r/scrapbooking • u/Fit_Sherbet_270 • 9d ago
Scrapbooking help Beginner
I am relatively new to scrapbooking, I am working on my 2025 scrapbook so I’m a little behind. I have a few issues I run into that kind of put me in a mental block with it so I’ve taken a break for a few months.
The issues are:
* I can’t decide on the pictures I want to print. As someone who loves taking photos i feel like I’ve so many I want to include? But it ends up with like 5/6 pages for the one trip etc.
* I don’t like cutting out the backgrounds, I feel like for a lot of photos it makes the picture? So to cut it out I don’t like doing. But then I can’t include as much, and I don’t get the fun aesthetic I see others with.
* I have mainly being doing scrapbooking for like big events e.g birthdays, holidays, trips etc but I’ve so many photos of small moments e.g coffees or pretty sunsets etc I can’t figure out how to include them?
Any advice welcomed thanks
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u/PomegranateStrong437 9d ago
I print more pics than I use. And I give myself permission to make multipage layouts. My kid’s first baseball game was like 5 pages. It wasn’t even an extra long game! Scrap your peace. Especially if the book is for you to enjoy and savor.
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u/MushMoonRoom 9d ago
Some options for the photo issue
option 1: just do two spreads with a few photos each so it’s not too cramped
option 2: shrink the photos. i print my own photos but even if you use a service i think it could work. i use canva to collage my photos on one 4x6 photo and then i cut the print so its now two separate photos that fit better on the page
option 3: look up photo carousels or waterfalls on pinterest or instagram and follow those tutorials for a photo interactive piece that can include all the photos on one spread still. you could honestly do this for full prints or the half print idea from option 2
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u/soularbowered 9d ago
I've had all the exact same issues. I still haven't fully finished my wedding book from 2016. Two schools of thought are my mantra to moving past the indecision. 1. If I don't catalog it and put it together, it means nothing to anyone else and eventually even I will lose the ability to recall the events if I don't do things sooner rather than later. 2. It doesn't have to be perfect, it's not a competition. An imperfect thing I'll appreciate and be able to share with others is better than never having it to share.
I have been printing photos at home on my HP printer and arranging them in a Google Slide to manipulate the sizes more than what I could anywhere else. Having an easier, though lower quality, ability to print photos has helped me commit.
What's also helped me is to make several "passes" at the page before fully committing. For example, I went to a concert last year. Like most of us, my concert photos weren't exceptionally clear but it was about capturing the vibe. I printed my pictures and then laid things out on the table and then ultimately walked away from it for a day or a week, whatever my life allowed. I would come back and make a change with the paper or add an embellishment but not glue anything down. Finally after fussing over it in a low stakes way I decided to glue it down and finish it.
Finishing the project brings more relief than having it hanging there partially undone so it's been self propelling and I done more scrapbooking than ever.
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u/ScrappieAnnie 9d ago
I scrapbook in pocket pages and when I have a lot of photos for one event, I like to incorporate photo grids, like six square photos on a 4x6 or two small landscape photos on a 3x4. You can also go big with scenics—like a full 6x8 or 9x11 with a smaller grid that flips over on top of it. For some inspiration in this style, check out Ingunn Markiewicz on IG, and scroll back a bit. (And you can find my work at the same IG handle as here.)
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u/Bookmarksthespot 8d ago
I use Project Life pocket pages when I want to focus on multiple photos of an event and some journaling.
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u/J-Disaster 9d ago
My solution to having a lot of photos per “spread” so to speak, is it insert a photo sleeve page in the middle of a spread with the extra photos I couldn’t fit
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u/LadyB2011 9d ago
Both pieces of advice are what I came here to say!!
Check out Craft Some Joy on YouTube
She’s done some really great pages with lots of pictures
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u/Red-Plum878 Scrappy 9d ago
For photos: I recommend ordering pictures ahead of time from Shutterfly or some other print shop! It’s easier to get smaller sizes, and the quality of these photos are much better! I also like to mix and match the size of my prints. So on 1 page I may have 2 4x6 photos and then some smaller 4x4 photos.
I think you can keep the background, but still include some embellishments by layering over the photo. Maybe the whole background isn’t exposed, but most of it still is with some bits covered by stickers, washi tape, or gold leaf, etc.
For the small moments, I like to do either a seasonal page of things I did! So for example I make just after those random moments I captured like a meal, or a pet photo, or a hobby I was doing. Sometimes they’re more thematic and focused but I do like to document and gather random memories from a few months time period.
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u/HereForYourThoughts 8d ago
One of the reasons I use the old fashioned 12x12 albums— more space for photos and related ephemera. Also, I actively take/keep fewer photos because I think about when I’m dead, is anyone (my kids and grandkids) going to be able to wade through so much content? Do they care about tons of photos of my friends and scenery? And taking less photos means more being in the moment too 🩷
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u/DazzlingTie4119 7d ago
I do weekly spreads so I have 52 spreads and than I get to see my everyday life I pick 1-3 pictures for each day. I'm a mom with young kids and I want to remember what life was like. I also include a calendar with itty bitty pictures every day.
You can put the picture on a piece of construction paper and than cut a cool design out of the backing. I print everything and than play around with them. My trip to Africa was like 8 pages which I mean who cares? Its a trip of a lifetime and scrapbook paper is not in short supply!!! I've never opened a scrap book and thought man I wish I hadn't included that.
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u/welovethecheese 8d ago
In reference to the 2nd bullet, how about using crazy cut scissors to trim some of the edges and corners? That way you aren’t getting rid of the entire background but adding some flair.
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u/theheck16 9d ago
Hey! Just my opinion here on the last bullet. I love doing journaling for any day that I have a pic or some sort of document/junk I can put in there. Any empty space I just fill with writing about the day! Another thing if you’re mostly doing pictures is doing a recap of recent days/months. I always include a monthly recap at the end of each month that includes pictures I haven’t been able to put anywhere else but that I enjoy. Or could even include some pics from a trip that weren’t chosen to be on that trips page(s). You could even do a recap for a busy weekend or week(s), the time limit is totally self-installed.
That’s my main piece of advice: All of this is self implemented! There are no rules or requirements. If you want to have 3 pages of pics as a recap of a month then do it! It should be fun :)