The wonderful world of creativity: scrapbooking lessons for beginners

Using the scrapbooking technique, you can make any gifts - these are albums, boxes or postcards

Do you think your life is boring and monotonous? It's time to plunge into the world of creativity, find something you like that will help you take your mind off the daily hustle and bustle. Some people engage in a hobby from time to time, but many devote themselves to their favorite pastime with genuine passion, turning it into a successful business, creating exclusive handmade items.

Creativity is a separate universe, full of mysteries and secrets. By immersing ourselves in the magic of handicrafts, we become kinder, discover talents and even find new friends. Scrapbooking is a special art form. Having mastered the technique with the help of detailed master classes (MK) on scrapbooking, you can make, design, decorate photo frames, postcards, albums and even books in ethno and boho style.

History and basics

Interestingly, the fashion for exclusive design of albums or postcards appeared long before the invention of the art of photography. The Greeks in ancient times used books for writing, they were called “hypomnema”. Interesting statements and personal thoughts that I wanted to remember or think about in my spare time were recorded in such notebooks.

In the 15th century, in good old England, philology students always had memory books at hand for sayings, essays and poems, recipes and even prayers. Later, “books of friends” gained popularity. During school years, who among us did not keep questionnaires? In simple notebooks, friends wrote down wishes, drawings or postcards. In the 18th century, notebooks were supplemented with clippings from newspapers, magazines, and bright labels.

An example of a surviving album with notes

It is known that US President Thomas Jefferson was an ardent fan of scrapbooking. His albums with thoughts and reflections on his future presidency are still kept in the museum.

In 1825, the first manual appeared on sale, which described not only scrapbooking, but also gave a master class on creating an album. A little later, Mr. Mark Twain himself created the first self-adhesive album. What is scrapbooking? The name is derived from the English words Scrap - scrapping, and book - book. If taken literally, the meaning consists of filling albums with clippings, notes, and postcards. At its core, this is not only a way to store photographs, but also an opportunity to beautifully tell the story of a significant event using tactile techniques and visualization. Of all the possible hobbies, scrapbooking is a unique opportunity to surprise, interest and demonstrate good taste. Today, unique products will become an invaluable gift for colleagues, friends or loved ones. A detailed master class will help even beginners in unusual art cope with the work with dignity.

A little history

Gift packaging

It happens that we have a gift that we are sure to like, but it is packaged ugly or not in the theme. Using everything told about scrapbooking, you can easily make packaging boxes yourself.

Beautiful packaging with gifts

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In such a frame, the gift will win many times over and will not go unnoticed by the recipient. The main thing is to determine the dimensions of the package. Then we decide on its design. We prepare what is needed for the craft. We pack the necessary item. We receive sincere thanks.

DIY soft heart box

What might you need for work?

When starting any new activity, you will need not only a description of master classes on scrapbooking. You will definitely need a set of necessary tools.

Tips for beginners

A novice master should have in his arsenal:

• Several types of scissors. Separately, you will need scissors with large long blades for cutting paper, standard ones with sharp blades for cutting ribbons, fabric and tulle, as well as manicure scissors for miniature parts.
• During scrapbooking lessons you will need a trimmer - a special tool for working with paper. Essentially this is a large cutter with centimeter markings and a blade. Such equipment at some stages can replace the use of scissors and a stationery knife.
• Scotch tape, self-adhesive tapes. It is better to use adhesive tape with a double-sided adhesive base. Using tape, you can not only paste photographs, but also individual elements of the composition.
• Shaped hole punches. For beginners, master classes involve the use of special composters, which allow you to create patterns or a figured border in one moment.
• Stamps. You can decorate a product in various ways; the simplest is rubber stamps with ready-made embossing for designs.

After working with rubber stamps, they should be cleaned immediately. The easiest way to do this is with simple wet wipes, but without alcohol. Stamps can also be washed with a solution of water and soap.

