Basic Scrapbook Supplies

Scrapbooking Must-Haves
By Merrideth Chenoweth

No matter your skill level, the proper supplies will enable you to create a wonderful page. I cannot stress enough the importance of using archival quality materials, which means acid and lignin free supplies! Why put all the effort into a page that’s not going to last more than a few years before yellowing and aging?

Here are a few of the supplies and tools that I use on a regular basis. Keep in mind though: that a tool one scrapper cannot live without may not suit you at all!

Basic Supplies
Books
There are so many choices for scrapbooks and albums that it’s going to come down to a matter of taste. Things you have to decide on when choosing a book are: Pre-Bound, or the kind with page protectors; you choose the color, and size. The sizes of books on the market vary, but some popular sizes are: 6×6, 8 ½ x11, and 12×12.

Paper and Card Stock
Paper is necessary either for the background for your page, or as added elements glued onto your page. You can make frames, photo mats, cut out titles, and many other things. The only limit is your imagination.

Photographs
While not totally necessary for a page, they do help the idea along. It may be helpful to organize all your photos first. I have my photographs separated first by person, and then by event. I know my sister separates hers by event only and my mother by year. Find a system that works for you, and stick with it!

Cutting Now we need something to cut, crop, and snip with!

Scissors
I recommend buying scissors in two sizes: large and small. Large scissors are good for the gross work, for things like cutting out circles or large patterns. Small scissors are wonderful for detail cuts. Embroidery or manicure scissors are good options for the small ones.
An X-acto knife is a good investment. There are a multitude of uses, from cutting out the inside of a letter to opening a stubborn package of card stock without bending up the papers inside.

Circle/Oval Cutter
Ever try to draw a perfect circle? Ever get it right? If you have, then good for you. For the rest of us though there is a such thing as Circle and Oval cutters. And thank goodness!

Paper Trimmer
Remember in elementary school how the teacher had the big board thing with a guillotine-type blade that was lowered to cut the paper strait? These days we have smaller, less intimidating trimmers.

Adhesives
So we have our book, paper, and photographs, and we have our cutting instruments, we need to be able to stick them all together, right?

Glue Sticks
Some people swear by them, others avoid them at all costs. I use glue sticks so often that I buy them on sale ten and twelve at a time. Be careful though to find one that will keep things stuck before you buy it in bulk. No need to buy something that’s not going to work for you!

Photo Corners
These come in black, clear, gold and are a wonderful addition to any scrapbooker’s supply list, especially if you are working with precious family heirloom photographs that have no right being glued down! Also, they lend an old-world charm to pages since this is the way it used to be done!

Double-Sided Adhesives
I love these! They hold real well, for long lengths of time. Cost is a problem though, some dispensers cost around $13.00 with re-fills at $8.00 a pop. So while I keep them on hand and use often, use sparingly!

Pens

Markers
When I first started scrapbooking, I bought a set of eight markers, that are acid free, and to this day I use those eight markers more than any other writing utensil in my kit. Why? Because they are high-quality, still write well, and since I bought only the basic colors of black, blue, red, yellow, brown, green, purple and white, I can use them on everything!

Gel Pens
Gel Pens are a sore subject with lots of scrapbookers. I find that a good gel pen is an essential tool, especially in the metallic colors, but finding a gel pen that works isn’t always easy. I’ve purchased them in packages of twelve pens before and had only one work, so my suggestion is: buy them individually after you’ve tried them first.

Embellishments
Embellishments add texture, color, and that little bit of extra punch to pages. Because there are so many embellishments available I’m going to just make a listing of some you can find and at your hardware, local super store, around your home or at the craft store. Don’t limit your imagination though, use appliques that grab you!

Alphabetical Embellishment Idea List: appliqués, beads, bottle caps, brads, charms, colored staples, decorative nails, die cuts, dried flowers, dried leaves, drywall tape, embroidery floss, eyelets, fibers, hinges, house numbers, labels, latches, laminate samples, manila folders, mesh, mini envelopes, old ads or news print, old buttons, old letters, pages from old books or dictionaries, paint, paint chips, patches, pins, postcards, ribbon, sand, screen material in plastic or metal, shaped paper clips, shelf liner, shells, skewers, small pebbles, snaps, stickers, tags, twine, used postage stamps, washers, and wire.

Miscellaneous

Rulers
Any strait edge will do, but I’ve found it useful to use a clear ruler that is about four inches wide by twelve inches long. I found it in the quilting section of my local super craft store. This allows me to see what I’m doing under the length, if I have things lined up with all the tic marks down the lenght and width of the ruler. If you aren’t able to get one of these right away, having a regular school-type ruler in your kit would be a good alternative, not just for the strait edge, but for the measuring as well.

pH Testing Pen
I’ve only used mine a few times since I bought it, but I’m very glad for the investment! One small swipe of this pen in an inconspicuous spot will tell you if your item is photo safe.

Self-Healing Mat
My self-healing mat (also known as a cutting mat) is my work surface. It protects my kitchen table from scratches from my X-acto knife and dings from my eyelet setter. They are available in various sizes. The one I use was intended to be used in quilting, and purchased in the sewing section of my local super store for about $18 for one of the larger mats.

This list in no way covers every product on the market. You may find other tools that suit you better than ones listed here, but I hope I’ve given you a small sampling of some of the more popular scrapbooking supplies available.

My assignment for you is surf a few sites selling scrapbooking supplies, or go to your local scrapbook store, and see what they have in stock. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!