Scrapbooking Made Simple

I noticed on alot of the message boards that people were unsure how to start a page. Most Newbies' mentioned that they had their photo's and would pull out all their supplies they'd hoarded and sit and look at them helplessly then put them all away again. SO... I decided the best way to help was to do a video showing you how I plan a page, how I match my papers, pick my theme etc etc... I hope you find this useful and it gets you over the hump as it were and gets you scrapping.\

Here's another video about getting new ideas and inspiration from the simplest of places. Enjoy!

Shoe Racks and Sewing Tables : I love to have my space organised so that when I'm planning a layout I can easily paw through my goodies and choose the appropriate pieces. I have discovered that those clear plastic shoe holders are perfect for housing all those packets of embellishments,brads etc. This is especially great cause it hangs easily on the back of the door to my scrap area... Which is actually a corner of my bedroom. I have recently aquired my mother's old sewing machine table. I can't wait to install it in the corner of my bedroom. I love the compartments contained in it for storing all my goodines and have decided that I will attempt to install a light in the area usually reserved for the sewing machine and by placing a piece of perspex over the top hope to convert this into a lightbox table.... If it works I'll post a photo.

This picture was submitted by Anne of Virginia, USA. I've received some great emails in response to my last blog. One of which mentioned using toilet paper in a layout. This is a great idea! I've used patterned toilet paper and I've also created papers from paper towel where I dye them with paint and a dropper... This creates some really bright effects.

Paper Paper Paper: I think the cheapest and most versatile product available to us is... you guessed it paper.. Nothing new there right? Well the other day I was in a scrapbook shop outside of my local area. It was huge! It was beautiful! It was expensive! So I mostly browsed to get ideas. There are constantly new products coming to the market and if you don't keep up with it all you'll be left behind. So while I was there I noticed several older ladies come in with photos which they took to the lady who owned the shop for her to find them the perfect paper and embellishments. One of the ladies even commented about how she was making a scrapbook for her daughter and it was costing a fortune. This was largely due to the fact that every photo was getting purchased for individually. There was no bulk buying of paper which I do all the time. This is a huge saving as most papers in the shops are around $1.10 ea whereas I buy a pack of 180 papers for $11.95 so my papers are less than...

Coming Soon: Video of me scrapbooking our Book.... My sister-in-law and I have created a book which we're selling to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. Anyway we're buying one for a family member and I'll be videoing the scrapping of the book to show the possibilities for anyone interested in buying one and personalising it themselves. If you want to view the information on the book go to: http://www.mothersbestadvice.com

Sorry for the delay in posting y'all... I've actually been in hospital. Nothing serious just back pain but what I did discover about myself is I don't like doing nothing. All that time just lying around was killing me. If they'd wheeled in my scrapbooking trolley I'd of been really happy to stay! The other think I discovered is.... there is absolutely nothing I encountered that I could use in my scrapbooking... which is mighty unusual for me. I see possibilities everywhere. I have however previously used the wrist name tags of myself and my babies and the name tag off their hospital cot but this time I encountered nothing I considered even remotely useful. Maybe it was the morphine clouding my usually frugal judgment? For instance the bag my oranges come in? Yep you guessed it. I scrap book it. It can be used as is (which is an orange plastic netting) or it is also useful to weave all those wonderful yarns I've been collecting into. I simply weave them through t...

Scrapbooking Add to My Profile More Videos Here's a video I made to help you with creating ideas for your Scrapbooking. Enjoy!

WHY DID YOU START SCRAPBOOKING? Why do we start scrapbooking? This is one of those questions I’m often fascinated by. I guess its because I myself began scrapbooking under unusual circumstances. I have a girlfriend who is a ‘Creative Memories Consultant’ and for ages she tried to convince me to give it a go. She kept saying “You’ll love it”. I on the other hand resisted it as much as I could. Why you ask? Well mainly because of price. I already had several hobbies and I didn’t really want to spend money on another hobby. Little did I know that all of those other hobbies could be incorporated into my scrapbooking and that when I eventually gave in I wouldn’t really care about those other hobbies at all anymore. So what made we finally take the plunge? Well having children got me half way there… only I didn’t know it yet. The seeds of scrapbooking were being sewn in my obsessive photo taking habit. My poor baby son was lucky if a day went by without several flash bulbs going off. So fir...

