Now that we have gone over some of the scrapbooking essentials, let’s chat about some of the fun-to-have tools and things! There are so many great gadgets and accessories to choose from. The ones I am about to share with you are some of my absolute favorites.

Sticky situation

To successfully create a scrapbook page you are going to need adhesive of some sort. This one is actually on the must have list, but since there are so many options I thought we’d add it here too. Pictured above are several of those options. There is double sided sticky tape; which is great for borders or making mini albums. It is easy to work with and offers durable, lasting adhesion. There are foam pop dots; which are sticky on both sides and offer lift (think 3D) in addition to adhesive. There are glue dots; which are great for sticking little embellishments or paper pieces in place. There are tape runners; which are very convenient, but probably my least recommended option. They tend to lose their holding power over time and your pages may eventually come apart. Yikes, not cool!

Finally, I saved the best for last! My all time favorite go to adhesive is liquid Tombow. It is acid free and holds like a champ! It has a dual tip option, which is very helpful, depending on your gluing needs. One end has a smaller opening and the other end has a wider, more flat dispenser that lets you smooth your adhesive out over larger items. It goes on white and dries clear. I use this adhesive for almost all of my projects.

Let’s move on to some fun toys (I mean tools!)

The next fun tool that I just absolutely love, love, love is called a Big Shot. I like this one because it will cut shapes from and dry emboss your card stock. It has a manual crank handle and does not require any sort of internet connection or electricity to work. I use this big guy on 99% of all of my scrapbook pages! I {heart} it very much!

Making the cut with metal dies

You can purchase all sorts of fun metal die cutting shapes for your Big Shot. They come in every shape from hearts to flowers to tags to banners! I would recommend a few sets of simple shapes like circles, squares and ovals. If you buy these in nesting sets (big, bigger, biggest) you can cut several and layer them onto one another creating an easy matted border. You can use these to make embellishments to decorate your pages or as spots to do your journaling on. Fun stuff!

Let’s make an impression

These are the embossing folders that you can use with your Big Shot. These also come in all sorts of fun patterns. They are hinged at the top and open up like a folder. To use them you lay a piece of cardstock in the middle and close the folder. You sandwich it between plastic layers for the Big Shot and run it through turning the crank handle. It leaves the impression of the pattern in your paper! It’s really pretty cool!

Here is an example of how your plain card stock looks after you run it through the embossing folders. This technique adds a lot of fun, visual interest to your pages! You can use it as is or punch pieces from it. There are lots of possibilities.

Getting punchy

Next let’s move on to punches! These come in all sorts of different shapes , themes, and sizes. They are great for making your own page embellishments. If you find punches that are big enough you can even use them to write your journaling on. This is called a journaling spot. Punches come in lots of fun designs and can be an economical way to dress up your pages! They are nice because you can use them over and over.

Stamping, yes please!

Another fun way to dress up your pages is to add stamping to them. The possibilities are truly endless! Stamps come in so many varieties and the ranges of colors of ink that accompany them offer so many awesome options. I add stamping to almost all of my pages so I promise to share lots more about stamping with you soon! For now though, I will mention that you can find stamps in red rubber or clear acrylic. You can use them with stamp pads or markers. You can find them mounted to wood or you can add them to clear blocks. Stamping is a wonderful way to add fun little details to your scrapbook pages and they can also be used over and over again.

Making your mark

Let’s talk a little bit about adding color to your pages and your options. Markers are a great way to add color and versatility. You can use markers to doodle, to do your journaling and even to color your stamps for stamping. Brush markers are ideal for stamping. They have more of a brush type tip than a regular marker. Markers come in so many different colors and you can get lots of use from them. I would recommend at least a few different dark colors for your journaling. Fine tipped works best for this.

Ink it on up

Another color option is good ole’ ink! You can buy ink pads in so many different colors and shades of colors. You can use ink pads to stamp with or to accent your paper pieces by sponging the edges of your mattes or embellishments. You can also use sponge daubers for this or to add polka dots to your page backgrounds. Daubers fit on the end of your finger for ease of use. These can be used over and over as long as you use each one for the same color ink.

Glitter makes my heart sing

Another really fun option to add color to your pages are Stickles; also known as glitter glue. I know not everyone is crazy about glitter, in fact, people usually either love it or hate it! (It is probably no surprise that I love it!) These come in a variety of colors and add such fun accents or highlights to your pages. They go on wet, but dry leaving behind a shimmer of color, so they are a little more user friendly than loose, dry glitter!

Embellish, embellish, embellish

Embellishments are a fun way to dress up your pages! Embellishments are basically decorative paper pieces. These come in all sorts of themes, colors, shapes and sizes. You can buy them in themed packs. You can also make your own using cutting machines or your punches and leftover scrap paper. I make a lot of my own embellishments because it tends to be more economical and I can tailor them to exactly what I need for each individual page. These go a long way to dressing up your pages.

The fun is in the details

These accent stickers are happy little additions that you can use on your pages or homemade embellishments. They are usually found with the stickers and have sticky backs for easy application. They come in puffy sticky stapes, shiny faceted shapes and enamel coated shapes. I use a lot of these on my pages. I like to add a lot of little details to my pages to keep them visually interesting! You can add them singly or in groups of three to make a page feel more full and finished.

Who doesn’t love a good sticker?

Stickers are another way to dress up your pages and help to keep your theme cohesive. I cannot say enough good things about stickers! They are just so much fun! They are usually pretty economical and come in so many different options. You can add them directly to your pages or make embellishments with them. I would recommend using acid free stickers, but if you are unsure whether yours are acid free or not avoid letting them come into direct contact with your photos.

Titles tell the tales

Stickers also come in all sorts of letter choices! Whuuuut?! Yep! These are awesome for making titles for your pages. Having a title on your page helps the viewer understand the story of the page at first glance. These come in so many shapes and sizes and colors. These are a great alternative if you do not have a die cutting machine.

It comes in colors?!

Another fun and economical option for adding some visually appealing goodness to your pages is washi tape. This stuff comes in every color, pattern and design you can imagine! It is sticky on the back and often has a masking type texture to it. It is usually forgiving and will let you gently peel it up once or twice if you didn’t get it straight the first time. You can use it to make borders or banners or highlight an object. You can use it as background decoration or to hold things in place. You can use it to create a frame around your pictures or page. It is bright and fun and very easy to use. I give it two thumbs up!

Date that, baby!

One of the most important parts of a finished scrapbook page is the journaling or written details. Journaling is not everyone’s favorite task and not every pages needs to be journaled on. You should consider at least adding the date the pictures where taken though to offer some context about the page. This helps the viewer with a timeline of events when looking at your albums. An easy way to do this is to invest in a date stamp. You just roll it around to the date you need, dip it in ink and add it to your page. I put a date (or an approximate date) on every page I create. You can also hand write your date. Either way, date that baby!

That’s a wrap!

There are so many fun things you can use to scrapbook and this really is just a handful of them! It is a fun list to pick and choose from and will get you started on your way to creating pretty pages!

I will be sharing some pages with you starting tomorrow that I have created using some of these fun things. If you have any questions or just want to chat be sure to leave a comment or send me an email. I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow!