Choosing Your Scrapbook Albums

Never has the scrapbooker had so many choices of scrapbook albums or memory albums than she (or he) has today. The options range from traditional albums, available in an array of sizes, bindings and prices, to chipboard albums, acrylic albums and albums in unusual shapes such as hearts, houses, and even as alphabets that spell a word. Other choices are hand made albums created from such items as chipboard, paper bags, CDs, coasters, coffee filters, coin envelopes and probably much more.

Traditional albums come in many sizes and styles. Prices could range from a few dollars for a small, simple album to hundreds of dollars for an elegant,leather bound edition.

Typically, these traditional albums are either post bound, ring bound, or book bound. The type of binding is a key consideration when choosing a traditional scrapbook album. The book bound albums cannot be expanded but the post-bound and ring binder types can.

Most manufacturers sell additional page protectors that can be added to an expandable album.

The video below demonstrates an eight inch square, post bound scrapbook album, as well as some other basic scrapbook supplies.

Contemporary scrapbook albums, often made of chipboard, acrylic, or a combination of the two, come in a multitude of fun and amusing sizes, shapes and designs.

Typically smaller than the traditional albums, they lend themselves well to light-hearted, whimsical projects.

These albums typically cost less than their more serious counterparts.

The video below shows a gaily decorated, heart-shaped chipboard scrapbook album. It's called "hybrid" scrapbooking, in that it contains traditiohal scrapbooking techniques with the increasing trend to digital scrapbooking.

Much as we all love to create our own designs, sometimes we need something fast and easy to put together. Scrapbook kits are ideal for those occasions when time is running out and your project isn't started yet. Because everything you need is included, except your photos or other keepsakes, you spend no time matching papers and embellishments. You also avoid waste, since typically you use everything in the kit, with no leftover items to find uses for later.

The album in the video below was made from a kit that contained a chipboard album, scrapbook papers, stickers, alphabets and various embellishments -- all matching and color coordinated.

As mentioned earlier, scrapbookers and other paper artists often create their own mini albums using almost anything that can be laid flat and bound together in some way.

I have even seen albums made from flip-flops! Yes, the summer footwear!

In the video below, I show a small, mini album made from coasters and bound with binder rings. Not all scrapbook albums contain photographs. This one does not.