Courage to get started !

[BetteK]

I LOVE seeing Rosemary's scrapbooking whenever she is on TV and a I very much like Anna Griffin's Scrapbooking style but I just can't pluck up the courage to have a go.

Well, that's not quite true ... I got the "Crafter's Delight" box from QVC (last October I think) and did make up the album and called it "sisters" - and gave it to my sister for Christmas but I was very disappointed in it. NOT with the kit or anything but with MY results which I felt were very amateurish and not at all how I like to work.

Just where do you start? I have quite a distinctive style with my card making but don't know how to translate this to scrapbooking. I have the usual large box of photo's all screaming out to be used but just don't know where to begin or even how to chose which photo's to use.

Any tips?

Debbie xXx

[Bagpuss]

LOL (sorry) but you sound just like I did! I did a bit of card making but my efforts were not appreciated so I decided to switch to scrapbooking as I could keep the results - result was that for TWO years I bought lovely papers and bit but then never did anything with them! At least you seem to have got over the first page bit tho and done a whole album.

My first bit of advice is this - If you are happy with the results then that is good! These albums are meant to be for you and whilst we do share they are your memories and photos and whatever you do then your family will love the results in years to come.

OK - so I gather you are NOT happy so where to start. You should have got a sheet with the crafters delight box with lots of ideas on it so you can copy these literally item for item. If you want to do something else then go to UK Scrappers (or here when we get our gallery back!) and look at the LOs that others have done - find one you really love and copy it - I bet it ends up coming out a bit different to the original (this is called a scraplift and it is nice to let the person you have lifted know too). You can get magazines and do the same there or even record Rosemary on the TV and stop and start so you can sketch out the designs. There is always a sketch in Scrapbook Inspirations Mag every month you can try too with lots of examples.

Talking of sketches - head over to the Page Maps or Pencillines sites as they do lots of sketches too which will help you with how to lay out your page.

Choosing photos? Well go with those that you love or those that you feel tell the story!

Hope I have not given you too much info but go on have a go ask us all questions on here and eventually hopefully we can see the results in the gallery - or just post in this thread!

[jilly]

We all felt the same way as you Debbie and i'm still a bit unsure of how to do things right.
I'm slowly finding my feet with scrapbooking.
Sites like these are great for me as i have nobody to share my hobby.
I must admit since i rejoinned this site after there little hickup i've been replying to more threads then i ever did before.
:)

[Deekay]

The one thing I've learnt from visiting forums is that in the main none of us are happy with what we have made, we can see the beauty in other peoples work but our own never seems to be quite right. If you can visit UKS and look at the gallery you will soon see that everyone has a different style - some you love, some you hate - there is no right or wrong way, just try to relax and enjoy it - remember it's supposed to be fun. :)

[CraftyGal]

I agree with Bagpuss, scraplifting and scrapping from sketches are two great ways to start. The allow you to just play with colour and getting papers and embellishments to look right together without having to worry about designing a composition too. This can make things so much simpler.

Lisa x

[Bagpuss]

I personally think it is all a confidence thing too!

[samsq]

I don't have a set way of working, but I tried something different on Sunday.

I had ordered a Scrapaholics kit. I'd only seen the colours on-line, which as you know can differ tremendously to the real colours.

I set about finding possible embellishments to suit, visiting the sewing shop for lace, buttons & ribbon. I then sorted through photos and cropped to size. At the actual crop I had a bag of goodies which should co-ordinate reasonably well. I usually scrap brighter colours and pattern, so this was a bit different, but seemed to work well using just cardstock and stamping a design.

I'll definitely be trying this forward planning again, as it took the dilema out of scrapping. Here's the LO.

[BetteK]

OK ... probably a real dumb question but bear with me!

Do you make one whole album specifically for one event or would you have a general album made up of random photo's - each telling their own story but not really related to the others in the album?

Like I think I grasp the concept of doing, say, an album for a wedding or special birthday etc., but should I just pick out a selection of photo's from the many hundreds I have in a box and put them all in one album ... or am I missing the point and scrapbooking is more about having one event in one album?

Debbie xXx

[samsq]

Debbie

I have random albums and event specific albums. If I want to scrap a specific photo(s) then I do and that layout goes in the random album. It's quite nice to look at random albums as you're never sure what will be on the next page.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

Sam

[jilly]

My two 12x12 albums are random albums but i thinking of making some some mini album to tell a speical event .

[mandijane55]

All of my albums are random LO's.....I think it can get overwhelmng sometimes thinking that you have to scrap everything....when I get like that....I walk away and leave it for a few days....
I've just ordered a heap of holiday photos from photobox to scrap...I'd like to do a specific album for those....but it'll probably take me forever so I'll get by doing one at a time and slotting them in as I go
I find that my style changes as I progress and learn different things, I look back on early LO's and think....yikes they're bad but they're not...they're just simple and as I've learned, I've adapted....I look forward to seeing some of your scrapping :-)

[Bagpuss]

I don't scrap in order as it were! I am hoping that one day my DD will have enough LOs to fill the baby one but if the paper inspires me to use a certain photo then that is what I do! vice versa too.

The only themed ones I have done have been little 6x6 albums which I have done for friends - for instance my oldest friend's daughter's christening.

[CraftyGal]

I find that my style changes as I progress and learn different things, I look back on early LO's and think....yikes they're bad but they're not...they're just simple and as I've learned, I've adapted....

Snap! I started 4 years ago and I think my early stuff is really simple, straight lines, plain papers, a bit opf ribbon and an embellishment or two. Oh how things have changed lol.

Lisa x