Scrapbooking

Hey Y.! :-)
I read the other responses & have checked out some of the sites as well, they are all really helpful sites to get you started.
I will tell you that you are not alone in not knowing where to begin. The first thing to get your scrapping moving along is to decide HOW you want to organize your albums...
For example, so you want to have separate albums for each child? for each occasion? for each vacation? for every school year? for every year collectively as a family?
Personally when I first started to get all of my stuff together, I decided it would be best to just put it all together and do yearly albums, BUT if you take as many pics as I do, you may find that the book will just be too big once you add all of the pages! (lol)
But I don't know how many pics you have. So once you decide HOW you want to organize, you need to organize the pics! Put them in the order that you want to scrap them, decide which ones you definately want to print, which ones you MAY want to print, & "the rest", and edit them before you print them, that way you will have less cropping and less waste! (money & pics)
One other awesome idea that someone suggested was digital scrapping. These books are AWESOME! AND they make really great gifts for Grandparents! I have sent out 6 over the last year and they are ALWAYS well received! My mom carries it around with her for the first week to show everyone (it's an 8 1/2 x 11 inch hard cover book).
There are lots of places out there, but make sure that you compare amt of pages, quality, & binding, they aren't all the same. One I would NOT recommend is Picaboo, personally I just found it complicated to work with. Snapfish & Creative Memories have free software and templates available, I prefer CM (of course I am a consultant, but I'm not trying to recruit you ;-) but Snapfish is easy to work with and I've ordered from them before as well. (Actually I get ALL of my printed pics from them b/c it is great quality, cheap, & VERY fast shipping!)
Someone suggested a Creative Memories Rep that can give you more info, CM is GREAT for starters especially because they have kits that include everything you need to complete a whole album. They have a digital organization tool that is great for organizing photos before you put them into an album, you can also categorize your photos into multiple folders without affecting the photo size and hard drive space(and of course the digital scrapbooks). If you want to check out my site, I can send you the link ;-) but I don't want you to think I am just trying to sell you my stuff :-) I will tell you though to find a CM Consultant near you because generally CMCs are in the business because they ENJOY helping others get started, no pressure. Looking at websites of products definately won't be as helpful as an actual person helping you get sorted out. :-) I hope that this helps you!
J.

Check with the CAC on post, they may have a scrapbooking class that will help give you ideas. I started my son's last fall and I love scrapbooking!! I use Creative Memories, which some things are kinda expensive, but well worth it! They have some great stuff to choose from and the pages are protected from fading, etc.

My friend is a Creative Memories consultant and she could tell you so much more about it! She helped me get started and she could steer you in the right direction. :) Her website is: www.mycmsite.com/sites/kaseygore. Hope that helps you out!! :D

I forgot to add this. haha

A great website is www.creatingmilitarymemories.com. They have all sorts of things for a military album, and the lady is super nice!

My best advice would to go to Joannes.com and see what they have. I live in Heidelberg and our craft store is kinda expensive. Start with a easy idea like a small trip or a simple indoor/outdoor flowers you like or whatever like that.
Where are you located? I have a good friend who is a wonderful scrapbooker I can get more tips if you like from her. My husband is also an MP and I have a daughter who turns 3 in September. Good luck..S. A

I got my start by going to a Creative Memories bi-weekly crop and learned so much from the other ladies there. I was fortunate to live by a CM consultant who did not charge for her crops though, otherwise I wouldn't have gone so often. I love most of the Creative Memories scrapbooking tools. Though a bit more expensive, I think they are the most user friendly ones out there.

Hi Y.. I am also an MP's wife in Germany (Heidelberg). I love scrapbooking! I would say first get all your photos organized and make a list of all the pages you would like to make. You can fit more pictures, or have room for journaling, in a 12x12 album. The basics I think are albums, background paper (you'll save $$ if you buy a stack), adhesive (double sided tape, scrapbooking glue), and scissors or other paper cutters. It's easy to get caught up in and spend too much, so it's better to start out simple and eventually you learn what you really like.

I collect lots of random pieces of ribbon or other things to use with scrapbooking so that I don't spend as much.

Make sure whatever you use is acid & lignin free, which is better for your pictures in the long run.

One of my favorite websites to look at other people's scrapbooing layouts is at www.scrapjazz.com. You can check out their layout gallery for ideas.

Have fun! :)

You should check with your base to see if they have a regular Scrapbook Crop. I live in Schweinfurt, and they have a monthly crop where a group of people get together to share ideas and supplies as well as learn a new technique or project. It is a great way to learn from someone and see some work that they have already done as well as what supplies are really worth buying.

I am K.. I sell Close to my Heart, but I am NOT looking to make any monie off of you. I just love helping people save there meries! (I also can't spell, sorry about that!)

I find that it helps to get a book that will give you ideas and tips, and also finding other people to scrap with! this way you can shair ideas and have fun. To start you will need a book. I like a 12x12 post, this way you can change things and 12x12 is how most paper will come. then you will want to look in to how much time and creative you want to be. if you look at my website at http://www.karadelvalle.myctmh.com you will be able to see that you can get paper that all you really have to do is put your picture in and jernal. then it can get as dificalt as stamping and accsents and well that is really where all the fun is in the more difcalt things, but I normaly tell people that if you don't have a hole lot of monie or time or creativity the leval 1 kits are the way to go, but if you really want to go gun hoe then the leavle 3 is reall great. You can also go to orientaltraiding.com (spelling?) and you can find some great stuff. I know that right now my company is haveing a really great sale for those people who are just wanting to start out. If you have any other questions please feel free to call or e-mail me. I am in Japan as of now, but I will do all that I can to help you find the joy in scrapbooking!!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
K. D.
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Hi Y.,
It can be overwhelming to get started. I've done both paper scrapbooks and digital scrap books. Check out this site and it will give you some ideas for digital http://www.scrapbookmax.com/ I loved it. I'm like you and had TONS of digital pics. Now I prefer though to print the ones I like and put them in albums. I live in Vilseck Germany, where there isn't a whole lot of shopping options, but you can print papers and stuff offline as well.
As far as getting started. I found it helps to work your way back. Start with most recent, and begin organizing. Don't try to much at once. I started scrapbooking when my oldest was 10, another at 7, and my son was 6. I've just recently added number four and she is 5 months. Talk about playing catch up. Its no lie that as your kids get older and you look at baby pictures its hard to tell who is who.
Good Luck and Happy Scrapbooking!

I am also new to scrapbooking. I just bought some premade layouts through close to my heart. They are fun and bright without me having to "know" how to scrapbook. I just picked a theme and put my pictures in. It was fun! Kristina Preston (a mamasource member) sold me mine. Go check her out.

If they are digital pics I use Shutterfly (but many other companies have it also) to make books out of them. Every year I make one book with all of our best photos and then write a letter to each child in the back telling them what major changes have been made and how proud we are of them. I then order one for each child and ourselves, back up all the years photos on a cd and avery has a cd holder that you can peel and stick to the inside of the back page of each book. I keep one book out on the coffee table and put the rest away for when the kids are old enough to take care of them. It is expensive, but well worth it.

Check with your skills development cnter or community center for classes. I know in the Ramstein area they offer some and it's a good way toget new ideas.