Pixel Paint Scrapblog – Scrapbooking Tips and Ideas

You do not have to look very far when it comes to scrapbooking ideas. They are all around you and as you sort through old family scrapbook from your family you can get an idea on how to make your own scrapbook journal or album.

You can even draw inspiration from online scrapbooks. Once you form your own ideas you will be off to the races and creating your own. Now it is time to create your own.

scrapbooking tools
Scrapbooking ideas can come to you out of the blue. It may be at a soccer game where your kids are playing and suddenly inspiration hits. You snap a couple of pictures and go looking for the right scrapbooking items.

By using your pictures you can create some wonderful collages, and then you can work on developing your own unique scrapbook layouts. By grouping them together and then arranging and rearranging them, you will develop some great scrapbook layouts.

Once you have the scrapbooking paper, embellishments and the right projects scrapbooking , it is time to check out different layouts. There are many examples of layouts on the web. You can go to www.scrapbook.com to see the gallery of different layout designs. The website can also give you hints and tips for creating the right scrapbook for your needs.

Now that you have the pages assembled it is time to put them into a scrapbook album and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Do not forget to grab a pen and make special notes in the album next to the pictures. The handwritten notes will be something your kids will enjoy reading once they get older.

projects scrapbooking
Sometimes scrapbooking ideas come and sometimes you get stumped for ideas. If this is the case and you do not know what to do next, then take a look at some online websites to help get the creative juices flowing.

You can also take classes on how to scrapbook and the instructors can give you ideas for new layouts and designs. Before you know it, someone will be using your scrapbook ideas.

This article offers some practical advice on scrapbooking.

Theme
Your scrapbook must have a theme It can be as simple or as complex as you wish. The could be a special event such as a graduation, a birthday. Themes can also be personalized to the scrapbook recipient’s special interests. Special interests themes might include favorite colors, sports, favorite television programs, music, the outdoors, or cultural influences.

The answers to the following three questions are all considerations in picking an appropriate theme.

What is the overall purpose for your scrapbook?
Who is the scrapbook about?
Who is the scrapbook for?

For instance, the scrapbook you are giving your son as he graduates from medical school will probably be completely different from the grandparent book you send to your mother. Your son will probably appreciate a scrapbook with photographs, journals, poems, and more masculine embellishments. Maybe, the theme of the scrapbook could be medicine. You could create embellishments that looked like scalpels and tweezers around various pictures of your nephew during his college days.

Your mother, on the other hand, will love a multitude of baby pictures fancifully embellished with flowers, ribbon, and baby fingerprints. The theme of this book will probably be your baby. Photographs could include baby and grandma with the baby. A nice journal about your baby’s day could also add a nice touch.

Title
Don’t forget to create a title for your scrapbook page. Though adding a title might seem to be obvious or unimportant, a title explains the whole basis of your scrapbook. The title instantly tells the viewer what your page is all about. In one word or one short phrase, the title tells the reader the theme and purpose of your scrapbook.

Titles can be as simple as the date of an event, the name of an individual, or a specific event.

Titles can also be more interesting and exciting. They can include quotes, sayings, fillers, or simple phrases. The best places to look for inspiration for titles are in greeting cards, advertisements, and commercials.

Color
Color coordination and contrast will highlight and accent your scrapbook. A well thought out color scheme can help define the theme of a page, focus attention to specific items, or detract away from mistakes. Badly chosen color schemes, on the other hand, can cause your scrapbook page to look mismatched or gaudy.

Background colors can either be matched, coordinated, or contrasted with the colors in your photographs, mementos, or embellishments. Matching colors add to the continuity of the color scheme. Coordinated colors add depth to scrapbook pages. Contrasted colors focus the eye. In this way, color can be used to create the effect you wish.

A great way to see how colors look together is to collect and compare color wheels from your local paint or hardware store. Paint wheels are normally available free for the taking in nearly any paint department.

Face painting is a fun hobby that you can combine with scrapbooking. For a Halloween party I created a face painting design on each of the guests. Then took photographs. The resulting Halloween scrapbook was definitely one of my most eye catching creations – even a little scary too! Well, there were lots of vampires about!
Kids face painting
Face painting designs
vampire face painting design
These articles are packed with tips and advice on face painting. Believe me, learning to face paint is not as difficult as you might think. And you’ll never be short of volunteers to practice on.

