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Best regards,

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While for some people who like to get their hands into their work, this can be a downfall, for others who absolutely love the look of the modern memory album, but don’t have the time, patience, or artistic drive to hand-craft it, this option is ideal.

There are a number of digital scrapbook programs that can be purchased at craft stores, computer software stores, or on the internet. With literally thousands of options for colours, patterns, fonts, and embellishments, you can still create pages that are unique, but without having to dedicate an entire closet to scrapbooking supplies.

I use two scrapbooking software programs and I absolutely love them. The first is called Arcsoft Scrapbook Creator Software I use this because it allows you to:

Crop and assemble digital pictures any way you want, add creative photo edges and special effects with one click. Iit is packed with beautifully designed scrapbook layout content, and you can dress up your page layouts with matching embellishments!

Click Here for Arcsoft Scrapbook Creator Software

The second scrapbooking software I love is called Hallmark Scrapbook Studio Deluxe 3.0

With the hallmark software, it contains over 1,200 scrapbook templates! In three easy step you will have a finished scrapbook.

It has a brand new interface - easier than ever to use! There are over 600 designs new to Version 3.0, over 7,000 Hallmark scrapbooking graphics, over 500 fonts, and it is featuring page designs for 12×12 inch albums.

Click Here to view the Hallmark Scrapbook Studio Deluxe 3.0

Best Regards,

Mike, owner of Cascade Scrapbooking

Various techniques like hand photo coloring, stencil plastering, sewing your pages, embossed vellum layer, digital scrapbooking, etc helps you create a very attractive and professional looking scrapbook.

Hand photo coloring:

Spice up your photos by getting them printed in black and white, then colour them yourself. There are a number of photo colouring chalks, markers and paints on the market that you can fill in the colour right on the photo yourself for a look that is more reminiscent of portrait paintings.

Chalks will give a very subtle colouring, and paints will give bolder colours. You can colour the entire photo, or you can only fill in a few elements and make them stand out against the shades of gray. Chalks can be rubbed on with a cotton swab, as can paints if you want a more toned-down look and for the colours to blend. Use a pencil eraser before the paint dries to remove any mistakes or splatters.

Stencil plastering:

To give your pages depth and dimension, get wall plaster or spackle and some plastic or metal stencils. The stencils can be of lettering, or pictures. You can plaster directly onto the page, or you can do it on small squares or scraps of paper, and then place them on the page. In order to do this, simply clip your stencil to the paper with a paper clip to make sure it won’t move, or use a temporary adhesive.

Stir your plaster or spackle until it is of a smooth consistency, then, with a small spackle or painters knife, fill in the stencil with a thin layer. Scrape across the top of the stencil with the long edge of the knife to smooth it, or leave it bumpy for extra texture. Carefully pull the stencil off by lifting it straight up. Try not to let it smear the image.

Allow the plaster to dry. You can use a coloured plaster, or a white plaster. If you like you can add colour to white plaster after it is dry by brushing some coloured chalk on it, or painting it.

Sewing you pages:

For an interesting look, throw out your glue and sew your elements on your page. You can sew on cardstock and heavy paper the same way you sew on fabric. Choose threads in coordinating colours.

Use your sewing machine and make either a straight stitch, or fancy zigzags. This is a particularly great method for putting together a paper “quilt” layout.

Embossed Vellum layover:

Vellum embosses beautifully, and, because it is transparent, when you lay it over a page it makes a great effect. You can even emboss vellum without using any type of heat or light tables. In fact, if you don’t have a stylus, all you need is a paper clip.

It is easiest to emboss with a metal or plastic stencil. Take the stencil and lay it on the table. Remember that the image will come out backwards, so if you are embossing letters or images that need to face a certain way, turn the template upside-down.

Lay the vellum paper face-down over the template. You will easily be able to get it in the right place because you can see the stencil through the vellum. When it is in place, gently rub into the paper with your stylus, or the rounded edge of your paper clip, pushing it into the stencil.

For sharper edges, go over them a few times, but be careful not to tear the paper. The more you rub over the vellum, the more opaque the image will become. Pick up the vellum, turn it over, and see the image you have created.

To read more, click here to grab your free scrapbook gift- “How to create a beautiful Digital Scrapbook”, thank you and have a great day!

Mike Snyder, owner, Cascade Scrapbooking

Portland, OR

My favorite scrapbook armoire is the Belladonna Floor Standing Locking Jewelry Armoire by Agresti.

Last year I really enjoyed using the Anna Maria Floor Standing Locking Scrapbook Armoire by Agresti. This fancy armoire was made in Florence by Agresti of Italy.

