SCRAPBOOKING is everywhere!!!!  Two years ago I would have laughed in your face if anyone had said a year from then I would be scrapbooking.  Crazy!  But, guess what?!  Yes...the bug has bitten me and I will never go back!! 

I began buying items last year around Christmas time and now have an entire dresser full of items yet to be used!  My son is 9, my daughter 5.  I have just started on Isaac's baby book and have completed a vacation book.  *Sigh* - needless to say, I have a ways to go.

In case you are like me and scoffed in the face of scrapbookers everywhere, you may now be eating humble pie.  Have you, too, been bitten?  Are you wondering where to begin?  Does it make your head swim?  Read on....the following is for "newbies".  Basic tips from someone who is still learning.

• It is NOT necessary to spend $30-$40+ on scrapbooks.  Ebay is a great place to get them very reasonably.  Hint:  know if there are plenty of pages to go along with the album.
• One of the greatest items a scrapbooker can have is a "sayings" book.  It is a book that has hundreds of one-liners for page headings, journaling ideas, etc.
• If you find a good deal...GO FOR IT CAUTIOUSLY!!  Ebay has hundreds of auctions full of wonderful papers, stickers, emblems, untensils, etc.  I say cautiously, because as convenient as ebay is, it isn't always the best deal.  Check prices often.
• Get a few scrapbooking magazines to give you ideas!!  They are SOOOOOOOOO helpful, but expensive when you buy them in stores.  Find lots (3 or more) of them on ebay and ask the sellers if they will ship media mail.  It is much cheaper and the wait is usually only an extra few days.
• Once you have it in your head that "yes, I AM going to do this!", then get together with a couple of friends once or twice each month.  I belong to a group called The Common Bonders, for scrapbooking and card-making. 

You will never be sorry that "the bug" bit you.  It is a legacy for your children and other family members.  Thanks for your time!!  -Val from Iowa