Scrapbooking is a popular hobby that people enjoy because it makes them feel like they’ve accomplished something important. Even though it takes time and work to create a scrapbook, the end product is a beautiful heirloom your family can enjoy for years to come. And scrapbooking is a great way to express your creativity and individuality in a new art form.
Scrapbooking is also popular because it’s easy to do. Just about anyone can assemble their favorite photos and memorabilia into a scrapbook. But many serious “scrappers” try to make their scrapbooks a personal masterpiece.
A scrapbook is so much more than a collection of photos and keepsakes. It’s a rich storybook that lets you express how you think and feel about the events and people in your life. It reflects what you think is important about your life and what made you the person you are. It’s much more than a journal or diary because it uses a carefully-planned, beautifully organized collection of text, photographs, and keepsakes to tell the whole story visually.
The colors you use and the textures you choose communicate to your viewer, too. They tell them about your joys and sorrows. The total package of your handmade scrapbook is a piece of your history that simple photos can’t reveal.
So now that you know what a rewarding hobby scrapbooking is, you may want to know how to get the materials and supplies. Fortunately, there are many scrapbooking stores that sell a wide variety of supplies and tools for scrapbooking. Here are some of the materials you can find at your scrapbooking store:
1. Books. Your local scrapbooking or craft store sells books and magazines with logs of tips and advice on putting a scrapbook together. They offer tips on what to include in your scrapbook and offer great advice on color schemes and how to lay your items out for best effect. They contain inspiring ideas about scrapbooking themes and great quotations you can use to emphasize your thoughts and feelings about your scrapbook’s contents.
2. Materials. Scrapbooking stores and the scrapbook departments of craft stores carry many different types of material to help you make a beautiful work of art. The basic pieces include paper and coordinated paper sets, press-on borders and alphabets, frames for photos and mementos, fabric swatches, and other pieces no scrapbook should be without.
The stores also carry many different add-on supplies that will add sparkle and personality to your scrapbook. These include felt cutouts and die-cuts, stickers, foam, ribbons and lace, and many other accessories to make your scrapbook a creative masterpiece.
3. Tools. You’ll need a set of tools to prepare and affix your pieces to your scrapbook pages. You can keep it simple with scissors, tape, and pens. You can purchase specialty tools like paper cutters and hole punches with special cutting patterns and shapes. And every scrapper must have the right glue!
Scrapbooking stores offer a few more items that have no cost but can be priceless. They’re usually staffed by scrappers who love the hobby and know a lot about it. You can get lots of free advice and guidance from them. And the people who shop there are likely to be scrapbooking pros who can help you through challenges and suggest novel solutions that will be perfect for your scrapbooking project.
In addition to advice and guidance, scrapbooking stores are a great place for scrappers to meet and get to know each other. Scrapbooking can be a lonely pursuit. You may need the opportunity to meet and chat with others who share your passion for scrapbooking. You can make new friends and share tales about your scrapbooking experiences. You can keep up on each other’s progress. You can plan scrapbooking parties and events. In short, scrapbooking stores are great places to expand your social life!
Because the hobby is so popular, there are entire retail stores devoted to scrapbooking. But you can also find large scrapbooking departments in other types of retail stores: craft stores are certain to have what you need. National chains you might recognize include Michaels (or M.J. Designs), Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, and AC Moore. Your community will likely have independent and mom-n-pop stores that cater to your scrapbooking needs as well.
Online stores are very popular and easy to find. You won’t get the face-to-face interaction, but many offer advice and tutorial-type instructions for scrapbookers. They also offer blogs and forums for exchange with other scrappers.
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