Hi, Augustheather -
BTW, I love your screen name - is that your real name, August Heather? I have a DD named Autumn, that's why I'm wondering.....
Anyway, to answer your question.... With your background in graphic design I bet you'll be turning out some beautiful pages in no time at all. I believe LisaTX posted a list of supplies in her FAQ Scrapbooking Thread. A lot of fellow scrapbookers use the circle cutter. I also like fancy paper in addition to the plain card stock. I like lots of different alphabet stencils, gel pens, especially the metallic ones, stickers and Paperkin people.
I sort my photos in categories and then pick out the really great ones and toss the so-so ones back in the photo bag.
I then lay out my page, picking the paper, any embellishments, etc. and "play around" with the photos until I see something that, to me, is visually appealing. I then crop my photos and mat them.
Happy Scrappin',
Pam