A Scrapbooking album has no set number of pictures on each page. There can be simply one image or a whole collage of images. The idea behind scrapbooking is to create a theme and fit the pictures into it. This is done through elaborate decoration of the pages around the pictures to enhance and convey the theme.

Before starting, you will have to have a collection of photos around a certain theme. This can be an event, a celebration or just a collection of memories of a particular part of yours or someone else’s life.

With celebration themes, these may be for things like graduations, sporting victories, weddings and milestone birthdays such at 18th’s 21st’s 50th’s and etc. You will usually have a collection of photographs in a short time span for these kind of events.

For the collection kind of albums, you will find that your pictures tend to have been taken over months of years. Things that fall into these albums might be things like, childhood memories, school years or someone’s time in the army. There really is no right and wrong when it comes to these kind of albums, they are for any kind of memories.

Once you have your album planned out, you then set about decorating and arranging the pictures as you see fit. Really the limit here is your imagination. You will want to look up a more detailed guide on decorating a scrapbook for specific examples.

Let me be the first to welcome you to the world scrapbooking and wish you happy scrapping!

If you answered yes to any or all of those questions, then you need to book yourself into one of the many scrapbook retreats on offer!

What are they?

Well, they’re places avid scrapbookers go to socialize, trade ideas and, of course, get some good scrapbooking done!

So what goes on at one of these events?

The one thing that all the getaways have in common is that there is a lot of time set aside for scrapping. All scrapbook retreats are different and they all have their own activities. Some have organised masseurs come in to give people massages, some have competitions, give aways and prizes, while others have guest speakers or just good ol scrapping sessions.

Its also common practice for a goodies bag of scrapping material to be given to every attendee upon arrival.

What should I bring?

There are a couple of things you need to bring to these retreats, first and foremost, you’ll need to bring your scrapbooks and any material you would like to use. There may be some at the retreat itself, however they may not have the material you are looking for, so make sure to bring any essential material.

Like any holiday, you’ll also need a change of clothes and toiletries. You will also want to check if the retreat has a pool or swimming area, as you may also want to bring some bathers and a towel.

Lastly, bring some money. You may need to buy some lunch or petrol. Sometimes the retreats will also sell materials – and you might just find a material you just have to have!

So check it out, book yourself into one of many scrapbook retreats, meet some great friends who are passionate scrappers and have a blast!

What is a Scrapbooking Retreat

A scrapbook retreat is a hosted or un-hosted event when scrapbookers get together as a group to create scrapbooks. These retreats bring participants from all around the world, who have pre-planned scrapbooking projects. The retreats are a great way to socialize, share and relax with others who share your passion in scrapbooking.

How long to they go for?

These retreats usually last for about two days over a weekend. These events a great way to bring someone who is new to scrapbooking or you could opt to bring your scrapbooking friends. But the way the functions are set up, you don’t necessarily have to bring anyone. Scrapbook retreats are friendly and open, where people meet and form long-lasting friendships.

Hosted Retreats

Hosted retreats come with multiple options, as they all come with a host of amenities and activities. Some packages are held at spa retreats, allowing you to receive a luxurious massage or relax with a yoga session, when you’re not working on your scrapbooking projects.

There are even scrapbook boat cruises, allowing you to enjoy the on-board nightlife with drinking and dancing. Destinations for these scrapbook retreat cruises can include Hawaii, Mexico, Bahamas and the Caribbean. Then there are other retreat locations that center on nature, where accommodations are a lakefront property or offer a spectacular mountain view. Complete with hikes and nature walks.

Un-Hosted

Then you have the option of an un-hosted scrapbook retreat. These weekend-long retreats are held inside private residence. The retreat can include a group of friends or friendly strangers from out of state. Meals and chores are shared among all participants. And the cost is generally a lot lower than you would pay at a hosted scrapbook retreats.

What to Bring

Deciding what to bring at these retreats, depends on what supplies the retreat will have available. For example, a retreat with a die cut machine or eyelet setting tools, means you won’t need to bring your own.

Most retreats will have a list of what materials and equipment will be provided. If the retreat doesn’t list what’s available, for album scrapbooking, call them first before your day of departure. Be sure that you pre-plan which photos you want to bring and it’s a good idea to purchase your page kits ahead of time. 

Also if you plan on going to a hosted scrapbook retreat, factor in how much time you plan to spend on your scrapbook projects. You don’t think you’ll have a lot of time outside of your own projects, you can save money by choosing a retreat that doesn’t offer as much amenities and activities for its guests.

