The first thing that you will want to consider when planning your page layout is what photographs or memorabilia you are planning to display. After all, the whole point of scrapbooking is to preserve and display our memories in a beautiful way. If you are doing a single page layout, you can choose one single, striking photograph, or several that go together. You can also do a two or more page spread for your photos if you feel that there are too many to display on one single page.
The important thing to remember when planning a layout or a spread is to create a theme. A theme can be very obvious, such as, “Mom’s Garden,” or, “Trick-or-Treating,” or it can be a more subtle theme, such as, “Our daughter.” You can use the theme in the title of the page, or just let it speak for itself. But the point of the theme is that all the photos and memorabilia on the page(s) go together to tell a story.
The next important element of your page is your paper. Paper will be used to create your background and show off your photos. Always bring your photos with you when going to choose your paper, either at the store or out of your stock. Lay the photos against the paper to see the tones it brings out. You will be surprised how different a single photo can look against two different colors. Choose two or three types of paper that work well with the photos. Another thing the paper should do is bring out the desired mood you are trying to create. For example, if you want the page to be lively and whimsical, then bright colors and bold patterns will accomplish this much better than neutral tones and elegant vellum.
Once you have your photos and your paper, you will want to consider how you will frame or matte your photographs. Framing is when you cut out a paper or cardstock frame and lay it over or around the photo, just like a framed picture. Matting is when you lay the photo on a piece of paper cut slightly larger than the photo itself. With this method, you can double or even triple matte your photos with coordinating colors and patterns, each layer slightly larger than the one on top of it. When creating mattes or frames, you can simply straight cut them; but for a more detailed look, try cutting them with decorative edging scissors, or using paper punches to create designs in them. You can also carefully rip them around the edges instead of cutting to create a look that is very rugged and natural.
The next thing to consider on the page is if you intend to do any journaling. Journaling is the term used in scrapbooking for any writing you want to do on the page. You can tell a story, write a poem, give your thoughts or observations about the subject of your photo, or simply tell details about the moment the photo was taken so that you can preserve them as well. You may want to journal directly on the page, or you can hand-write or print out the journaling on a separate piece of paper, cut it to size and adhere it to the page. Journaling is not necessary, but it is a wonderful way to truly preserve the memories.
Finally you will want to choose your page embellishments. These are the fun or interesting things that you will use to enhance the look of your page. There are many options for embellishments: stickers, rubber stamped images, die cuts, pressed flowers, beads, mesh, ribbons, raffia, twine, buttons, tags, envelopes, page borders– the list goes on and on. Just make sure that, like your paper and any ink that you may use, your selections are acid and ligning-free so that they will not damage your photos.
Now that you have all the elements for your layout, simply begin to play with their placement until you are pleased with the result, and begin adhering them to the page.
