Search Results for: blog using embellishments that go with your theme

Affordable Spring Embellishments

The good news is that there is a seemingly endless supply of spring-themed scrapbook embellishments available in craft stores right now.  The bad news is that many of the gorgeous accessories are quite pricey.  Adding just a few of the eye-popping decorations can easily send the price of a single spring layout into the stratosphere. Fortunately, there are a slew of affordable alternatives to expensive scrapbook embellishments.  For example, rather than purchasing elaborate silk flowers to decorate your spring page designs, consider making your own colorful blossoms at home using inexpensive coffee filters.  All you need are some basket-style paper … Continue reading →

Beach Theme Background Paper

With much of the nation baking under record high temperatures, it’s no surprise that area beaches are packed to the gills. After all, who doesn’t enjoy soaking up the sun, sand and surf? Whether you are visiting the sea solo, or you are there with your entire clan, a trip to the beach is a memorable occasion. In fact, beach-themed layouts are extremely popular with summer scrapbooking fans who want to preserve the season’s highlights. Photos of family members burying each other in the sand, surfing, frolicking in white wash, collecting shells or watching the sunset make great additions to … Continue reading →

Go Greek

Pledging a sorority or fraternity is a major milestone in the lives of some college co-eds. In fact, there are a slew of Greek-themed scrapbook embellishments for those looking to craft a memory album dedicated to life as a sorority sister or fraternity brother. With graduation season in full swing, many commencement-themed scrapbooks feature at least a few layouts spotlighting life as a Greek. Most are constructed by mixing formal portraits with informal photos reflecting the fun the graduate had bonding with his or her sisters or brothers. Page designs could also feature sorority of fraternity colors, crests, and letters, … Continue reading →

Organizing Holiday-Themed Layouts

I just spent an hour going through the Christmas photos I snapped earlier this morning. My goal was to select about a dozen or so to email to my mom in Hawaii, as she is trying to finish a year in review scrapbook and needs shots of the grandkids opening their presents. The rest of the photos will be featured in my holiday-themed layouts, which will be dramatically less elaborate than my mother’s page designs. Unlike my mom, I didn’t go wild buying a ton of new Christmas embellishments this year. Whereas I plan to look for scrapbook supply deals … Continue reading →

Adding Color to Your Layouts

Is it too early to make a New Year’s resolution? As I look back at the scrapbooks I created in 2011, I’ve noticed that they lack color variations. I tend to use the same shades on different layouts. Whereas I am good at incorporating an array of embellishments, they tend to be in the same color family. Obviously, if you are creating a layout with a theme, such as high school graduation, and you are using your child’s school colors as the focus, then it makes sense to stick with the same hues. However, if you are designing a layout … Continue reading →

Give Thanks for Free Embellishments

A few days ago I saw the most gorgeous Thanksgiving bouquet of vibrant sunflowers, royal lilies, button poms, gerbera daisies, alstroemeria, and mums. Only I didn’t get it to place at the center of my Turkey Day buffet; rather, I am using an image of the floral arrangement on a holiday scrapbook layout. The beautiful bouquet was part of a graphics package I found online for free. The clip art flowers didn’t cost me a dime, though they look like a million bucks on my page design. If you are looking for cheap ways to fill your Thanksgiving, Christmas or … Continue reading →

Organizing Your Stash

If you are an avid scrapper, then you’ve likely accumulated a nice stash of paper, embellishments and albums over time. This is especially true if you find seasonal sales hard to resist. I have a magnetic attraction to sales bins and tend to purchase items that I may not need right away, but feel I will use down the road. Only I haven’t gotten to that part of the road yet and I am now being smothered by excessive scrapbook materials. If you have a storage problem, then now is the time to look for solutions. Summer is primetime to … Continue reading →

Making Embellishments Pop

If you are a budget scrapper, then you are likely best friends with the sale buckets located at the back of scrapbook shops. The containers, housing reduced priced embellishments, are a gold mine for frugal crafters looking to stretch their scrapbooking dollar. I never miss a chance to dig through the sale buckets at my local scrapbook store. In fact, today I hit the jackpot because the bins were crammed with Fourth of July-themed embellishments which were on sale for 50 to 75 percent off. Granted, much of the materials were generic (stars, flags, flowers, etc.), but they can easily … Continue reading →

More Ways to Scrap Your Spring Break Adventures

Making a spring break travel scrapbook is fairly simple. After all, it doesn’t take much to add photos and memorabilia to layouts. However, if you are looking for ways to make your pages pop, then consider the types of embellishments you use. For example, for a beach-themed page, instead of using a slew of store-bought stamps and stickers for added effect, why not create an ocean and sand setting as a backdrop for favorite photos of your kids frolicking in the waves? You can use chalk to draw the water and sandpaper for the sand. Or, use fine art sand … Continue reading →

Own Your Layout

My family and I spent the past month in Hawaii visiting my parents, brothers, cousins and friends. It was a joyous time filled with love and laughter… and a few tiffs. We didn’t fight, but we did engage in some heated debates, but they weren’t about politics or religion; rather, they had to do with scrapbooking. More specifically, they were about the use of quotes in a scrapbook layout. Strange, right? I know, but here’s the background. While we were home for the holidays, my aunt and cousin decided to put together a Christmas-themed memory book using all of the … Continue reading →