It is easy to look at scrapbooking pages that others make and think that you have never been that creative. The thing is, you are creative, but sometimes it is easy to get into a rut.  Many scrapbookers end up dealing with scrapbooker’s block, having a hard time figuring out what to do next in their scrapbook. If you are stuck in a rut and tired of sitting there just trying out what to do with your pages, here are some great tips to help you unleash the creative scrapbooker inside.

Save Scrapbooking Pages from Magazines
One excellent way to get those creative juices flowing and to end scrapbooker’s block is to save pages from magazines that really inspire you. When you see layouts in a magazine that catch your eye, tear them out and keep them. Look for color combinations that really catch your eye or color swatches you find unique. Put everything in a folder and keep it around. When you are having trouble finding inspiration, pull out the folder you have made for some great ideas.

Go Through Previous Scrapbooking Albums
Another way that you can unleash your creative scrapbooker once again is to go through previous scrapbooking albums that you have made in the past. Spend some time enjoying all the different pages that you have come up with. Write down some of the techniques that you really like. This may trigger some good ideas that you can use for some new pages as well.

Keep Art Around that Makes You Smile
Inspiration often comes from what is all around you. In the area that you work in, keep art around that really makes you smile. If you don’t have the money to buy art that inspires you, create the artwork yourself to hang up. Use some scrapbooking supplies and create some interesting art that you really enjoy. When you need inspiration you can find it in the art that is all around you.

Use Color Therapy in your Scrapbooking Room
Ever heard of color therapy? Certain colors actually help to enhance creativity and inspiration. If you have a scrapbooking room, you can use these colors in the room to help avoid scrapbooker’s block and to keep you inspired. Consider some orange for creativity, since it is supposed to help spark creativity in people. Yellow is used for learning, and some purple for promoting inspiration. These three colors will be a great addition to your workspace and can help keep those creative juices flowing.

Check Online for Scrapbooking Inspiration
The internet is a great place to find inspiration for your scrapbooks. There are many scrapbooking sites on the web that provide interesting ideas for layouts, some provide examples, and you can even find new techniques online too. Another idea is to go to paint sites and look at color schemes that will inspire you. The internet is a great tool and you can use it to combat scrapbooker’s block.

Creative scrapbooking can be a whole lot of fun. It can be relaxing to sit down and work with your scrapbooking. Sometimes it’s the perfect thing to do after a long and stressful day. Of course, whether you are just learning how to scrapbook or you are an old pro, one thing that can be difficult is keeping everything organized. The last thing you want is to have scrapbooking supplies and scrapbooking tools all over your home. So, if you want to get a bit organized, here are some tips that will help you organize everything so your creative scrapbooking will be more enjoyable for you.

Make Use of Hanging File Folders
One excellent idea that will help you to get all those creative scrapbooking supplies organized is to make use of hanging file folders. A simple filing box with some hanging folders can help you to get organized very quickly. These hanging folders are great for holding your cardstock, patterned papers, embellishments, and more. It will also make everything easier for you to find as well.

Organize Photos in a Recipe Box
Another wonderful idea for getting your scrapbooking supplies organized is to organize your photos in a large recipe box. These boxes are often the perfect size to hold photos. You can get plastic dividers for the box as well to keep things organized and separated. This way the photos you are going to use for creative scrapbooking do not get damaged and they are easy for you to find when you need them. Even negatives can be stored easily in these boxes.

Try Using a Closet Organizer
A closer organizer is a cheap and easy way that you can store a variety of scrapbooking supplies. Simply hang it in a close and you can use it for your background papers, construction paper, and so much more. It’s a streamlined and effective way that you can get all your creative scrapbooking supplies and tools into one place. If you are looking for the ultimate Scrapbooking storage unit then have a look at The Scrap Box it really is custom made for all your scrapbooking storage needs.


Plastic Boxes for Storing Tools
Purchasing some small plastic boxes is a wonderful way that you can keep your scrapbooking tools stored. Some of those tools for creative scrapbooking are pretty sharp and you don’t want to leave them out where someone can get hurt. Have a nice plastic box, such as one by Rubbermaid, for storing those tools for safety and so they are organized and where you can find them.

