Your first page will also be known as your introduction page. It is the beginning of your story. This is the page where your title should be placed. You can also display a large photo of the subject here. In this chapter you will learn how to place your photos onto the cardstock, as well as some other tips.

• To start, you will need to think of a title. It could be as simple as, Our Wedding Day. You can also think of a personal title, such as, The Day I Married My Best Friend. This page should contain the subject or subjects and some information about them.  The journaling around the page can tell a story about the scrapbook if it is an all occasion’s album. If the scrapbook is about one person this page should tell us the name, birthday, and other important facts.
  
  
• The title should be stenciled in pencil first, and aligned with a ruler. Remember, after you are done stenciling, clear away any residue left from your pencil.
  
  
• You may want to choose different styles to write the title. It depends on what technique would go with the page. The title can be in sticker lettering or handwritten without the use of the ruler. Don’t stress on trying to get it perfect every time. Add your own style and design to achieve a personal touch.
  
  
• You can use left over background scraps for title letters. Trace the letters onto the scraps from a stencil and cut with scissors or decorative shears. This will eliminate spending money on extra paper.
  
  
• Next, you will place the pictures in the order you want them to be viewed. This will be the layout you want the eye to follow. Try to be creative and give each page a different type of layout. You can construct several designs for the layouts.
  
  
• For a basic layout, many scrapbookers use a “Z” format. This means the flow of the page follows the letter Z.
  
  
• If you are creating a scrapbook for your mother or grandmother a quilt page layout would work great. This will enable you to display several photos of the children or grandchildren while using different colors of cardstock in the background. You can also use this design for a single picture and use the other squares for journaling and embellishments. To achieve this look you will need to cut 4x4 squares and arrange them on the page before you glue items to them. If the squares do not line up evenly cut the excess or overlap them. You do not have to use background paper for the project. To add a finishing touch to the quilt, simply make stitching around the edges with a brown acid free pen.
  
  
• A wonderful idea for a children’s layout is to use the hand print technique. First, trace your child’s hand on a piece of cardstock or directly to the page. Now, you can place photos on each tip of the fingers. You can add information about the child in the palm or fingers. You make a copy of their hand or footprint and use the paper for a background.
  
  
• Have your children dip their hands in acrylic paint and place it onto acid-free paper. Once the print is dry you can use this for background paper. You can design a different background using their handprints on cardstock and make several copies on different colored paper. Next, you will align and glue the pieces on the page. Finally, add photos, journaling and other embellishments.
• For a background theme in a Wedding scrapbook you can design your own bubble paper. First, you will need white acid-free paper, food coloring of your choice, and bubbles. Place the items on an old sheet or newspaper. Pour the amount of food coloring into the bubbles to achieve the color you desire. Blow the bubbles onto the paper and let dry.
  
  
• You may want to display pictures of one event or timeframe. You can do a repetitive theme one page or coordinate both pages. This way you will able to display more pictures of the event.
  
  
• If you choose the repetitive theme, pick out photos that are similar in setting, such as, a continuous snapshot of the subject. In doing this you can use simple background paper or use very little embellishments.
  
  
• For special occasion pages use different cookie cutter designs for cropping photos. For an Easter theme, an oval cookie cutter works great for egg shapes. You can glue the photos to the eggs or decorate them with stickers and paper punch designs. Get creative with this idea and incorporate it into different scrapbook pages.
  
  
• An easy Halloween page can be constructed using black or orange background paper. Add journaling with a white acid-free pen or a bleach pen. Use a Halloween cookie cutter to cut out shapes or crop photos. Glue any embellishments or stickers to enhance your page.
  
  
• Using postage stamps is a wonderful way to enhance a heritage theme or other pages you want to display with stamps. You can purchase these at your local post office and look through their collection of stamps. For unusual or hard to find stamps you may want to visit a stamp collector.
  
  
• If you use patterned paper for the background there is one rule to remember. Never use paper that has a pattern larger than the smallest persons head.

Now you can place the photos in different ways on the cardstock to give each photo definition. One way to do this is to place the cardstock in a triangle behind the photo. You can offset the photo on different corners of the cardstock.

