Hate is such a strong word. Still, there are some scrapbookers who refuse to handwrite journal entries, page titles or photo captions because they despise the look of their chicken scratch. Fortunately for all of you haters out there, free fonts are just a click away. ScrapbookingFonts.com is a saving grace for people who shy away from adding their own handwriting to memory album layouts. The site has a slew of cursive fonts to choose from. You can either print out the fancy writing and add it to a traditional scrapbook or use the fonts directly on the page of … Continue reading →

The world of digital scrapbooking can be overwhelming to navigate, especially if you are not tech savvy. When I first experimented with digital scrapbooking I figured I would select my photos, place them in pretty pre-fabricated frames, add them to my layouts, and go about my merry way. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy. I can’t tell you how much time, energy and money I’ve spent learning from my mistakes, namely ones that involved printing free digital frames. For starters, there are an endless number of websites that offer printable scrapbook frames at no charge. The catch is finding one that … Continue reading →

When you are short on time and money, but still want to design attractive scrapbook layouts, then printing out free templates may be an offer that is too good to pass up. What’s more, with the surge in digital scrapbooking, the uber-affordable templates are easier to find than ever before. I’ve had the most luck with free templates offered by Scrapbook Scrapbook. The company has a gigantic array of scrapbook supplies you can access at no cost, including templates and clipart. Moreover, the online resource is one of the easiest to navigate. You can select from thousands of free templates, … Continue reading →

A few days ago I saw the most gorgeous Thanksgiving bouquet of vibrant sunflowers, royal lilies, button poms, gerbera daisies, alstroemeria, and mums. Only I didn’t get it to place at the center of my Turkey Day buffet; rather, I am using an image of the floral arrangement on a holiday scrapbook layout. The beautiful bouquet was part of a graphics package I found online for free. The clip art flowers didn’t cost me a dime, though they look like a million bucks on my page design. If you are looking for cheap ways to fill your Thanksgiving, Christmas or … Continue reading →

If you are scrapbooking on a budget, then you should seriously consider embellishing with clip art. The computer generated graphics are some of the cheapest scrapbook embellishments around. And by cheap I mean free. The Internet is teeming with websites that offer free clip art. The sheer variety of graphics allows you to flex your creative muscle while filling theme albums, from baby to military, holiday to wedding. I am quite loyal to ScrapbookScrapbook when it comes to downloading clip art. Not only does the site feature a ton of traditional graphics for back-to-school books and birthday albums, but there … Continue reading →

Besides vacations and weddings, the most popular theme for scrapbooks is baby. Preserving adorable baby photos, as well as memorabilia, stories and fun facts from the first days of a child’s life is almost irresistible for moms and dads. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can craft a baby scrapbook without breaking the bank. One of the most convenient options is to tap into free printables. These money-saving embellishments allow you to create an eye-popping baby book without draining Junior’s college fund. All you need is Internet access, a computer and a color printer. My daughter’s baby scrapbook … Continue reading →

In some cases free doesn’t always equate to good or even decent. This goes for everything from food to advice. You should always be cautious about accepting items for free when you don’t know all the details of the deal. I felt this apprehension the first time I was invited to take advantage of free downloads for scrapbook paper and embellishments. Fortunately, I had the benefit of knowing veteran scrappers who were well-versed in digital scrapping and had experience navigating online resources that offered quality products for free. When I first started exploring the sites I didn’t realize that the … Continue reading →

I always chuckle when my friend comments about my “clean” scrapping style. In my world of budget scrapbooking, “clean” is code for “cheap.” The more embellishments I add to a page, the more the layout costs, so when money is extra tight I simply create streamline designs that are not completely nude, but don’t feature a plethora of stickers, stamps and die cuts either. Another way to keep your layouts as simple and clean as possible is to limit the number of photos you feature on a single page. I know this technique somewhat negates the concept behind scrapbooking. After … Continue reading →

I am a scrapbook sticker fiend and I’m not ashamed to admit it, as I always find a way to use every last attractive adhesive. I use the majority of my leftover stickers to create borders on layouts, though stickers are certainly not the only means in which to create beautiful borders. If you are short on time and money, printable borders offer a great alternative to traditional ones. Fortunately, there are hundreds of websites that offer an array of incredible scrapbook borders for free. What’s more, in most cases you can customize the borders to fit your specific measurements, … Continue reading →

Don’t be offended by the title. I happen to wear my “cheapskate” badge with honor. Call it what you want: frugal, creative, selective, whatever. The point is there is a way to stick to your budget even if you are addictive to scrapbooking. One of the best ways to save money scrapbooking is to think outside of the box. Sure, it is easy to run to your local scrapbook supply shop when you’re in need of embellishments for your layouts, but often you can find dirt cheap alternatives in your own home. Some ideas include: *Recycling bows and ribbons from … Continue reading →