Baby Formula Tin yields scrapbooking resource: I have just discovered a new resource for my scrapbooking and frankly I'm a little upset. You see if I'd had this idea 5 years ago when my first child was born I would have accumulated several tonne of this resource by now.... Let me elaborate. My daughter is still drinking toddler formula and the other night when I was planning out this page in my head I was pondering what to do about the title. I had created the "xmas" and the "J" disc and the smaller "snowflake" disk out of paper clay but I didn't have a "1st". Then while making a bedtime drink for my daughter I had to open a new tin of formula and whala there it struck me... inspiration that is.... The foil that seals the tin is made of a very thin metal. This metal is easy to cut and punch (with a large punch and simple shape only.... I tried a small snowflake punch and although it worked it got stuck and was very difficult to remo...

Storage ideas from underpants to donuts: Does anyone else get frustrated at how much money you spend on storage devices and the like? I hate it when I need to re-organise the hoards and hoards of supplies by purchasing a new storage device. Don't get me wrong. I think organising your items by category and colour is wonderful. (I'm also a mad organiser).. BUT I hate spending my limited scrapbooking budget on storage devices when I could be purchasing paper, or ribbons or stamps and punches. This week I discovered a couple of great space organising items and they didn't cost me anything. The first is the pack my daughter's recently purchased underpants came in. You've probably seen them. A pack of 5 underpants in a little plastic (sometimes opaque but mostly clear) pocket with a small hanger at one end and a clip at the other.. I love this! I keep ribbon and yarn offcuts in it... Anything not on a roll basically. And as my collection expands and I can reorganise the...

For some reason the link will not work in the forum, so here it is again: Scrapbooking Survey http://www.bestnicheinfosite.com/?43aa178a-cf74-4460-9675-9324cfd845ab = Now for some reason this is still not working, but if you copy and paste it into your address bar and make sure it has the = at the end after the 45ab link as above, then it will work. Thanks

Shopping Bags a great find! In my search for the cheapest scrapbooking layout ever I have discovered shopping bags. What I love about these is they're free with any purchase! A clothing retailer in my local area has created my absolute favourite scrapbooking supply.... it's a shopping bag. This particular shopping bag is a clear plastic with white swirls and designs all over it and then the company name in big pink letters. The letters are ideal as part of a monogram (I cut them out then stick them to the back page of an old notebook.... {another free material} You can then either cut the letter out again or paint the cardboard before adhering the letter and cutting a shape such as a square or circle with this letter in the centre. I then add a sticker or embellishment and there you have it a monogram!) The rest of the bag is ideal as a background...... I sew it to the page and have even sewn it to a piece of cardstock that is then folded into an envelope. The only thing you ne...

Junk Mail provides inspiration: As a scrap miser I am constantly looking for scrapbooking supplies. Everything is fair game! Even if I can't use something because its not acid free I can often use the concept. Recently a bedding manufacturer sent out a beautiful brochure and the layout for the campaign has proved very useful. I placed a piece of transparency on the page and traced over the beautiful swirly design with a glitter glue. This design gives me a place for two photos and a spot for some journalling in the middle. I love the simplicity of the design as it has a doodling inspired look without being a doodle as such.... if that makes sense? So keep your eyes open for inspiration..... Even your Junk Mail can be useful........

My first tip for fellow scrapbookers looking to save money is to save everything! Save every scrap of paper every snip of ribbon and every other thing that comes into your life. Whether it be a kids toy, a postcard, an old charm or piece of broken jewellery or a beach find.... Everything is a potential embellishment for a page. I have used gumnuts, sea shells and even bark to good effect. What's your strangest free embellishment?