How to Scrapbook

Last Updated: August 10, 2021

Scrapbooking is an easy and fun craft, but it can seem a little overwhelming if you've never done it before. Keep things organized, but at the same time, let your creativity run loose. If you aren't sure where to start, here are a few pieces of advice to give you some direction.

Part 1

Part 1 of 5:

Plan Your Layout

1
Choose your theme. Speaking simply, the theme is the underlying purpose or idea holding your scrapbook together. If you've decided to make a scrapbook, you may already have a theme in mind. If you do not have a theme, though, you should start by picking one.^{[1]
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- A theme will determine the photographs you choose, as well as the album and embellishments.
- Possible themes include:
  - Family vacations
  - High school or college accomplishments
  - Family reunions
  - Family holidays
  - Times spent with friends
  - Military career
2
Sort through your photographs. With your theme in mind, sort through any photo collections that may contain photos fitting with that theme. Begin with your most recent photos and work your way backward through time.^{[2]
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- Look for photographs that are clear and avoid any that seem blurry.
- Note that you do not need to use an entire photograph. In all likelihood, a portion of your photos will be cropped. As a result, if you find a photo with a background element you do not want, you can still use it for your scrapbook if that element can be cleanly cut off.
- Choose as many photos as you like during this stage. If you have too many, you can narrow your selection down later.
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3
Organize your photographs. Sort through the photos you pulled and arrange them into categories. Each category should then be broken down into pages, and each page should have roughly four to six photographs assigned to it.^{[3]
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- Note that if you plan on making a smaller scrapbook, you may only need two or three photos per page.
- You can create multiple pages for each category, if desired. For example, if you are making a scrapbook of a specific family vacation, your categories may include something along the lines of: trip there, beach, hotel, museums, return trip. If you have a lot of beach pictures, you can have multiple pages for those pictures. The idea is merely to group similar photos together within the scrapbook overall.
4
Get a general idea of the layout you want. You do not need to plan out each page ahead of time, but at minimum, you need to determine how many pages you want, how many photos you want to have per page, what colors and embellishments you might want to consider using, and how many journal entries you plan to include.^{[4]
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- Keep a notebook filled with possible layout ideas. Write possibilities down as you brainstorm, then eliminate the ones that you don't like and choose your favorite after sorting through the notebook.
- This is also a good time to determine if you want to make separate title pages to separate your categories or if you want to place titles directly on photo pages.
- If you want to be even more thorough, you can also tentatively arrange photos on your working surface to get a general idea of how each page may look.

Part 2

Part 2 of 5:

Gather Your Materials

1
Find an album. Scrapbook albums can usually be found at craft stores and most stores that sell stationery. Standard albums are square with 12-inch by 12-inch (30.5-cm by 30.5-cm) pages.
- You can also find pocket albums with 6-inch by 8-inch (15.25-cm by 20.3-cm) pages.
- In a pinch, you could also use a standard 3-ring binder for your scrapbook, but an actual album is preferable since the binding and pages are better suited for scrapbooking.
- Consider your theme when choosing your scrapbook. For example, if your scrapbook will contain photos from a beach vacation, a light blue or sand-colored album might be a good idea. On the other hand, for a scrapbook featuring photos of your friends, you might want to consider a more playful color.
- Also note that you may be able to find albums with titled covers for some major events, like weddings and military enlistments.
2
Choose paper that works well with your pictures. When you look for a paper to include in your scrapbook, take along a few of your photos and compare them to your options. Plain colored paper should coordinate with the colors in your photos, and patterned paper should coordinate with both the colors and theme of your scrapbook.^{[5]
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- You will usually need two sheets of background paper and one to two types of matting and deco paper per page.
3
Select embellishments. Your embellishments should coordinate with the theme of your scrapbook.
- Standard embellishments include 3D embellishment stickers, rubber stamps, and charms, but you can get as creative as you want. Choose embellishments that add visual interest but are relatively flat. Otherwise, your scrapbook may not close well.
- Stickers and stamps are among the easiest embellishments to match your theme since there are so many varieties available.
- Consider the color of your paper and pictures when choosing embellishments. Try to choose items that work with your current color scheme.
4
Choose the type of adhesive you would like to work with. There are a variety of adhesives suitable for scrapbooking, but each has its pros and cons.^{[6]
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- Spray adhesives are good for covering large areas without making the surface seem "wet." It is also good for use with sheer material. Let the adhesive dry after application until it feels tacky before sticking two items together.
- Foam tape and dots are sticky on both sides an can be trimmed to size. These adhesives also add dimension to the objects they adhere to, making scrapbook pages more visually varied.
- Pressure-sensitive dots are ideal for heavy embellishments because they have tremendous bond strength.
- Glue sticks are, perhaps, the most convenient to use. Make sure that you use a minimal amount and choose a glue stick labeled "acid-free" or "safe for photos."
- Liquid glues work well for embellishments and are easy to apply, but they can make pictures and other paper embellishments wrinkle if too much is used.
- Double-sided tape has minimal bond strength but is suitable for pictures, paper embellishments, and small, light items.
5
Sensibly arrange your workspace. Once you have your supplies in hand, you need to arrange them in a way that makes it easy for you to access each item when you need it.
- Keep all your photos in one spot and organized in the order you will use them in.
- Set aside embellishments in the furthest corner of your work area until you are ready to use them.

