Guest post by Leah Morrison A unique way to display memories, scrapbooks are definitely a step above the run-of-the-mill photo album. Valerie Speck of Barrie, ON, a veteran scrapbooker, has been getting crafty with scrapbooks for years. “I was at my daughter’s skating practice and someone came in with a scrapbook on what the team did for the year,” says Valerie. “I thought it was so special and personal, and what a nice gift it would be to give someone. I took some classes at a local scrapbooking store and I was hooked.” If you need help with your first scrapbook project, these simple steps will get you started: Discover your style It’s important to understand your personal sense of style before beginning your first scrapbook. Have a look at some sample pages online or head to a friend’s house to see how her books are laid out. The great thing about scrapbooking is that there are no rules: You can mimic or create any style that best fits your personality. Have confidence, and don't be afraid to add your own flair! Get the right tools There is an overwhelming array of tools and supplies used for scrapbooking. If you're a beginner, however, just get the basics to start. An album, sheet protectors, brightly patterned paper, scissors, adhesives and stickers are all you need to create a truly original keepsake. If you want to get fancy, you can embellish (as much or as little as you want) with pins, fabrics, small mementos, or items that help capture a memory like movie stubs or concert tickets. Different coloured markers will also add personality to captions and journal entries. When Valerie scraps, she enjoys focusing on her materials—the pictures, ribbons, buttons and accessories she has collected. When asked what her favourite material is, she replies with a smile, “Memories.” Design a workspace When you begin a scrapbook, tools and supplies get strewn around quickly, making your workspace chaotic. “I started at the kitchen table, but with all the items I was purchasing, I was always moving things around the house to find room,” Valerie says. “Items were getting lost or damaged, and it was driving me crazy.” Create a dedicated workspace for your new hobby with plenty of elbow room to lay out your materials, and invest in some small jars, file folders and storage containers to help keep your materials organized. Choose a theme Scrapbooks are ideal for commemorating special occasions and work best when focused on a specific event or time period. Decide what event you would like to commemorate—it could be your first year of marriage, a baby book for your child, a family vacation—and that will inspire your design. Once focused, have fun with colours, patterns, stickers and even textures to help highlight the theme. Postpone gluing When you start to design your scrapbook, you'll often want to play around with the placement of your materials. It's wise to start gluing things down only when you're happy with the layout of a page. Post-adhesive, it's too late to make room for that piece of fabric from your son’s first hockey jersey. And don’t be afraid to change up your designs from one page to the next. Variety in the layouts creates a more visually appealing scrapbook. “When you’re done, you'll have a book that is personal and fun to look at,” Valerie says. “Much better than a bunch of pictures sitting in a box.” Keep snapping The most important thing for novice scrapbookers is to have a diverse collection of special, commemorative pictures. Because photos are the main attraction of a scrapbook, take as many pictures as possible so that you can display them to the world in a creative way. Family gatherings, birthdays, a Tuesday afternoon—photos can be taken at any time, for any reason. “If I knew I was going to be doing this 28 years ago, I would have taken a lot more pictures as my daughter was growing up,” says Valerie. “Take pictures, pictures and more pictures: Get close ups, different angles, groups and individuals of the same function. The more choice, the more creative you can be.” Want to learn how to scrapbook digitally? Visit Canadian Living's Digital Scrapbooking page! Photo courtesy of Flickr/CC  chris_hertel