Book Review of "Fast & Easy Scrapbook Pages"

Today's blog is a book review of "The Kodak Book of Fast & Easy Scrapbook Pages" by Kerry Arquette and Andrea Zocchi. This book presents 125 different layouts - grouped by layouts using one photo, layouts using two photos and layouts using three or more photos.

The book starts off with an introduction to scrapbooking, what you need to get started, design pointers and tips to keep all your supplies organized. This four page introduction is brief and to the point so that you can get what you came for - creating your scrapbook!

The next 85 pages of the book concentrate on showing you many, many different layouts. No two are alike and each one describes the key elements needed to make that layout work. There's tips a plenty - you'll learn how to create balance on a page; how to use headlines and journaling effectively; how to use colour to create a mood or theme on a page; and how to add embellishments without making the page cluttered. The book also shows you how to do different scrapbooking techniques like stamping, embossing, distressing, chalking and lacing.

In summary, this book is a great source of inspiration for scrapbook pages. Plus, for each layout that the book presents, it tells you what elements make that page work, so that you can make it work for you too!

Visit Beautiful Creations for great scrapbooking supplies that will inspire you when you start to work on your next scrapbook! If you're still looking for more inspiration, don't forget to check out our FREE scrapbook layouts. Happy scrapping!

Reusing Ordinary Items In Scrapbooks

Today I'm passing on a tip that will help you to save money when scrapbooking and to be environmentally friendly at the same time. The tip is all about how you can reduce waste by reusing items instead of throwing them out. Plus, since you are reusing, that means you have one less thing to buy and that saves you money.

So here are some items that you can reuse:

• Reuse wrapping paper from Christmas and birthday presents as background paper. It's colourful and if there are any spots that are badly damaged, you can always cover them up!
• Use leftover embroidery thread to create braids to form borders or to frame pictures on your scrapbook page.
• Create pockets from old clothes or scraps of fabric. The pockets can then be used to hold anything that you don't want to permanently attach to your scrapbook.
• Use leftover or spare buttons as embellishments. Damaged buttons will work too because you can always glue them to the page.
  

Do you have any items that you like to reuse in your scrapbook? Leave a comment below to let me know.

Want more? Then please visit Beautiful Creations for more recycling ideas and other helpful scrapbooking tips.