Keeping your supplies for creative scrapbooking well organized is important. The last thing you want to do is have to find the supplies or spend a half hour looking for the background that you want. When you use these tips for organizing, you’ll find that everything can be safely store and will be easy for you to find whenever you need it. This way you’ll get more enjoyment out of your creative scrapbooking sessions.

Are you addicted to creating your own scrapbooking crafts? If so, you already know that it can be a huge amount of fun to create scrapbooking pages. Of course what you may not know is that one of the most popular and exciting home business opportunities out there is in scrapbooking. You can actually take those scrapbooking crafts and turn them into a profit. If starting a home business sounds like a great idea to you, here are some tips to help you take your passion and turn it into your own home business.

Tip #1 - Start Out Marketing your Scrapbooking Business to Family and Friends - First of all, if you are going to start a scrapbooking crafts business, start out by marketing that business to your family and friends. Let them know you are starting up your business and offer them your services as a discounted price. It’s a great way to start getting the word out there and getting some business too.

Tip #2 - Remember Word of Mouth Advertising is Powerful - One of the reasons it’s a great idea to market to family and friends first with your scrapbooking crafts business is because word of mouth advertising is so powerful. Do some projects for those close to you and allow them to show them around. Word will spread, no doubt bringing you more business. You can’t beat this type of advertising and it’s totally free.

Tip #3 - Opportunities to Get More  Scrapbooking Business - There are a variety of opportunities out there to get business when it comes to scrapbooking crafts. If you now of someone getting married, offer to help them with a scrapbook. Maybe you know a new mom who doesn’t have the time to scrapbook her new baby. Offer your services. There are many opportunities around you for business.

Tip #4 - Promote your Scrapbooking to Locals - Promote your new scrapbooking crafts business to the locals. You can do this by promoting your business at church or perhaps at your children’s schools as well.

Tip #5 - The Internet can Become a Great Marketing Tool for your Scrapbooking Business - Of course you shouldn’t forget internet marketing either when you are working to get your scrapbooking crafts business off the ground. Get online to show off your stuff, including your scrapbook page layouts and your scrapbooking pages that you’ve created.

Tip #6 - Make Use of Craft Fairs and Scrapbooking Expos- You can make use of Scrapbooking Expos and craft fairs to promote your scrapbooking crafts business. Check into the fairs in your area and be sure to attend them and set up a booth. It’s a great way to get more business.

Tip #7 - Ensure You Treat your Scrapbooking Like a Business - Last of all, it’s important that you treat your craft scrapbooking business like it is a business. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this is really a business since scrapbooking is so fun. Make sure you are well organized. Keep supplies and consider business coaching.

Are you are beginning scrapbooker excited about learning how to scrapbook pages for a beautiful end result? If so, you are sure to find scrapbooking to be exciting and fun. However, before you actually start making those scrapbook pages, there are some supplies and tools that you are going to need. Making a great scrapbook means you have to have the right supplies and tools. So, if you want to learn how to scrapbook, here’s a look at some of the supplies and tools you are going to need to have.

Several Types of Scissors
First of all, when you are looking for the right scrapbooking tools so you can enjoy making scrapbook pages for your scrapbook, you are going to need to have several types of scissors. Scissors are one of the basic, yet most important tools that you can have around. You’ll want regular paper cutting scissors to help you with photo cropping and for cutting other papers. Crafting scissors can also be helpful and can cut in many different shapes, giving your pages a unique look.

Creative Hole Punches
Creative hole punches are another great supply to have on hand when you are designing your scrapbook pages. Many of these punches will create special shaped decorations for your pages. There are also regular hold punches that come in handy when you need to punch holes in the papers to attach something like a thread or ribbon to the page.

Glue or Tape
Glue and tape can both be great scrapbooking tools to have around as well. After all, you have to have a way to attach photos and embellishments to the scrapbook pages that you create. Stick glue is a great option, since it doesn’t make a mess and it keeps things sticking well to the pages, including photos. If you use tape, it should be double sided tape.