I remember one Christmas when I was about 4 and my brother was 3. We both got up that morning and went into the living room. There, against a usually bare wall, were 2 massive, huge presents! We were so excited! Santa had “been”. “Santa’s been! Santa’s been!” we were yelling in uncontained excitement! Of course we tore off the packaging and the screams and squeals of joy were uncontrollable!

The most fabulous presents ever!

In mine was a beautiful pink pram for my baby doll and my brother got a shiny new Pedal Car! We couldn’t believe our eyes, and we were so happy!

Of course I have memories of other Christmases but I think that was the Christmas that impacted us the most. This is what “big presents” can do to the memories of your little children! An occasion to remember, a Life Memory created!

Think back to your childhood… Maybe you have a similar experience, or maybe you want to create that kind of experience for YOUR kids? Do you want to create a Childhood Memory for YOUR children that will last a lifetime?

We now have in our shop this amazing Thomas the Tank Pedal Car.

Thomas the Tank is still one of the most popular caricatures in the world today. Since its debut on UK television, Thomas the Tank has been translated into 19 different languages and broadcast in more than 130 countries! Thomas the Tank was first broadcasted in 1948 and it went down a storm! The programme got so big that it saw celebrities such as of Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon queue at the door to be narrators of the show. They got the job of course. And now you too can be part of the great Thomas the Tank legacy.

This is such a ‘special’ gift that when you buy it for some one and you hand it over to them, they can’t contain their excitement! Just imagine your little angel’s face when they see a huge box wrapped in wrapping paper. Exciting enough you may think, but wait until they see what’s inside! A Thomas the Tank Pedal Car. It would be one of those moments where the child would be soooo excited, they would be running around the house like a headless chicken for a few minutes to burn off that energy from all that excitement! Don’t forget to get your camcorder out!

The Thomas Pedal Car is designed and developed in the UK with his original creators and features a box steel chassis which supports a rust free aluminum body. The car is also painted by a fade resistant powder coat for a durable and everlasting finish! Your child is able to use him inside and out and will love playing with him for hours! He also consists of a chain driven pedal system, pneumatic tyres a padded seat and for extra safety a non-markable tough plastic bumper.

Create a Childhood Memory that will last a lifetime, click here to see the Thomas the Tank Pedal Car!

Features include:
• Box steel chassis
• Lightweight rust free aluminium body
• Chain driven pedal system
• Pneumatic tyres
• Padded seat
• Safe and tough plastic bumper
• Fade resistant powder coat paint for a durable finish

Dimensions:
• Length: 120cm/47″
• Width: 55cm/21″
• Height: 65cm/25″

Age Suitability:
• Ages 2-5

One of the best thing about scrapbooking is that although there are plenty of scrapbooking supplies available in stores, you really don’t need a lot to createyour very first scrapbook. Basically, all you require to scrapbook is an album, some glue, a pair of scissors, and some photographs or newspaper clippings. Any fabric, ribbon, or bits of leftovers from other projects can be used to embellish your scrapbook.

As you become more familiar with scrapbooking, you will discover products that save you time and frustration. Many of these products are well worth the extra cost. At the top of this list is an exacto knife. This strong and versatile blade allows you to cut almost anything into any shape. When the blade is dull, the end is simply broken off to reveal another sharp tip. Just be sure to place the object you plan to cut onto a mat or a thick wad of newspaper before using the exacto knife. Otherwise, the knife will cut right through your picture and into your scrapbook page or dining room table.

The next best tool is a pair of tweezers. Trying to pick up and place small gluey pieces can be troublesome. Tweezers, though not very high tech, allow you to move pieces without touching them.

Talking of gluey pieces, various glues and affixing options are available. These quick and less messy options include glue dots, two-sided tape, acide free photo tabs, Xyron, and polypropylene corners.

To increase the preservation of your scrapbook and your treasures, buy albums with acid free, lignin free pages. Both acid and lignin accelerate photo fading and general deterioration. Lignin is a chemical found naturally in the cell walls of plants. If the lignin is not removed in the paper manufacturing process, the chemical will cause the paper product to gradually yellow and crumble. Lignin and acid free products are available in virtually any color and texture.

