Feelings of overwhelmedness

I have been a scrapper for over 11 years, and always hear the same thing from scrapper wannabes (I mean that as a sincere term of endearment):

"I just don't know where to start.   There is so much to choose from.  So many stickers, so much paper, I get completely overwhelmed."

People.... all those stickers and all that paper is a scrapper's dream!  I could seriously spend hours perusing the aisles of a scrapbooking store.  But, I don't want to make you feel bad and turn away from the world's greatest hobby, so let me give you a few pointers to get started!

*Begin with the present
Start with the last trip your family took or the last special set of pictures you took.  Print those out and take them to the store with you.  It is much easier to work backwards in your family trips and milestones.  If you start with your child's birth and he/she is 15 now, you will never feel like you can catch up and you will quickly give up.  So start in the present and work backward.

*Pick Paper
Look at the colors in the pictures and try and pick 2-4 patterned papers that compliment each other and work well with your pictures.  Remember, flowers and stripes compliment each other.  Most scrapbooking stores group complimenting sets together.  Also, stores that are specifically scrapbooking stores usually carry paper brands such as Bo Bunny that have themes.  This makes it very easy to pick coordinating paper and embellishments.   The bottom paper (sometimes referred to as wallpaper) that you will build off of can be patterned or solid.  It's your choice.

*Pick embellishments
This is my favorite part of scrapping.  You can use stickers, buttons, ribbon, gems, inkpads, stamps, markers, gel pens, twine, oh I could go on and on.  If this is your first scrapping experience, let me suggest finding one spool of ribbon that matches your paper and one set of Alphabet letters for your title.  As you grow as a scapper your supply will grow too.  Start small.  Not every layout needs fourteen embellishments.

*Get the basics
Two things.....you need adhesive (tape runners are my favorite), and a paper cutter.  There are a million tools out there, but these are the only two you really need.


Get started!

Put the kids to bed, turn up the music and as my best friend says, put picture to paper!  You can copy a layout from a magazine or a friend or you can create your own.  There are no rules!  One thing I will caution you about is using too many pictures.  1-3 for one page is good.  You don't have to include every picture you snapped at the recital to catch the feeling and create the memory!

If you have any questions, please let me know.  I have helped quite a few people get started with this amazing hobby and I want YOU to get started!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper