Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking has a long history, from its humble beginnings in the 17^th century as commonplace books, to the amazing hobby that it is today. While scrapbooking started as fonts of information, they now serve a more personal purpose.

Your Scrapbook’s Purpose

Making your own scrapbook should be an easy experience, especially if you start simple. To give you direction, you first need to set its purpose. Will the scrapbook be aimed at typical milestones and events? Will it focus on a certain person? Is it going to be a gift? Deciding on the purpose will make it easier to identify the materials you’ll need to purchase from a dependable online scrapbook store.

Getting into the Art of Scrapbooking

While everyone now owns a smartphone, tablet, or a digital camera, and there are lots of free online photo storage sites—not to mention, photo-focused social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram—nothing beats holding the actual photographs in your hands.

In the Digital Age, Scrapbooks Still Thrive

In today's world of computers and smart phones, scrapbook-making may seem like a lost art, but surprisingly, many people still do it. Though many believe them to simply be glorified picture albums, true scrapbookers know that what they do is so much more than a collection of pictures. Well-made scrapbooks detail the lives of their makers or subject in exquisite detail.

Reliable Online Scrapbook Stores: Supporting a Longstanding Hobby

Making your own scrapbook should be an easy experience, especially if you start simple. What you need to start with is a purpose. Will the scrapbook be aimed at typical milestones and events? Will it focus on a certain person? Is it going to be a gift? Deciding on the purpose of your scrapbook can make it easier to identify the materials you’ll need to purchase from a dependable online scrapbook store like AllScrapbookSteals.com.

When you already know the purpose of your scrapbook, gather all of the photos you think you might need. Additional bric-a-brac may also be added to a scrapbook like tickets, important certificates, and others. However, you may want to use copies instead of originals for what you want to paste onto a scrapbook, such as in the case of birth certificates and other legal documents. 

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/reliable-online-scrapbook-stores-supporting-a-longstanding-hobby.aspx

Scrapbooking Ideas for Summer Vacations

What can make your summer vacation even more fun and exciting? How about immortalizing it by creating a scrapbook around everything that you did? Here are some simple tips in making the best scrapbook to commemorate summer fun.

Take Photos

Don’t just snap a few shots of the beach and your family or friends and call it a day. Instead, go crazy with your camera. Bring enough digital storage and take as many photos as you can of just about any event you deem picture-perfect. The more choices you have, the easier it will be for you to craft your scrapbook.

Themed Décor

Look for a good online scrapbook supply store and find the best accessories, paper, bindings, and decorations that best suits your summer theme. Grab anything from seashells to things like sand, palm leaves, and starfish. Summer colors should be light and vibrant, enough to show just how energetic the season is for you.

Pictures First

Before you lay the embellishments though, be sure to arrange the pictures properly first. You can arrange it by day, or by activities you love, or any other layout you want your scrapbook to embody. Only after you’ve set up the photos should you decorate, so your output won’t end up looking messy with too much adjustments.

Creating Beautiful Memories with Scrapbooking

Life is pretty amazing, and to have something to document it with can help you gain a whole new outlook and greater awareness of the people around you. Here are some reasons why scrapbooking is such a wonderful and fun hobby to have:

Great creative outlet

With a little personal touch, you can tell a much more interesting story of your life that can engage those who will see it. Setting the layout, adding various design elements and writing fond notes not only bring out your creative side, but also let you relive your delightful memories again. For starters, look at online scrapbook stores that carry a diverse line of colorful and stunning materials to adorn your book.

Great memory preserver

The dried flowers from your first anniversary, the seashells from your tropical paradise getaway, a lock of hair from your baby’s first haircut—you never overlook some important events in your life because of the mementos that you keep. Scrapbooking lets you relish and savor the good times, a brilliant way to always remember the most significant instances in your life.

Great gift idea

Special events like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries become more heartfelt and profound when you’ve given a lot of thought on your gifts. A scrapbook shows how important a person is to you and how much you value your time with him/her. You also get to keep the unique stories with them, allowing you to share it even with the younger generations to come.