The theme of your scrapbook can be simple or complex. Your theme could be a special event such as a a baby shower, a birthday, a wedding, Christmas, or Halloween. Themes can also be personalized to the scrapbook recipient’s special interests. Special interests themes may include favorite colors, sports, favorite music, tv prpgrams, the outdoors, or cultural influences.

When planning a scrapbook always ask yourself these three questions

What is the overall purpose for your scrapbook?
Who is the scrapbook for?
Who is the scrapbook about?

The answers to these questions are all factors in selecting a suitable theme. For example, the scrapbook you are giving your nephew as he graduates from medical school is probably completely different than the grandparent book you send to your mother.

Another great hobby is face painting. And of course you can combine it with scrapbooking. For example for a Halloween theme you could take photos of your face painting creations. There are so many face painting designs that are suitable for Halloween such as a vampire.
Easy face painting
Face painting pictures
halloween face painting ideas
Check out the articles they are packed with great tips and advice on face painting ideas and designs. With a little practice you’ll be able to create great designs.

When we plan our scrapbooking, often times we think of albums  that focus on holidays, weddings, births and special events in our lives that we want to preserve. These are days that bring smiles to our faces and laughter to our hearts. As normal  as this may be to decide on  such occasions for our scrapbooking projects, sometimes we miss out on an experience to use our creative outlet to express our thoughts and feelings about those challenging moments in our lives that are uncontrollable.

When we stop and think about the pain we have suffered, whether through the loss of a loved one or any other traumatic event, these are all part of what shapes us into the people we have become.  So often we choose to hide our pain instead of embracing them to search for the hidden treasures that are often overlooked.

Shortly after the birth of my second baby, I was diagnosed with severe post-partum depression.  My difficult marriage that was riddled with chaos was coming to an end. The circumstances that led me to the place of complete hopelessness were overwhelming at best.  As part of my recovery, I began to write down my thoughts and feelings about each event that happened.  What began as an venture to sort through the pain, evolved into a complete visual display of raw emotion and the spiritual journey that accompanied my experiences.  Although not your typical scrapbook album, it is one that played a vital role for me in finding peace and healing.

Composing it all together with photographs, carefully selected patterned paper and just the right stamping and embellishments gave each painful memory a sense of validation. It was like putting a mirror up to my wounded heart and saying, ‘Yes, that is what I felt. Right or wrong, good or bad. These emotions are mine.’ To be able to openly express myself this way and to have a visual memorial has made it easier to let go of the pain, forgive and move toward healing.

My scrapbook album, titled ‘A Journey Through Life’s Challenges’ does not sit on my coffee table out on display. Instead, it rests on the shelf in my office, waiting for moments, sometimes through tears, when I need a reminder of where I’ve been to truly appreciate where I am today.

Are scrapbooks only for events that have already taken place? Most people I have talked with seem to feel they are, but one woman I met recently thinks differently. Her name is Kim Mutch Emerson and she is a coach and mentor of the Law of Attraction and other universal truths.

Kim firmly believes that as a person thinks and feels they create a life that matches those thoughts and feelings. She teaches folks to create the life of their dreams. One of the tools she uses in her teachings is what she calls “Make Your Dream Your Reality Book.” The books are scrapbooks of events or goals that have not taken place in a person’s life, but those people would like them to. For example, if a person has a desire for a new car, or relationship they would design pages within the scrapbook that are centered on those items.

Most of her clients are busy people and so she helps cut down the preparation process by speaking with her clients individually and assisting them in the scrapbook blueprint. She then sends them a scrapbook kit designed especially just for them.

Generally, the books are photo album scrapbooks or three ring binder scrapbooks that people can easily take pages from and replace with new pages. Each kit comes with a variety of colored card stock, patterned paper, photo frames of various sizes, scrapbooking sayings and quotes of inspiration in creative lettering, and journal templates. She even designs borders and trims, and includes page protectors upon request.

If you are interested in learning more about Kim or her “Make Your Dream Your Reality Books”, I encourage you to stop by her website at http://www.secretofprosperity.com