The bestselling scrapbook armoire on Amazon is the Bush Furniture Savannah Collection Pocket Door Armoire, Mocha Cherry

I hope this was helpful! Talk soon,

Mike

Advances in technology have created an option whereby you can use that computer in your home to create magnificent scrapbook using graphics and digital images, which is also inexpensive.

Digital Scrapbooking is gaining in popularity as compared to the traditional method of scrapbooking due to its convenience. Children also love to play around with the computer and parents are not quite worried about the mess that they would have created otherwise using papers, scissors, glue, colors, etc.

Incorporating photos and pictures is a piece of cake using the computer and you can choose from a wide range of designs and techniques to create an attractive background for your scrapbook.

If you are bored with a particular layout, after a few months or years, you can even change the layout design and pattern. Themes can be created from a wide choice available on the internet.

You can print out your scrapbook if you want to create an album. One more advantage of this is in the environmental perspective whereby you can avoid wastage and using materials not very conducive to environmental safety.

A digital scrapbook can be unique to a person. In a manual scrapbook there are bound to be similarities as everyone has to use the materials available in the market.

If you are a first time user, you can make use of the templates available readymade. As you become more advanced you can create your own templates. Options range from graphics which are simple to graphics with 3 D effects.

Backgrounds can be enhanced and beautified by various attractive themes, buttons, photo frames, jewelry, diamonds; etc…

This is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of my digital scrapbooking book and audio course. To read more, click here to grab your copy of “Intro to Scrapbooking: Ideas for Getting Started with your next project”

Happy scrappin’,

Mike Snyder,

owner, Cascade Scrapbooking, Portland, OR

If you are not too creative, you can pick them up from shops.

Tags are very useful for highlighting some special incidents from ones life and can be in any shape, color or texture. Tags allow you to be as creative as you can get.

You can use any kind of trimmings to personalize your scrapbook. It could be the centre piece of a page, could be used as the border or just to emphasize on something interesting or some special moments captured.

You can use your own creativity and imagination to make these trimmings. They could simple ribbons to exquisite pieces of decorative items, which can be made by using odd things or small little nothings picked up at garage sales.

Trimmings can also be left over’s from other projects, you just have to use anything that catches your eye and fits into the theme. Again there is no hard and fast rule of what you can use and what you can’t. It’s entirely your wish on how you want the end result to look.

Accessories

While you are looking at the accessories make sure to pick up a marker to write in the scrapbook and to highlight letterings, and borders.

There are a variety of markers available in the market make sure to pick up the ones that will not smudge on the scrapbook pages. These are available in reputed stationary shops and are available in a variety of colors. They are acid free and do not fade over a period of time.

Making a scrapbook will not be possible without the wax pencil. These are specially made to enable you write on glass, photographs and plastic. You can also use this for coloring, making borders or for highlighting something on the pages. The ink used in these pencils is acid free and comes in many colors.

While making scrapbooks for children stickers can be used extensively. Stickers specially ones involving favorite cartoon figures immediately endear the book to the child and add a personal touch. They can be used to hide mistakes add a little humor and can be used as trimmings. Before using stickers, you must take care to see that the stickers are lignin free and acid free and the glue is not dried.

One more exciting trimming that can be used is a rubber stamp which when dipped in acid free ink can be used to make various trimmings. You can make charming designs on scrapbooks for children in attractive colors. Souvenir can be decorated with different rubber stamps

If the scrapbook is not a formal one you could casually tear up paper and stick it in different shapes and give your page a very informal trimming effect. These could also be used as borders and backgrounds. Great care should be taken to see that this is not used with any other theme other then casual ones. Fraying paper and using it as a border looks very nice in children’s scrapbook.

They also go well with scrapbooks being made for someone who has a great aesthetic sense. Fraying cannot be used with all themes. One must learn the art of fraying before trying to practice it.

This is an excerpt from my eBook “Intro to Scrapbooking”, I hope you enjoyed reading it! You may receive the first two chapters of this digital book at Cascade Scrapbooking.com

Click Here to receive your free copy of the scrapbooking digital book (A $19 value)

To your scrapbook success,

Mike Snyder, owner of Cascade Scrapbooking

The present article has been read by many of our visitors and greatly appreciated. Hopefully you will enjoy it likewise.

With the popularity of scrapbooking today, many brides are decision making to create their own wedding scrapbooking layout. With the huge smorgasbord of papers, stickers and other tools for adorning the wedding scrapbooking layout, you will not be disappointed in your results. And in addition to that, there are even scrapbooking kits specifically made for weddings that will allow you to contrive your wedding scrapbook with minimum coordination and shopping for supplies.