• Sewing supplies. Since many cards and albums are decorated with fabric elements, you may need sewing supplies. Beginners do not need to use a sewing machine, just a simple needle and thread.
• Accessories. The main thing that scrapbooking lessons teach is the generous use of all kinds of decor. Albums and cards can be decorated with sequins, beads or beads, felt details, rhinestones, buttons and much more. The effect of grace, elegance and tenderness can be achieved using lace. In your work you need to follow the idea of ​​the design project and remember about harmony.
• Sketches. A real lifesaver in your work will be sketches - templates for scrapbooking that will help you “catch an idea” for creating a postcard, box or photo album. Any master class on scrapbooking will tell you in detail which sketches are best to use for this work.

Scrap kit for designing works
In mastering the technique of scrapbooking and master classes, you will need a ruler and a centimeter, a mat for cutting cardboard with markings, the cardboard itself and glossy magazines, stickers. Experienced needlewomen use crocodile - special equipment for installing eyelets.

Making from cardboard

You can also use compacted cardboard with a fabric wrapper. A similar box with a lid will also have an attractive appearance and is suitable for storing jewelry. The lid is duplicated with padding polyester.

To create you will need:

• paper with good density;
• textile;
• filling material;
• adhesive;
• scissors, stationery knife;
• paper tape.

A circle of the required size is drawn on paper, which is then cut out. The sides are formed from a rectangle.

Completing the work includes several points.

• Using tape and a clamp, form the “skeleton” of the box. It will be oval, like in the picture.
• Then you can start gluing the box.
• The lower part is covered with fabric.
• The lid is also made from cardboard, to which the side is glued. Then you need to put the padding polyester on the lid and also use it as a textile covering. The edges are decorated with paper.

Works using scrapbooking technique

Anyone who wants to learn an original form of creativity will be helped by a detailed description of scrapbooking lessons. The first thing you need for work is a boundless flight of imagination and the desire to create.

How much does scrapbooking work cost?

Method of implementing scrap work

greeting card

A card is the best way to express your love, respect or respect without words. To get acquainted with the art of scrapbooking, we offer a simple master class on making an original postcard with movable decor.

The card can be made in any style and designed to your liking.

The work is as follows:

• To begin with, we will select scrap paper with a suitable pattern.
• Let's mark the base and backing of the front and back sides. The size must match the selected sheet of scrap paper.
• After finishing the substrates, we place the back part on double-sided adhesive tape, and completely glue the front part. Next, select the knife and the shape of the movable part of the postcard. You can use ready-made devices, but if they are not at hand, this is not a problem. Using a stencil or compass, we will draw any blank, and using a stationery knife we ​​will cut it out. The shape can be any, square, round, oval or more complex geometry.
• Using a ruler, measure the middle of the front side. Place the cutting plate on the knife and cut out part of the part. Carefully bend the cut half.
• Separately for the main motif, we will cut out anything to your taste. This could be an image of animals or birds, flowers or abstract motifs. For a three-dimensional effect, the edges of the motif can be processed with a special creasing stick and then glued with double-sided tape. The picture should be 3D.
• Both parts are glued together. Apply glue to the left side of the workpiece and glue it to the bent side. In this case, the first part will remain movable.

We complete the decoration of the card according to your taste and desire. You can complement the composition with your own decoration ideas, decorate it with shiny stickers, beads or rhinestones.

An elegant box for secrets

The box is an object with an ancient history. A small, elegant accessory with great potential. It is to boxes that we entrust our secrets and keep things dear to our hearts. Therefore, the external design of a home treasury is of great importance. A scrapbooking box can be an excellent gift, and a master class with a detailed description of the stages of work will help even beginners handle it with dignity.

