SCRAPBOOKING FOR A MARINE!

[Chloe01383]

I am in the process of making a scrapbook and I have no idea where to start. I am so scared it might turn out looking bad. But I want to make a page for a friend of mine who is a marine and I have no idea where to start or what to put on the page... PLEASE HELP!! ALL IDEAS ARE WELCOME

THANKS

Chloe

[CraftyChicaAZ]

you can check out the scarp book store for military-themed accessories, I've seen all kinds of them. They have papers and stickers and all kinds of other things. Or you could go to a thrift store or flea market and look in the odds and ends area for patches and such.
Good luck!!
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[kindarana]

I'm not sure there are many scrapbookers around here, I never see it discussed really... check out twopeasinabucket.com for paper scrapping and scrapbook-bytes.com for digital scrapping.

There also might be a military surplus store in your area, they'd definitely have some cool stuff.

[breewell]

Hi,
Since I just got married, and now can't work because my immigration is still processing I have started my first scrapbook (it's about my life with my husband for the past 4 years, I figure the INS will like to see it as well!). I was really nervous that it would look bad because I'm not an artist, and also really turned off by how lame most scrapbooking web sites are.
Here's how I overcame it:

1) I found a whole bunch of pictures that meant something to me or told a story somehow, and things like receipts, a scaled down copy of my wedding certificate, movie passes, anything that reminded me of something we did together.
For example, I found a bunch of unflattering pictures of us separate and drunk or sick, and put them together on a page that says "Our lives were spinning out of control, but then..." The next page was all our wedding pictures from city hall and the receipt for the 3 coffees and 3 donuts that made up the "banquet" for us and our witness. Even though some of the pictures were out of focus, or seemed like odd images, it worked in context.

2) I walked around an art supply store (Lee's on 57th in Manhattan) which is pretty expensinve but has lots of stuff. I initially avoided the scrapbook section, because it seems too literal, I instead wandered around and looked at everything just to get inspiration. Then I knew I would have pages about our roadtrip, garden, cats, vacation, campin, and our families, so I started picking out any sticker or cool piece of paper that clicked with one of those themes.
Here are some sticker I found that I love. (the top one is kind of military ish)
http://www.stuff4scrapbooking.com/Rebecca_Sower_
Stickers.htm

3) Then, I cut out the pictures, it is best if you can scan them in and print out copies or have doubles in case you screw up. Cut some in circles, some in ovals, hexagons, rectangle, squares, and leave some normal.

Finally, (and this can take days), I lay the pictures, any stickers I think I want, and different coloured paper out on the scrapbook page, and then I keep moving them around, adding and subtracting until it finally looks right.

I am by no means and artist, or a good scrapbooker, but the pages I made make me and my hubby smile, so they worked!
I'll see if I can post pictures of my pages, but for me looking at suggested layouts can make me stop thinking creatively.

Good luck! and have fun, it doesn't have to be cutesy and cheesy unless you want it to be!
bree

[breewell]

Hey Chloe,
I uploaded pictures of the first three pages I finished to my photo album if you wanted to look. I had other incarnations of these pages before I finally found a design I liked. : )
Bree