Scrapping Your Camera

Scrapbookers are gearing up for the busiest time of the year. October, November and December are prime months for documenting holiday-related events. Memory book makers’ cameras will be getting a major workout as 2012 comes to an end. Consequently, you’ll want to make sure your camera is in tip-top shape in order to capture all of those special holiday moments. Now is also an ideal time to upgrade your digital camera if you are looking to improve your scrapbook pictures. When shopping for a new camera it’s important to conduct some research prior to purchasing. Fortunately, the Internet is teeming … Continue reading →

Gearing Up for the Holiday Season

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas… and a new Cricut Mini, Xyron Magic Sticker Maker, fancy punch kits, and a stencil set. What scrapbooking items are on your holiday gift wish list? While many scrapbook fans drool over the latest and greatest memory book gadgets, there is one piece of equipment essential to the hobby–a camera. With the busy holiday season right around the corner, now is the time to upgrade your camera if need be. After all, you can’t create stunning layouts with photos that look better in the trash than on your scrapbook page. Fortunately, decent quality digital … Continue reading →

Reflections

Visiting “The Bean” is right up there with boogie boarding on my daughter’s list of top summer activities. The shiny sculpture’s real name is “Cloud Gate” and it is a huge crowd pleaser in Chicago’s Millennium Park. It got its nickname for obvious reasons; however, the sculpture’s shape is not the only thing going for it. The Bean features more than 165 stainless steel plates welded together, minus visible seams. What you are left with is a highly polished, incredibly reflective blob that is said to be inspired by liquid mercury. The Bean’s surface reflects and slightly distorts Chicago’s stunning … Continue reading →

Snapping Above Average Scrapbook Photos

You can buy the fanciest album in the world and decorate your layouts with the most expensive embellishments EVER, but if your pictures are ugly, then your entire scrapbook is really nothing more than a waste of time and money. In order to snap scrapbook worthy shots, follow these simple tips: Shutter Lag Alert: Shutter lag is that aggravating delay between the time you press the shutter button and the time the camera actually takes the shot. If you are not careful, shutter lag can cause blurry pictures. You can avoid this by pressing the shutter button halfway down until … Continue reading →

Only the Best Will Do

What’s the sense of scrapbooking if your embellishments are nicer than your photos? Whereas memorabilia, stickers, stamps, die cuts and journaling are important additions to memory books, without decent-looking pictures all you’re left with it is an album filled with extraneous doodads. To really make your layouts stand-out it’s best to design them so that your best shots take center stage. You can achieve this by constantly improving on your picture-taking techniques. For starters, if you’ve yet to do so, now is a good time to read your camera’s instruction manual. Many hobby photographers, who own point-and-shoot cameras, don’t bother … Continue reading →

Improving the Look of Vacation Scrapbooks

The very first scrapbook I ever made had a vacation theme. I spent the summer crisscrossing the United States and collected mountains of memorabilia and nearly 1000 photos. The project was massive. In fact, it was really too big now that I look back on it. Still, I was determined to find a way to display all of the memories I made on my summer-long journey. When I page through the book now I notice that it has way more photos than anything else. If I had the chance to do it over I would have probably added more embellishments … Continue reading →

Getting the Best Shot

You could have the most elaborate die cuts, stickers, stamps and rub ons, but if your photos stink, then your entire scrapbook layout will be compromised. I know this from experience because I wanted desperately to construct a layout to showcase my memorabilia from a summer concert I attended featuring the Goo Goo Dolls. It was an evening concert that took place outdoors, and while I had a decent seat and cameras were permitted, I came away with pitiful looking shots. The biggest issues that face concertgoers trying to shoot the main act are lighting and resolution. It is nearly … Continue reading →

Do Better Photos Mean Better Pages?

There are many times when I look at someone else’s scrapbook page and think, “Wow! That’s gorgeous!!” Then, I take a second look, and start analyzing (like I so often do) what exactly makes the page look so beautiful. Many times, I realize it is not necessarily the skills of the scrapper, or the great materials they used, but it is simply a great picture. I sometimes feel jealous that I don’t have a better camera. I imagine how magnificent my pages could be if I had a $1500 camera that took perfect pictures no matter how bad the photographer … Continue reading →

Do You Have to Scrapbook In Order?

This is a hard question, and is obviously different for everyone out there. When I did those very first albums I felt the need to always go in order, and always complete the album before moving onto the next project. However, as time has evolved, I tend to want to focus on what pictures make me feel creative rather than what picture is the next in my pile. Sometimes, I will look at a picture and have no idea how to scrap it, what title to put on it, what papers to use, etc. So, I will search for a … Continue reading →

Try a New Scrapbook Look Using Black and White Photos

If you were to take a look through my scrapbooks you would see a lot of color. The album itself, the pictures inside, the paper and embellishments all scream color. I’m sure this is true for most scrapbookers. We tend to really like color. Recently I have been thinking of doing something a little different. I really appreciate the look and beauty of black and white photos. Black and white photos are simple but sophisticated. They have an elegance to them that is very unique. A black and white photo scrapbook would definitely be something very different. It would be … Continue reading →