Scrapbooking has been around for decades, but is somewhat of a forgotten art. People have always loved to collect mementos and preserve special moments with doodles, photos, trinkets and other bits from their travels and everyday life. But today, many people document and share their life’s happenings through Facebook photo albums, Instagram accounts and other social sites.
While it is amazing to see what your friends or family are up to on the other side of the world in real time, many of those photos can be forgotten as instantly as they are uploaded.
Designer and self-proclaimed “paper lover” Amy Tan is on a mission to preserve the most important moments of people’s lives in the digital age through beautiful, fun and intricate scrapbooks. She makes scrapbooking less daunting (How do you sort through all your photos? Where to start?) with Amy Tangerine, her line of patterned papers, albums, stamps, stickers and other scrapbooking accouterments.
Below, the scrapbook savant shares her top three tips on how to get started and curates a list of crafting essentials.
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Don’t be overwhelmed: Don’t freeze! You don’t have to print out every photo you’ve ever taken to start scrapbooking. Pick a dozen or so photos you’d love to display—from a single event or from over the course of a year. Then browse some online sites (twopeasinabucket.com is my savior) or the aisles of craft shops for page layout inspiration and ideas. Then, just go for it. Allot some time to sit down and create.
Use your supplies: Might sound like a no-brainer, but many scrapbookers become supply hoarders! They keep their favorite stickers and embellishments but never end up using them. Bottom line: Use products that you love. There are so many scrapbooking supplies out there (we can’t even tell you how many stickers we have) that you’ll want, but don’t go overboard. If you like something, actually use it. Don’t keep it for a rainy day. Today is the rainy day.
Mini-books are key: Mini scrapbooks or albums are great options for beginners and let you accomplish something faster. A full scrapbook is very involved and can take weeks or months to finish, but mini books can sum up one single event (like a birthday party or vacation) and be completed in one afternoon.
1. Softgrip scissors 2. Earthtones cardstrock pack 3. Smash family stickers and lists 4. Sticko animal stickers 5. Sticko circles sticker 6. Sticko multicolor alphabet stickers 7. Craft puncher 8. Solid tape set 9. Portable paper trimmer 10. Smash organization tabs