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I wish someone had told me what the good "basic" supplies were. I dove right into a Cricut and cartridges, when really, I would have been better off investing in a good paper cutter, adhesives, craft knife, etc. Also, speaking of adhesives...An adhesive "tutorial" would have been nice. I was actually using the peel off a roll then peel off the back photo tabs...TO ADHERE CHIPBOARD LETTERS! Laughing now!

Buy slowly so you can really figure out what you like.

I wish someone had told me I didn't have to scrapbook chronologically. I always felt so compelled to scrap "in order" that it made it not fun for so long. Now I scrap what I want to scrap and it's fun and I'm faster.

I'd just tell a new scrapper that it's okay to do as little or as much as you want. The important thing is to have fun and get some memories recorded. It's great if you like it, and very nice if someone else does. Thanks, Ali!

make sure to get in the pictures, your children will cherish pictures of you more than of themselves.

There are no rules. Just go for what you know!

I sooo wish that somebody would have told me that it was okay to just do WHATEVER I wanted with my pages and that I didn't have to try to make them look like everyone else's!! I still love being inspired by everyone's LO's, but I love that I now make my pages however I want them : ) Thanx! Anne

Finish what you start. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be completed.

Definately the best advice to give (though already mentioned here) - there is no such thing as being caught up. Unless you stop taking pictures for 6 months while you "catch up", and that would defeat the purpose of documenting life in the first place. As I read something once that Lisa Bearnson had said: our families will be happy to look back on all the pages and stuff we DID do - they won't focus on or say "Hey, where's that layout for our Zoo trip in 1997?"
It's okay to just do what you want to do when you want to do it.

I wish someone told me to just start a page. I was so apprehensive about doing something "wrong" that it took me forever to put picture to paper. There are no mistakes!

I wish someone would have told me that I don't always have to scrap "in order" or "by theme". I get more accomplished (and enjoy the process more) when I just scrap as I become inspired. I've learned that I can still stick the layouts in my album chronologically, but I don't always have to scrap that way!

Oh gosh... I wish someone had told me that I didn't need 2 of every patterned paper out there! I used to buy 2 sheets of everything because most of the papers that I bought were double sided. After a couple of years, I realized that I don't even use a full sheet of most of the patterned papers that I buy! Most of them are just for accenting anyway! Ugh... well, my friend got a really great collection of papers from me, I can tell you that. hee hee

I wish someone had told me you don't have to have every embellishment known to man (or woman!). Some of my best pages are the ones where I don't use very many embellishments and focus just on the photos and journaling--something you stress all the time, Ali! Where were you when I was getting started?? J/K! ;)

My best advice to a new scrapper is that you don't have to have every tool and paper on the market. Start out with a good paper trimmer and a couple of basic punches and get started. All the stuff is fun to have but it can be overwhelming.

I wish someone had told me right at the start that none of the pages I create have to be in chronological order! After reading Stacy Julian's book Photo Freedome I finally could let go of that idea! It's awesome now!

My advice to a new scapper would be: you don't have to use every photo, and don't even THINK about being "caught up" with your photos. I'd also say that they should create layouts for themselves, and not worry about other peoples' opinions. :-)
~LJ

I wish someone had told me to just relax. That a page does not have to be perfect to be beautiful. I wish someone had told me that each and every page I create was special because it held a story, a gem, a personal journey and to hold on to each and every one of them. Sometimes people get so caught up in the "perfect page" that they forgot why they started creating. Oh and another thing, USE WHAT YOU HAVE! Gosh, how many times have I bought supplies and never used them! lol

I wish someone had told me not to try and scrapbook every picture- holy cow would that have saved me years of agony ;)

I wish that people would have told me that it's okay to be simple starting out and that I didn't need to go back and redo my first tries! I love seeing how I've progressed from then until now. Never go back and 'fix' pages!!

I wish that someone would have told me, what I tell other people that are just beginning. I say:" Organize your photos, and pick the photos that are special, because you won't Scrapbook every photo." Once people hear that... they usually say: "huh... yeah, you're right". Then I tell them to never use the originals, and to make copies of them. I really wish someone would have told me that!!! :o) Good Luck everyone!!!