In this Scrapbooking Tutorial for beginners we are going to look at the six main elements of a scrapbooking layout. You will learn about the importance of each element and how they create a cohesive whole when put together on a scrapbook page. As scrapbooking is all about perserving your precious memories knowing about elements and how to use them is important to the whole process of making a scrapbook.
What are the Elements of a Scrapbook?
A scrapbooking element is bascially any item that goes on a scrapbook layout. Elements fall into six main groups which include: photos, matting, titles, journaling, embellishments and borders. How these elements are arranged on the page creates different effects or moods and if done successfully, a pleasing effect.
If you were to do a Google search of scrapbook elements you would find that the term elements is being used more and more often to refer to embellishments which are either physical or digital. For the purposes of this discussion though we will stick with the traditional understanding of element which emcompasses all the main things you put on a scrapbook page.
So let's take a look at each of these main elements in turn and see how they contribute to building a scrapbook spread. For each element I will give you a few scrapbooking tips and pointers that hopefully will be useful to you.
1. Photo or Photos
Photos are the backbone of your layout and therefore one of the most important elements. A scrapbooking layout has at least one photo depicting an event or feeling. Most scrapbooking layouts have multiple photos of varying sizes but it is possible to have just one larger photograph that makes a statement and every other element on the page directs the eye to the photo.
Note: I would not recommend cropping heritage photos as they are too valuable but with everyday photos that can easily be replaced cropping is a way to instantly remove mistakes and make distant subjects pop.
Scrapbooking Tip:
Use only your best photos as poor (eg out of focus, badly framed, distracting backgrounds) detract from the overall effect. Far better to use fewer high quality photos than a bunch or mediocre ones. That being said though if they are the only photos you have to work with then cropping out some of the distracting elements or using a frame to cover these are both good ways to enhance images.
If you want to get more photos on a page which sometimes is the challenge then a collage of your best photos can be an effective way to add multiple images to a page without the photos dominating. If you have too many images they are likely to crowd other elements. Think balance and harmony. The object is to have all elements on the page sit together harmoniously.
2. Matting
Matting is a scrapbooking element that refers to a piece of cardstock used to accentuate a photo. The cardstock is placed underneath the photo to create an all-around border effect. This helps the photo stand out from other elements in the layout and therefore grab the viewer's attention.
Scrapbooking Tip:
Matting the focal point photo is a very effective technique to add interest to your page. Or you can choose to matt all the photos in the layout and either add a different color of matt to your focal point photo or double or triple matt it for emphasis. Plain or patterned paper can be used depending on the effect you want.
3. Page Title
Choose your title carefully. A good title sums up or highlights the theme of the page. It should be snappy and add punch to your page. Simple words, phrases, place names, names of people and sayings can all be used successfully as titles.
A title can be placed in many different positions on the page not just in the top position. The point of a title is to catch the attention of anyone looking at your page. A title is an important element as it helps to add balance to your page. Our eyes are used to scanning a page for the title so place your title in a position that will draw the viewer's eye to it.
Scrapbooking Tip:
Inspiration can come from all sorts of places like magazines and instagram. Titles can made out of just about anything. Beginner scrapbookers will find stickers, die cuts, stencils, cut outs and computer generated fonts are all good for titling. Consider using your own handwriting for a more personal touch.
For page title ideas on a variety of themes for scrapbook layouts check out these articles for tips and inspiration.
4. Journaling
Journaling expands or explains the story depicted in your photos. It fills in the details for anyone looking at your pages. For this reason your journaling should cover the bases so that the viewer will be informed about what is occurring in the photos without having to ask the where, what, why, when, who and how types of questions.
Journaling can be set out in a variety of effective ways. The easiest method for the beginner is to write directly on the background paper. Other choices include writing in journaling boxes using cardstock and on patterned papers, vellum or other textured papers and using journaling cards as in the Project Life system. If you need to keep your journalling more private consider placing it in a pocket on the page.
Scrapbooking Tip:
Short descriptions, letters, captions, quotes, sayings, song lyrics, poems and verses are all possible journaling mediums.
For more help on journaling tips take a look at my other articles about journaling for scrapbooking.
5. Embellishments
Scrapbooking pages can be accented with a variety of embellishments often referred to as elements. These add interest and highlight the page visually. Types of suitable embellishments include stickers, buttons, ribbons, brads, eyelets, buckles, silk flowers, and slide mounts to name a few.
Photo corners can add another decorative element to your pages. When placed at each corner of the photo they help to draw the viewer's eye to the photo. Ribbons and brads can also be used to create a similar focal point.
Scrapbooking Tip:
Embellishments are most effective when kept to a minimum. Be careful not to overshadow your photos and journalling with too many embellishments which take the viewer's attention from the page. Pick up to five embellishments to put on one page. Odd numbers of element often add greater symmetry to a page.
6. Borders
Borders are elements that can be added to the sides, top and bottom of the layout to add visual interest. Decorative borders can be created out of many materials including cardstock, patterned paper, fabric, tags, charms, metal and many more. You can buy borders as stickers which is an inexpensive way to add a border element to your scrapbook layout.
Scrapbooking Tip:
A punch can be a versatile piece of scrapbooking equipment to help you achieve a lot of different effects with borders. Heart and star shapes are always useful if you decide to buy a punch to create interesting border effects.
Now that you have learned the main elements that make up a scrapbooking layout you are now ready to have some fun creating your scrapbooking pages.
In this scrapbooking tutorial I discussed the six main elements of scrapbooking and how these together combine to create a cohesive effect.
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This eBook from favecrafts.com contains the directions to make 24 different simple scrapbooking layouts. Ideas for family photos, wedding photos, summer events and more are contained in this 36-page free scrapbooking eBook.
Starting Points by Linda Harrison will help inspire your scrapbooking with 120 unique layouts which includes images of the original starting points that inspired each layout. Includes cute quotes from kids, receipts, vacation snapshots, patterned paper, party supplies, paint swatches, brochures and more which served as the inspiration. This free scrapbooking eBook contains lots of tips for brainstorming ideas to create unique layouts.
