Paper Crafts: Scrapbook and Greeting Card Basics

Paper crafts are a popular pastime right now. Scrapbooking is afun way to display pictures and chronicle family history. Otherpaper crafts include making greeting cards and even making handmade papers.When getting started at paper crafts, it is easy to spend a lotof money! Go easy at first until you know what sort of papercraft products you are likely to use. For instance, you may findthat you love using stickers in scrapbooks, but rarely use yourrubber stamps. If this is the case, you would be better offspending more on stickers and less on rubber stamps for yourpaper crafts.



Almost everyone has at least some of their photographs storedsomewhere in a shoe box. Scrapbooks are a great way to get thosephotos out where people can enjoy them. You will need a looseleaf binder, some plastic page protectors, and some coloredcardstock for starters. Many paper crafts experts insist on onlyarchival quality materials. Check the labels as you buy. Mostpaper products, even the cheaper ones, are labeled "acid-free,"which means that it shouldn't fade or otherwise deteriorate ifstored for a long time.



Sunlight will bleach almost anything,but your paper crafts should not be out in the sunlight veryoften.To start a scrapbook you have several options. You can selectphotos that all relate to one event, such as a trip or a child'sparticipation in sports. This type of scrapbook will be short,but can be designed around a theme. This is a good choice ifyour photos are not in a jumble. If they are, then you may wishto choose 3 or 4 photos around a general theme, and change thetheme for each page. You may want to include some 2 page spreadsin your scrapbook.



Attach your photos to the cardstock with double-sided tapesquares or a gluestick. Then it's time to decorate the page withstickers,, Greeting Cards Products, paper shapes, or rubber stamped designs. In addition,you can use a colored gel pen to write dates, names, and otherhighlights about the activities in the pictures.Other items are available in paper crafts stores. These includesdie cuts, which are pieces of paper already cut into shapes andobjects. There are also special scissors that cut paper with aninteresting edge.



A pair of the type called "deckle" scissors isvery useful for making elegant looking scrapbook pages, greetingcards, and other paper crafts. If you also have an old pair ofpinking shears that are too dull to cut fabric, you can usethose for cutting out shapes and photos.Many paper crafts enthusiasts begin with scrapbooking, but thenbranch out to making their own greeting cards. Greeting cardsmay or may not have an original poem written on the inside. Asimple "Happy Birthday," "Get Well Soon," or even just "Hi!



" isenough to brighten someone's day, so don't worry about not beinga good enough writer to make your own greeting cards. Rubberstamps often make beautiful greeting cards. You can even attachsmall ribbons, beads, and other items to hand made cards. Ahandmade card is sure to please anyone, whether they areinterested in paper crafts or not.There are more articles about scrapbooking, Greeting Cards Products, athttp://scrapbooktipsandtricks.info/ come visit us.