Scrapbooking Newbie

Ok, so I have a little confession to make…even though I love paper, crafting, and art, I haven’t ever really completed a scrapbook page. I am a scrapbooking newbie! I tried once years ago because I love the IDEA of scrapbooking, but I didn’t even finish a page. To be honest, it’s always felt overwhelming to me. Pen and paint + paper + an idea is so very simple. Using multiple tools, stamps, cutouts, and photos scared me (have I mentioned that I don’t like to mess up?). When Joy from Close to My Heart (a cricut blogger friend) contacted me about trying out the new Close to My Heart Artbooking Bundle for the Cricut, I decided I was going to give it another shot! She assured me that even I could handle this one! The kit came in and it is filled with fun tools that looked super cute, but I still wasn’t sure about it all. I went back to Joy’s link  and watched her video…then jumped right in. I look up tutorials every time I am unsure of the quickest or best way to do something, so watching how easy these were got me excited to try scrapbooking! The Artbooking bundle has a TON of designs you can choose from, but I decided to do my first few practice pages using Halloween designs (First day of October and all…).

Now, I don’t know if this counts, but when I went looking for a scrapbook to make my designs in, I wasn’t really thrilled with any of the choices…and instead, I kept coming back to the chipboard album. I use chipboard albums to make inspirational albums when I am working on a project and I love the earthy texture and thickness they provide…so instead of a traditional album, I am creating mine as a chipboard album! I also had to order a gajillion photos from Snapfish since I apparently haven’t had any printed in a year (I am not alone here, right? right???). I got into Cricut Craft Room and opened the Artbooking Cartridge with every intention of mimicking a few of the Halloween designs that were already planned out in the book…but being me, I just started cutting whatever I liked, and decided to deal with the ramifications of going astray later.

So, here I go, my chipboard albums, my photos, and my new adorable Artbooking Kit! After cutting out the designs I liked best, I added in some washi tape and put these 3 little pages together in no time! I am so glad I went ahead and decided to give this project a shot, because it is a lot of fun, and my kids LOVE seeing themselves in a “fancy book” like this! While I understand that my pages are probably not impressive to a true scrapbooker, I am quite proud of the way they turned out, considering I am a scrapbooking newbie. When you spend a lot of time on the computer, it’s so nice to create with your hands from time to time!

I am starting on a holiday book I will be making for grandparent gifts with this same Artbooking Kit, and I will be sharing how that turns out next Monday…and I may even have an Artbooking kit to give away next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hopefully I can inspire you to try something you have been intimidated by or didn’t think you had time for! This kit and my Cricut Mini has made my first few scrapbooking pages a very simple and quick process!