Would you like to find new ideas for unusual scrap book stickers for your album?

You know that your choice of decoration goes a long way to giving your scrapbook that much sought-after personal character. Finding ways to incorporate unexpected items on your pages from your craft stash or sewing box is great fun and gives full rein to your creative imagination.

Perhaps it will be a color or texture that suggests an item to you. Maybe your theme naturally involves some jewelry, a piece of artwork or a document from which you can make a sticker or embellishment. Check out these tips below to get you started.

Buttons

Buttons can be added to pop up windows for effect or to educational scrapbooks as a learning device. Adding buttons to a scrapbook page can as simple as adding a ready-made button. However, you can also create customized buttons that match your background or general color scheme.

Bazzill paper (a special kind of textured paper) is great for this purpose. Simply wrap a ready-made button with the paper. These buttons can then be glued or tied onto your scrapbook page with thread or embroidery cotton.

Charms

Metal charms add a uniquely personal element to all sorts of scrapbook pages. Charms are available in all sorts of sizes and shapes to fit nearly any theme, for example memento, graduation, or gift scrapbooks.

There are several ways to attach charms to your page. One way to attach metal charms is by sewing the charms directly onto your page with thread or embroidery cotton. This method works well on scrapbooks with fabric backgrounds.

Another method is to string wire through the charm and attach both end of the wire to secure eyelets. The ends of the wire are then pushed into the background where it is hidden from view.

A third method is to glue the charm directly onto the scrapbook page. Most regular glues do not work on metal. However, check out your scrapbook supplier for metal glues or contact cement. These specialty products will work just fine.

A note about eyelets

Eyelets are round stub-like pieces of metal and are available in a variety of colors and shapes. They’re generally used as a way to anchor difficult or heavier objects (such as charms) to your scrapbook pages. Eyelets can either be attached by pushing the eyelet prongs through the background or attaching them with glue dots. Some types of eyelets can also be elegant accents in themselves.

Homemade Paper Embellishments

Candy and soap molds can be used to make embellishments with that homemade paper look. These embellishments can be used as an added touch for baby announcements, children’s artwork, or elegant gift books depending on the shape and size.

Simply, mix water and cardstock in a blender. Then, squeeze the excess water out of the paper and press the mixture in any candy or soap mold. To make a thicker item, just add more pulp to each mold. Allow the mixture to dry overnight before use.

One of the best aspects of using unusual items to make scrapbook stickers like those above is that they’re free! You’ll likely items such as these in your craft supplies at home. But if you do need to stock up, check out what’s on offer from our featured online suppliers.

Here’s a great idea for making a special ‘first haircut’ scrapbook page. Between the ages of about 12 and 18 months, a baby boy or girl may go for their first hair cut. You’ve probably seen that there are many children’s salons that offer special deals for your child’s first visit. They have a special chair, take a photo or even video the visit - and then later you take away a lock of hair as a keepsake. So why not create a scrap book page to celebrate this event in a special way!

Here are some tips for a fresh angle to the page. And of course these ideas could be re-worked for all kinds of different kids’ scrapbook projects.

Use Homemade Paper

For a unique background, try using homemade paper. This will add a wild look to your scrapbook page and is especially nice for any children’s books or artwork.

You can make your own customized paper of any color and texture you want. This takes a bit of time and effort. Alternatively, try soaking a piece of cardstock. After a few minutes, crumple the paper a bit and then iron it flat again. This will closely approximate the appearance of homemade paper.

Painted Tissue Paper

Painted tissue paper can add a colorful flair to your child’s scrapbook page. To paint tissue paper, punch or tear bits of tissue paper into various shapes. Then, using watercolor pencils and a wet paintbrush, thoroughly coat the tissue paper. Now dip the painted tissue paper in a mixture of Scrappy Glue and water and place it on white cardstock.

Let the pieces dry completely. Use the dry colored tissue paper as a background, a border, or as a fancy embellishment.

Beading

Beads are another way to add color and design to the page. Beading can be as simple as gluing a few beads onto a scrapbook page or as complex as a sewn beaded design. When arranged in an abstract pattern, they can create a child-like effect - or place them carefully to make homey titles or artistic designs.

Beads, microbeads, and necklaces can be attached using two-sided tape or Xyron adhesive.

Make a Pocket

If you’ve kept a lock of your child’s hair, why not store it in a pocket? Pockets allow you take out and put back items as you see fit and replace them without damage to your scrapbook page.

The easiest pocket is simply an envelope. However, pockets can also quickly and easily made by folding a piece of paper in half and then gluing three of the side edges.

Pockets can also be made of fabric sewn together. In this way, pockets can be virtually any texture, color, and weave to suit your required needs.

There are so many events in a child’s life that you can celebrate with your scrapbooking. From first haircuts to birthday parties, holidays and school celebrations, you can use your scrap booking expertise to preserve the memory for years to come.

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