The world of scrapbooking is overwhelming for the beginner.  With so many products to choose from, it is easy to give up before you even get started.  One piece of advice to remember - start small.  That is easier said than done when you are looking at rows and rows of beautiful paper, stickers, die cuts and other embellishments.  Here are some steps to take to keep it simple, at least for your first scrapbook!

1.  Pictures 

Without pictures, you don't have a scrapbook.  To start small, pick one event.  Our example will be a wedding album.  If your photos are stashed in a shoebox somewhere, go and get them and lets organize. 

For our wedding photos, we want to sort by category - getting ready, at the ceremony, at the reception.  Now you can sort down even further to make it easier on yourself later on.  For example, at the reception can be broken down into - toasts, bouquet/garter toss, dancing, and cutting the cake.

Once our organizing is done, you are ready for the fun part - SHOPPING!

2.  Albums

Scrapbook albums come in many sizes, the most popular being 12 x 12 all the way down to 5 x 5 mini albums.  The size you want depends on the amount of pictures you have.  For a wedding album, we have enough pictures to make a 12 x 12 album.  A first birthday party album might look better in an 8 x 8 or 5 x 5 album.  So, once you decide on the size you have to pick a style.  There are many colors and designs out there.  Try and go with your theme.  A wedding album would be pretty in white, cream, or with flowers on it.  A birthday party would be cute in blue or red, something festive.  A great place to start looking for albums would be with Creative Memories.  They are very well made and have a lot of different colors to choose from.

3. Adhesives

Adhesives come in the form of tape runners, glue pens, glue dots, and several others.  Tape runners seem to be the best bet for large items.  For smaller items, such as die cuts, you will want to have some glue dots or a glue pen handy.  The one thing to make sure of when buying adhesive is that it says acid and lignin free.

4. Paper

If you don't want plain white backgrounds, you need to look for some scrapbook paper.  Make sure that you only use acid and lignin free paper so your pictures will be preserved properly.  Start your search by typing in your theme followed by scrapbook paper and you are sure to find something.

5.  Embellishments

Now, here is where we need to stick to our mantra - start small.  Repeat as necessary.  It is very easy to go overboard when buying products for your album.  Try and remember, you don't want to overwhelm yourself.  Stick to your theme, stick to your colors and you should do great.

-Stickers are fun and easy to use.  They are sold in packs by theme so it is easy to choose.  Give yourself a chance to look at all of the options and pick your favorites.  For our wedding album, we chose some wedding phrase stickers and bride and groom stickers.  Jolee's Boutique is a very popular brand.

-Brads are an easy way to introduce yourself to another product.  All that you need to use them is a hole punch.  They come in many colors, shapes, and sizes.

-Die cuts are another easy to use product for when you are starting out.  You can find die cuts for just about any theme and all you have to do is glue them on your page.

6. Organization

Scrapbook totes come in many shapes and sizes.  Again, start small and when you outgrow your small tote upgrade to a larger size.  Look for bags that have a lot of pockets and storage areas so you can keep your supplies separated.

Remember, the golden rule for first time scrapbookers is start small.  Keep yourself organized when you buy new items and before you know it, you will be working on your 10th album.

Happy Scrappin'