Scrapbooking Process When Your Starting Point is Product

Your scrapbooking process can have a starting point can be as straight-forward as a desire to put a recent photo or story on a scrapbook page. It could be a desire to try a new technique, an inclination to work from an inspiration piece, or even a product you have in your stash and just want to put on the page. Our Creative Team started these page with product. See how that affected their scrapbooking process and what they think about the results.

If you’re interested in delving into five different page starters and process, we cover it extensively in the Process Play class that’s a part of the Get It Scrapped membership.

when you buy products you love it’s easy to start with product

Sian Fair  says, “After years of thinking about it, I finally learned how to crochet. This page records the beginnings of my first project and the “chain reaction” it sparked.”

“I had the lovely little wood album cover from Jenni Bowlin and when I saw it was stamped “made with love,” I decided to make a page about a craft project. Starting with the product is something I do fairly often. It’s a result of loving the process as much as the finished result. I buy things I know I will love to use, and then the ideas for the pages follow. If I love a product, chances are I have a photo somewhere in a similar color or theme because no matter what I’m doing I always gravitate towards the same materials, shades, and textures.”[hr]

start a scrapbook page with themed ephemera

Heather Awsumb says, “This page documents a funny story about my friend while we were on vacation over New Year’s.”

“My starter product was the palm tree ephemera card (by Scotty Girl Designs from Bermuda Triangle Collaboration Kit at Pixels & Co). I don’t often start pages with a product, but when I do I usually start by placing the product on the page and then designing around it. Here, I placed the ephemera, added spots for photos, and then went through my photos to find a story to tell. Once I picked the story, I added in the rest of my patterned paper and embellishing. The end result is a page that uses a tropical motif fittingly since we were on a beach vacation — even though these aren’t beach photos.” [hr]

start a scrapbook page with a patterned paper background

Kristy T  says, “This layout tells the story of my daughter’s third birthday and lists the gifts she received (on the journaling tag tucked under the photo).”

“My starting point for the page was the background patterned paper. I used a simple composition and a smaller photograph than I would normally choose in order to allow more of the background paper to show. When I use a product as the starting point for my layout I spend time looking through my photographs to find a photograph that will suit the product — looking to tell stories that are on my list of things I want to scrapbook but haven’t yet done.  I often use paints or inks to modify other elements to suit the product that inspired me.”[hr]

Terry Billman says, “The turtles at the golf course make their annual trek to lay their eggs about this time of year. Craig marked one area with stakes to protect the eggs from golfers.”

“Just recently, I was introduced to the digital “Storyteller” collections designed by Just Jaimee. The benefit of using these collections is you have everything you need to construct a page: paper, alpha, journal blocks, tags, embellishments, brushes, templates, and styles. I especially liked the orange color palette of the April 2014 collection. The background paper of this layout was my favorite because it had a gradient effect and could be used effectively with a blended photo in the background. I knew this paper would provide a colorful background for a photo that had little color. Since the bottom of the paper was lighter, it provided contrast for the color photo and title and a neutral background for the journaling. I actually created the background and design of this layout first. Then, I searched for the photos that would fit the layout.”[hr]

astart a scrapbook page with a product that’s out of your comfort zone

Ronnie Crowley says, “These are stolen pictures from my son’s Instagram feed as he’ll never let me take pictures of him.”

“I started my page with the torn paper edges (by Erica Zane). This isn’t a product I’d normally choose. It’s out of my comfort zone, but I decided to stretch my creativity. Starting with product isn’t my favorite way to scrap. I usually start with a story and picture in mind. When I’m scrapbooking I find that stepping away from my usual mode of operating usually results in a page I like–and that happened here. When I chose the product, I had no idea what topic I’d be scrapbooking, and the final page is one I am happy to add to my son’s book.”[hr]

start a scrapbook page with a medium

Gretchen Henninger says, “This page captures the fun of a California-based ska band that my husband plays with once a year when they make the trip to Brooklyn.”

“I started with spray ink, a product I use often, but this time I wanted to try to use several inks to create a wash of color across the background.  The vivid mix of colors was ideal for a high-energy subject, but I also knew a black-and-white photo would work best.  I went a step further and converted my photo into a line drawing with an app.  The spray ink gave the background a gloss that could not be achieved with paint.  Applying a wet medium to the paper will cause it to buckle. Backing it with a heavy-weight paper will help to flatten it out.  A layer of gesso will minimize (but not prevent) buckling, but the ink will not absorb into the paper and will come off if it gets wet.”[hr]

start a scrapbook page with a kit

Vicki Hibbins says, “This page is about my daughter and her Aunty Beckie.”

“The starting point for my pages is usually the photos and the stories I want to tell. However, this time it was fun to just browse my digital kits looking for something I was drawn to. The colors and arty style of the kit I used jumped out at me. As it was a generic themed product, it was suitable for a wide range of photos. I thought I would need to change my photos to black-and-white but didn’t have to. I scrapped the page in record time as I didn’t need to go hunting for the perfect products to enhance my photos and story. I will definitely use this method again.”