Scrapbooking is one of those amazing hobbies where, even if you buy all of the elements pre-made and from the store, there’s still a heavy element of DIY involved. Alternatively, you can absolutely make the pages, embellishments, and even the covers or the structure of the book yourself if you’re feeling crafty enough. Either way, thinking of creative ways to combine all the elements and display your favourite pictures and trinkets from the important times and people in your life is up to you when it comes to scrapbooking, and that’s an exciting power to have!
Check out these 15 awesome DIY scrapbooking ideas that cover all kinds of great things, including page layout, picture display, text and wording, and just about any other embellishment you can think of.
1. Patterned paper flowers
One of our very favourite things to include on just about any page with nearly any theme is a floral silhouette. No matter what kind of paper or material you make them from, the outline of a flower that features and awesomely bright colour or a super eye catching pattern always looks awesome once you’ve got everything arranged. Just in case you’ve never tried making them before, here’s a cute and easy tutorial from Where Your Treasure Is. We love the way they’ve used vintage looking paper but you could also make them bright, colourful, or even sparkly.
2. Pretty pressed flowers
Perhaps you’re really interested in the concept of having stunning flowers pasted to your page in your next scrapbooking display but you’re not sure silhouetted paper ones are quite what you’re looking for? Well, an even more authentic and slightly vintage look can be achieved by including pressed and dried flowers that you made yourself. This is already a common DIY technique but just in case you’ve never tried it before, here’s a great tutorial from DIY Projects to start you off!
3. Button frames
Mounting your pictures on a contrasting pattern or colour of paper before you stick them to your main page is a great way to display them, but sometimes a textured frame that makes our very favourite shot of the bunch stand out can really put the finishing touches on the whole lot. There are plenty of ways to do this, but Home & Lifestyle suggests using buttons in various sizes and complementary colours and we whole-heartedly agree!
4. Flip-up tabs
Do you often find that when you’re trying to lay out a page featuring something you’ve done that was very exciting, you tend to choose way too many pictures than will comfortably fit without a lot of overlapping? We’re pretty prone to that too and we usually try to control ourselves a little bit and pare down, but sometimes you just can’t pass things up. That’s why we love We R Memory Keepers‘s method of fitting more on the page! They’ve made a vertical list of overlapping pictures separated with tabs to let lookers know what’s in each picture as they flip through.
5. Pencil eraser pointillism
We’re not sure why, but lately we’ve been completely obsessed with pointillism art. It’s not like it’s a new idea to us- we’ve known about and have been doing projects using pointillism for years- but something about it has just re-inspired us lately. Imagine how pleased we were, then, when we came across this pointillist stencil method for making a shape that you can put pictures inside of! Not every scrapbook really suits the aesthetic of extremely fine pointillism, however, so we like Clumsy Crafter‘s suggestion of doing the whole thing a little bigger using a pencil eraser.
6. Travel trinket binder
Many people like to make general scrapbooks of their lives and document whatever they feel like in the moment. Others, however, like to choose themes and specifically document the things they do that relate to one thing. You might scrapbook your dance competitions, sports games, cosplay looks, or your travel adventures! If you’ve got the travel bug like we do, you might appreciate Auntie Recreates‘ suggestions for an entirely travel themed scrapbook.
7. Heart butterfly cutouts
Some people like to put their scrapbooking pages inside plastic sleeves to really protect each one once they’ve finished it, but others find this too constricting since scrapbooking is such a great chance to create textured and slightly 3D displays within the pages of your book. We love those types of raised embellishments so, as you can imagine, we were pretty big fans of these adorable little ruffle cut butterflies from Scrapbook & Cards Today as soon as we saw them! The wings are made of layered paper and the centres that hold them together are make the “body” are made of twist ties.
8. Decor paper chevron
Perhaps you’ve been scrapbooking pretty avidly lately and you’re finding yourself with a lot of leftover scrap paper and pretty patterned ends that you just don’t have the heart to throw out? We often find ourselves with little pieces that, at first, don’t really look useful for much, but that are just big enough that we don’t want to waste them. That’s where techniques like Bella Blvd‘s scrapbooking idea come into play! We love how their bold chevron inspired design is just eccentric enough that you could combine just about any pattern or colour and still have it all look great.
9. Scrap paper lattice
Are you still look for a great paper ends project but the chevron design above just doesn’t quite hold your attention the way you’d like it to? Then maybe you’re like something a little more whimsical and intricate looking instead! We love the way Creating Keepsakes created a pretty overlapping design behind some pictures and flowers that resembles a nice garden lattice.
10. Embroidered map
Did you really like the idea of making a travel scrapbook, but now you’re on the hunt for awesome novelty things to fill it with? It’s always fun to fill your book with postcards and plane tickets, but there are plenty of other really neat ideas that you might not have thought of. One of our favourites is this embroidered map design from Martha Stewart. every time you go somewhere new, sew the path you took in bright, fun thread so you can track your travels!
11. DIY paper clip hangers
Are you a costume lover or a fashion designer who scrapbooks about your looks and the things you’ve made and designed? Then perhaps you’ve been looking for little clothing related embellishments that will suit the things you love! Those might not be common to find so we were pretty pumped when we stumbled across this cute little hanger design by Agus Yornet. Their tutorial shows you how to cute and bend the wire just so.
12. “Things I Love” book
Maybe the things you’d like to document in a scrapbook aren’t actually things you’ve done but instead just things you simply really enjoy? That’s okay too! When you look back on the book years from now, it’ll be interesting and nostalgic to see the things that you loved doing back then and how those have changed over the years. Check out how Miss Fancy Pants made this adorable “Things I Love” themed scrapbook! This is also a super fun idea to do with your kids to introduce them in order to scrapbooking too.
13. Hole punch leaves
Have you always had a particular love for natural materials and aesthetics that make your love for nature clear to all those around you, and sometimes that leaks into your crafting life? Well, here’s an awesomely unique way to let it do so. Grab your favourite shaped hole punch and, instead of punching shapes out of fancy paper, try doing it out of leaves! Check out how lovely they can look on Pinterest.
14. Ombre paint chip punchers
Did you really like our whole puncher suggestion but the idea of making embellished shapes out of leaves isn’t your favourite because there isn’t enough colour involved? Then check out this super bright suggestion from Grace and Good Eats instead! They used paint chips to get shapes in all different shades of the same colour to create a beautiful ombre.
15. Water colour paper doily
Have you always loved stenciling but you’re looking for something pretty and intricate rather than the pre-fabricated kind made of chunkier shapes that might look novelty rather than classy? Then try using paper lace doilies instead! We love the way Shimelle painted over them with pretty water colour paints to make the pattern fade in and out in a stunning way.
