classes and learn for yourself the order of work and the main nuances;
• determine the materials and tools that will be needed in a particular job;
• find stores or sites where you can purchase all the necessary equipment;
• do not use plain cardboard and colored paper instead of professional materials, otherwise you will not succeed in achieving the desired result.

With the right preparation and meaningful actions, scrapbooking can conquer for many years, and for especially talented ones it can even become an opportunity for additional income. Beautiful handmade products will always be appreciated more than those bought in the store, because they will retain a piece of the soul and heart of the creator, and this is priceless.

In the next video, you will find a list of the first purchases for scrapbooking.