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10 Scrapbooking Tips and Tricks

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Hello everyone! I’m very excited to introduce myself as your new Scrapbooking Editor on the Craft Gossip Network. I’ve been following Sarah’s posts for some time now and I hope I will be able to do as excellent a job, and fill her shoes.

By way of introduction, I thought I would post some random scrapbooking facts about me, as well as some of my favourite scrapbooking tips and tricks.

Random tidbits

  1. I discovered scrapbooking in 2001/2002 while living in the US. I was immediately hooked, but sadly hooked by bright colours and deco scissors! It didn’t really become a passion until about three years ago. Probably when I discovered the nice stuff.
  2. I love everything BasicGrey. So much that I buy it all and just hoard the paper. I usually have to talk myself into cutting into it!
  3. I never know how to define my “style” so I just go with eclectic
  4. I’m addicted to American Crafts Thickers
  5. When I’m working on a page and stumped I take a photo of it and look at it on my monitor. Somehow that gives me the right perspective to make changes.
  6. A few months ago I was doing at least a page a day, but I seem to be in a slump lately. I’m also doing lots of Christmas crafting lately, which might explain it!
  7. My current favourite colour combo is teal, coral and kraft

10 Scrapbooking Tips and Tricks

  1. Alcohol free baby wipes are perfect for cleaning rubber and acrylic stamps
  2. Not sure if a stamp is the perfect design for a certain spot? Stamp it first with a solvent ink like StazOn on a piece of plastic and lay over your project in progress to check. Clear inserts or packaging that come with products are handy for this.
  3. Glossy Accents by Ranger is also a great adhesive for lumpy stuff and clear elements
  4. Older stickers and diecuts that you probably won’t use again make great masks. To use the diecuts lightly apply a re-positionable adhesive to the back. Then ink, paint or spray over them
  5. Place embellishments in odd numbers like three and five for more visual impact
  6. No more e’s in your letter sticker pack? Try an upside down 3! I’ve done this tons of times. In fact I have also changed a lower case g into a y and an h,  and an ampersand (&) into an S. It all depends on the font, so take a closer look to see what you can improvise
  7. Try using themed products on unrelated projects. I’ve used stickers from a wedding sheet on a layout about pizza and another about dinner guests. This way you get more bang for your buck!
  8. Punch holes in raw chipboard to make it a more decorative element. The Crop-a-Dile cuts through chipboard like butter!
  9. Grab five to seven left out items from your desk and challenge yourself to use them on a quick page. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with
  10. When all fails, use Thickers!

Can you tell me some of your favourite tips and tricks? Please leave a comment below. Also, remember that you can send me your news and info to be posted here by leaving a comment, or by sending an email to scrapbooking@craftgossip.com

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Comments

  1. Hi Francine, and welcome!

    Thank you a million times over for your tips about the alphabet stickers. I have already been doing this in a smaller scale, but you have clearly taken this to a whole new height! LOL

    One other thing I do with alphabet stickers is use a pen to add a line and therefore create the letter I want. For example, an upper case F can become an uppercase E by drawing an extra line. A P can become and R or a B. OF course it depends on having a pen that’s the same color as the sticker.

    One more sticker tip — certain numbers can become alphabets and vice versa. O’s and zeros are interchangeable, as are ones and I’s.

    One last sticker tip — sand them to get an older look. I dislike many of the shiny, glossy stickers but a brisk rub with sand paper gives them a completely different feel.

    Also, I like using glitter glue over stickers.

  3. i love your website its very cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    i hav 2 full scrapbooks and i need some ideas cause i’m not very good so yeh.

  4. so i need to talk again i have alot of photos but there all of my cousins and i’ve all ready got a page on them so what do i do for another heading
    THX, VICTORIA:)

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