Scrapbooking for beginners

It is sometimes extremely difficult to buy a beautiful postcard, photo album or other similar thing, especially if you want to please a dear person. If you have a certain talent for needlework and a great desire, you can independently decorate any objects, radically transforming and decorating them. Scrapbooking presents tremendous opportunities in this industry.

For those who have never heard of this type of creativity as scrapbooking, it is worth telling in more detail about the history of the term and the essence of the type of activity. The name takes its roots from two English words: scrap - cut and book - book. It is literally a book made up of scrapbooks embellished with them. With the help of scrapbooking, you can decorate crafts, make a postcard with your own hands, or decorate a photo album.

In addition to the creativity itself, this method is actively used in psychology as a means of calming and relaxation for people prone to strong emotional outbursts and psychological fatigue. The essence of the work is not only cutting paper and scrap materials, it is important to create a single composition that will carry a message, help convey certain feelings.

With the help of such a decoration, you can make the decor of photo frames, various boxes in which something valuable will be stored. Initially, scrapbooking did not pursue the goal of decorating anything, people simply collected things that interest them and placed them in simple albums and notebooks on each of the pages.This trend gained particular popularity in the 17th century, when a book was published on decorating poetry, which at that time were very popular among different classes of society.

So, gradually from the original placement of information inside the book, scrapbooking migrated to its cover and became the main decoration. The term itself begins to appear since the 1830s, gaining particular popularity with the development of photo printing.

It can be difficult for beginners to grasp the essence of scrapbooking, so it is very important to know about its styles and techniques. There are three main techniques.

• Distressing. Its essence is aging, which is achieved by staining the paper with a sponge using ordinary tea leaves. An additional effect can be the creation of ragged or scorched edges.

• Embossing. The task of this type is to create embossing, which can be done on paper using stencils that are transferred to foil. And you can also apply a special powder on paper with a high density, which is also called wet embossing.

• Stamping. This look can be done by creating ink stamps or appliqués.

Before using a particular technique, it is important to understand exactly its essence, to understand the principle of placing elements in order to create the correct composition, which is quite difficult, especially for beginners. To cope with this task, it is important to learn the rule of squares on which to place items. It is important to understand the principles of color placement and combination. In the learning process, it is important to study the work of masters and professionals in this industry.

The main task of scrapbooking is to create a single composition, where all the details have a different appearance, texture, size and color, but together they create a pleasant and holistic picture.at. If this kind of art fascinates more and more, there are several styles worth noting that you can use.

• Vintage. The use of old objects for composition or their imitation is considered typical for vintage. All things of past eras that only come to hand are used, and it does not matter what form they look like. The older they look, the more accurately they will convey the essence of the era that is being recreated. The shades used in such work should be muted, calm, dim: the color of coffee with milk, beige or khaki.

• Heritage. The essence of the legacy technique is to convey the mood and feeling of a past era, which is revealed through family chronicle and history. For work, it is important to use real photographs of ancestors, letters and everything that is left from the past as a keepsake. The color in this case will be calm and restrained. If it is not possible to use old photos and materials, then modern samples should be artificially aged to the desired appearance.

• Shabby chic. The shabby chic or shabby chic style is significantly different from the above, as the main emphasis here is on the romanticization of the content. Photos and images also age, but not much, only a touch of antiquity is created. The color scheme is also softer and more delicate, often light beige shades are used. For the background, paper with floral patterns is used, and the highlight is the presence of a bright accent spot in the form of a ribbon, button or flower, which organically fit into the overall composition without disturbing it.

• American. It is especially worth highlighting the American style of scrapbooking, since it is classic for this type of creativity. This option is considered the simplest and most affordable for beginners, which explains its consistently high popularity in the world. A characteristic feature is the abundance of elements from different types of paper, which adorn the central detail of the work, namely photography.

• European. The European style, in which photographs prevail, will be distinctive. Decorative ornaments can be seen as a modest addition. The principle of creating scrapbooking consists in choosing a single-color sheet of paper on which three or more photographs are placed, while they are supplemented with suitable elements. The photos themselves can be decorated in an original way by cutting them out in the form of a circle, square, rectangle, or using curly scissors with which the edges are processed.