A Simple Pair of Tweezers
While it may sound odd to consider tweezers as a scrapbooking tool, you’ll find that they can definitely come in handy. They are especially helpful when you are trying to glue and place smaller items on your scrapbook pages. You don’t want to end up smudging your pages, so using the tweezers on those small embellishments can make a big difference.

Other Tools and Supplies to Have Around
There are a variety of other tools to have around to help you create your scrapbook pages for your new scrapbook. Some great ideas include rubber stamps, tracing stylus, paper trimmer, cutting mat, glitter pens, tag makers, background papers, scrap paper, and more. With all of these tools and supplies, you’ll be able to create beautiful scrapbook pages and in the end they’ll all come together to create a lovely scrapbook.

Ok so I have been at the annual Scrapbook and Papercraft convention and expo in Brisbane for the last few days and will be there each day until it’s over for this year and if you weren’t already aware we here at Scrapbooking Companion have been fortunate to secure interviews with four of the key note speakers from the expo these speakers are have taught all over the world and are internationally published with a combined experience of over 40 years experience in Scrapbooking between them.

This interview is with Lynette Carroll, Lynette was kind enough to give us a small amount of her time in this interview she discusses her must have tools and the items that live on her desk not to mention how she got started with scrapbooking and her number one tip for beginners.

This Interview was only made possible by the wonderful help received from Print Blocks, and the Scrapbook and Papercraft expo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview here are some links to Lynette’s favourite products - Exacto knife, tweezers, metal edge clear ruler, adhesives, q tips

So keep an eye out on this blog for the interviews of Ngaire Bartlam, Jodi Holbrook and Noralee Peterson coming very soon.

The Most Amazing Scrapbooking Storage Unit I have ever seen is called The Work Box^TM and it’s fantastic. It’s all on wheels so you can move it anywhere, it folds neatly into a 3′ wide x 3′ wide and 6′ high box that locks shut and you can colour coordinate it with you furniture. So that’s what it looks like but once you fold it out it is a complete work unit with so many storage I couldn’t even count them plus it has it’s own fold out work bench.

They have thought of every thing it even has smaller transparent containers that stick to the walls so you can keep smaller items in site and in grasp. I can’t believe you get all this plus all the shelves are adjustable they really have thought of every thing.

I don’t know about you but I’m always looking for a better way to store all my scrapbooking supplies. Have a look at the Amazing Scrapbooking Storage Unit in the demonstration video.

I challenge you to show me a better craft storage unit.

Plus as a bonus from Scrapbooking Companion if you  are ordering from the USA  simply tell them that the team from Scrapbooking Companion sent you - You will receive upto  $100 off the total shipping price.  Don’t forget when your ordering the Scrap Box Scrapbooking Storage System to tell them the team from Scrapbooking Companion sent you! or if you are ordering online simply put ‘100ship’ in the coupon code section to make sure you get your $100 shipping discount.

Brisbane’s annual Scrapbook and Papercraft convention and expo is underway and have been fortunate to secure interviews with four of the keynote speakers with a combined experience of over 40 years experience in Scrapbooking between them.

So keep an eye out on this blog for the interviews of Ngaire Bartlam, Lynette Carroll, Jodi Holbrook and Noralee Peterson coming very soon.

So for the expo it’s self it has been very busy very informative and heaps of fun. A lot of the stands have demonstrations how to use things and all of the stands have heaps of great stock on them. I lot of great tools and embellishments for sale. Something for every layout or card design and every price range.

Not to mention some great prizes to be won both by the organizers and on individual stands them selves.

We have an official launch of a new Scrapbooking Magazine, Do Crafts Creativity - currently the number one crafts magazine in the UK! The magazine will only be available in your local Scrapbooking Supply stores in Australia 1^st August. The magazine is packed full of great ideas and for a change hardly any advertisements.

So as you can imagine heaps of things going on at the Scrapbooking and Papercrafts convention and expo 2009 if you missed it this year but want to catch it next year the expo is held every year the June long weekend.

Look out for my other blog posts from the expo with interviews from the experts an possibly the most amazing Scrapbooking storage unit I have ever seen, some great ideas with embossing and a few other tips and tricks.

