Scrapbooking Page Layout Beginners Tips

If you are creating a scrapbook page for a magazine cover, then that's one thing, but, if you are interested in organizing a bunch of photos into meaningful scrapbook pages keep this in mind:

KISS--Keep It Simple Sweetie--KISS

The scrapbooking magazines are full of scrapbook layouts that look great and take several hours each to complete. And if you'll notice, they often have only one or two photos per page. Most of us have way too many photos we want to include to take that approach.
So here is a compromise; why not make an elaborate 'cover' page that only has one or two photos & describes the events and behind it include several very simple pages of many more photos and maybe a sticker or two. If you use the same colored background for all these pages it would 'group' them nicely. Or just include plastic sleeves of photos after the cover page if it is a big trip and you have lots of photos.

Scrapbook Layouts

Generally,  I find that I can cut (crop) alot of boring or repetitive background off of photos without loosing any of the impact of the picture. In fact, it is just the opposite. Good cropping makes a photo look better.   This also lets me get more photos on my page. Generally photos look best with straight edges and a narrow colored mat that 'picks up' one of the colors in the photo. Save the fancy edged scissors for decorative borders or the mat around the photo.

I find rectangular photos lend themselves to a page arrangement with  the corners of some pictures overlapping another photo. I can hide clutter or unsightly background and give a movement to the layout with a path for the eye to follow.

Scrapbook Page Titles

I find it easiest to make my title cut-out letters or title box a separate piece of paper that I attach to my layout. That way, I can move it around and see where it looks and fits best and if I goof-up, it is easier to fix. If I'm using alphabet letters I printed from my sets, and it looks a bit too big, I can print another sheet at 75% size. You can use my Free Instant Scrapbook Page Title Maker.

Scrapbook Journaling

This is 'scrapbook talk' for the text or writing that you put on the page to describe the event. It is easiest by far to do this on a separate piece of paper and attach to the layout than writing directly onto the page. You can draw light lines to guide you or use a light-box with a piece of lined paper underneath. I love using a glass topped table with a  lamp sitting on the floor underneath for a BIG light-box. A sunny window works too but you'll have to write upright  like a teacher on a blackboard !! Many of my sets include text boxes made especially for journaling with light lines on them. Remember that you can print them in different sizes to suit your page.  One of our sets is all journaling boxes in lots of colors and sizes. Remember you can always print them in pastels by using your printer's 'draft' or 'economy' setting.

You can also do your journaling on a computer or typewriter and cut out the text to attach to your layout. There are a gazillion free fonts on the internet that you can download & install on your computer, just go to www.Google.com and do a search for 'free fonts' and spend 5 days looking at the results!! Your computer probably already has fonts that would be fine.