Senior Scrapbook Ideas, Senior Year Scrapbook Ideas

You will find with every crafting project you do there are some basic tools and materials that are always present and it varies between the particular crafts you do. Although, in recent months, we have seen a merge in crafting trends, paper crafting enthusiasts are incorporating sewing and quilting techniques into their projects. For instance, paper crafters are incorporating stitching and trimmings into cards. However, for this particular article we are going to go over seven tools that are absolutely necessary to engage in any paper crafting project.

1) Paper - You can combine many different paper types to maximize the benefits of each. A dazzling selection of papers are now available: marbled, sueded, embossed, metallic, textured, and faux finishes, to name just a few. Papers can also be divided into three basic weights. Common lightweight papers include vellum and tissue papers. Medium-weight papers are the most popular and include most scrapbooking paper. These papers are the most suitable as backgrounds for many projects, as well as for folding projects. Heavyweight papers include corrugated cardboard, card stock and some embossed papers. The thickness of these papers makes it difficult to hold a crease, do choose your paper wisely based on the particular project you are doing.

2) Decorative-edged scissors - Decorative scissors never really go out of style and they add a fun sense of creativity to any paper crafting project.

3) Bone folders - Never heard of these? They are used to smooth and flatten a number of paper surfaces, anywhere from creases to recently glued surfaces.

4) Eyelets & Brads - You can use these as simple embellishments; they come in a plethora of amazing colors and shapes. They are great for attaching photographs, decorative papers, eyelet letters or charms to your pages.

5) Paper punches & Die Cut Machines - These are great for crafters looking for a more economical way to get larger cut-out designs; inexpensive too. You can also make smaller die-cut patterns with the range of press and squeeze punches that are available.

6) Sticker Machines - These eliminate the worry about sticky gooey messes and the wait time for the glue to dry. Sticker/animation machines are available in a small, sticker-sized, 1 1/2 inch wide (4cm) format and also available in the large format capable of applying adhesive to 12-inch squares (30.5 cm). I like to use them with die-cut and punch machines to create a creative masterpiece at little cost. I use it to also make patterned paper for my own projects. The possibilities are endless.

7) Adhesives - The increasing popularity of scrapbooking and paper crafting has brought on a greater need for a more extensive line of adhesives. Here is the line-up: Peel & Stick mounting squares; easy no mess solution, Dimensional Mounting Tabs; ads three-dimensional quality to projects. Basic Craft Glue; which is available in liquid and stick forms, is still a great adhesive choice. Just a quick tip when working with basic craft glue; make sure to choose a clear-drying variety, and look for archival safe glues when working with original photos.

These are the basics of what you would need to create fun and imaginative paper craft projects. You don’t need much more than this, you will start to see just how much you can do with these seven tools. Enjoy!

About The Author

Melissa Trippel is the Senior Editor at http://www.craftyplaces.com and has been a craft enthusiast all her life.

info@craftyplaces.com

This article was posted on August 21, 2006

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What can you do to make your scrapbook look better? Scrapbooking techniques are numerous and readily available. We discuss various scrapbook techniques and what they can do to make your scrapbook more attractive.

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Take a notebook or a mundane daily diary or journal and add some decoration with a border and you end up with a scrapbook. The notebook, diary, journal or scrapbooks have the same basis for production. They all are filled with thoughts, ideas and feelings. What separates a scrapbook from the others is the visual impact and beauty of the production. In a way, the scrapbook allows you to show off your events or thoughts so that other people will enjoy seeing it. All these mentioned items preserve memorabilia and legacies. It is just that the scrapbook dabbles in creativity and imagination whereas the other items are plain and simple.

Just as with many other facets of life these days, scrapbooking has also been changed with the advent of the computer, internet and things like printers and scanners. These items of hardware have the same effect as the printing press on scrapbook presentations. They all make the process faster and easier. Desktop publishing and new software has also made scrapbooking easier for everyone. You could have a scrapbook and not use a single piece of paper. Doing this is known as digital scrapbooking and it has taken off in popularity.

Whereas all these new-fangled computerized methods use to be the domain of geeks and techno-nerds, they have now branched out to the practice of scrapbooking. People of all ages from anywhere in the world now have access to many things to help them produce their own special scrapbooks. Because of the internet and lots of scrapbook oriented websites, the options have skyrocketed. Never in the past could someone do as much as they can now. Another facet of digital scrapbooking fits in very nicely with the world of social networking. Sites like Myspace and Facebook are a good match for displaying your scrapbooking skills.

Over the years, scrapbooking has gone from a hobby for elitists to today where it is a viable commercial activity. Both brick-and-mortar locations and websites have mushroomed into what you see today. It used to be a small scale activity but now it is expanding day by day. With all the new entries into the scrapbooking industry, there are new scrapbooking techniques and lots of them. Because of the myriad of choices for scrapbooking, it is hard to pigeonhole particular scrapbooking techniques. There really is no right or wrong way to decorate a scrapbook. This leads to new and unique scrapbooking techniques every day. Don’t get me wrong, there are scrapbook techniques that will definitely benefit your presentation but a little bit of imagination with a smidgeon of creativity will go a long way.

So where does one go to look for new and different scrapbooking techniques? There are websites, books, and friends who also scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a learning experience and while you are creating your masterpiece, you will see interesting techniques you may not have thought of in the past. Go ahead use them and share them with your friends. Get them to share their scrapbooking techniques too.

When you plan your scrapbook, take some time and think the whole process through to the finished project. You start out with the most important portion of the scrapbook; the paper. Paper should be sturdy with a long life and be acid-free. You want your work around for a long time and the correct paper is essential for long life. As you plan the design of your scrapbook, keep mental notes about different supplies needed. Supplies such as pens, inks and stencils should be carefully planned for to make your project. Go into each scrapbook with the correct planning and you will find it easier to express your thoughts and end up with beautiful presentations.

A lot of scrapbooking techniques highlight the need to have index pages or highlight pages. They will inform you about where to locate them and how to display them. These special pages should be instantly noticeable as special pages with unique colors and symbols. Another way to distinguish pages is with bookmarks with tassels. Tassels are both decorative and functional in a scrapbook.

There are many elements to the art of decoration. Decoration shouldn’t be overdone as it will make your project look gaudy. The right type of decoration is critical in scrapbooking techniques. Choose decoration carefully with planning before you start. Visualize it and then go with it. There are many choices you can use. Stamps, embellishments, rub-ons, stickers, snow globes etc. can really glitz up your scrapbook if not done to excess. Choose carefully and use each appropriately.

Want more versatility for your scrapbook? Here are a few ways to add impact to your project. You can add pop-up pages, trinkets that are attached to pages, punch craft, peek-a-boo and panoramic pages to make your scrapbook unique and wonderful. Scrapbook techniques are limitless and very diverse. Go ahead and explore these techniques and add versatility to your scrapbooks.

Been there, done that, scrapped a page about it.

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