Scrapbook Page Ideas-Jump Start With Starter Kits

When I find I am having a slow start to developing a new scrapbook page idea I use smatterings of other ideas. What happens is I am unable to come up with a fresh idea so I take little parts of an idea and I place them together in a box or large envelope. What this becomes is a little kit of starter ideas. What I am doing is developing what I call a scrapbook starter kit.

No this is not kit that I am recommnending that you purchase. What I am talking about is a kit that you personally assemble as a way to get you started. Let me explain what I am talking about. It is a matter of getting your thought juices going. When you have made the decision to create and maintain a scrapbook it is important to set aside a 10 to 20 minute slot of time everyday for that purpose. But what happens is that some of those days you don't have any solid ideas. However, if you decide that you will still fill that time with scrapbooking then if you have no ideas that you feel you can act on you can still prepare for another day of scrapbooking. 

What happens when you do this approach of building your own scrapbooking kit? While you are focusing on the kit because you don't have anything that seems tangible at the moment, there are still ideas. These ideas start to flow into the kit. That is how our minds work. You have told yourself that even if I don't have an idea for a scrapbook page I will still perform a scrapbooking task. In turn, your mind will start focusing and opening up for new ideas. It is sort of the way mind-mapping works. That is another subject for anther day. But the point is that when you tell yourself that even though I don't have an idea I will still work on scrapbooking. This act jump starts the creative scrapbooking juices which at the very least will produce a concept out of things that you prepare for the kit.

Kit contents should contain things like paper quills that will embelish your page. Maybe it is a quill technique you were thinking about but have not tried it. This quill that you prepare for your new scrapbook page idea will now serve to help you think of ideas. Or perhaps a new background that you have seen in a catolog for the page you purchase and put in the kit. 

So what I am talking about are kits of all kinds. Not just one but several that you will prepare for those times you don't seem to have ideas. Try making a kit when you don't think you have any ideas. Then when you are getting are struggling for an scrapbook page idea on another day check through any kits that you have started to build and see if one of them pushes an idea out at you. Have fun!

Scrapbooking Page Ideas Coming From Fabric and Empty Cereal Boxes

One of the newest scrapbook page ideas is to use fabric as a page base. It is not really all that new but it has recently taken on more meaning and become more popular. And the best part is that you can get these fabrics at a fraction of the cost because they only need to be small amounts. That is part of the reason it has once again become more popular. But what that means is that you will be buying fabric remains. Remains are just left over scraps of fabrics. Sometimes they will just give them to you as samplers. These fabrics are so different and so beautiful and luxurious and yet you pay almost nothing. But the most important thing is that the variety of these fabric designs which present you with a fresh look and feel facilitates scrapbook page ideas.

How do you make a page using fabric. Several simple steps are involved. To begin you will need only a few tools most of which are around the house. Otherwise you can buy some of the new little kits coming on the market for under $15. These kits have some of the more professional tools that make it easier to construct pages of fabric but even household tools can do the trick and you won't need to buy anything. 

Here is the list of tools and when to use them:

Table top covered with newspapers. An important step. This is so when you use glue you won't get you counter top covered with the glues and such. The table provides a stable place to mount fabric to the card board or thick paper stock. Thick paper or cardboard is preferred. You can purchase the cardboard if you want but here is yet another idea. Why not take that empty cereal box and cut pages out of that box. You accomplish two things doing this. First, you get the page foundation you need to mount the fabric. Second, you are re-purposing that cereal box instead of creating more trash with it. So in a sense you are going green with your scrapbooking efforts. How cool is that?

Other tools will be something that allows you to smooth out the fabric onto the cardboard. This can be done in several ways but one simple way I have found is to start with one side and attach the fabric and then stretch over to the other side and attach. The glue used to apply the fabric is moist so expect a little curling of the cardboard. Solve this problem of curling by placing something heavy over the entire surface of the page and let it sit for several hours.

And there you have it! Now you have a new way to support you pursuit for new scrapbook page ideas.

Scrapbook Page Layouts Using Dies

There are many different ways to develope your scrapbook page layouts. One very interesting way is to use simple dies. I am not speaking about dyes as in dying your clothes or hair with some different colors. What I am speaking about are those little instruments that can be used to punch out a design out of paper. What these dies are, simply put, are a shape of a desgn that gets cut out of the paper. 

