Make your scrapbook unique and beautiful with special paper

Special papers are a fun material to use when you’re scrapbooking. If you have a scrapbook full of blank pages and you’re still not sure where to begin, special scrapbook paper will help spark your creativity. Like any craft or project, sometimes the hardest part is getting started.


There are thousands of special scrapbook papers available on craft websites or in stores. The options are as varied as the ideas you come up with when brainstorming how you want your scrapbook to look and feel. Part of the fun of finding unique papers is that you don’t always know what you’re looking for until you find it. Special papers can help you pull together a theme, set a tone, or provide an evocative background to compliment pictures and mementos.


Scrapbooking is a way to capture an important memory or impression and make it tangible. One of the reasons why scrapbooking is so addictive is because there are no rules, no instructions to follow. Sometimes creating a single scrapbook page can be like solving a puzzle and a riddle at the same time: you’re working to express ideas, thoughts or emotions, but you also want the result to look pleasing to the eye.


When you browse special scrapbook paper, you’ll see that they usually come in the form of a pad or packet. Typically, a single pad will include multiple styles, designs, patterns, colors, and themes, and often you’ll get two copies of each. As the pile of pads you love slowly builds in your cart, consider the size of the scrapbook you are currently making. Figure how many pages you’re actually creating to determine how many special papers you have room for. Your uncluttered craft closet and your budget will thank you!




When you’re ready to roll up the sleeves and start scrapbooking, make sure to have your special scrapbook papers within each. Special papers can be used for a number of scrapbook and paper craft projects. For this article, we’ll look at how to use them in three ways:

1. Background and borders
2. Tying together a theme
3. Setting the right tone

Background and borders – When you’re choosing a design to use as the background or border for a scrapbook page, pull out your top three choices. Layout the items you plan to use on the page on top or beside the special papers and consider which aesthetic combination you like best overall. The results may be surprising because every picture and memento is unique. If you’re trying to decide on a particular pairing, try asking yourself if you like the contrast of colors. Do they complement each other. Does a patterned border make you page look too busy, or does it make the content of the page pop?


Tying together a theme – Special scrapbook papers are designed for every theme imaginable, from sports, and travel, to camping, and music. Most online craft supply stores have a search box to help save time. Themed paper is handy for giving a context to photographs that may have been taken at different times and places.


Setting the right tone – When it comes establishing a tone or mood for your scrapbook, never be afraid to experiment. These will be your more emotional pages and creating them will feel especially rewarding. Special events, such as a marriage proposal, a birth announcement, or graduation will inspire you to craft some of your best scrapbook pages. Some examples of using special papers to enhance tone include writing a poem or love letter directly on a special paper, or centering a single important photograph on a solid, textured background.

The process of building a scrapbook develops organically. Each page tells a story. Special scrapbook papers will help you tell a story as only you can tell it.

References:
Scrapbooking Directory
About Scrapbooking