Scale

The first thing to consider in your design is the scale. This usually refers to the size that the actual scrapbook will be-will it be a small 12×12 or will it be a much larger custom size. Some things you could consider when making this choice include where you’d like the scrapbook to be displayed, as well as how many and what type of photos you’d like to be in it.

Repetition

Repetition is the second aspect you must determine when designing your scrapbook. You must always remember that scrapbooks are mediums not only made for yourself, but for others as well. So try to mix it up a little and avoid creating too many pages with very little differing elements.

Just as you would avoid repeating a story several times, so too you should prevent yourself form wasting too many pages on the same activity, theme, or event in your life.

Spacing

Spacing refers to the distance between the individual elements on the on page layout and can be difficult matter. There is a fine line between having a balanced scrapbook page and a gaudy mess. If items are too closely spaced your reader will feel overwhelmed. If your items are spaced too far apart your viewer will feel short changed.

Look at your page. Close your eyes. Open them again. Does your page look cluttered? Does your page have more photographs than background? Are your embellishments drawing the focus away from your mementos? Then, you need to simplify your page a bit and increase the spacing between objects. Remember you can always add more pages.

Is your page bare? Is your page uninteresting and colorless? Then, think about adding some more mementos and colorful embellishments. In this way, you can decrease the spacing between objects making your page more energetic.

Stability

Stability is when a page appears to be well balanced. This is largely a matter of how the arrangement makes you feel when you look at it. If it looks ‘lop-sided’ or too busy on one side, then you may not have your page balanced.

If, however, you want to create a feeling of unease, try putting your elements close to one side or the top. You might try this if you were assembling a page on mountaineering for instance, to create a feeling of height.

Janette

P.S. If you’d like more great scrap booking tips like these then secure your copy of the Secret to Simply Stunning Layouts now and get your FREE Bonus Over 150 Scrapbooking Hints, Tips and Tricks.

Boy scrapbooks don’t have to be limited to blues, greens, browns and / or dark colors like you might think.

Especially if you are doing baby boy scrapbooking. Baby boys are still so soft and gentle. Their boyish scrapbook pages deserve a calm look and feel. Yes, you can use random splashes of dark trim, matting, borders, accents or embellishments to bring a little more dark into the layouts. But overall your color theme should include soft, or subtle washouts of traditional boy colors / backgrounds as well as a decent amount of white (representing purity) and the occasional soft yellows (representing friendship).

Baby boy scrapbook layouts deserve the same. You can – if you are a veteran scrapbooker get away with much more (such as creating mosaic or collage scrapbook pages – where the layouts are complex and cluttered) but if you are not at such a level…its a good idea to keep these baby boy scrapbook layouts as soft as the newborn gentlemen are themselves.

Sure, you can do single or multiple pictures on each page…but you still want to keep the alignment of your photo’s calm and subtle.

New born baby boys have not quite grown into the rough and tumble boys that you might scrapbook about with solid and structured color as well as crazy random layouts when they hit age 8 and up.

As for the 8 and up boys…no holds barred! That’s right – you have full reign and all of my express permission to go wild. You could go goth even if you wanted to! (If this young man’s personality demands such a bold message).

Your job will be to capture the essence of this young dude to ensure that your boy scrapbook pages are perfect. If for example your young boy is a truck and car kid…you can use anything from ashphalt grays, yellow and white (road marking colors) and stop sign reds – to muddy browns, grassy greens, tire blacks and a lot of dusty textures.

If he is a dinosaur fan…your scrapbook pages will be full of desert colors and earthy greens. As well as scaly textures and the like. If he is a fantasy fan – and favors movies and books like Harry Pottery and Eragon – your boys scrapbook layouts will be dark and mysterious as well as starlit and whimsical. (You may even wish to add a lot of unique compartments and envelopes to make this magical boy scrapbook a mystical story all in and of itself!

As for the all boy scrapbook layouts – this is where it gets really fun. Boys are by nature quite random and sporadic. They love to mix things up. They love to play. They love to get dirty. So be playful with your layouts. Defy convention. Crop your photo’s into monster truck or TRex shapes. Scatter tire marks over everything. Splatter mudd. Embellish with gum wrappers. Matt or fringe with torn and dirty denim. But most of all – lose your inhibitions.

Be creative! Be boyish! Be fun!

Happy Scrapping!

About the Author
My name is Cijaye DePradine. Scrapbooking is by far my favorite hobby – I have been refining my scrapbooking skills since the early 90′s (before it was even a mainstream craft). Through my website you can find scrapbooking ideas and directions for beginners as well as tips for making money with scrapbooking …please visit: Scrapbooking Directions & Scrapbooking Directions Blog for more scrapbooking ideas now.