Scrapbook Alley are New Zealand based suppliers of scrapbooking album and card making supplies.
We also stock acid free stickers and papers for protecting and enhancing your creative photo memories.
Page construction will vary from person to person and page to page. There are, however, some simple guidelines to follow.
The papers and card you use should compliment the photos. Where possible, have your photos with you when selecting your papers as this will often help to establish the mood or focal point of the page.
Think about what it is you want people to see when they look at the page as this may determine where to place each item. Imagine your page is a set of scales – often you will find a well balanced page works best.
You don’t need to mat or frame every photo on the page so consider what piece or pieces you wish to highlight. Try varying your mat widths or frame shapes to add dimension. Consider overlapping some elements as this may help to fit it all in. Continue to work with the layout until you establish the best overall effect. Add embellishments sparingly, they shouldn’t become the focus of the page; they should merely enhance the message in the page. Remember to plan for journaling and a title.
When you are happy with the overall layout, you are ready to stick it down.
There are many other tips that may help in your page construction:
Sometimes the simplest pages are best so don’t feel compelled to fill every bit of the page.
You can add variety by varying the shapes and sizes of your photos or by putting some photos on an angle.
Crop photos to help get more in or to get rid of unwanted background. You can crop using cutting systems or by silhouetting (cutting around the person or object to remove all the background) a photo.
Multiple mats often make a photo more prominent.
Mats don’t have to be the same shape as the photo and the photo doesn’t necessarily have to sit in the middle of a mat. Oval photos look great on a rectangle mat, rectangle photos look great set to one side of a rectangle mat, and round photos look great on star shaped mats.
Add a wider mat to one side of your photo and use it to journal on.
Vary your mat widths – they don’t all have to be the same size.
Include memorabilia where possible. If you are concerned about whether it is safe to use, place the memorabilia in a memory pocket before adhering to the page.
Don’t use too many different photo shapes on a page as this can be distracting. Use a couple of different shapes and vary the size of each.
When using templates for lettering, use the template on the underside of the paper ensuring the letter is also upside down so that when it is cut out and turned over it will be right side up. This way, you won’t have to rub out unwanted pencil lines.
When planning your layout, cut stickers from the sheet and leave on the backing until you are sure about the placement.
Vellum and Mulberry papers add a stunning look to pages but can be difficult to glue. Consider applying glue to these papers where you have something placed on top of them so that you won’t see the glue on the finished article. If you are doing this, start gluing from the top layer down so you know exactly where to place the glue.
