Scrapbooking Supplies...What does a beginner need?

[amy_awesome]

Hello ladies -
I'm finally getting around to working on the 2200 pictures that DH and I took on our trip to Italy...and of course I want to do a nice, pretty scrapbook with a small fraction of the pictures.

I have a friend that has a friend that is a Creative Memories consultant. I also have a well-stocked Michaels, and a scrapbooking store nearby.

So, what are the essentials I need to get started with this new hobby?

Budget isn't so much a concern - I mean, don't go crazy, but tell me what tools you can't live without, what things you like but don't need, and what things are just not that necessary for a beginner.

Thanks in advance!
Amy

[rebeccasmommy]

What I think is essential:

A GOOD paper cutter. I have the Creative Memories personal trimmer, and it's my absolute favorite. I also have a Fiskars 12-inch trimmer that I got at Michaels for about $25 that's pretty good. It's nice to have both sizes to do both large and small cutting.

Some sort of adhesive. I prefer the photo squares (I actually get a box of 1000 of the Fiskars brand at Wal-Mart for about $5 and they work great), but some people like tape runners. Try them both and see what you like.

A good journaling pen. I adore Creative Memories pens - I think they write nicely and they're good pens. Pricey, but very good.

Obviously, an album. Have to decide what style you like.

Paper. Lots of it! :) Seriously, I have more paper (both patterned and solid colors) than I will probably ever need. If you use your Michaels coupon, or if you have larger JoAnn near you and use their coupon, you can get a large stack of solid paper in a lot of different colors that will get you started.

Honestly, to get started, that's all you need. Wants and things that are lots of fun are two different things. :p I usually stick to this stuff, and add some small embellishments on the pages (stickers, brads or eyelets, metal accents, etc.) to finish the page. You can find some awesome stuff if you look around.

Have fun!

[amy_awesome]

Thank you so much! I've heard that a paper cutter is a MAJOR essential. How about the cutting system (it does circles and ovals and stuff)? Any thumbs up or thumbs down on that?
-A

[FallBlanch]

rebeccasmommy is absolutley right... those are the essentials. You can get overwhemled at first will all the fun scrapbooking things. I absolutely love the cutting system. I started with the oval and now have everything except the circles. It easy to cut and mat picture. It's definatley something that I use for EVERY PAGE!

[amy_awesome]

Thanks, FallBlanch!

It is totally overwhelming to see all of the scrapbooking stuff - I hardly even know where to start! And the pages posted in the scrapbooking threads here are gorgeous, and I doubt my abilities to make mine look so good. I'll never know until I try, right?

Thanks for the advice!
-A

[rebeccasmommy]

I really do like the shapes cutting system, too. I have all of them. :) I used to use them a LOT, but have kind of gotten away from them. If you have a friend who is a consultant, or know anyone with them, you should try them for a while if possible before you buy them. They can take some getting used to, but they're awesome.

CM also has some fun shape punches that are nice to have, too. I have a bunch of the CM tools.

[amy_awesome]

Thanks Rebeccasmommy -
I do have a friend that is friends with a consultant, and we're all scheduling a time to go over to her house so I can try these things out. The cutting system looks confusing to me, but I'm sure once I get my hands on it in person it'll be much clearer.

Thanks for all your advice -
-A

[heidi0622]

My advice is to start simple...take advantage of your friend being a CM consultant. Use her tools and hold off on buying embellishments, etc. until you know you are comfortable with something and going to use it often.

If your friend offers "crops" with groups of women, definitely take advantage of that. I still copy tons of people's pages since I have a hard time coming up with ideas myself.

Good luck and have fun!

[amy_awesome]

If your friend offers "crops" with groups of women, definitely take advantage of that. I still copy tons of people's pages since I have a hard time coming up with ideas myself.
My friend does go to the consultants house most Thursdays for 'Stop, Crop and Shop' afternoons. I'm thinking one of these Thursdays I'll stop by and try some of the tools out.

I went over to my friend's house last week and saw her scrapbooking room for the first time. It was completely, COMPLETELY overwhelming. Almost to the point that I'm scared to start, because OMG, I cannot afford (financially and spacially (spatially?)) to accumulate that much stuff! I am not kidding when I say that I'm sure she has over a ton, literally, 2000 pounds, of paper for her scrapbooking. And over 100 pens. And cutters, trimmers, punches, slicers and dicers galore. :) All meticulouly organized. God love her, but it was SO intimidating for a super-newbie.

But I suppose when a person has done over 100 of the things for family and friends, she does tend to gather up a lot of stuff. And her scrapbooks really are phenomenal.

Edited for spelling.

[rebeccasmommy]

My dream is to someday have an entire room for my scrapbooking stuff, and to have a huge stockpile of paper. For now, I have a corner of our apartment and stuff piled everywhere! :)

It can be intimidating, but the great thing about scrapbooking is that you can buy as much or as little as you want. When I first started, I was a junkie and would buy stuff anytime I went out. Now I'm culling what I have and trying to get rid of anything I know I won't use to reduce the amount of stuff I have.

It's such a great hobby, though! I hope you're having fun with it!

[amy_awesome]

My dream is to someday have an entire room for my scrapbooking stuff, and to have a huge stockpile of paper. For now, I have a corner of our apartment and stuff piled everywhere! :)

Then this room would have given you, um, how to put this delicately, quite a thrill. Seriously.

It was at once amazing and terrifying. :D

[heidi0622]

Yes...it is definitely easy to get overwhelmed.

I think rebeccasmommy hit the nail on the head when she mentioned the things that you need to get started. Don't get too caught up in having to get everything at once. As I mentioned, a lot of times at those "crops" you can use a lot of the more fancy tools to help spruce up a page. Keep it as simple as you can to start with. Trust me...I think you'll have a much bigger sense of accomplishment finishing a more simple scrapbook rather than spending years completing a super-fancy overwhelming book. It will look beautiful, but you'll be sick of it before you even want to start a second album.

Creative Memories is really good at getting people started. I think their specialty is helping people organize their photos, showing how to organize a basic page and then will help you build as you get more comfortable. I shop at other stores now that I've gotten a little more comfortable, but they are the best at getting you started!