Box of Mom's treasures

Let's try to make a box with a secret:

• First you need to make several blank boxes. We mark the boxes on a thick sheet of cardboard. All drawers must be the same size.
• We cut out the blanks; the corners can be rounded using a regular coin. There should be 6 blanks.
• We crease, bend along the lines, and glue the boxes with double-sided tape.
• Let's start creating the frame of a large box, which will be the basis of the box. Its size depends on the size of the small boxes. The standard sizes are: two parts 19.2*12, two more parts 12.6*12. We draw the base on a sheet of thick cardboard, carefully cut it out and glue it end-to-end with masking tape.
• To make the box have a voluminous and cozy look, we wrap the top with thin synthetic padding and cover it with fabric on top. We hide the joint of the flaps on the back wall of the box.
• We cover the middle of the box with scrap paper. You can choose a motif to match the fabric, or you can create an original contrast.
• For the secret bottom, we cut out two pieces of cardboard measuring 19*5.5 and one 19*12.6. We fasten the parts end-to-end with masking tape and cover the top with fabric. From scrap paper we cut out two parts measuring 18.3*5 and one 18.3*12.1. We glue tape to the top for easy opening. Parts can be sewn by machine or by hand.
• We decorate small boxes to our liking, putting a sticker on each with an inscription saying what the box contains.

Technology tends toward subtlety, purity, and aesthetic refinement. When using tint ink or stamps, be especially careful not to smear the design. Carelessness is unacceptable in scrapbooking!

• Separately on cardboard we mark the lid for the box, cut out and fasten the parts. We cover the top with fabric and the inside with scrap paper.
• Putting the whole structure together. The lower part of the secret bottom is attached to the back wall of the box frame.

Boxes using scrapbooking technique

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The color scheme, pattern and decor are chosen by the craftswoman according to her taste. If the box contains what is most dear to a mother’s heart: the baby’s first curl, an ultrasound, a tooth and a tag from the maternity hospital, the color scheme and decor should be gentle, giving rise to a wave of warm memories. For wedding “secrets” it is better to choose pastel colors that will remind you of the tenderness and solemnity of the memorable day.

Family album

Creating an interesting and memorable photo story is the main direction of the ancient scrapbooking technique. Master classes on creating books filled with illustrated family stories and stories will help you make a memorable gift with your own hands. Such a gift is especially relevant when dedicated to the main event in the life of every person - the birth of a baby.

Everyone has a family album and it can correspond to a certain topic, accompanied by explanatory text

The description of the scrapbooking technique and master class consists of the following steps:

1. Let's draw a blank on a sheet of thick cardboard. You will need two 15*15 squares for the cover and six 12.5*12.5 sheets for the inner sheets of the album.
2. Glue the paper, cut off the sharp corners, and carefully cover it with cloth.
3. Take a ribbon no more than 50 centimeters long. Glue it to the inside of the cardboard square.
4. Let's lay out all the cardboard sheets sequentially, glue tape to each on both sides, connecting all the elements of the album together.
5. We cover the pages of the album with scrap paper; you can decorate the border, giving the sheets an openwork appearance, using shaped hole punches.

You can insert the first photos of the baby into the middle of the sheets, and decorate the cover to your taste with original fittings.

To give the family album a special charm and elegance, you can use several artistic techniques:

• embossing - adding volume, creating convex patterns;

What is embossing and everything you need for it

• stamping - decorating sheets with patterns using templates, applicators and stamps;
• distressing - artificially aging pages in various ways.

Two ways to age pages

There are many styles of designing products using the scrapbooking technique, and master classes will help even beginners in the unusual decorating technique create an artistic masterpiece.

The production of gold paper adds a special chic to the creation of albums. For a luxurious effect you will need acrylic paints, plain white paper and a brush. The sheet is pre-soaked, then the “paper pulp” is evenly laid out on the newspaper. Dried flowers, threads and various small items can be randomly placed on top. To dry the top of the sheet, it is covered with polyethylene and pressed down with a press. After drying, we process the edges and cover the surface with gold paint.

Step-by-step instructions for an organizer box

To design an organizer box you must have:

• untreated wooden box;
• velvet fabric;
• high-quality glue;
• tassels.

Tools needed to create an organizer box:

• drill and drill bits;
• screwdriver;
• pinking shears;
• sewing machine.

  
  Making a cardboard box with your own hands is very simple if you follow the step-by-step photo instructions.

