How To Start Scrapbooking

​For those who want to be more creative, take this idea on board and go for it! Take any magazine and literally 'cut out and keep' the visuals that really speak to you. Whether that's beautiful floral prints, bright colours, zany patterns or monochromes from the fashion pages. Whether it's something quirky that was actually from an advert. An article that you think you'd like to remember and come back to. A little snippet of a review of a product that you think 'oh, I like that. Must check it out'. Just browse and let the things you love jump out at you.

Now you'll have a pile of cut outs, what to do with them? This is the exciting bit! Try doing a collage with your pictures. If you're a bit 'ocd' or perfectionist (like me!) then you may want to categorise and group your images first.

Don't stress over how you glue them in or arrange them, just enjoy the process. You could layer them up like a mood board and rip the edges of each piece for a more rough look. Or space it all out neatly so you can easily see and differentiate between each cut out. Leave lots of room in between each piece to colour in the blank spaces. Grab some pens, the colouring type or the biro type and annotate. It doesn't have to be an essay, just a few words to say why you liked it. You don't have to write anything. You could doodle instead. I used a 'You' magazine which is the Sunday supplement to The Daily Mail. Here's some examples of mine: (my 2 year old wanted to join in too, so if you see any child like marks, he needs to take the credit!)

With these two images you'll see some clever folding in the bottom right hand corner. I wanted to fit in the A4 page in that space whilst still being able to get a glimpse of what it should be first hand.

With the above fashion pages, I was drawn to the fabulous prints on the left. And felt pretty blessed that the issue I happened to tear apart had my favourite thing, rainbows!

Above left was a Sainsbury's advert but I wanted to remember the cooking idea. And the 'Emotional Ties' feature, right, is certainly one of my faves of the You magazine. To get some insight into someone else's sentimental hoarding is really special to me.

Now, I may be creative but I'm no fine artist! In fact, I actually hated art at school because I just didn't get it! I couldn't draw to save my life, no natural talent and didn't understand toning, shading, all that malarkey! When people see me bringing out my pens and journals, they say 'oh are you an artist then?'. I always reply 'no, just creative'. There is a difference. Not everyone can be artistic, but I truly believe everyone can be creative. Looking at my examples above, I've simply cut out what I liked, written a few of my favourite quotes and made a few doodles. It really is that simple! You don't need to spend loads of dosh on a craft stash. For the price of a Sunday newspaper, some glue, some scissors and a pretty A4 notebook, you can't go wrong!

A while ago in our Church we were taught to think outside the box for what people automatically think of as being creative. Not just art or writing for example. If you can problem solve, that is being creative. If you can design, that's another example. To me, this is old news but it is still surprising the misconception around creativity.

So not everyone is a fine artist but everyone doodles! So just let your mind and your pen wander. If it's fear holding you back, remember, this is for you. No-one else needs to see this if you don't want them to. This is about you, enjoying a bit of 'me' time.

To wrap up, here's the simple steps to having a finished scrap book entry:

1. Choose a magazine you are happy to tear apart to 'cut out and keep'. So this needs to be one you enjoy reading (otherwise, you may not find an awful lot that speaks to you) but that you are not so attached as to dessicrate it!
2. Have a flick through and cut out images, quotes, words, articles that really speak to you. Things that pop out the page to you that make you think 'ooh, I love that!' Or 'hmm, that's interesting'. Anything that inspires you, sparks your imagination or stirs up passion in you. For example, in the You magazine I used, one of the fashion shoots had a background of mountains and lakes. For me this evoked ideas of travel or a peaceful retreat. Often it can be something so simple!
3. Arrange and glue. This is the fun part! Group your images into categories if you are that way inclined then just go for it! Collage, colour, doodle, annotate, draw.
4. Write the date and as an optional extra, if you are new to this sort of thing, why not journal your experience? Journalling is amazing and it's a great way to start getting into writing.

And that's pretty much it! I hope you enjoyed your scrap booking and as always, I'd love to see your examples if you give it go! Please do leave your comments or get in touch with an email. I'd be more than happy to help if you need further encouragement or have any questions.