How to start a scrapbook: the decisions before page one
Decide five things first: what the book is about, where it ends, paper or digital, the page size, and roughly how many pages. Then gather material into one place before buying anything.
A subject with no edge, such as everything from the last ten years, is the hardest kind to finish. You never know which page comes next.
An unfinished first page is not the problem to solve. Settle the five decisions below and the first page has a clear job.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
| Decision | Common choices | Decide it by | If you skip it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject and end | One event, one year, one person, one place | What you can finish with the material you have | The book grows without a last page |
| Paper or digital | Album with originals, or digital pages | Where the photos are and who adds to it | You print photos you later need to move |
| Page size | 8 by 8 inch, 12 by 12 inch, A4, or a screen shape | The largest keepsake and where it will be read | Tickets and letters do not fit without folding |
| Page count | Groups of material plus a title and closing page | Counting your sorted piles | You buy too few refills or leave many blank |
| Binding | Post-bound, ring, strap-hinge or fixed | Whether you expect to add pages later | A fixed book fills before the subject ends |
Give the subject an end
A book with a last page gets finished. One summer, one house, one person's first year at school: each tells you what to leave out.
If the subject is open, such as a growing child, set a volume edge instead. One book per year or per school stage keeps each volume finishable.
Choose paper or digital by who adds to it
Paper suits one maker with the originals in reach. Digital suits material spread across several phones and people who live apart.
In a shared digital book such as tbf scrapbook, others can send photos and words while you choose what goes in.
Estimate pages from your piles
Sort what you have into groups: an outing, a room, a season. Each group is roughly one page or one spread. Add a title page and a closing page.
Buy or set up a few more pages than the count. It is easier to leave spares blank than to fit a missing outing later.
Collect into one box before decorating
Put prints, tickets, cards and notes in one box or envelope per group. For digital, make one folder per group and copy photos into it.
Write the date and place on a slip in each group now, while you still remember them. These slips become the facts on each page.
Steps
Write one line
Write the subject and its end in a single line, such as a year and a family name. If it needs two lines, the subject is too wide.
Count the groups
Sort material into groups and count them. Add two for the title and closing pages. That number is your first page count.
Pick format and size
Choose paper or digital, then the page size. Test the largest keepsake on a sheet that size before you buy an album.
Make the easiest page first
Start with the group that has the clearest photos and dates. Leave the title page until the inside pages show what the book is.
Questions
What should the first page of a scrapbook be?
Usually a title page with the subject and dates. Make it last, once you know which photo best stands for the whole book.
What is the rule of three in scrapbooking?
A habit of grouping items in threes, such as three photos or three small pieces, so the eye moves between them. It is a guide, not a rule.
Do I need special supplies to start?
Not for the first decisions. You need the material, a box or folder per group and paper to test sizes. Buy supplies once the plan is set.