If you are involved in scrapbooking crafts, no doubt you often find that it is difficult to find a place to store your projects. You may already have a great place to store your tools and supplies, but where do you put your projects when you are working on them? Well, there are actually many great ideas that you can use to store your scrapbooking crafts when you are not working on them. Here are a few that are worth trying.

Using Binders to Store Scrapbooking Projects

One great idea for storing those scrapbooking projects is using binders to store the scrapbooking crafts. Often you may work on several different pages at a time when you doing some creative scrapbooking. When you put them away, you don’t want them to get bent. So, a large binder is a wonderful place for storage. Just make sure that the binder is large enough for the projects you need to store. This way you don’t have to worry about any damage and you’ll be able to find them and work on them again next time.

Large Plastic Scrapbooking Containers

Large plastic scrapbooking containers are excellent for storing scrapbooking crafts as well. You can often purchase them at craft stores or even department stores in the craft section. You can simply put the scrapbook and your current project right into the container and close it. Then put it away and everything you were working on is safely stored. There’s no need to worry about any smaller pieces getting lost this way either.

Scrapbooking Bags

Scrapbooking bags are yet another way to store scrapbooking crafts. The great thing about choosing the bag is that they are so easy to carry around. If you go to class to scrapbook or you go to scrapbooking parties with friends, having something that makes it easy to carry the projects around is a great idea. These bags store everything nicely and keep them protected and in good shape when you aren’t working on them.

Bulletin Boards for Storing your Scrapbooking Ideas

Sometimes you come up with ideas when you are doing your scrapbooking crafts. Perhaps you want to start them for later so you don’t forget them. Well, a great place to store them is on a nice bulletin board. This keeps them safe and it will put them in a place where you can see them later as well.

Keeping any scrapbooking crafts stored when you are not working on them is important. With these ideas, it’s easier to come up with good storage methods. Consider using one of these storage methods. This way you’ll keep your scrapbooking crafts safely stored so you can work on them again in the future.

Whether you are scrapbooking digitally or you are doing traditional scrapbooking, sometimes figuring out how to organize your scrapbook pages can be a bit difficult for you. You spend time working on each scrapbook page layout, making sure everything is perfect, then you try to figure out where the page should go in the scrapbook. Well, there are a variety of ways that you can organize the scrapbook pages in your scrapbook. Here are a few ideas that you may want to consider.

Scrapbooking Page Idea #1 - Organize in Chronological Order - One excellent way to get your scrapbook pages organized is to put them in order by chronological order. This is especially a great way to organize your scrapbooking pages within a baby scrapbook or other scrapbook that may follow a timeline. Although it’s not the only option out there, it’s an excellent option for many scrapbooks when you want to have some kind of organization and order for the pages.

Scrapbooking Page Idea #2 - Organize by Categories - Another great idea for getting your scrapbook pages organized in the scrapbook is to organize by categories. Keep pages of similar categories together. For example, if you are doing a baby book, instead of the chronological order, consider having categories, such as the baby firsts, to help you organize the book. This is a simple way to organize pages if you don’t have a specific chronological order for them.

Scrapbooking Page Idea #3 - Use Themes to Organize Pages - Using themes to organize pages is another excellent idea for organizing your scrapbook pages. Perhaps you are doing a scrapbook on your last vacation. Consider using different themes and putting pages that go within that theme together. You can use your backgrounds and embellishments to go along with the theme as well and then use this method for organization.

Scrapbooking Page Idea #4 - Choose a Random Method of Organization - In reality, you don’t always have to have a specific method of organizing those scrapbook pages within your scrapbook. Sometimes just a random method of organization can be fun. This allows you to put pages in the book as you complete them.

Scrapbooking Page Idea #5 - Colour as a Method of Organization - Organizing your scrapbook by colour can be a bit wacky but a lot of fun specifically if it is already within in a theme and it’s not particularly important what order your picture go in. Why not try to organize your pages by color that way each time you turn your pages you will be dazzled by a completely different feel of the various color you happen to have been working with.

There are definitely many ways to organize those scrapbook pages for your scrapbook. Whether you love everything in order or you are someone who enjoys a bit of chaos, there are organizational ideas that you should like. So, use these ideas, put your scrapbook pages in order, and then enjoy going through the scrapbooks again and again.