If you’re like me you have shoe boxes full of unorganized, unlabeled photos still in the original envelope that they were picked up in from the store or developer.  It can be a little daunting to decide how to get your arms around organizing this over whelming task. So, where do you begin? First, do you want to place them in photo sleeves and store in a binder album or in an organizer until you are ready to implement a scrapbooking project? Once you make this decision you can follow some recommendations to sort and create a system of photo (or negative, or cd or e-file) organization:

 Chronologically

This is the simplest and works well if you have a huge box of photos. Start by sorting your pictures into piles by year. If the photos in each pile remains high, consider subcategories of seasons or months.

 Event or Theme

If you have the tendency to take a lot of pictures for one event, it will be easy to sort your photos by event in the envelopes that come from the developer. This works well for vacations or school years. Write the date and activity on the outside of the envelope so you can identify them easily when you are ready to start scrabooking.  Then store them chronologically, alphabetically, or by subject. 

 Person or Group

You can also sort photos by people or groups of people, depending on the style of scrapbooking  project.  For example, you may want to sort your photos by school or extra curricular activities (lessons, sports etc), church groups, teams, leagues etc., or you may have duplicates produced for your children’s own scrapbooks or for their grandparents. Another example, if you have an album or a section in an album for each of your family members (pets, children etc.), when you get a layout idea about something specific you’ll know exactly where they are! 

Portraits

Individual and family portraits are easier to locate because of their size.  You may want to sort these either chronologically or by family member..

Amazing newborn photographs can be taken with any type of camera. Whether in the hospital or in the home, the location area should be in front of a window where there is even light.

Other than your camera, the other items you can use will be found within the room your working in. These common things can be used in your photographs:

• Pillow(s) - These will be used to prop up the baby, or lay the baby on. A Boppy pillow is a c-shaped pillow made for holding a baby or for nursing. When covered with blankets the baby can be placed in the middle.

• White sheets for background, as pillow covers or as light reflectors.

• Babies blanket or onesie for the fresh, new look of a newborn.

If the baby is sleeping let him or her continue to sleep. Chances are they will wake up before your finished photographing. Try some of these ideas to pose a baby:

• Wrapped in a blanket
• Laying stomach down with the head in the parent's elbow or straddling a parent’s arm.

If you take care of your photographs and memorabilia they will stay in good condition for years. However, if you ignore the following storage and preservation tips, the results may be disastrous:

Keep all photographs and memorabilia out of direct sunlight, which could eventually diminish photograph or album quality.

Liquid will destroy photographs and memorabilia. To avoid spills, store your scrapbook and photographs in a dry place. Avoid storing on shelves under house plants or near water sources. Keep all drinks off your work area.

The oil on your skin can leave fingerprints on photographs that may become visible over time. For prevention handle photos carefully. Wash hands before scrapbooking and use cotton cloth to clean photographs before storing in the sheet protector.

Handle and store your photographs and memorabilia carefully. Improper storage increases the risk of scratches, tears, and bends. Store your photos and negatives in a sturdy container. Your completed layout storage should be protected first in sheet or page protectors, then in appropriate albums.

Paper purchased at your local craft store may not necessarily be acid-free unless so stated on packaging.  If you are unsure consult the store personnel.

Not all sheet protectors are alike.  Do not buy materials containing PVC or PVA, which can damage your memorabilia more than if you did not used plastic protection at all. Instead, look for acrylic or polyester protectors. Again, if you are unsure consult the store personnel.

Extreme temperatures and humidity can damage photographs and memorabilia. Store all albums in cool dry place.

You may want to consider a few new ways to add a little PUNCH to your scrapbooking! Layering punches together can create a more interesting scrapbook layout by adding dimension to the page! For example, simple circles can be much more interesting by layering two or more different sizes of circle punches together. Add an embellishment such as stickers for extra color.