Part 3

Part 3 of 5:

Place Pictures

1
Arrange your background paper and borders. Place one scrapbook page in front of you and arrange your background paper on top of it. You will usually use a couple of sheets to add dimension to your page, but occasionally, you might get away with using one sheet.^{[7]
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- Avoid using more than three sheets of background paper. Adding too many may make the background too busy and distracting.
- When arranging the background sheets, there should be some overlap between them, and they should rarely be evenly aligned with one another.
- Once your background pages are in place, position any paper borders over them, arranging them to your liking.
- At this stage you should not glue the paper down.
2
Crop your pictures. Determine a photograph's focal point and determine how much of the background is necessary. As long as the focal point and essential details remain, you do not need to worry about cropping too much.
- Consider the best size and shape for each photo based on the layout of each page.
- As a general rule, it is wise to have doubles of your photographs, just in case you make a mistake.
3
Mat each photo. Choose a type of paper that varies from your background. Cut a section of paper that is just a bit larger than your newly cropped photo and place the photo on top.
- Do not glue anything down yet.
- Consider leaving extra matting paper below the photo or to the side so that you can write a caption for the photo later on.
4
Leave room for other elements. Arrange your matting and photos on the background paper already on your scrapbook page. Position the elements so that others you have yet to add, like journal blocks or embellishments, can still fit.^{[8]
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- Usually, elements of a page should touch or overlap with other elements. Avoid having pieces of the page look as though they are “floating” or separated from the others.
5
Glue everything down. Use a little of your chosen adhesive to secure everything onto the page.
- Work from top to bottom. Glue the photos to the matting and, once that dries, glue the matting to the background paper. After that dries, glue the background paper to the page itself.
- You should wait for the page to dry before adding any writing or embellishments.

Part 4

Part 4 of 5:

Journal

1
Brainstorm about what to write. Consider what these memories mean to you and what you want others to understand by looking through them.^{[9]
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- Brainstorm ideas in a separate notebook before deciding on anything.
- Write a draft of each caption or journal block before writing it into your scrapbook.
2
Add captions, as desired. If you left room for captions next to each photo, use a no-bleed pen or extra-fine tip permanent marker to write a descriptive yet brief caption that identifies the photo.
- Captions can include information about dates, locations, and people in the photo.
3
Include a few longer "journal" entries. These entries are not specifically related to a photo but make a general statement about the overall category those photos fall into.
- Consider using stories, personal quotes, anecdotes, or fitting lyrics and famous quotations in your journal entries.
4
Decide whether to type or hand-write. Most words in a scrapbook are handwritten, but some prefer to type, print, and paste blocks of text, instead.
- Handwritten words can be sloppier and you may make a mistake as you write them, but they have a more personal and meaningful effect.
- Printed text is cleaner but may seem cold and impersonal.

Part 5

Part 5 of 5:

Add Embellishments

1
Consider placement. Embellishments should touch or overlap other elements of the page, like pictures and matting, without covering important details.
- Avoid placing embellishments in an area that is separated or distant from other page elements. Typically, no element on the page should appear to “float” in space.
2
Add stickers. You can use just about any type of sticker, but ones with acid-free adhesives are best. Scrapbooking stickers, also called 3D embellishment stickers, are especially fitting since they add a little bit of dimension to an otherwise flat page.
- Your stickers should match the theme of your scrapbook or category. For instance, shell stickers work well for beach vacations, stickers of footballs or baseballs work well for documenting an athletic activity, and heart or rose stickers work well for romantic themes.
3
Use stamps. Stamps can be personalized almost as easily as stickers. Choose rubber stamps that match your theme and color inks that coordinate with those already on your page.
- Test the stamp on a separate sheet of paper before stamping it onto your scrapbook page.
- When stamping the page, make sure that the image is evenly covered with ink and stamp it on a hard, even surface. Hold the stamp securely on the sides and do not rock it back and forth.
- Allow the image to dry before touching it. Otherwise, you may smear the ink.
4
Cut embellishments out of deco paper. You can cut your own simple shapes and designs out of decorative paper that coordinates with the color scheme of each page.
- In addition to deco paper, you could also use colored cardstock.
- You can hand-draw and hand-cut your shapes if you trust the steadiness of your hand.
- Alternatively, you can use a die cutter or paper punch that has an interesting shape.
5
Attach stationery tags. If you did not leave room for a caption beside your photos, you can still add basic identification information by attaching stationery tags to the corner of a photo.
- Paper stationery tags can be written on with a smear-proof pen or marker.
- Attach the tag to the corner of the photo by using a small amount of adhesive on the tip of the attached ribbon or string. Let the tag itself hang loose.
6
Get creative. You can use nearly any relatively flat object for a scrapbook embellishment. Make sure that the item does not contain anything that could be potentially harmful to your photos, though.
- Good non-traditional ideas include pressed flowers, buttons, ribbon bows, locks of hair, magazine cut-outs, and headlines from current newspapers.
- Be cautious when using metal embellishments. Never attach the metal directly to the photo since it can cause damage to the photograph over time.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I need stamps to make a scrapbook?

Community Answer

Yeah! It would be a great idea. You don't have to stick to every instruction on the page; you could change it a little bit to how you like it.
Question

Is it possible to make a scrapbook without pictures?

Community Answer

Yes! You could make a scrapbook with drawings, ticket stubs, or other mementos you want to cherish. Make the scrapbook how you want/need it to be.
Question

How long does it usually take to finish a scrapbook?

Community Answer

It depends on how you decide to lay out and decorate the pages of your scrapbook. The simpler the layout and design of a scrapbook, the less time it'll take. It also depends on what the scrapbook is about. In some cases, you may have an ongoing scrapbook that you contribute to for a number of years before considering it complete.