Save Memories of Your Pet with Supplies from Scrapbook Stores Online

Pets are beloved members of the family, and whether they've already passed away or they're still with you, wouldn't it be a nice thing to do something special and preserve their memories through a scrapbook? However, before you search for reputable online scrapbooking stores and purchase acrylic albums, glitter glue, or pens and markers, there are a few things you should first consider when getting supplies and deciding on a layout.

Get the Photos and Info Ready

You can estimate just how much paper and accessories you'll be needing by preparing all the photos and other memorabilia first. You might want to include some nice quotes and sayings about your pet (e.g. "Happiness is a warm puppy" - Charles M. Schulz). In fact, if you want to make a comprehensive album about your pet's life, you could even include some details about his history, such as when he was born and how he became a part of your family.

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/save-memories-of-your-pet-with-supplies-from-scrapbook-stores-online.aspx

Pocket Scrapbooking Made Easy with Items from Online Scrapbook Stores

Pockets are cute and attractive on their own, but adding embellishments can enhance the beauty of the scrapbook page. Quality decors and paraphernalia are needed to bring life and character to these pages. While these items may be found in a local supplies store, these establishments’ inventory and range of designs may be limited. These makes shopping for scrapbook supplies from noted online scrapbook stores a better idea.

A trusted online scrapbook store like AllScrapSteals.com would have a wider selection of scrapbook supplies, including acid-free paper, colored markers, and glittered glue. Various accessories such as buttons, stickers, and stamps can be found here, too. The more choices scrapbook makers have, the more their imagination can work in coming up with fresh design ideas that would have their own personal stamp.

https://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/pocket-scrapbooking-made-easy-with-items-from-online-scrapbook-stores.aspx

Stop Acid From Eating Your Scrapbook

In scrapbooking, there is one word that you will need to keep in mind at all times: "acid-free."

You can put anything on your scrapbook; but if the pages start turning yellow or forming holes, then something may be wrong. Paper made from wood pulp contains lignin, a polymer most prevalent in cell walls of plants and algae. Lignin causes the paper to turn yellow and degrade over time, even faster when exposed to light.

This could mean bad news for your scrapbook if you want to add newspaper clippings, as the lignin content of newspaper materials can affect the scrapbook paper. Lamination is an effective way to prevent the acid on the newspaper from eating through the scrapbook pages. However, lamination isn't always a practical solution in scrapbooking, especially for snippets and other entries that might need folding to fit a page.

To address this concern, paper manufacturers have created acid-free paper. While it's impossible for lignin to be extracted out of the pulp, manufacturers can neutralize it with a basic substance like calcium or magnesium bicarbonate. Lignin is a strong acid, requiring an alkaline solution above a pH level of 10 to make it soluble.

Acid-free paper is symbolized by the infinity sign. While scrapbook stores sell acid-free paper, not all of the paper they offer has this property. You therefore need to check for the infinity sign, or inquire with store representatives to make sure the paper you get is acid-free.

Common Album Styles from Online Scrapbook Stores

You may have the urge and creative mind to build a wonderful scrapbook, but there’s no way for your ideas to materialize without an album to work on. If you’re going to buy albums from scrapbook stores online, you should know that there are many styles to choose from. They mostly differ in terms of functionality and convenience, but they can also influence the theme of the scrapbook you’re making. 

3-ring albums are named as such because they have three rings that bind together the individual pages of the albums. This type of album offers great flexibility since you can add or remove pages from it at your leisure. If your scrapbook is dedicated to recording memorable events at present and in the future, a 3-ring album is for you. You may also want to consider using post-bound albums. The spine of this album is lined with metal posts, which you need to unscrew if you’re adding or removing a page. This feature offers better security than a 3-ring album. 

Meanwhile, there are also book-bound albums that you can consider for optimum security. However, the pages of these albums are usually permanent. This means that if you want to add more memorabilia in the future, you may have to leave a few pages blank for now.

Online Scrapbook Stores Can Help Fans Creatively Present their Passion

The University of Delaw published a story that talks about the passion of one of its professors, Debra Hess Norris. Norris is an avid fan of The Beatles and she keeps a lot of memorabilia with her to show her love and fondness as a fan of the music giants.