Other materials that you can punch shapes from include:

• craft foam
• tag board
• cardboard
• corrugated paper
• wax paper
• photographs
• gift wrap
• contact paper
• aluminum foil

Other ideas you can try are:

• Use the negative space of punches versus the punch itself.
• Ink around the punched piece to make a negative image.
• Create a custom background paper by adhering punched shapes to a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock. Add even more interest by stamping or doodling on the shapes.
• Have a favorite punch? Use it as a template to cut a piece of foam in the same shape. Attach this foam shape to a small piece of wood to create a custom stamp. If your foam is too thin add another layer using rubber cement.
• Use small punches to create a shaker box.

So pick up that old familiar punch and punch and punch and punch!

Vellum can add a unique appearance and texture to your scrapbooking layout.  It can create an image that adds reality or soften the appearance of a photo for a nostalgic look.  Hear are a few creative ideas to help you add this element to any page:

1. Emphasize a special feature on a picture. Put plain vellum either under or over the photo to emphasize. Vellum over the picture would create a soft focus but allows the image to be visible.
2. Journaling in fancy lettering either by hand or on the computer onto plain vellum and put it over a photo creates an elegant appearance and photo shows softly through the vellum. Keep in mind smudges and creases show up very easily on vellum. Creases will appear as a white "scar" (so handle carefully) and smudges are difficult to remove.
3. Use your punches on vellum to add interest to your pages.
4. Trace your alphabet templates for a creative touch to your page and layer cardstock or sticker letters over them to create depth.

Vellum is transparent, so most adhesive will show through. Consider looking for ways to use disguise the glue, such as photo corners, ribbon, punches, die cuts, stickers and journaling. There are also ways to avoid glue from showing through the vellum. Try applying adhesive sparingly and rather than applying adhesive to the vellum, apply it to the paper your mounting to. Lastly, there are also adhesives available for use with vellum.

Make These Items From Vellum To Add A Special Accent To Your Page:

1. Bubbles                                          2. Clouds

3. Critters: snakes, frogs etc.            4. Flowers

5.  Frosting                                        6. Glass: windshields, oven door or lenses

7.  Ghosts                                          8. Leaves: Colorful fall or spring folage

9.  Sand                                           10. Snow: man, balls, flakes

11. Smoke or Fire (flames)               12. Water: waves, raindrops or puddles

13. Wedding veil or gown                14. Wings: bugs or angels

There are so many kinds of tags that can be used to embellish and enhance your scrapbooking layouts!Here are just a few creative ideas:

• Use tags as journaling boxes.
• String multiple tags with jute, raffia, or wire along the bottom  or side of a layout as a border.
• Add punch pieces, die-cuts, stamps, or stickers to tags to use as embellishments.
• Layer tags with vellum or matte tags with card stock.
• Use large tags as picture mattes or as titles.
• Tie tags together with ribbon and use as a title.
• Attach tags to enhance die-cuts such as suitcases and gifts etc.

There are many styles of tags, which can be found at your local craft or office supply store. Some of the more popular styles used for scrapbooking are listed below:

1.Round Tags – Have silver metal rims and strings for ties.

2.Shipping Tags –Some have angled or round corners and available in a variety of colors.

3.Handmade Tags – This is where your creativity comes in! You can make tags any shape, any size you want!

If you are going to add ties to tags, they will need reinforcement. Most pre-made tags come with reinforcements, but for handmade tags you can use buttons or eyelets, or make your own reinforcement by using cardstock and a small circle punch. Punch a small hole in the center of the circle and then attach it to your tag and add a tie. 

Some tags come with ties, but if not, you’ll need to draw or add your own! Here are some ideas for creative ties:

• Wire or Paper Clips
• Fiber
• Ribbon
• Jute or Twine
• Thread
• Yarn
• Raffia
• Pipe Cleaners

Everyone wants to get more scrapbooking projects completed. I am always trying to convert my “unsafe” albums over to “safe” scrapbooks, while trying to keep up with this years events!

You can get an album done in a week or two by power cropping. Once you have SET your theme, you’re READY to organize photos, papers, accents and tools so you can GO crop with a plan. Set your goal to finish an album in a specific time frame. Being prepared and focused makes your scrapbooking time more productive.

