How to start your very first scrapbooking baby album.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Well usually I am giving you ideas and suggestions more towards how to decorate your pages or how to do your journaling, but today I decided to go back to the basics, the very start of your wonderful scrapbooking baby album.
Choosing the album.
So first things first, whether you are a seasoned scrapper or if this is your very first scrapbooking project, is, what size album you are planning to use? You can use mini albums, but for the purpose of this precious keepsake, I would recommend either using an 8 x 10 or a 12 x 12 album which is designed to have extra pages easily added. My personal preference would have to go to the 12 x 12 inch albums, I just find it much easier to place and arrange the photos on a 12 x 12 inch page, but that’s only my opinion.
Now there are a few different kinds of albums around, and to be fair I will explain the main differences between the two most commonly used types of albums. Ok so most of the fellow scrappers I know all use either, what are called post bound albums or strap hinge albums. So what are the differences?
A strap hinge album basically has 2 straps that feed through each of the pages. So each page is actually quite strong and on one edge of the page, there are two metal loops that look a little bit like staples, the straps from the album are then threaded through those loops and that is how the pages are secured into the album. Usually these kinds of albums do not automatically come with page protectors, so unless you buy them separately, there will be nothing to protect your precious photos from finger prints and dust and other damage. You can however buy page protectors separately, which are like a sleeve that slide sideways onto the page to keep your photos safe and secure.
A top loading post bound album is actually quite similar to the ring binder folders and clear pockets most of us, used at school. So the pages that your scrapbook layouts are designed on are held into the album by a clear pocket, thus protecting your photos and the whole layout. The pockets have a reinforced edge with holes in it, and these attach into the album by posts that screw the album together. So once the pages are in the album and the posts are screwed down, you don’t see the reinforced edge, because it will be hidden in the spine of the album. The pages can easily be worked on and accessed by slipping them out of the top of the pocket, hence why they are called top loading, post bound albums.
There are of course other types as well, but these two seem to be the most commonly used by most people. Ok so next time I will give you some of my pros and cons on these two kinds of albums and then we will move on to the very start of your own scrapbooking baby album.