Norris is also an expert on photo restoration, and provided advice on how people can continue to keep items that are dear to them. Her advice varied from protecting materials from unpredictable conditions to documentation of the collection for insurance.

Norris’ suggestions and life as a zealous fan were full of entertainment and adequate information, but memorabilia collection is not the only way to demonstrate one’s enthusiasm, whether a legendary band, sports team, or any other personal endeavor. Individuals can visit scrapbook stores online and create a scrapbook that documents his or her passions.

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/online-scrapbook-stores-can-help-fans-creatively-present-their-passion.aspx

Manual vs Digital Scrapbooking

Preserving memories has become a descriptive and collaborative activity. The manner of preserving them has also evolved—from the traditional (literally) cut-and-paste type to the digital copy-paste, drag-and-drop variety. Today, scrapbooking faces an identity crisis—or maybe just a dual personality—where the traditional clashes with the digital, even though both have the same goal of immortalizing moments. 

Traditional
Manual scrapbooking can be tedious due to its nature as a handcraft. However, the experience is a therapeutic one. The slow process of the old-fashioned way encourages focus and creativity. There's also excitement found in the concrete organization of paper, photos and paste. Scrapbook stores online make material-hunting much easier with their diverse range of decorative instruments. 

One is also free to put a wide array of materials on tangible scrapbooks (i.e. tickets, playbills, money, brochures, and wristbands). Some things just cannot look and feel right when scanned on a computer. 

Digital
Digital scrapbooks win in practicality. One can upload digital photos without needing to have them printed, and choose designs from his/her preferred software. Organizing and manipulating are also easier with this medium. Bad shots, for example, can be remedied easily. Old photos can be restored and kept in good shape. 

One can also save time with the digital version. No more manual cutting and pasting are involved. Dragging, pasting, cropping, and editing are done with several clicks of the mouse. 

Scrapbooking is not dead; the craft still thrives because of people's desire to preserve the memory of good times.

Scrapbook Stores Online Expect a Win as Major Retail Store Shuts Down

Physical shops closing down are unfortunately nothing new, especially following the most recent economic bubble. For scrapbooking enthusiasts, however, there remains to be another, more stable alternative that is in the form of scrapbook stores online, like AllScrapbookSteals.com.

With less cash-out required for the maintenance of an online scrapbook store, shops can instead focus on stocking up on their supplies, which clients can pick out with a simple click of a button. These items will then be delivered right to the doorstep of the client.

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/scrapbook-stores-online-expect-a-win-as-major-retail-store-shuts-down.aspx

How to Plan Out Your Scrapbook

There are few things more enjoyable when collecting memories and nostalgic stuff than by scrapbooking. Anything from remembering the year’s vacation trips to immortalizing the moments that you and your high school or college buddies shared could be turned into amazing scrapbooks.

Basically, scrapbooking is a crafty way to document or preserve precious memories; it also allows for creative self-expression, which makes it such a worthwhile hobby. Nifty scrapbook stores online have got you covered with a variety of basic scrapbook materials, and your creative side takes care of the rest.

To get started, you have to think of the theme of your scrapbook. It could be special occasions or events like travel, concerts, holidays or dates. It could be a collection of the highlights of your calendar or school year, or even an extensive 365-page album for each day of the year.

Next, you have to plan the time line of your scrapbook. You can plan a chronological scrapbook and start from the earliest event going to the most recent. This allows you to add pages as you go along. You can also create one with past memories, where the finished product can be given as a gift or be viewed like an album.

Lastly, assemble your materials. Organize your photos and mementos according to your theme and time line. Look back on the colorful moments of your life and you'll surely “put yourself back in a good state of mind.”

My Minds Eye Cupids Arrow

Valentines Day has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I have never been sure why, I never really had a boyfriend on the holiday but for some reason it was always special to me.  I would always dressed festively for it and gave out stickers and tried to make sure that my friends felt special.  One year one of my friends and I sent flowers to each other at school and said they were from secret admirers, it was fun.  I love the festive colors and just that love is in the air everywhere!