• Allow extra space between the layouts of the photos for embellishments you might want to add. Allow space for journaling around the photos on the cardstock. If space doe not allow for extra journaling you can glue a smaller piece of cardstock next to the photo.
  
  
• Once you decide on the layout of your photos you can glue the photos to the cardstock. You can get creative cutting the cardstock in different angles. Using decorative scissors on your cardstock will also help enhance your photo. If you want to create a different look and only have one pair of decorative shears, here’s a tip you may want to try. You can simply turn the shears over for a different cut. Try this tip on a practice piece of paper first.
  
  
• A torn look is a great accent to add with your cardstock. To achieve this look you will need a durable piece of cardstock. You will slowly tear the cardstock by directing it with your hand. This technique will give it a fuzzy jagged look around the edges. Use this tip for borders and background paper.
  
  
• Get creative and sponge your white background page. This will soften your empty spaces between your photos. First, you will need to cut a sponge into quarters and dab one of the sponges in your ink. Lightly press the sponge on the paper to disperse the ink, working from the left side to the right side. Try to blend the ink as much as possible to avoid darker lines on your page. The harder you press on the sponge the darker the color will turn out. You can create a marble effect by using more than one color. Always test this technique on scrap paper before designing the final project. Purchase ink pads that are photo safe and acid-free.
  
  
• To create a border with ink, use a small paint brush and swipe the ink around the edges and corners of the paper. This will also enhance a vintage or weathered look.
  
  
• Another trick is to create a 3-d effect by placing the photo in the upper left hand corner of the cardstock.   This will give you extra room at the bottom of the cardstock for journaling.
  
  
• To add extra detail to your photo you can over lap different colors of cardstock on top of one another. This will also bring out different colors in your photo you are displaying.

Once you have decided on the layout of your pages you can begin to glue the photos in place. Allow your photos to dry for several minutes before adhering embellishments and adding journaling to the page. You can start the layout process for other pages while the current page is drying, this will set a good pace for creating your scrapbook.

After your photos are glued onto the page, you will want to add journaling. This will add any special thoughts you have about your page you created.

• Before you add journaling to your scrapbook it is a good idea to practice on a scratch piece of paper. Be sure to use proper spelling on names and correct dates for birthdays. This will give you practice and let you make any changes before you write it permanently.
  
  
• Take time to review the photo to remember important details of the event. Ask yourself questions like: Where did we go that day?  Who was with us that day?  What special memories took place?  Answering these few questions will make journaling quite trouble-free.
  
  
• Add funny details to the photo by writing a short story about the incident. This will capture the memory of the photo and relive the event.
  
  
• To draw attention to your caption you can use a larger sized letter at the beginning of the first word.
  
  
•  Another way to bring the focus to your journaling is to use a small alphabet stencil and ink. Lightly press the ink through your stencils, using alternating colors through the journaling.
  
  
• Incorporate different words from newspapers with your own writing or place words throughout the page that make statements about the photos. Cut out words such as, love, smile or whatever word describes the photo.
  
  
• You can add the special sayings on your cardstock if it allows room. You will use a white pen with dark colored paper and a black pen with light colored paper.
  
  
• Outline your journaling to keep it from blending in with the page. For easy reading, keep the journaling in big bold letters.
  
  
• Think of funny quotes or use captions from the cartoon section in the newspaper. If you use the newspaper captions, you will want to make a copy and glue it to the page. Newspaper is not acid-free and will deteriorate after time.
  
  
• Have your children write something on a separate piece of paper and copy it or glue it to the page. It would be of great sentimental value as the years go by.
• A great idea for creating a page for grandmothers is having your children write their favorite memories on pieces of cardstock and glue them around her picture.
  
  
• For background paper, copy your mother’s recipes that she has written. Over lap them to fit on the page and cut out little aprons from old fabric. Use the aprons for embellishments on the page.

You should have some great ideas in creating your first page after reading this chapter. Involving your family to help with the design will promise to make this a very rewarding experience.

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