At any rate, even if you prefer to include a professional photographer create an album in their cost, you will in all likelihood want to have a wedding scrapbooking layout of the photographs that your family and friends take of your special day.

Once you take action and create the scrapbook layout, the rest will be fun and easy. Remember the quote, “Action is the antidote to despair. ~Joan Baez

Considerations When Assembling Your Wedding Scrapbooking Layout

The special thing about a wedding album is that you do not need to confine yourself to the photos, patterned papers and stickers that adorn most scrapbooks, although the supplies to choose from are plentiful as well as beautiful. Just imagine how you can include unparalleled mementos to the ceremony and the reception, such as a copy of the toast, a few petals from the grooms boutonnière, or a piece of sheet music from your special song.

Before this, keep in mind that if you select items to let in in your wedding scrapbooking layout that are not photo-safe, that you protect your precious pictures by matting them on acid-free papers. Of course do not let anything that is not of archival quality touch your photos, since this can handicap them by scratching or causing discoloration.

What you Should Admit in Your Wedding Album

As a matter of course there is a good chance that you will have so many wedding pictures to select from, it will be hard to determine what should go into your wedding scrapbooking layout. It will be a bit easier to make your selections if you focus on ensuring that you include scenes from all of the significant events of the day. Exchanging vows, lighting the unity candle, and that first kiss as married man and wife are all significant moments that you will want to remember.

During the reception, you will have many special parts to include, such as the toast, the first dance, and the cake cutting. Try to add a few playful pictures of the bride and groom as well as the family and wedding party. The garter and bouquet are excellent examples of these more wild situations. In summary, If you take the time to run through each special moment, it will be easier to choose your photos, and will make a more efficient scrapbooking story for your special day.

You will experience many adversities during the wedding planning process and scrapbooking design should not be one of them! Plan this well in advance and you will not experience adversary. “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” ~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

I hope this article provided you with the knowledge and understanding you were looking for. I highly recommend checking out my New scrapbooking book and audio course titled “Intro to Scrapbooking: Ideas for Getting Started on your First Project”, You will love it, I completely guarantee it or I will give you a full money back refund with no questions asked! These have been selling like hotcakes and I have not had any refunds, only glowing reviews!

Click Here for your copy of Intro to Scrapbooking

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Mike Snyder

Owner,  Cascade Digital Scrapbooking tutorials , Portland, Oregon

Today I received a question from one of my scrapbook newsletter subscribers. Kathy is a newbie and wants to know “How Do I Start Scrapbooking?”

Thanks for your question Kathy!

The most basic thing that you will need before you commence with assembling your scrapbook will be the album; there is any number of these available in the market today. I recommend selecting a beautiful one that will be most appropriate for your theme.

Other than this you will need a good pair of scissors, glue, pictures, photographs, clippings from the newspaper, and any assorted decorative bits and pieces which will enhance the beauty of the scrapbook. There are many other things which are indispensable to a scrapbook maker.

An exact knife is a must have for anyone making a scrapbook, since everything can be cut into any shape. It is devised in such a way that when the tip gets blunt, it is broken off and a new sharp tip is exposed.

Care has to be taken while using this knife, you should always cut the desired picture after placing it on a mat or newspaper, or else you will end up cutting things which you had no intentions to cut!!!

There are a variety of glues such as glue dots, Xyron and two-sided tapes available in the market, do a proper survey and pick up what suits you most. Tweezers though unconventional are very practical to pick up tiny gummy bits and move them around without creating a mess.

It is worth taking the trouble to look for albums which have acid free, lignin free pages; they enhance the life of the scrapbook. They prevent the paper from turning yellow and disintegrating.

Getting started with Scrapbooking

At the onset you must have the theme for the scrapbook you want to make. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want to. Scrapbooks can be given as gifts for baby-showers, wedding anniversaries, weddings or birthdays. They could be made to immortalize special moments from the lives of your favorite actor, sportsperson, grandparent or child.

Small details that are special to these people can be a part of this book, which will eventually be symbolic to them. These little details can be decorated with trimmings, dried flowers, by fingerprints or
anything, which is special to the theme.

Once you have settled on your theme you have to think of what you are going to name the scrap book and then name the individual pages .It should have an identity of its own so that the viewer knows what he is going to view. This name could be the person’s name, date or some special event. It could be slogan like, dressy or simple quotes, the choice is entirely yours.

A lot of attention will have to be paid to the color scheme of the scrap book. You can work on a single color scheme if the book is a personalized gift idea and you are sure of the color preference.
It could be a mix n match concept provided you are confident of the outcome. You have to pay a lot of attention to the color scheme as this could highlight the beauty of the scrapbook or make it look
gaudy and distracting. You could visit your neighborhood paint and hard ware shop and refer to the color wheel.

