It's fun to be an idiot... no one holds you accountable for, well, anything!

A Beginner's Guide to Essential Scrapbooking Materials

(This is me being stressed over my idiotness.)

Friends.... silly me.  Here I am on my merry blogging way, writing all kinds of fun (IMHO - in my humble opinion) posts about scrapbooking.  However, I have yet to post a somewhat comprehensive, totally subjective list about which supplies a beginner scrapbooker needs.  Well, I did actually do that here, but there wasn't a whole post dedicated to it. 

I got an email from Jessica - who writes a blog I read religiously, JessRaquel "Mo Shíorghrá", and she asked me for my suggestions on what to purchase.  So she gets the credit for this worthwhile post...

If it's your first trip into the black hole of the crafting world, TAKE A LIST.  I can't stress that enough... oh and maybe give yourself a time limit.  The "I'm just gonna browse for 10 minutes" turns into "Oh my goodness, why is my credit card getting declined, AGAIN?"

Here are my *essential* suggestions... stay tuned for suggestions regarding what to get *after the essentials* and for suggestions regarding *don't even think about it until you're a pro*.  (And let me apologize for being an idiot and not doing a post like this sooner... in the future, you can reference lists like this one on my page Scrapbooking Musts.)

1. Definitely buy a kit. Michael's Craft Stores has tons of them... they contain coordinating paper, embellishments, and a scrapbook with 10 page protectors (which will give you 20 layouts front and back). The best thing about kits is that you'll be able to see what type of embellishments you like to work with and then you can buy more of those, and you'll have lots of things that are automatically coordinated with each other. Some kits also come with layout ideas.  The one below is from K & Company and can be purchased on Scrapbuck.com for $9.00!!! For ideas on how to make layouts once you have your kit, check out Scrapbooking Kits & Coordinating Paper.

2. Get a good paper trimmer. I like the one by Fiskars... it can be purchased on Amazon for $14.50.  If you want to read more about my love affair with Fiskars, and for tips on how to use it, check out why Fiskars are Your Friends.

3. Get a glue dot roller. I like the one made by Scotch because it's sticky enough to "stick" - but if you have an "oh, shit!" moment, you can still safely pull the item off the page. You can also get larger glue dots which are more heavy duty.  I suggest a dot roller versus the adhesive square rollers... those tend to get alllll tangled up which, frankly, makes me want to pull my hair out.  You can buy this one for about $11.00.

4. Get a skinny black marker/pen for journaling. I like the fine tip Sharpies.

5. For free layout designs, visit scrapbooksetc.com -- they have tons of ideas. I spent about $30 on a book (but not the book I reference below... that book is WELL worth the money!) and wish I'd just done some hunting on the web first.  But if you really are looking for a book that will give you inspiration, be sure to pick up 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges.
 

I would LOVE to hear your suggestions and perhaps add them to my list!  So tell me, what did you buy when you were first starting out?

And BTW... none of these companies/people paid me to endorse these products, nor did they send me any free gifts.  I'm just blogging about them because I like them.  So there.