Newbie questions

[calypso726]

Hi everyone. I am brand new to scrapbooking and would love some advice on how to begin. If you were starting all over again what would you do differently? What are the absolute top 10-15 "must have" items and what would be some of the top "oh I can't wait to add this to my arsenal" items? I am planning to take some classes (so I can get a clue) and was wondering also if I would be better off with a CM consultant or taking the SDU classes. I appreciate all advice and feedback. Thank you so much!

 

[Faerie]

I started with CM and now have trouble sometimes breaking free of the "teachings"

My favorite tools - my trimer, corner rounder, stickers, cardstock and adhesive. Those are my basics and as long as I have those I can create pretty pages. Anything else is just bonus

 

[pjlla]

Absolute basics..... paper trimmer (at least 12"), good scissors (preferrably Cutter Bee), adhesive (lots of choices out there), a good acid free journaling pen (black to start), pencil and eraser, ruler (nice steel or plastic, not one of those cheesy wooden school types), Un-Du (adhesive remover... for mistakes) and (obviously) page protectors, album, cardstock and pictures.

Next "level"... stickers, corner rounder, a few basic shape punches (circles, squares), patterned paper, other colored journaling pens.

After that... SKY'S THE LIMIT!!

Actually, my biggest piece of advise.... buy only what you need for the moment, especially as you are finding your personal style. The stuff out there is always changing and getting better. Don't be buying stickers or patterned paper for a page you don't plan on scrapping for a year... you will definitely find something you probably like better later on. I just recently got rid of some paper I bought when I first started seriously scrapping in about 1992! It was hideous, but it was all that was available back in the dark ages of scrapping. But why did I buy so much of it!!???

Good luck with this all-obsessing, all-encompassing hobby! ..................P

 

[Stephres]

I think advice on the basics has been covered but I wanted to share one thing I wish I would have done differently. When I started there were certain trendy things that I tried and now when I look back at my first pages I cringe. My advice is to think about your style and try to follow it and not get caught up in trying to imitate the hot trends right now. They might not be so hot a few years now! Good luck!

 

[123SA]

If I could start over again, I would only buy one brand of cardstock and only buy printed paper with a specific project in mind. Why? I have hundreds of sheets of printed paper that I bought for no particular reason, that are perfectly good, but hogging up my scrapping space. The cardstock -- different brands do not match one another. All reds are not equal. If I stuck with one brand, then I would not be routing through my pile of red cardstock looking for 2 sheets that match.

My essentials:
1. 12" trimmer
2. adhesive -- I use a tape runner
3. scissors
4. journaling pen, pencil, eraser, ruler
5. coordinating cardstock and printed paper
6. xyron X

Other products:
My advice -- check out lots of layout and see what you like before you buy.
I personally do not like the corner rounder -- I don't seem to like to make pages with curves. But of course I have one that almost never gets used. I also have the CM cutting system for ovals, circles and other shapes. I really like the way work --- try to find someone who has one that you can try. However, as much as I appreciate how well they work, I don't use them in my layouts. (I usually use it for kids crafts though).
I wish I had thought more before I bought.

 

[MazdaUK]

I've been scrapping just over a year, and started with a CM party as I kept going into craft shops and not even knowing what stuff was, never mind how to use it I became a CMC myself to get the discount, and have the cutting system with 4 sets of shapes (one was free!),12" straight and curvy trimmers, personal trimmer, corner rounder (of course!) and loads of shape makers (punches). I use the pinches the least, but sometimes its nice to use them to mat stickers to bring the page together.

It took me ages to work up to covering a whole page with paper (the waste ) and I've only just come to terms with brads and fibres.

I agree to start simple - over here we so often have to take what we can get, and I've got a few bits I don't like that I'm trying to work out how to use up.

I love the Simple Scrapbooking magazine as it makes things easy. I don't always like a whole layout (though I did scraplift one!) but I do take little bits of layouts.

Try to find a little group to bounce your ideas off - and there's always us of course

 

[Lisa]

Welcome to scrapbooking!

When I first started scrapbooking, I checked out layouts from various sources. I quickly saw what look I was attracted too, so I could go by that. I love die cuts, stickers not so much, rarely use any. It's just my style. I bought lots of colored markers, however I find I only use black.

I like the quality of tools CM has and use those.

