Scrapbooking for Beginners: Your Complete Getting Started Guide

Welcome to Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is one of the most rewarding creative hobbies you can pick up. It combines photography, journaling, and design into beautiful pages that preserve your favorite memories. Whether you're documenting family milestones, travel adventures, or everyday moments, scrapbooking turns photos into keepsakes you'll treasure for years.

If you're brand new to scrapbooking, this guide covers everything you need to know to create your first layout with confidence.

Essential Scrapbooking Supplies for Beginners

You don't need a huge collection to get started. Here are the basics every new scrapbooker needs (see our full scrapbook supplies guide for details on each category):

  • 12x12 cardstock — Your foundation. Start with a pack of solid colors in neutral and coordinating tones.
  • Patterned paper — Adds color and visual interest. Look for coordinated patterned paper kits where patterns are designed to work together.
  • Adhesive — A tape runner for paper and foam dots for dimensional accents. These two will cover 90% of your projects.
  • Scissors and a paper trimmer — A basic 12-inch trimmer makes straight cuts effortless.
  • Photos — Print your favorites at 4x6 or crop them to fit your layout design.
  • Journaling pen — An archival-quality black pen for writing captions and notes.

As you grow, you'll add tools like metal dies, stamps, embellishments, and sticker sheets. But the supplies above are all you need for your first pages.

How to Create Your First Scrapbook Layout

Follow these steps to build a beautiful page, even as a complete beginner:

  1. Choose your photos. Pick 2-4 photos from a single event or theme. Fewer photos per page makes for a cleaner, more impactful layout.
  2. Select your paper. Choose one solid cardstock for the background and 1-2 patterned papers that complement your photos.
  3. Arrange before you glue. Lay out your photos, paper strips, and any embellishments on the page. Move things around until the composition feels balanced. This is the most important step.
  4. Adhere everything. Once you're happy with the layout, glue pieces down starting with the background layers and working forward.
  5. Add journaling. Write a few sentences about the memory — the date, who was there, and what made the moment special. Future you will thank present you.
  6. Embellish. Add stickers, die cuts and ephemera to fill empty spaces and add personality.

Need more ideas? Browse our scrapbook layout ideas page for beginner, intermediate, and advanced layouts.

Scrapbooking Styles to Explore

There's no single right way to scrapbook. Here are popular styles to try:

  • Traditional scrapbooking — 12x12 pages in an album, with layered papers and embellishments. The classic approach.
  • Pocket page scrapbooking — Slip photos and journaling cards into pre-made pockets. Fast, easy, and great for weekly memory keeping. Our Pocket Life Kits are designed specifically for this style.
  • Project Life / memory planning — A system of themed card sets that make pocket pages even simpler.
  • Mixed media — Combine paint, ink, texture paste, and found objects for an artsy, layered look. Explore our mixed media supplies.
  • Minimalist scrapbooking — Clean lines, lots of white space, and focus on the photos. Less is more.

Tips for New Scrapbookers

  • Don't aim for perfection. Your first pages won't look like Pinterest boards, and that's completely fine. The goal is preserving memories, not winning design awards.
  • Use coordinated kits. Pre-curated kits take the guesswork out of color matching and paper selection. Everything works together, so you can focus on creating instead of shopping.
  • Start with recent photos. Don't try to scrapbook 10 years of photos at once. Start with last month and work forward.
  • Watch tutorials. YouTube is packed with beginner scrapbooking process videos. Watching someone build a layout teaches you more than any written guide.
  • Join a community. Scrapbooking is more fun when you share your work and get inspired by others.

Why a Scrapbook Kit Subscription Makes Starting Easy

The hardest part of starting any new hobby is knowing what to buy. A monthly scrapbook kit subscription solves that problem completely. Each month, you receive a box of coordinated supplies — papers, cardstock, embellishments, and exclusive designs — all selected to work together.

You open the box, pick your photos, and start creating. No trips to the craft store. No agonizing over which papers match. Just pure creative time.

Hip Kit Club has been curating monthly scrapbooking kits for over 15 years. Our kits are designed for crafters at every skill level, from absolute beginners to experienced scrapbookers looking for fresh inspiration. Browse our beginner-friendly kits to get started.

Ready to Start? Choose Your Monthly Kit

Hip Kit Club delivers curated, coordinated scrapbooking supplies every month. Pick the kit that matches your style:

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