This article is continued in my “Getting Started with Scrapbooking” digital book and audio home study course.

Buy your copy today and you will receive three bonus gifts valued at $47.

Happy Scrapin’

Mike Snyder

There are three excellent scrapbook magazines that I highly recommend. I subscribe to them all and read every page!

Memory Makers Memory Makers Magazine features dozens of inspirational scrapbook designs in every issue. It’s no wonder Memory Makers has become recognized as the first source for scrapbook ideas! With complete supplies lists and easy-to-follow instructions included with each design, Memory Makers provides all the tips and techniques the beginner or advanced scrapbook artist needs to create beautiful scrapbooks and preserve precious memories for generations to come!

The second magazine I enjoy is Simple Scrapbooks magazine:

Simple Scrapbooks Simple Scrapbooks Magazine is the perfect way to learn more about this fun and rewarding hobby. Each issue of Simple Scrapbooks provides ideas that are easy to do, rewarding and inspiring.

The third, but not least, is Digital Scrapbooking Magazine:

Digital Scrapbooking Digital Scrapbooking Magazine is the premiere resource for sharing the newest, most exciting ideas in computer-based scrapbooking. Digital Scrapbooking makes it easy to create professional-looking layouts in digital form, preserving your precious memories for years to come and allowing you to share them almost effortlessly with your friends and loved ones. Each issue is full of not only well-designed page ideas, but photography know-how, Photoshop tips and journaling inspiration.

Enjoy! I know you will love these scrapbooking magazines as much as I do.

Happy Scrapin’

Mike Snyder

Greetings fellow scrapbooking enthusiast! Allow me to guide through the aspects of this exciting baby scrapbooking technique.

As you already know, there is just one thing that is nearly universal about proud new parents, it is the number of pictures they love to take of their new little child, their angelic little bundle of joy. But then what do they do? As the little infant quickly grows into a busy toddler, those photographs seem to grow in number with no real organization or means of display until the parents get around to it and finally put their treasured picture collection into a baby scrapbooking layout.

I have found that I will teach many of my clients these techniques but they won’t put them into action. As Ernest Hemingway says, Never mistake motion for action.

Fortunately, retailers of scrapbooking supplies have recognized the colossal need for keeping those darling photographs safe, and now they make available an impressive and nearly endless supply of patterned paper stock, beautiful sticker art, and cool dye cuts to memorialize just about every special moment in a baby’s life! A baby is born with a need to be loved, and never outgrows it.

A question I often receive is “What Should I be Including in my baby scrapbooking layout?

Well first of all, the down side is that you can be faced with an overwhelming number of choices for craft supplies used to make a special album to hold all your treasured pictures; it is easy to get frustrated with the large variety of choices.

My favorite way to overcome this overload of selection is to determine what photos you would like to work with before heading to the craft store. Many experts in the field of scrapbooking will suggest a baby scrapbooking layout by working with your most recent photos first. They will start with the recent and then work back to earlier times.

Other helpful people might advise you to choose one of your favorite moments, perhaps one such as a birthday or religious holiday. This special moment is perfect to create your beginning baby scrapbooking layout. Whichever system or plan you decide to work with, having an idea in mind of the theme you will be creating will help you enormously when you start to pick your supplies and materials to create your original baby scrapbooking layout.

Working with a plan is the most important thing to do. If you don’t start with a plan, you plan to fail. I want you to succeed and get your first baby scrapbook completed. This will be a great gift to your child and love is, above all, the gift of oneself.

Something else to consider as a newbie in scrapbooking, is that you do not have to be fixed with narrow choices by stickers, papers, and photos as you are building the baby scrapbooking layout. I highly recommend using unique things such as the footprints and handprints from the hospital, copy of the birth certificate, and a lock of hair from the first haircut to make your album special and unique to your child.

As far as this hobby is concerned, remember that many of these keepsakes will not be acid-free and photo-safe, so when you place them onto the baby scrapbooking layout please do not allow them to touch your pictures. As I have mentioned, if your photos comes into contact with anything in your scrapbook that is not of high archival quality, it has a good chance of causing damage to the photos by scratching them or causing them to loose their shine and luster.

In other words, a new baby is a miraculous addition to your family that should be celebrated in a heart warming way. Creating a beautiful album full of pictures and keepsakes will be a treasured family heirloom for many generations to come.

I hope you have been able to gain something from this article, thanks for reading! You may read more articles on the various aspects of digital scrapbooking at www.CascadeScrapbooking.com

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