My top five tools:

12" trimmer
tape runner
multi-purpose tool
power sort box
straight scissor - can't cotton to the decorative scissors at all, in fact I gave a few pair away

I would recommend going to a class and also see if a CM consultant in your area has a workshop. You can pick up a lot of tips from other scrapbookers.

 

[piratesmate]

I agree with pretty much all the advice you've been given.

Try checking out the galleries at some of the online sites like TwoPeas to see what people are doing to see if you prefer one style over another...that may tell you if you want to go the CM route or take a class elsewhere. Whatever you do, though, check to see what the pace of the class will be. Last year I went to CKC and was overwhelmed! It wasn't the techniques, it was just that I wasn't able to complete the tasks fast enough & was constantly asking "What were we supposed to do next?" because everyone else was several steps ahead of me.

If possible, try to find a group of people to work with - at crops or classes or just a few friends. It really helps to have someone to ask about things.

Matching cardstock is really annoying, but I don't know that sticking with one brand would help me much. The colors of the printed papers vary & unless you stick with one brand for everything (CS & PP)... If I could afford it & liked the styles, I'd stick with CM's new Power Palette system which has pretty much everything you need & it all matches!

Must have tools:

- Pick-up square for getting rid of excess adhesive!!!
- 12" trimmer
- personal trimmer (can't stand using the big one for photos & the small one won't cut full-sized paper)
- tape runner & spare refill
- Perfect Layers system (for cutting mats)
- Xyron X
- Good scissors (I'm still using a tiny pair of Fiskars that I'd gotten when I did counted cross stitch, but something that has a fine tip)
- surgical tweezers (again very fine tip lets me pick up anything unlike those MM tweezers)
- Journaling pen/s

After that? Well I rarely use my "plain" corner rounder, but often use the decorative one from CM. I also find that I rarely use the CM cutting tools (circles, ovals, etc). Other things I use are my stamps & brush pens (instead of ink pads).

The last one is something for die cuts. I have both Sizzix and Coluzzle dies/templates. I find I far prefer shapes cut from paper instead of stickers...especially for letters! That's a tough decision to make, though. Most of the methods end up being very costly - either a one-time cost (Wishblade) or needing something new for every shape or font (Sizzix/Coluzzle) or group of shapes/fonts (Cricut). That's a decision only you can make.

 

[MazdaUK]

I have to say I'm fairly pleased with my Xyron personal cutting system - its pretty small (about 1/2 the size of a cricut I think, and certainly half the price!)and because it gives you three sizing options (plus shadows for the fonts) its quite flexible - a boon for swappers! It comes with a basic font (like Times New Roman) and a book of shapes - flower, star, tag etc. Then extra books are about $40 I think, or more if you get a designer book (I've got my eye on a Karen Foster one which does all the months with extra shapes!) I am finding the sticky mat is wearing out quickly on one size so I'll have to buy some new ones soon.

 

[LuvMV50]

I agree with all that has been said already...
The things I would have to have if I started all over again...(aside from cardstock and patterned paper)

12 Paper Trimmer
CutterBee Scissors
Xyron X
Adhesive Remover
Duck Adhesive Tape Runner
Xacto Knife
Acid Free Journaling Pen

I also would buy a Sizzix if I started all over again! I am in love with my Sizzix and use it all the time! I am like Piratesmate and prefer diecuts over stickers, so I use it almost everytime I Scrapbook and I also have it right on my Scrap Desk, so it is very convienent for me to use as well!

Things I wouldn't buy over again:

Decorative Scissors...I have just about all of them and never use them. They sit in a drawer untouched for a long time.

Stamp punches...Again, I bought a bunch of these when I first started scrapbooking and now I don't have any use for them at all. I prefer regular scrapbooking stamps with ink instead of those punch out kinds.

Stickers...Don't get me wrong, I would buy a few that I liked or would use, but when I first started scrapping, I bought a whole bunch thinking I would use them someday. What a mistake! I have tons of sticker alphabets that just sit doing nothing. I just don't like the look of them on my pages now.

 

[tnmom25]

I also am new to scrapbooking... Ok, I made about three pages 10 years ago, and never touched my stuff again I have some supplies, but I don't know how to get started again. I have some questions:

1) I know what CM is, but what is SDU & CKC?

2) Everyone keeps saying to "find the style you like best"... what styles are there?

I really want to get started again, and I think the new DISney obsession will fuel the fire!!