Wednesday Sponsor Giveaways: Elise Blaha, ReVa, Studio Calico, & SheyB

Don't be afraid, but just sit down and scrap! Don't forget to add your own journalling and include the date!

I wish someone had told me that I don't have to scrap like the pages in the magazines. It's okay to like a lot of photos and a lot of journaling and NOT a lot of embellishments. The stories are what will matter to my descendants, not whether or not my pages were published.

My advice to the new scrapbooker is to not buy every new product you see. Start with the basic supplies and work from there. Once you develop a personal scrapbook style, buy the products you know you will use over and over again and only spend a few dollars on the extra special "once in a scrapbook lifetime" products.

Great giveaways--would love that June kit! My best advice...don't collect too much too fast. See how much you scrap first...else you are left with tons of "old" materials taking up space.

My best advice - start simple, and start with a mini book. Looking back, I couldn't wait to "complete" an entire project. A mini book is a great start to feel as if you have accomplished something!

Best advice? Don't buy so much paper! It weighs a ton, and you'll never use it up!

I wish I would have learned sooner that it was "OK" to scrapbook out of order (not chronologically) and "OK" to scrapbook without pictures when all you have is the story to tell. I feel like I have now been "given permission" to do these things and it makes it so much easier for me to get started when I can work on whatever project interests me that day/night, etc. Thanks for the chance to win!! Everything's beautiful!

Hmm, hard question.
But I think I would tell a new scrapper and have is to
keep it simple.Get basic tools first, then sort pictures, and keep a notebook for quotes, ideas, dates, inspiration. Start with the newest memories first. This will inspire and give a sense of accomplishment and work backwards ! And of course , check out Ali's blog for ideas, inspiration, and all things of life artistry !

Oooh - I adore the Shey B straps! I can't say that I wish someone had told me this, but my best advice to a new scrapbooker is just to dive in and have FUN! I see so many new scrapbookers who are terrified of messing things up. It's a hobby and it should be fun - not stressful!
Thanks as always for the giveaways Ali!

I wish someone would have told me that it is not necessary to scrap every single photo. For me scrapbooking is a way to preserve our family memories and traditions for us and future generations to cherish. Do they need to see every photo of every field trip my child takes? NO. I think scrapbooking every day life is also very important - I would have loved to see what a day in my grandmothers life was like at different stages in her life.

I wish I would have been warned that scrapbooking is addicting!!! But I would have done it anyways! I agree, don't buy everything you see, buy as you need and stick to a theme or color scheme...or else it gets pretty expensive!!!

My best advice would be to organize all your pictures before you start and figure out what type of albums you want to do.

I would tell a new scrapbooker that there are no rules to scrapbooking. I wish I had discoveed sooner that I didn't have to do all 2-page layouts that coordinated in my albums!

I wish that someone told me to take some classes to try out new techniques or supplies I'd never tried before so that I could see if they were really something I would use all the time. Instead I collected a bunch of things that I ended up not really using. It's not that I don't love all of the goodies, I just don't think about them. I'm working on that though!:) Thanks!

For beginners I always recommend a theme. Something to focus on instead of buying everything. Wedding album, baby album, school album, holiday album, vacation album etc. I think it's so easy to be overwhelmed with the choices that having a theme allows you to start small and grow (and believe me...it will grow!) :)

don't buy everything out there, just buy the basic supplies and then buy as you need. You'll save alot of money that way and will not have to wade through your supplies just to scrap.

Relax and don't put so much anxiety on yourself to get everything "just right" its your history and looking back you are going to love it all!

Whatever you consider to be beautiful is beautiful no matter what other people say!
Lovely giveaways!

My advice is to start with a kit or two and some basic supplies.

Wow Ali! All your giveaways today are really cool. OK - my advice for new scrapbookers! Just buy a few basics- you do not need EVERYTHING that has ever been made. Sometimes when you have too much you then are too overwhelmed to do what you intended to do in the first place.