ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

What Do I Need to Start a Photo Scrapbook?

Updated on February 21, 2018
Madison Resare profile image

Madison is a stay-at-home mom and a freelance writer. She received her B.A. in English from BYU-Idaho and she enjoys crafting and baking.

Photo Scrapbooks

Photo scrapbooks
Photo scrapbooks | Source

Reasons to Start a Photo Scrapbook

Precious memories are made and captured every day and every time you pull out your camera to snap a picture of your friends and family. Of course, after a while all of these pictures become lost, obsolete, or forgotten in an old shoebox that gets placed in the attic unless we do something with them.

Here are some reasons for starting a photo scrapbook:

  • It is a fun/addicting hobby
  • They become genealogy resources for future generations
  • They allow you to save precious family memories in a fun way
  • They are a great way to organize your pictures
  • They help you remember specific days, trips, holidays, and family events

Stuff You Need to Start a Scrapbook

  1. Camera & Pictures
  2. Photo Scrapbook
  3. Paper/Scrap Paper
  4. Nice Scissors & Ruler
  5. Glue/Tape
  6. Fine Tipped Pens

Pictures
Pictures | Source

1. Camera & Pictures

The very first thing you will need in order to start a scrapbook is a couple of pictures and in order to get pictures you are going to need a camera. If you do not already have a camera and you want to start a scrapbook than you might want to start the process of acquiring one.

I use a simple digital camera that I received as a gift because I am not a professional photographer but I still want the option of looking at my picture as soon as I have taken it. If you know how to use a more high tech camera and you can afford one then you should use that for the task of capturing memories. If all you can afford, or all you want to deal with, is a disposable camera than that will work just as well for our purposes.

For printing your pictures, I tend to wait until I have about 2 months’ worth of pictures or more so that I will have plenty to work on in my scrapbook.





Are You an Avid Picture Taker?

See results

Photo Scrapbook

Photo Scrapbook
Photo Scrapbook | Source

2. Photo Scrapbook

The next thing you are going to need is a photo scrapbook, the actual book you are going to place your pictures into. There are a very LARGE number of options when it comes to finding a scrapbook for your pictures. I have a couple different kinds because I have been experimenting with what I like and don’t like over the years.

For a long time my mother and I both used Creative Memories’ scrapbooks, most of them were about 12” x 12” but you had to buy the paper and the plastic covers that they sold because nothing else would work with those particular books. I think they went out of business which is probably a good thing for me because buying the books, the paper, and the plastic covers became very expensive.

After that, I tried a simple scrapbook from Walmart that was about 12” x 12” in size and had 10 plastic sheets already attached, supposedly you can add more sheets/pages and make the book bigger but you have to buy some kind of nuts/bolts contraption in order to make it bigger. Needless to say I didn’t really like that book. I have recently purchased a leather-looking three ring binder book that is VERY BIG the plastic sheets that go with it are not too expensive and it is going to hold a lot of 12” x 12” pages.

Scrap Paper

Scrap Paper
Scrap Paper | Source

3. Paper/Scrap Paper

In order to start putting pictures onto paper (to be placed in your book) you are going to need some paper for your book pages. I prefer getting a heavier paper in white and sometimes in black for my scrapbook pages, cardstock paper works great. The more sturdy the paper the less my pages bend. I always get my pages in 12” x 12”. You are also going to want some colored/decorative/scrap paper for your scrapbook. I try really hard not to waste any part of my paper (buffalo) by using up even the scrap pieces for decoration.

Scissors

Scissors
Scissors | Source

4. Nice Scissors & Ruler

The next basic tool or necessity of scrapbooking is a pair of nice scissors and a ruler. You will be amazed at how often you are chopping/snipping pieces of paper, pictures, etc. And unless you have a straight edge cutter, sadly I do not have one yet, then you are going to want a ruler so that you can cut straight across a big piece of paper or a really important picture. You can also get decorative scissors - which I love! Create a fun edgy design on the edges of your paper and really spice up your pictures.

5. Glue/Tape

Of course having paper and pictures and pages to place them on will do you no good if you have no way of placing those things on the page. There are special kinds of glue/tape you can use for scrapbooking that are not acidic so that they will not ruin your pictures. One of my favorites is called a tape runner; Elmer’s CraftBond tape runners are especially great. Tape runners are awesome because they allow you more decorating, placing, and actual scrapbooking time instead of glue/taping time; they are quick and easy to use and easy to refill.

Fine Tipped Pens

Fine Tipped Pens
Fine Tipped Pens | Source

Other Scrapbook Writing Utensils

  • Pens
  • Calligraphy pens
  • Fine tipped markers
  • Fine tipped pens
  • Sharpies
  • Markers
  • White out pens (for those Oops moments)
  • Pencils
  • Crayons
  • Charcoal
  • Acrylic crayons
  • Watercolor pencils
  • Glitter pens

6. Fine Tipped Pens

Investing in a nice fine tipped pen or two is a great way to complete your basic tools/scrapbook necessities. Of course you could just use a regular pen but a nice fine tipped marker/pen will give you a clear and more defined stroke and it will look much nicer if that is what you use to write on your pages.

Basic Scrapbook Tools/Supplies

Your Scrapbook

Your Scrapbook
Your Scrapbook | Source

Your Memories

These are not just pictures they are your memories and what better way to preserve those memories than to have fun starting the new hobby of scrapbooking? You also don’t have to scrapbook alone, if you prefer hobbies that include other people you can host your own scrapbooking/craft party. Invite your friends and family to scrapbook with you or invite them over to work on any other crafts they happen to be in the middle of at the moment. Have fun preserving your memories by starting your scrapbook today!

© 2014 Maddi

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)