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

Wow, great prizes! My best advice to a new scrapper is to GET CLOSER WITH YOUR CAMERA! I wish someone had told me long ago to zoom in on faces or just take closer shots and fewer posed ones. Try to capture those candid moments. They'll be so much more fun to scrap and the great shots make for the most memorable pages.
Amy K in FL

My advice to new scrappers is to invest in a good paper trimmer. I have gone through many paper trimmers that just don't cut straight and finally bought a pricey trimmer from an art supply store. I love it!

I am sure I am gonna learn alot going thru these myself :) I would stay as organized as you can. I tend to forget that I bought something and then go out and but it again and then find the first one later on. Such a bummer, I could have bought something else, hehehehe.

Best advice for a new scrapbooker:
Start with a small project -- either a small size scrapbook or one that is limited to a single day/week/event -- that will get your feet wet.
Start small with purchasing tools and supplies until you find out what your style is and which tools work best for you. Try to buy things to use on a specific project, not just because you like it. :)

My recommendation to someone who is just starting to scrapbook, it to tell them to resist the temptation to buy and hoard scrapbook supplies for that layout or project you have in mind. There will be a ton of ideas you have in your mind, but only a fraction will be completed. Have a few supplies that you LOVE rather than a whole lot that you like.

Fun :)
My tip is - You can do most everything with cardstock, good adhesive, a trimmer, and a good journaling pen. Patterned paper should be used as an accent, not as a focus of the layout.
Thanks!
Jennifer

I wish someone had told me not to buy EVERYTHING!! I wish someone had shown me some good samples and showed me how to use embellishments wisely!
Thanks for the opportunity!

I really wished that someone told me to invest on tools so that I could have spent my money wisely with tools instead of papers. :)

I didn't get much advice when I was a new scrapper! If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be start small. Don't rush out and buy everything you see. Some of those trends will be over before you have started or know what to do with them and you will be stuck with a bunch of stuff you will never use. Get a kit or two and go from there!

You don't have to scrap in chronological order and you don't have to scrap all of the main events first. Scrap in the order that speaks to you creatively and scrap the 'everyday'. :) Find your groove and scrap that way. Your scrapbook - your groove.

I wish someone had told me not to buy everything you see! I wish someone had said "here try mine first and see if you like it".
And the best advice I would give is "don't focus so much on what product you put on a layout...it's really about the story you want to tell".
Thanks for the giveaway Ali! And loved your weekend photos!! xo

I wish someone would have told me to start at the time I am at and not to worry about catching up. My best advice would be to always journal. You are telling a story even if it is only one word. All you need are the basic supplies and have fun!

My best advice is just to start. Don't worry about buying every supply, just start with the basics. Also, don't get to caught up in organizing your supplies. I have spent so much time trying to organize. I could have been scrapping!

Hi, Ali! I wish someone would have told me that there are no rules, that even my amateurish pages were okay for us, and that I didn't have to scrapbook every picture. Maybe then I wouldn't have felt so inadequate and just had more fun. Now that I look back on my pages, they aren't so terrible because they are about US.

A couple of years ago I would have said "Don't buy decorative scissors". Not now - I use them a lot. It's a cheap way of getting all those decorative edge papers without paying the price. Start with a good supply of cardstock in your favourite colours and some chipboard letters. That's all you need to make great layouts.

My advice is to get organize with pictures and what you want to TRULY scrap. What's important to you? Otherwise, you think you need to scrap everything and it becomes overwhelming.

Great giveaways!
I think starting with the basic tools and supplies are key. Get adhesive, a scissors, a simple paper trimmer, some cardstock, and pens (in a few thicknesses and colors). Mix in photos, and you've got a page! (In contrast, I bought a bunch of stuff that looked pretty before I knew my own style--and ended up with a bunch of unused product and a lot of guilt about spending money on extra stuff.)
Oh, and I also wish I started with 3-ring albums. It's really liberating to mix and match page sizes and reorganize albums as I go. I found that most of the post-bound albums I originally purchased sit unused or in the giveaway box.

I wish someone had told me to THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, and that there is absolutely NO RIGHT OR WRONG in the design of your layouts, just to let the creative juices and emotions flow into your design and it will be perfect for you!

I would say ... don't worry about what the trends are today. Start simple and work your way up (if you want to). And, don't try and scrapbook every single picture.

I wish someone had told me not to buys so much stuff. I like my space so much more now that I have gotten rid of a ton of stuff I was just "saving". :)