• Clean and simple. Simple and uncomplicated is the style of pure and simple, in which photography and journalism will be the main techniques. The background color is usually dull and monotonous, on which photographs are placed, mainly close-ups and a small amount of decorative elements.

• Retro. For the retro style, the main thing is the fashion of the 50s, 60s and 70s of the last century. The use of prints in large peas, checks, flowers, additional elements in the form of clippings from old newspapers and magazines, advertisements, posters and stickers of that time are an integral part of the style in this case.

• Freestyle. For freestyle, completely different laws work, here the main criterion is one's own inspiration and creativity. There are no clear rules and laws, bright colors and decorative elements are used, products are supplemented with hand-made inscriptions and drawings. In this case, it is possible to combine different techniques and styles of scrapbooking in one product.

• Mix of media. Mixed media style is one of the most complex style, as it completely lacks any frames. This style will only depend on the performer himself.

• Modern vintage. The last style worth talking about is modern vintage, it also retains the worn background and basic elements, but the color scheme is bright and rich. Using vintage techniques for modern materials and photographs allows you to get an original and creative version of the product.

To do scrapbooking quite seriously, you need to have all the necessary tools and materials with you, which include the following:

• scissors, simple and curly, which should be available in several pieces;
• simple tape, wide and narrow, double-sided and decorative;
• paper glue: PVA, pencil or glue gun;
• curly hole punch, 1-2 varieties to start with;
• a set of threads of different colors, a needle, an awl, it will be useful to have a sewing machine;
• decorative elements: beads, beads, rhinestones, sequins, ribbons;
• cardboard of different densities and colors;
• specialized cutting mat;
• scrapbooking stamps, ink and powder;
• for those who have some work experience, you may need a kit for installing eyelets;
• rulers of different lengths and shapes;
• stationery knife;
• a set of colored and scrap paper of different colors, one-sided and two-sided, an album for drawing, a set of pencils and colored pens.

Scratches will be very useful for beginners. They are blanks, according to which you can make any version of the product or be inspired by a certain idea. You don't have to buy all the items at once, it is important to have the tools with which all the work is created, and to them to buy those materials that will be needed for each specific product.

For beginners, scrapbooking may seem too complicated and incomprehensible, so the correct organization of the workplace and the whole process will help you master all the necessary skills and cope with any goal set in the future.

For work, you should choose a convenient place so that you can place all the necessary materials and tools. Lighting will play a very important role.if it is weak, then very soon the eyes will get tired and the desire to create will disappear, but if it is too strong, it will lead to headaches, and creativity will soon end. It is best to choose a specific work area where everything will be needed, and most importantly - peace and quiet, without which it is impossible to focus on the object and create something worthwhile.

It is often difficult for a person without experience to catch inspiration and find a worthwhile idea. The secret is simple, it lies in creating masterpieces at the moment when an interesting thought comes, and not by a certain date or date. If you have no experience with cardboard and paper, then you should immediately master the basics, on the basis of which you can create your own masterpieces in the future. To learn how to correctly place elements when creating a composition, you should first use scratches, where there is already a ready-made template, along which you can move, repeating it or supplementing it at your discretion.

As soon as a certain minimum of knowledge and skills is obtained, it is worth to devote some time to professional development, what a master class can help, sites of this direction or pictures of different styles and techniques found on the Internet. In this case, the abundance of knowledge in some way will not harm, it will only provide a support base on which their own creations will be built in the future.

For the first job, you should choose something as simple as possible, without an abundance of details or complex elements. It is important to learn how to work with the existing task and the materials that are needed to implement it. You need to complicate the composition gradually, adding new decor details. Initially, paper and cardboard are used in the work, later you can include beads and ribbons, if everything worked out, add photos.

When the basics are passed, you can try to age paper, photographs, make stamps and all the other interesting nuances that true scrapbooking masters possess.

For beginners who want to master the craft of scrapbooking, It is worth grasping the following simple truths:

• a beginner should not take on complex compositions, even if they like them;
• to make multi-component products, you need to master all the basics of the activity;
• you can learn to create both yourself and using the Internet;
• everyone can learn scrapbooking, even from scratch, there is no need to be afraid of failure, the one who wants to, will always achieve his goal.