My Minds Eye came out with this special new line just for the occasion and I just love it, Cupids Arrow.  Their designers always do amazing work and their layouts and card ideas are always phenomenal.  Be sure to check their blog for more creative ideas.  This line is 25% all week long!

Happy Crafting!

The New Face of American Scrapbooking Culture

Undeniably, digital technology has greatly shaped American culture and a major part of it that has sustained a huge hit is the fine craft of scrapbooking. This hobby has been practiced by households for generations, yet is now seen experiencing a significant decline especially over the past couple of the decades. Scrapbooking fans vouch for the many benefits it has provided to them in their over-all approach and perspective in life, serving not only as an exercise in creativity, but also as a memory-building workout.

Studies have also found that arts and crafts like scrapbooking have a positive effect on one’s psychology, allowing for stronger concentration and focus, as well as providing stress relief, much like meditation and deep breathing.

Physical shops closing down are unfortunately nothing new, especially following the most recent economic bubble. For scrapbooking enthusiasts, however, there remains to be another, more stable alternative that is in the form of scrapbook stores online.

With less cash-out required for the maintenance of an online scrapbook store, shops can instead focus on stocking up on their supplies, which clients can pick out with a simple click of a button. These items will then be delivered right to the doorstep of the client.

Shopping for scrapbooking materials has never been more convenient, allowing hobbyists to spend more time working on the craft that they love, instead of going all the way to the store to get the materials they need.

Old School? Online Scrapbook Stores in the Digital Scrapbooking Era

"If they happen to buy too many supplies from their favorite online scrapbooking stores, they can always share their extras with fellow scrapbooking enthusiasts. Indeed, the sense of camaraderie that sharing fosters is one thing that digital scrapbooking cannot replicate. Furthermore, while scrapbooks can be expensive projects, the sharing of supplies makes the cost that much more affordable. Aside from this, each scrapbook is a custom-made gift and many feel they are more valuable given the amount of time and effort that went into making them. Other scrapbookers also complain that people spend too much time in front of their computer screens already, and traditional scrapbooking will be a welcome respite for both the eyes and the soul."

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/old-school-online-scrapbook-storesin-the-digital-scrapbooking-era.aspx

Black Friday Sales

Hello all!  Well, that time of year is here where everyone cuts their prices and everyone is looking for the best deal!  I'm happy to say that we are part of those wonderful sales and we have made a new special section just for Black friday.  Our sales have already started and they will continue through Cyber Monday.  We are continually adding new product to our new special section so make sure you check back!!  Here I have picked out a few items to show you that I think are especially great.

Now ladies, just so you know, the only way to get the greatest deal on our black friday deals is to be part of our emailing list.  In the emails we send out there is a special code to take an extra 15% off of your entire purchase at check out.  But again, to get that code, you need to be on the email list!!  Be sure to tell your friends and I hope everyone has the most wonderful of Thanksgivings!

Happy Crafting!

Scrapbooking Tips for Beginners

One of the best ways to preserve life’s important memories is by making a handcrafted scrapbook. While millions of people are enjoying this hobby, many are just getting into it and often find themselves overwhelmed—which papers should they buy, what embellishments should they get, how will they design their scrapbook. For newbies, here are a few tips to make your foray into scrapbooking easier and more enjoyable:

Visit Online Scrapbook Stores and Fulfill Your Scrapbooking Dreams

“All the milestones, from magical to mortifying, make great stories — at least eventually.” writes Sloane Stephens Cox of Bella Magazine. These milestones may be remembered through old photographs and mementos, but there's no other way to tell a story effectively than through scrapbooks. They require an assortment of art supplies that people don't usually have at home, which compels some scrapbooking enthusiasts to buy supplies from scrapbook stores online. The effort, however, is worth as much as the sense of accomplishment that they feel afterward.

http://www.allscrapbooksteals.com/visit-online-scrapbook-stores-and-fulfill-your-scrapbooking-dreams.aspx