#scrapbooking tips

[sneakers-and-shakes]

Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking

If you’ve always wanted to scrapbook but aren't sure how to start or feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the aesthetic scrapbooks you see online, this blog post will walk you through how to get started with minimal cost or investment.

There are a few ways to scrapbook depending on your motivation for starting. Is this something you want to do as a way to hold memories? Or just aesthetics? Or maybe a bit of both?

I think the easiest way to start is if you focus on scrapbooking memories since you will already have a lot of the materials you will need without needing to buy extra things like stickers or washi tape that fit a certain aesthetic.

1: Junk Journaling

Junk journaling is a pretty popular replacement for journaling but also a great foray into scrapbooking. 

The concept is simple: keep old receipts, ticket stubs, tags from clothes, or any other pieces of paper from the activities you do and tape them into an old journal.

In junk journaling the goal is just to stick everything in the journal as a way to memorialize the experiences.

If you’re trying to scrapbook though, you should try to be more intentional with the placement and aesthetics. Choose a handful of the most visually interesting tags, receipts or stubs and try to arrange them more artfully.

You can even try to make it more aesthetic by going in and coloring blank spaces with colored pencils as a replacement for colored paper, and drawing doodles as a replacement for stickers. 

Since most of the space will be filled with receipts and stubs, there will still be a 3D element to your scrapbook even if you’re coloring and drawing to fill up space.

This is also a great place to put any pictures or polaroids if you have any printed out.

By using what you already have, this method is a great way to get started with little effort while creating an end product that is like a trip down memory lane.

(I prefer to do this type of scrapbooking once a month as a recap of the month.)

2: It’s called a “scrap” book

Pretty stationary can be pretty expensive but there are a lot of ways to find “scraps” all around that you might not think of.

-Magazines/Ads: that come through the mail (junk mail) will sometimes have colored or fun paper. (A lot of American Express ads I get come in shiny envelopes that I like to keep for scrapbooking.) Magazines, of course, will have images you can cut out as well. 

-Cardboard boxes: (Cereal, Makeup, Perfume) A lot of products come in pretty cardboard containers that usually have some sections of color without any text. Perfume and makeup containers especially will usually have minimalist designs and a lot of nice colored light cardboard on the sides that can be used to fill up a background.

-Colored pencils/markers: I said this one already, but a great substitute for not having colored paper is coloring stuff in or adding small doodles. Even small hearts or stars can add a lot to a page even if you aren’t a great artist.

-Stickers: You can make your own stickers with tape but if you’d rather just buy some, the Dollar Store and Five Below usually have some cute stickers without the expensive price tag. Also you can use colored post-it notes as replacements for stickers!

3. Technique:

There’s no “right” way to scrapbook. Just put things in whatever way makes sense and sparks joy.

That said I’ll lay out some tips here for those who aren’t sure what does spark joy yet:

-It’s better to have a smaller notebook if you don’t have as many materials because it’s easier to fill up the space.

-Generally the goal is to layer with scrapbooking rather than spreading things out. Overlap your scraps of paper with other parts to give it that scrapbook feel.

-I recommend having double sided tape, though it’s not necessary. Using masking tape to tape things on is a replacement for washi tape and you can even add doodles with markers on top of the masking tape if you want to spice it up a bit. (Make sure to use permanent markers so it doesn’t bleed.) 

-It may help to have a theme so you can pick out what scraps to use. If you’re doing personal mementos like the junk journaling method, you can limit your page to a single month to narrow things down. 

-If you’re more focused on aesthetics rather than your personal life then choosing a song or an album can be a great way to create a more structured theme to your page.

    -.- 

And with all those tips I send you off and hope that they help in your scrapbooking journey! Please share your thoughts in the comments and let me know how your pages turn out!

I've added some example pictures below of how I scrapbooked the month of June!

[dollywons]

𝒮𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃ℊ𝓈 𝓉ℴ 𝒽ℯ𝓁𝓅 𝒷𝓇𝒾ℊ𝒽𝓉ℯ𝓃 𝓎ℴ𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝒶𝓎

For when you just aren’t feeling the best…

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🎀˚ ୨♡୧ ⋅🌸˚₊‧꒰ა🎀໒꒱ ‧₊˚

- Opening curtains in the morning

Will literally brighten your day!! :) As someone who used to avoid doing this I can confirm it really does make a difference and makes you feel more energized ♡︎

- Scrapbooking

To let your creativity flow, while also reminiscing at the same time ♡︎

- Listening to your favorite song

And you can make a new playlist as well! ♡︎

- Lighting a scented candle

For a scent maybe vanilla cupcake, strawberry buttercream, caramel swirl, or fresh cut roses (these are yankee candle scents!) ♡︎

- Tending to a garden

It can be very therapeutic, and satisfying to watch your garden grow! ♡︎

- Bake something

You can try to bake brownies, cupcakes, or cookies ♡︎

- Bubble bath

And using scents with essential oils like lavender, rose, or jasmine! ♡︎

- Go for a walk

Even just a 5 minute walk can help you feel more refreshed ♡︎

- Read a new book

Find something that catches your eye ♡︎

- Painting or Drawing

You can paint anything on a small canvas ♡︎ Or draw on paper!

⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊🎀˚ ୨♡୧ ⋅🌸˚₊‧꒰ა🎀໒꒱ ‧₊˚

[bacchuschucklefuck]

Hi! I just need to ask after seeing your recent Bad Kids Class Swap piece - do you have an online store/do you think you might ever consider printing the piece as a poster? I’m in love with it and I know I’d absolutely buy it right away XD

huh you know what let's get a poll goin! lemme know if folks want to like buy prints from this blog and such. there are literally Two (2) pieces eligible for prints here anyway lol

more information: I'll probs use inprnt if I put up a storefront and I'll only put up standalone illustrations for prints. fully leaving the future open for this one I'm truly not pressed either way abt this

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

gonna try to start my first scrapbook tomorrow :DDD

[thejournallo]

DAILY REMINDER:

Everything in our world is designed to be flexible and adaptable to our needs.

Bend reality to become who you are meant to be.

[inside-the-boxxx]

Idc if this should go on my main/art acc but a little word of advice for artists with sketchbooks;

If you hate a page but don’t want to rip it out cuz it’ll either make your sketchbook thinner/look bad or you just feel bad for tearing a(nother) page out, turn it into a scrap page or a trash page—whatever you wanna call it; D o. I t.

I had(have) a horrible habit of tearing out pages I don’t like but realized I have a shit load of trinkets and garbage lying around so why not put it to good use?

It’s always smart to hold on to anything you think will look good for a certain page or will give you ideas to a whole new page in general.

If you’re limited with stuff that’s completely fine too. One way you can do this is literally fish around for anything you can possibly glue into/on your sketchbook.

(Could be on the cover of your sketchbook too, like glueing on loose coins or patches)

It’s better (in my opinion) to have somewhat of an idea for what you wanna glue into your page(s) but yet again it’s all the more fun when you’re just slapping shit on there and calling it good.

This could also be a good way to battle art block as well. You don’t gotta feel bad because you haven’t been capable of doodling lots recently; make a scrap page and maybe even incorporate tiny little doodles around in there too. Could be little smiley faces or goobers or whatever.

It could help you get somewhat creative as well. This isn’t the only way to battle art block, of course, but it’s one I highly recommend 👍

Yes I’m gonna add onto this page after I just posted abt it why do you ask.

[worshipper-status]

Censored just in case but have my scrapbook devotional pages to my partner! The only photo that doesn't have her in it, is the view from the top of the Sears Tower, because the view itself was such an important moment for me and her. But enjoy!

[cel-este0nthenet]

Any advice on how to stick stubborn plasticky clothing tags on shitty printer paper? I glued all these with double sided tape but theres a few that refuse to stick to it! It has to be resistant because i am rough with my notepads.

All of the glues and tapes i think of would either eat through it all or eventually unstick 🐶

[tundraared]

whirlwind tea leaves at the bottom of my mug. beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. the people are saying gorgeous things.

aaaaalrjght so this is barely worth posting but i haven’t been making very nice looking journal pages recently cuz i’ve got a lot to do in school and i got my first job! so there’s that, i’m so excited to participate in this absolutely thriving economy!!! these pages were just me taking notes from Brandon Sanderson’s 5 Tips which is linked right here:

i’ve started reading Antigone (which has been WILD) and The Great Gatsby in ap-english so maybe i’ll post my notes from those. have a good one guys, face a wall and forget about it all.

[bunnyboy-juice]

< 3

[liztical]

[candyredappledragon]

Gotta say Psychic for that types ask game, I think.

[@gardevoirtist]

whhhwhhhh i think youre sweet too!!! your art is awesome!

[kmpshitposter]

How do you plan your sketchbook pages , who to draw, and what do you use for references?

To make pages look complete i fill the empty spaces with more drawings or stickers, it's a freestyle 'technique' really

Usually i start a new sketchbook spread if i already have a digital piece in mind

There's no hard mind work, just drawing whoever inspires me at the moment cuz it's fun

When i decided who i wanna draw here i choose a palette depending on the vibes and lay out bigger parts of the composition with paper or paint

I have all my paper scraps sorted by color so it's easy

Then goes the most interesting part is that i make up some poses and try to draw the portraits/figures using references that i collected

Can be photos of ppl, my own selfies or sculptures/3d models - it's a great way to learn and use your imagination at the same time

The last thing i wanna say is that there's no point in rushing your art, i take long pauses to rest my eyes and have a fresh look to notice any imperfections or additions i need to make

[dnds]

art dump from the past year, the first four are from my journal

[gottalovecatss]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WON'T BE GOOD AT THIS NEW THING IMMEDIATELY AND THAT MY FIRST ATTEMPTS WILL LOOK LIKE SHIT

[champstorymedia]

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