Scrapropos

It was all about the white background back when I started scrapbooking eleven years ago. Creative Memories taught us to back a few photos with paper, place stickers here and there and add a lot of journaling. This was all done on the plain white Creative Memories album inserts. My technique has changed over the years as the scrapbooking industry has introduced new products and styles of creating layouts. “I’ve come a long way baby!�

Would I go back and redo the pages I created back then? Absolutely not! It is too much fun seeing the progression my scrapbooking style has taken. Can I replicate any of the techniques I utilized as a newbie scrapbooker? Why not? Here is the question I posed to myself for this week’s challenge. What I came up with was creating a page on a white background. It is something, as I look through more recent albums, that I seem to have avoided doing for years now.

Are you with me? Grab a white sheet of cardstock and a few pictures and see where it takes you. Here is the layout I came up with:

I simply die-cut my title, backed my pictures and added rub-ons to provide a whimsical style to the page. This set of rub-ons included the jewels that you see I’ve added to the layout.

I’m happy with the page, as simple as it is. The white background truly allows the pictures to pop off of the page. I may just have to try this technique again. Let me know how it works out for you.

As scrapbookers many of us suffer from a slight addiction to paper. Asking us to throw away even the smallest piece of paper can bring on a bout of panic and anxiety. So what do we use these paper scraps for? Well, if they’re not organized, they’re probably not being used at all.

So your Weekly Wednesday Challenge is to get those paper scraps organized!

Save only “worthwhile” scraps.
My rule of thumb is to save paper only if it is at least 3″ X 3″. Smaller scraps head to the recycling bin. Make your decision based on what size scraps you’d be apt to use in upcoming layouts.

Organize your papers for ease of use.
There are a number of different ways you can organize your papers. I prefer to organize by color. You can also organize by the type of paper: card stock, vellum, patterned paper, etc. If you have a lot of patterned paper scraps you might want to organize them by theme.

Gather necessary tools to help you organize.
Figure out what organizational system will work best for the type of scrapbooker you are. If you’re an “on the go” scrapper you may want an easy to carry expanding file that can travel with you to crops. If you have a scrapbook room you may want to use a filing system. I use a plastic file box that accommodates hanging files. If you are using files you will need to pick up file folders that work in the system you have chosen.

Label, Label, Label
I wouldn’t survive without my labeler. Labels help you remember where things go and just makes you feel more organized. Label your files or the sections of your expandable file box and sort your papers into their proper places. As your scrap pile grows, into their files they go.

Now that your scrap papers are organized, think of ways you can use them.
I use my scraps in a number of ways. I like to make greeting cards and scraps are perfect for this. They’re also great for cutting out letters, as mattes for photos and for punching or die-cutting page accents. Sometimes you just need a little extra “something” on your page…maybe it’s a border strip, some punched squares or circles, or a tag. In all of these situations, page scraps are often just enough for what you need. Why cut into a 12 X 12 sheet of paper when you have all those scraps laying around?

They tie up pretty packages, they beautifully adorn a little girl’s hair, and sometimes they represent a cause you believe in. Ribbons have been used in so many ways for so many years. They come in every color under the sun, in just as many materials, and now in themes from apples to zoos.

So today’s Weekly Wednesday Challenge is to use some ribbon on a layout!

Use ribbon as an accent on a border strip.

Ribbon is not just for girl’s anymore. I found some great dog-themed ribbon and featured it in a layout with my husband and our dog Buddy. I used to the ribbon to accent a border strip. To make a knot in the ribbon simply tie the two loose ends together, snip about 3 inches from the knotted portion, and place on your page.

Accent your titles with ribbon.

Ribbon looks great tied around or stapled to large letters in your page titles. It’s the perfect touch to add a little dimension to your page. You can use it with chipboard, die cut letters, or even tied on to a clip and attached to your journaling box. On the above layout I’ve also used it to tie my two patterned papers together as a “border” of sorts. With two heavily patterned papers it works well to use a coordinating solid colored ribbon to give them a bit of separation.

Use ribbon scraps as a fun accent on your page.

If you love ribbon as much as I do (I have 5 glass jars filled with it) then you may end up having a lot of ribbon “scraps”. Short pieces of ribbon should not be thrown away as they make great page accents. In the layout above I’ve used multiple ribbons to accent my focal photo. Find pieces of ribbon that coordinate with the colors of your layout. Fold them in half and glue them down the edge of your focal photo. This adds a fun, whimsical and dimensional look to your layout.

Ribbon is an inexpensive page accent, and something many crafters already have laying around from other projects. Most scrapbook stores sell ribbon by the yard, generally well under $1. So next time you’re shopping around for scrapbooking supplies, don’t forget to hit the ribbon aisle.

Embellishing your scrapbook pages is like putting frosting and sprinkles on the cake. Embellishments add that extra sparkle, maybe a little dimension, and a whole lot of interest to your layouts. But adding those extra bits to your scrapbook page can raise the average cost of your page…more then you may want to admit. So how about using an embellishment that you probably already have? Buttons!!

This week’s challenge is to dig up your button stash and create a layout using them. There are many ways that you can use buttons on your layouts. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Black & white photos are a timeless classic. We often think of them as being something from the past, the sign of photo taken long ago. But black & white photos are being featured in the scrapbook magazines more and more often…and not just on heritage layouts.

Without the distraction of competing colors in your photos, your subject is allowed to take center stage. Black & White photos in an album comprised mainly of colored pictures adds a little drama and surprise to your layout.

So, your challenge for this week is to use Black & White photos in a layout.

When might you want to use Black & White prints?