Focus your time using these quick tips.

READY

1. Plan and focus on one album.
2. Decide on a theme. Does this scrapbook cover a specific year, vacation, or event? This can help you limit the paper colors or embellishment choices.
3. Sort your photos. Most albums are chronological within the event theme. Arrange photos in the order you want them on layout pages. Using a template for placing photos will help you save time. Place 4-6 photos into each file pocket zip bag or page protector. Accordian folders work well to store everything for a layout until you can actually scrap the page.
4. Plan the layouts. Look through web pages, magazines etc. Print or mark the pages and place them with the photos in your file for reference.

SET

1. Embellishments should be simple, even consider using the same embellishment style or product line throughout a whole album. It looks elegant and keeps the focus on your photos.
2. Simplicity also saves you time. Minimize your template shapes, corner treatments, and decorative scissors. Keep fancy cutting and matting treatments down to two photos or less per layout.  This also puts more emphasis or adds more punch to that particular photo.
3. Limit your paper. Use two colors of solid cardstock and two types of patterned papers. There are unlimited numbers of layout kits available as a tool to cut your design time down. In addition, pre-cut paper packs are available to save cropping time.
4. Journal from the heart. Pick only one or two pen colors for journaling. Keep your journaling simple using the 5-W’s or “lists” to describe the event.

GO!

1.       Going to a crop? Find a big sturdy accordion file, tote bag, or organizer that fits what you need just for this album. You can grab it and go!

2.       Allow yourself the time to give the project your undivided attention to meet your goal. Whether it’s a weekend get away or one hour a day, it will be easy to get on a roll once you have attained a little momentum. 

Like every building project, a scrapbooking layout begins with a concept, idea and blueprint that becomes the plan.  If you want to learn a method of faster layout construction then a blue print might be just what you're looking for!  They will assist you in creating a balanced presentation.

 The blue prints can be easily made into a template by cutting out the “white space”.  Place your photos underneath to determine how much cropping, if any, is necessary. Remember it is a guide, feel free to change the shapes of the white space from rectangle to squares, circles, ovals or a combination to change the look and interest to your pages.        

 The blue prints below give a variety of choices based on the number of photos or support material that will be used on the page and allow for titles and journaling to complete your scrapbook layout.          

Paper Tearing is a technique that adds texture, dimension and interest to your scrapbooking pages. It requires no tools, it is fast and it is easy. Paper Tearing can be used in a variety of ways, to create shapes, mats, titles or borders.

Paper is made from fibers, so when it is torn the fibers are broken. Different types of paper will create looks You will also find that some paper will be easier to tear than others. Printed paper will reveal the color of paper it was printed on, while solid color paper has the same color fiber through out. Tearing makes a "rough" side to the edge of the tear (the front) and a "smooth" side (the back). Just decide which look you like best for your scrapbooking project and tear accordingly.

 
You don't need to be a professional photographer to capture picture-perfect moments, but interesting photos will make your scrapbooking layouts more interesting! Here are some helpful tips:

Keep your camera handy
Keep the camera handy and be prepared to capture the moment. Also remember to keep extra batteries and film, memory sticks or discs on hand so you wont miss recording life”s memorable events for your scrapbooking. Lastly, include cleaning solution keep your lens clean of debris that might mare your images.

Approach with care
Think about what you want to remember from the scene and capture it by taking a moment to study the subject and the background as different angles as light will change how the subject and scenery will look through the lens.

A rule thirds
The rule of thirds works well as you set up your shots.  For example, for a landscape configuration focus on the subject being a third from the top and a third from the bottom of the viewfinder. When taking a portrait configuration place the subject to the left one-third or the right one-third depending on the scenery.

Try a new angle
Instead of taking all of your photographs in a horizontal format, turn your camera to capture some shots in a vertical format which will add variety to your scrapbookikng layouts.

Get close to your subject
Eliminate distractions by getting close to the subject. For example, when photographing children get down to their level.

Life is like a camera: Simply focus on the important things.