EMBOSSING HANDMADE PAPER

IS A GREAT IDEA

The embossed Lincoln Postcard is from Seaport Autographs

One of the paper effects you may want to use!

When talking about embossing, one of the methods that can be used is when you create handmade paper. While the newly made paper is still wet and malleable you can add impressions, which is another way to emboss paper. You can best accomplish this when the paper is couching or curing (drying) by using any of the techniques already mentioned.

Embossing is simply a method of creating a raised or recessed effect to your paper. Many greeting cards use this technique to alter the surface of the card and adding an elegant sculptured look. You too can add this feature to your new handmade paper.

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HANDMADE PAPER

Here are some direction on how to:
“Make Your Own Paper”

As a scrapbooker, you have a clear appreciation for the need and use of paper. However, a little understanding of what paper is and is not should be helpful in clarifying the homemade paper making process, as well as using it in and for your scrapbook pages and albums.

Paper became very prominent during the advent of the movable type printing press. Prior to that time, writing was done on parchment (vellum), on the stretched and processed skins of calves, goats and lambs (parchment), (papyrus) which is made from the inner part of the papyrus stem, and (rice paper) which is made from spirally sliced pith of a tree native to Taiwan. Paper, as we know it today, is made from cellulose fiber.

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THEOREM PAINTING

For those who like an extra challenge and something different!

The nice thing about scrapbooking and card making is the great flexibility you have to create your pages or cards. We know we can use stickers, cutouts, rubber stamps, and other goodies to make a real special page.

For those of you who like a challenge, and are seeking something a little different as a background for your pages, have you considered stencil layering? That is what theorem painting is all about.

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GETTING NEW IDEAS

IS THE LIFE BLOOD OF

SCRAPBOOKERS

Scrappers are for ever looking for new ideas to use. There are a myriad of ways to present a scrapbook page or album. Your imagination is your guide. If you follow the basic rules of scrapbook page design then you should be all right in the overall bigger picture (pardon the pun). In this section of the site you will be presented with a number of ideas you can use that hopefully are informative or different than what you may be used to. Some ideas are hobby activities you could do exclusively–they don’t necessarily have anything to do with scrapbooking itself, but lend themselves to being used by creative and daring scrapbookers . . . we assume you are one of them.

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DECKLE EDGE MOLD FRAME

Directions on Making a Deckle Mold Frame

The size of the paper your mold and deckle will make depends on the size frame you choose to use (or make). The illustration does not have any dimensions. This will allow you to use what ever size you prefer–remember the size of the paper is based on the interior size of your mould and deckle and the size of mould and deckle you make must fit easily into your pan/vat.

Once your size is decided upon, cut your wood pieces to the sizes required to make all sides. You should have two equal pieces for each opposite side–make sure the interior dimensions of the pieces, when they are layed out, are the size of the paper sheet you desire to make–regardless of whether you are making a square or rectangle frame. IT IS THE INSIDE DIMENSION THAT COUNTS.

Because you are making both a mold and deckle you will need to double the pieces and make two exact frames.

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DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING MADE EASY

Cartoon from NZDSL Gallery @ www.nzdsl.co.nz/gallery

If you haven’t tried “digital scrapbooking,” now may be the time. Today, most of us use digital cameras. They allow us the freedom and liberty to take pictures at will–but we can end up with a ton of photographs. Getting them all into a scrapbook can be a challenge.

If you have, or are doing digital scrapbooks,THINGS JUST GOT BETTER! In the past, digital scrapbookers have pretty much had to rely on their own ingenuity and resourcefulness to get their digital masterpieces into a hard copy physical form.

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You Need to Consider Digital Scrapbooking

In this age of computers it only seems logical that digital scrapbooking–defined as scrapbook pages(s) created on a computer–would find its place. Many hardcore “traditional” scrapbookers disdain the thought of digital scrapbooking. Others, however, “swear by it.” This digital medium has turned “casual” scrappers into “hardcore” scrappers.

For some, digital scrapbooking has all of the pros of traditional scrapbooking with few, if any, of the cons . . . like cost, time and the mess. If your goal is to preserve memories then there is serious creditability to this “new age” process.

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HELPFUL TIPS with DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY for SCRAPBOOKING

With the advent of digital cameras the world of photography has taken a big jump forward for the novice photographer. Now, taking a great picture is a snap . . . not to mention the ability to erase snapshots we either don’t like, or didn’t come out as we’d hoped they would, and easily take another one. While these new cameras do a lot of the important things for us when taking pictures, it doesn’t release us from the need to be familiar and aware of what our camera, and its features, will or won’t do.

First, “when all else fails, read the instructions.” Be sure and read your camera’s manual before getting too far into your photography. You will be well informed of what capabilities your camera has, and how best to use them. You need to be familiar with your camera’s different settings. The last thing you want to have happen is for a “precious photograph moment” to arrive, and you are fidgeting with settings to see what works best. Too often our “special moments” are just that–moments! Experiment with the settings to see what they do before you have to use them. Remember, you can erase (delete) mistakes easily.

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CREATING A

MATCHBOOK JOURNAL INSERT

"Baby!Boy" from BasicGrey Matchbook Kits

Have you ever come to the point in your scrapbook page plan where you realize there just isn’t quite enough space for you to do the journaling and commentary you had planned.

Not to worry. Using a matchbook fold-out or pull-out will give you a huge extension–especially for the lettering you want to include with your page.

Here’s how to make a matchbook fold/pull out:

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Steps in Creating Your Scrapbook Album

You have decided you are going to create a scrapbook . . . now what? This is a common dilemma for each of us.

There are some simple steps to help you as you organize your thoughts and expectations of what you want to have as a finished product.

First you need to ask yourself some basic questions about what you are trying to accomplish:

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