How to Teach Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a good way to preserve photos and keepsakes in an album. The best method to teach scrapbooking is to involve your students in the actual process of making a scrapbook. The first lesson should be about how to select supplies, and create a scrapbooking layout. Familiarize the students with tools, and the simple process they need to make a full page for an album.

Things You'll Need

• Paper trimmer
• Scrapbook paper
• Adhesive
• Stickers
• Embellishments

Instructions

1. Prepare students by having them select two or three photos to bring to the first scrapbooking class.

2. Show your students what a scrapbooking layout looks like, when everyone is settled at a spacious work table. Discuss the different sizes from the popular 12-by-12 inch layout, 8 1/2-by-11 inch layout, or smaller.
   Explain that supplies should be acid- and lignin-free to keep their photos safe.

3. Encourage your students to pick out a background scrapbooking paper for the layout from paper that you have provided for the class. Have them match the paper to the photos, or an event in the photos. For example, they can choose colorful paper that matches colors in the photos for a birthday layout.

4. Show your students how to use a paper trimmer to cut mats for the photos. Some students may need to crop their photos to fit the mats of background paper.

5. Demonstrate how to adhere the photos to the mats. Next, adhere the mats to the layout. Explain the different kinds of adhesives and tapes available for scrapbooking.

6. Explain to the students how to choose die-cut, hand printed or sticker letters for a layout title. Have the students make a simple title for the layout they are working on.

7. Show the class how to make a journaling box from a piece of scrapbook paper that will match the layout. Tell the students that it is important to use permanent ink to write the journaling on the paper. Adhere to the layout.

8. Demonstrate a few of the types of page embellishments that can be used for finishing touches on the layout. For example, show them brads, paper punchies, stickers and tags.

9. Show the class how to place their layouts into a page protector for safekeeping.

Tips & Warnings

• Simple layouts are the easiest to teach and for a new student to learn.

References

• Home page Scrapbook.com, Gallery and More