How do you use dies? Dies are used to make your scrapbooking pages pop out. By using these little design cut-outs you can add a lot charater and deminsion to your pages. Shapes such as flowers or others provide appeal and be what matches and ties the content of your particular page together. These designs can add tremendous impact and beauty. The best part it is they are very simple to do.

What is involved in using dies? Go to your local hobby shop such as Hobby Lobby

 

 select a design or several. Start with simple, basic designs. Then, just as an example, take a die in the form of a flower. You should use a flat type of flower such as a lily. Sometimes these dies will come as a set of three, each progressively smaller. If you use a set of 3 dies then cut out the different sizes. One large, medium and small size. Then take the large size and past on top the medium size and follow that by doing the same with the smallest size. However, be careful to only glue the center area of each size lily. The reason is you want the lily stack to provide a 3-demensional effect. 

Now, once you have several cut and pasted together you are ready to start developing your scrapbook page layouts. Balance is what provides the artistic appeal. The effect you want is to draw the eye into the center of the page using the lilies. The way this works is understanding how we are trained from birth to look at things. First, we look at the upper left corner of a page. Then we start to look down towards the right of the page. And finally we work our way down to the bottom right of the page. So, the way to naturally work with the eye-brain training is to place 3 lilies at top left and then progress fewer and fewer from left-to-right in clockwise fashion. 

I will revisit this at another time. For now, just enjoy the experience!

Scrapbooking Page Ideas and Project Management Skills

I have found that much of my work of project management lends itself to scrapbooking page ideas. When I find myself scrapbooking or thinking of what to do a page on I end up using some of the same mind-set I use in project management. How do I make this connection? When you are trying to devise the various tasks within a project it is the same as when I am gathering my thoughts about what my scrapbook page should be about. For example, when you are developing a project timeline it is all about envisioning the relationships of all of the steps and tasks that are in the project. It is the same when you are scrapbooking page ideas. When doing this you are seeking to find those relationships between life's expereinces. You look at what your life has been both good and bad times and you start to relate to those.

Other ways that I find the project management mind-set is helpful are when I am visioning the page factors and elements. How can I nicely tie the facts of the day together in such a way that I can look back on my page of life and get the most joy and benefit from that day's experiences. Yet another way that my work plays a key role in my scrapbooking efforts. 

Here is another example. Sequencing my artifacts, photos and memorabilia is much like when I am building a PDM to express project logic and task relationships. PDM is a project analysis approach defined as Precidence Diagram Method. PDM is a way to recognize from how the tasks in your project must be sequenced (placed in a path) to reach the final goal of the project. This process helps you to recognize which tasks must come first, second, third and so forth. I find it is the same when I am devloping my scarpbooking page ideas. I think in terms of how the page will setup and the message it ultimately delivers to me. 

So, never loose site of the fact that your life experiences become preserved for you and those you choose to share them with. These pages you develop should serve you now and in the future. They can set your day on a new journey knowing that you will soon capture those experiences into your scrapbook. So there is nothing wrong with taking methodical approaches to the design and development of your scrapbooking page idea experience.

The Technique of Quilling-Scrapbook Page Idea

Quilling is a technque I just learned about that is a way to take ordinary paper and turn it into decretive, 3 diminsional works of art. Why this is of interest is the fact that these pieces of art can be placed on your scrapbook pages for embelishment. You create your own embellishments which makes your scrapbook page ideas completely custom and unique. It makes your scrapbook your own personal book. Rather than others that use prefabricated scrapbooks, your's will be completely unique.

Here is how it is basically done: First, you take strips of paper and you form them by rolling, shaping and then glueing them together. A quill is used to create a basic quilled shape. What this quilled shape means is that it is paper wound in a continuous series of loops around an instrument. Thus, the name quilling. This wrapped, spun paper is then glued to the tip of the coiled shape and arranged as flowers and leaves and other ornamental designs.

These designs are then flattened and attached to your scrapbook page. This is great for children's scrapbook page ideas. You can make interesting animal shapes and designs such as a lion or deriaff or other animals and paste them onto the pages. This is a great scrapbook page idea for a day at the zoo or some other day trip to remember.

This is great for kids for other reasons as well. One good purpose is these scrapbook page ideas can be used for those rainy days when young ones are confined to the house. Just bring out that zoo day scrapbook pages and declare the day to be an "add to scrapbook day" and make it a project day. So all the enjoyment of the zoo day or days comes back and the enjoyment is back.

There are many ways to perform quilling and many designs, so more to come on this technique. Quilling for your scrpabook page embellishments.