How to Scrapbook Using Quilting Tools

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By Cherst1031
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If you are a quilter, you probably have all the tools necessary to get started in scrapbooking. Think of a scrapbook page as a paper quilt square and you will love this new hobby - it will satisfy your love of color and texture as well as shapes and angles.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Quilt Ruler
Rotary Cutter
Self Healing Cutting Mat
Blades
Acid Free Paper
Microtip Applique Scissors
Photos
Photo Adhesive Squares

Step 1

Quilting tools, rotary cutter, lucite ruler, cutting mat....

Gather your supplies and find a space big enough to work, you need some elbow room for this. You can see on the right hand side of the picture what a traditional scrapbooker's cutting tool looks like. I have never been able to get used to these, they just don't give the precision of the rotary cutter, Lucite ruler and cutting mat. And when I first started scrapbooking, I had the quilting tools already, so I started by using them and I still like them the best.
Step 2

Picture aligned with corner of paper.

First, choose a picture that you would like to mat, also choose a paper for the mat. Lay the picture on the background paper so that two sides and one corner line up. See the picture if this is not clear.
Step 3

I have found that mats that are 1/8" or 1/4" larger than the picture one each side look the best. There are situations where you might want it bigger, for example a large picture or when you want to write or draw around the mat. Sometimes I have made them smaller if that is the only piece of paper I have in the right color and it is just a little too small for the 1/8" mat, it still sets the picture off from the background page.
Step 4

Ruler on photo

If you want a 1/8" mat, you will need to cut 1/4" above the top of the picture and 1/4" off the right side. Because the picture is aligned with the left side and bottom of the mat paper, you are cutting twice as much from top and right side to account for the left and bottom - see the picture if this is not clear. If you want a 1/4" mat, cut 1/2" from top and side. This is fairly easy to do with the clear lucite ruler, there are lines on it every 1/4" to use as a guide, and little dashes to mark the 1/8"s.
Step 5

Matted photo

Stick an adhesive square on the back top corners and peel off the backing. Now you can center your picture on the mat and press down the corners. Your picture is now matted and ready for your scrapbook page!
Step 6

Finished Page

You can also cut a second mat a little bigger than the first to have a double mat. This is nice to set one special picture apart from other matted pictures on the page. Use those microtip scissors to trim your title as seen in the finished photo.