non-cheesy scrapbooks

[indie anna 58]

There a pretty good, acid-free adhesive I've used for book-binding before called Good Glue. (It doesn't "buckle" like regular PVA glues). Here's the review and info from the glue site, This to That:

http://www.thistothat.com/gom/2000.11.shtml

[carrievision]

I just realized that Dollar tree carries 5 packs of 12x12" paper!  Some of them are cheesy, but a few are pretty cool with graphic squares.  They also have those stickers that are 3d-like and usually cost like $4 a packet (what do you call them?).  They had balloons, wedding theme, and birthday.  I think they'd be cute on a greeting card.

That store never fails to amaze me for some reason.

[selkie]

Gotta love the Dollar Tree. We have Odd Job around here as well - I got some of the "way too cutesie" embellishments, put them in my kids easter baskets and let them put them together their own way on a card. Made for a cute project!
I like the idea of using baseball card plastic pages and economy weight page protectors.

[scrapperjen1]

Here's my link to my scrap LOs:

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=86352

HTH!
Jen

[Lothruin]

All right, I'll say it.  I'm a Creative Memories Consultant.  Hehe.  I haven't ever mentioned it before, because I dislike advertising, and I really only signed up to get all the cool tools at a low price.  CM is cheesy in the extreme sometimes.  But the quality is extremely high, and I have never purchased paper-cutting tools that work as well as these do. 

That said, it's put me into a position to know some stuff about some things.  Acid free is good.  Lignin free is also good.  You can buy black, white or "natural" pages, which opens up a lot to different styles.  And all the CM pages are buffered, so you don't even have to worry about what you use for embellishment, as long as it is not in direct contact with the photo.  (They claim to be the only company who sells buffered pages, but I have no idea if that is true.)  Now, I'm not trying to talk anyone into CM products.  I LOVE the idea of hand-made scrapbooks.  And honestly, I don't have a single scrapbook myself that is made entirely of CM products.  (A supposed nono.  It isn't against the rules, but is highly discouraged.)  Just because I started scrapping when I was pregnant with my daughter (who was it who associated scrapbooks with parent/child things?) doesn't mean her scrapbook should be pink and prissy.  Nothing wrong with cute, but I'm an individual, and so should be my memory books, right?  But, sometimes erring on the side of caution IS good to an extent.  I don't think it would be hard to make a scrapbook which would fit CM pages, and you'd get all your own style with the safety of archival papers. 

A scrapbook should be as unique as the individuals and memories it houses.  That's what I tell all my customers, and if it costs me a $4.95 sticker sale because they decide to go down to Hobby Lobby and get the neon pink alphabet ones instead, I'm happy.  The instructions that I get from the unit leaders to lead consumers into conformity sits hard with me.  Go, be free.  Put laser-cut CM pink bunnies with Stickopotumus hockey gear stickers if it suits you.  Use vintage wrapping paper as part of your picture mats.  Make origami hats for all the adults in your office holiday party photos.  And remember:  Though it seems the products available ARE cheesy, it all depends on how you use them!

[samglam209]

All right, I'll say it.  I'm a Creative Memories Consultant.  Hehe.  I haven't ever mentioned it before, because I dislike advertising, and I really only signed up to get all the cool tools at a low price.  CM is cheesy in the extreme sometimes.  But the quality is extremely high, and I have never purchased paper-cutting tools that work as well as these do. 

That said, it's put me into a position to know some stuff about some things.  Acid free is good.  Lignin free is also good.  You can buy black, white or "natural" pages, which opens up a lot to different styles.  And all the CM pages are buffered, so you don't even have to worry about what you use for embellishment, as long as it is not in direct contact with the photo.  (They claim to be the only company who sells buffered pages, but I have no idea if that is true.)  Now, I'm not trying to talk anyone into CM products.  I LOVE the idea of hand-made scrapbooks.  And honestly, I don't have a single scrapbook myself that is made entirely of CM products.  (A supposed nono.  It isn't against the rules, but is highly discouraged.)  Just because I started scrapping when I was pregnant with my daughter (who was it who associated scrapbooks with parent/child things?) doesn't mean her scrapbook should be pink and prissy.  Nothing wrong with cute, but I'm an individual, and so should be my memory books, right?  But, sometimes erring on the side of caution IS good to an extent.  I don't think it would be hard to make a scrapbook which would fit CM pages, and you'd get all your own style with the safety of archival papers. 

A scrapbook should be as unique as the individuals and memories it houses.  That's what I tell all my customers, and if it costs me a $4.95 sticker sale because they decide to go down to Hobby Lobby and get the neon pink alphabet ones instead, I'm happy.  The instructions that I get from the unit leaders to lead consumers into conformity sits hard with me.  Go, be free.  Put laser-cut CM pink bunnies with Stickopotumus hockey gear stickers if it suits you.  Use vintage wrapping paper as part of your picture mats.  Make origami hats for all the adults in your office holiday party photos.  And remember:  Though it seems the products available ARE cheesy, it all depends on how you use them!

I totally agree with the last paragraph in her post.Some of the products available are a little cheesy but it does depend on how u use them.
p.s-the using vintage wrapping paper as a photo mat is a good idea!lol.atleast I think it is and if its the right type of paper for the pic it could look good!

[dohdee]

I don't know if you've started on the actual book or whatnot, but there are several things you can do to avoid the alligator mouth (where the binding is small and the end is wide):  Get a scrapbook with an expandable spine or get a spiral bound book that has a very large binding. 

As far as expandable spines go, if you get a post bound or strap-hinge book, you'll be good to go.  The thing that's nice about post bound is that you can easily move the pages around without going in total chronological order and basically make the book as big or small as you'd like.

WRT adhesives:  if you have mostly paper that you're sticking down, I'd go with Tombo or Hermafix brands. These are not liquid adhesives so you don't get any bleedthrough and they're not messy at all.  If you're sticking down bulky items, Glue Dot brand adhesives (yes, they're actual dots of glue, but they're designed for bulky and/or non-paper-based items, like ribbons, bottle caps, etc.). 

I've been scrapping for about 4 years now, very uncutesy type stuff, and the industry seems to be moving away from the kute kraptastic stuff that was so predominate a few years ago.  Thank goodness.

Your project sounds great; it will be fantastic to be able to see a chronology of what the kids have done.

[mahogany413]

I love Firehead's idea!

[tinkerbell210]

I'm currently in the process of making my first scrapbook, and I've found the post-bound book I'm using to be brilliant!! The extra pages come in packs of 5 and aren't too pricey, plus they come with extra posts to make the spine of your book wider if need be. Although the shop I bought it from only seemed to have 12" by 12" books, I'm not sure if they come in smaller sizes but it's perfect if you've got a lot of stuff to put in! x x x

[Carrie Zohn]

I use memorobelia a lot in my scrapbooks but I have also taken to altering boxes and so forth to hold certain things that I'd rather not keep in a scrapbook (or are too bulky).  For artwork, you can always scan it and print it out on photo paper, etc.  I've used everything from Cadbury Egg foil from my candy to ticket stubs to lanyards to name tags.  Everything can be used without it looking cheesy.

Feel free to stop by our Altered Gallery.  This will give you another option if you're not feeling like making scrapbooks.  There are some incredible ideas here on how to preserve some memorbelia.

Also we specialize in scrapbooking so feel free to stop by our Message Board and ask questions.  We have some INCREDIBLE women who have been published in the scrapbooking magazines, work for manufacturers designing things with their products, etc.

Carrie Zohn
Scrapping With Style