Having trouble coming up with ideas to start your own scrapbook?

I was one them too, until i started with my first page. Then everything came quite naturally after that. The point to remember is... every single thing that is happening in your life can be used as an idea to design your scrapbook pages. Especially if what you're going through is a new experience for you, e.g. your first pregnancy, your first child, etc. As for me, a simple move of my unborn child in my tummy is like a wonderful new experience to me. For example, when I was reading the last book of Harry Potter series, I used my tummy to hold it. Then my baby started kicking real hard until I removed the book. Then I put it back there, to tease him, and he started kicking, punching and pushing. I found it really funny, as if he was jealous that I was so focused on my reading and didn't pay attention to him. An idea struck me to create a page to record that incidence and here it is.

Photoshop & Scrapbook Max

Here is a sample scrapbook page that I've designed using a combination of Photoshop & Scrapbook Max. The page title, text, pictures of outfits were designed, cropped, laid out in Photoshop. Then each bit was imported as a picture into Scrapbook Max to be decorated with butterfly embellishments provided by the software.

Craft Haven

For those scrapbook enthusiasts out there, I've found another store that supplies scrapbook albums, kits, papers, tools, embellishments, stickers, and other items. The store is called Craft Haven and is located in One Utama. Most of the items are imported from US so you can expect that the price of each item is a bit high. But personally, I could spend more than an hour there looking at the items and imagining how I would design my next scrapbook page. It's definitely worth a visit.

Getting Started Scrapbooking

As a beginner, getting started from scratch is the hardest part about scrapbooking. The art of making scrapbooks may look simple, but the creative ideas you have to come up with and the time you spend can be so enormous that you may find yourself frustrated at the beginning.

Here are some tips on how to get started without making you lose your interest and enthusiasm after a short while.

Have your own style
Find your own style and let your personality shine through your scrapbook. Know your personal taste, i.e. your favourite colours, designs, layouts, and stick with them. You will be more likely to produce original and personal ideas without following the hype and fads of the scrapbooking industry.

Look for ideas
If you are finding it difficult to produce an original idea, you can look at scrapbooks produced by other scrapbookers for ideas. Then you can adopt the design and concept and enhance it to bring out the best in your design. This technique is called scraplifting.

Create your own mood board
You can use a mood board to find your own style. For example, you can take cutouts from magazines, photos, text, etc. and place them on the board in several layouts until you determine the design that suits you best.

Check on colour combinations
Colour combination also plays an important role in producing scrapbooks. Determine your favourite colours and find your concept. You can use a single group of shades but you can manipulate and mix them into varying combinations.

Scrappingville

I personally have started making a scrapbook recording every single important detail of my first pregnancy and my unborn child, from the first ultrasound scan to the first kick. I prefer manual making of scrapbooks but realize that getting the scrapbooking supplies is not so easy in Malaysia. After hours of searching for information on the net, I found a store that supplies scrapbook items in Bangsar Shopping Centre. It's called Scrappingville. For those who are really interested in scrapbooking and keen to get started, you can visit this store. Though the tools and items are quite expensive, you can go there to get some ideas by browsing through a few scrapbooks that have been produced by the store owner for her own kids. They also conduct classes for beginners to get started and for making your own accordian album. Just go there with your own pictures and you can start making your own scrapbooks using the tools and items provided by them.

Scrapbook Max

Found another interesting scrapbooking software, Scrapbook Max. I downloaded the trial version and produced the following srapbook page in less than a minute. Try it now. It's really fun and enjoyable.

Scrapbook Flair

Wondering how and where to go to get Scrapbook Flair? Click here. You can also get a free CD but shipping and handling fee will be charged. Or use the Google search bar on this site to search for more FREE scrapbook software.

Baby Scrapbooks

There are so many ways for you to cherish the moments of being pregnant and delivering your first newborns, and one of them is by recording every single moment in a scrapbook. Making a scrapbook is a fun and enjoyable hobby for mothers or mothers-to-be to capture the priceless memories of their loved ones on printed or digital materials.

Scrapbooks can be compiled manually but the process is quite time consuming. Nevertheless, the outcome of being able to produce creative work on your own is very satisfying. With the advanced of technologies, it can be easily done with the help of scrapbook software, many of which can be obtained for free. One of the popular software is Scrapbook Flair. Here is a sample scrapbook layout that can be produced by the software.