How to make a scrapbook page

Organize pages:
Sort your photos to decide what pictures will go on what page. Choose your favorites. Follow the theme for design ideas and choose coordinating or similar colors to pull it all together.

Crop Photos:
Cut the pictures to the size that you want them to be. You can trim a little or a lot, depending on what part of the picture you want to use. A photo may be cropped in several ways. If the background is too distracting, simply crop it away with your scissors. Don't crop away things that help tell a story.

Simple cropping is using straight scissors or a paper cutter to trim the picture.
Easy edging: Use straight scissors to cut the piece, then edge with paper edgers.
You can also use templates to crop photos into shapes that compliment your page theme. Place the photo under the template and use a grease pencil to draw around the opening. It wipes right off with a tissue.
Use straight scissors to silhouette your photos. Cut away all the background leaving only the person or object.
Cutting out an inside area: Draw the cutting lines on the back of the paper. Punch a hole in the center, then cut to the corners.

Mat or frame photos:
If you'd like you may mat or frame the photos before deciding on the final placement. Look at the pictures carefully and decide which colors will coordinate with them.

Choose a color that is common to all the pictures and use that color to mat them. This will bring them all together on the page. I sometimes use more than one color of paper to mat my photos on the same page.
Use a colored or patterned sheet for the page background. Mat or frame the photos in a coordinating color or pattern.
Mat the photos with more than one color paper.
Do any decorating to the mat before gluing the photo to it.
To frame the photos, cut the shape bigger than the photo, then cut out the center as described above.
Select die cuts and/or stickers to complete your theme: Be sure to keep the colors on your page in mind when selecting die cuts and stickers. You don't want to use any that will clash with your pictures.
If the die cut is not the right color, try tracing it on cardstock that will match your page.
Create your own die cuts to coordinate with your page using templates. Simply trace and cut out.
If you'd like to enhance the die cuts with any decoration, do it now before it is attached to the page.
Stickers are a great way to add sparkle to your pages. Again remember to try to coordinate them.

Arrange your page:
After selecting which photos, die cuts and stickers you will be working with, experiment with your layout. Move them around until the pages looks pleasing to you. Be sure you are satisfied before using any glue.

Journaling:
Page titles set the tone of any page, but don't always need to be used. But journaling is a must. Include names and dates, and tell the story of your photos. Journaling brings your memories to life and turns a plain photo album into a cherished memory album. Use acid free markers or print up on your computer. This is what I choose to do, because I am not always pleased with my handwriting. I am having a little problem with journaling some of my older photos. It is hard to remember the dates when they aren't labeled.

Protect page:
Page protectors will prevent your pages from getting damaged. It will also help secure your photos, die cuts and stickers. Be sure to let your page dry thoroughly before putting on the page protector.

Storing your scrapbook:
Store standing upright in a cool dry environment, not the attic or basement.

Tips and hints
If you have any to add, please send them to me.
email

When working on several pages at the same time, I keep the components in a page protector. Especially if I am looking for a specific sticker or something. This makes it convenient for when I am ready to assemble.

Storage ideas:
I use acid free sports card pages to store my small stickers. The large ones, I keep in a page protector. I also use page protectors to store die cuts. I keep my card stock in hanging files.