To learn scrapbooking, you should try your hand at the simplest one - a postcard. To make a creative and interesting product, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:

• white sheet of paper;
• a brush and gold acrylic paint for decoration;
• lace ribbon;
• scissors;
• thread with a needle;
• several old newspapers;
• smooth and dense polyethylene;
• glue;
• beads.

A master class for creating such a product will be as follows:

• the workplace is covered with newspapers, on top of which polyethylene or oilcloth is placed;
• A4 sheets need to be crumpled well and moistened with water;
• PVA glue and water are mixed in a container to a creamy consistency;
• dip wet paper into paste;
• pieces of paper in the paste are laid out on a flat sheet, it is important to place them so that the edges coincide;
• lay out the threads in any order on the resulting surface, you can add any other additional elements;
• the finished product is covered with polyethylene and placed under a press from a stack of books for several hours;
• when the time is up, books and polyethylene are removed so that the sheet is completely dry;
• the edge should be absolutely even, if there are inconsistencies, they are leveled with scissors;
• along the edge of the paper is stitched with a machine or hand stitch for additional fixation of these areas;
• wet the brush in paint and cover the workpiece with it; movements should go from top to bottom, unevenly, with different efforts;
• the edge of the card is decorated with beautiful lace, if desired, it can be supplemented with beads, rhinestones or sparkles, as well as an original and beautiful inscription.

If you want to do something more ambitious, for example, a photo album, then using scrapbooking will allow you to create something unique and inimitable. For the creative process, you will need to have the following materials and tools with you:

• weekly with original cover;
• photos to be posted inside;
• pencils, pens, felt-tip pens, markers;
• adhesive tape: double-sided and decorative;
• glue;
• ruler;
• curly scissors;
• stamps, stickers, ribbons, beads and so on;
• paper intended for scrapbooking.

The work will consist of actions such as:

• depending on the size and number of photos, think over their location in the diary so that there is a place for decoration and signature;
• when choosing decorations for pages, you can use all the tools and materials at hand, it is worth using what is best suited to the image in the photo;
• photos are attached in any meta and in a variety of directions using double-sided tape.

If there is a need to make a postcard for children, then it can be stylized as a piece of clothing or household items related to children. You must have the following tools and materials with you:

• cardboard for the main product;
• a set of colored paper;
• cardboard for decoration;
• glue, pencil and ruler;
• hole punch and tape.

The order of work will be reduced to the following:

• choose the color of the base of the card that matches the newborn - blue or blue for a boy, pink for a girl;
• the base folds in half;
• we cut out the body, which will be the decoration of the postcard, you can make it look like a real one or it is interesting to stylize it; for a girl, you can cut out a dress;
• using a hole punch, circles are punched, which will become buttons on the body;
• on the sleeves, cuffs at the bottom and on the neck, you can attach a pattern cut out with curly scissors; the same decor can be made for the dress;
• the final chord will be the formation of a ribbon bow and its attachment to a postcard; if you wish, you can supplement the postcard with the name of the child or congratulations to the parents.

In order for scrapbooking to end in an interesting hobby, it is important to approach this process correctly, guided by certain tips, since each craft contains secrets, without the knowledge of which it is difficult to achieve the desired heights. So, it is worth taking into account the following recommendations:

• knowledge of terminology will be an important factor, therefore it is necessary to study the interpretation of all concepts;
• visual perception - in order to create something of your own, you need to have a certain experience, taken earlier; sites about scrapbooking will be a good help, the works you like should be saved on your computer;
• before starting work, it is worth understanding which product you want to create first, where to start getting to know the craft; the simplest and most correct option would be a postcard;
• before starting work, it is worth watching several master classes and mastering for yourself the order of work and the main nuances;
• decide on the materials and tools that will be needed in a particular job;
• find stores or sites where you can purchase all the necessary inventory;
• do not use plain cardboard and colored paper instead of professional materials, otherwise you will not be able to achieve the desired result.

With the right preparation and meaningful actions, scrapbooking can conquer for many years, and for especially talented people it can even become an opportunity for additional income. Beautiful hand-made products will always be more appreciated than those bought in a store, since a piece of the creator's soul and heart will remain in them, and this is priceless.

In the next video, you will find a list of your first scrapbooking purchases.