Instructions:

• Treat the wooden box with stain; anything that is not absorbed should be wiped off with a rag.
• Using a drill, you need to drill a hole in the center in order to fix the handle
• Cut two pieces of fabric slightly smaller than the bottom and lid of the box. Then you need to cut another piece half the size. Next you need to lay a short piece of fabric on a long one and stitch it to make a pocket. Secure the velvet fabric and organizer inside the lid and at the bottom of the box.

Let's open the box with a diamond embroidery kit

For each picture it contains:

• base with a pattern of laying out rhinestones. Covered with film, it is removed at the next step;
• sign for deciphering the task. The numbers in it are identical to those on bags of stones. This speeds up the process of laying the glue on the plot;
• rhinestones made of resins - acrylic or special, in the form of a circle or square. The top of each is delicately cut for expressive light reflection. The sides are of different geometries - they are already prepared for their place in the picture, and no other can replace it.
• tweezers, or a special pencil with an adhesive end, for transferring rhinestones to the picture.

What could be the decor?

The craftswoman, for whom scrapbooking has become a serious hobby, keeps in her treasured drawers a huge number of things that are of no interest to people who are not passionate about it. It can be:

• small cute stones;
• small shells;
• rope cuttings;
• dried flowers;
• unusual candy wrappers;
• pictures from magazines;
• old newspapers.

Every trip to the craft store increases your inventory. In the crafts department you can purchase ready-made decorative elements:

• special paper;
• stickers;
• eyelets;
• rivets;
• beads and beads.

“Professional” decor is easy to work with, beautiful, and allows you to create a variety of thematic blocks. “Homemade” is original and makes every scrapbooking item special and soulful. For example, an album with photos from a honeymoon can be decorated with shells collected by lovers in the evening by the sea.

Experienced craftswomen know: to create real art objects using the scrapbooking technique, you need to use your imagination to the fullest, and not be afraid to combine incompatible things, using both store-bought decor and those that appeared spontaneously.

Preface (a must read!)

"No time"

A person who is busy with business has no time in principle. This is fine

On the other hand, you just need to clearly define what is important to you in this particular period of time: a well-functioning life (no dust, dishes sparkle, starched shirts squeak in the closet); career-work (would you like a promotion or are you afraid of being fired); personal life (no comments), etc.

If you honestly tell yourself that now you want to realize yourself in creativity (with profit, without profit), that you want to overcome yourself, to grow in your own eyes. You WANT it, you are INTERESTED in it, you NEED it - you will find the time. You will watch less TV. Talk less on the phone. Spend less time on the Internet. Write a work plan for the day (week, month), mobilize and strictly implement it. It can be done, believe me.

Small children, even the most ruddy and big-booted ones (like my beloved daughter, for example), also sometimes sleep. And at this time you are walking on tiptoe and, holding your breath, photographing the stages of work...

What can I teach? Everything is already on the Internet

Not everything is on the Internet. I am sure that each of you has more than once sat for hours at the computer looking for the desired description (diagram, pattern, pattern, recipe, MK) - and nothing useful has been found. Or they found it. But it wasn't exactly what you wanted. Or too difficult. Or too expensive.

And it happens that you want to watch not just one MK on one topic, but several.

We are all very different. And we do everything differently. Therefore, there is always something to learn from someone else.

And someone else always has something to learn from you.

I've never done MK. I won't succeed

If you've never done it, how do you know you won't succeed? Try it! In the worst case scenario (you do something wild, scary, nightmarish with creepy photographs and incomprehensible text), no one will publish this MK. Or if you publish it yourself, no one will use it. So what?! And you will gain experience. And the next MK will be good.

By the way, I personally am not aware of cases of such failures. Everyone to whom we approached with a proposal to create an MK for us and who responded, made good materials. The materials are viewed (in many countries!), reviews are received (positive!), and the authors are happy.

Bottom line: the eyes are afraid - the hands do it. And we will tell you how to do it better!