When exploring a craft project, it helps to have some reference materials. This page presents a selection of books, magazines, and websites that you may find useful for inspiration and shopping. Books
The Everything Scrapbooking Book by Jennifer Barr. Adams Media Corp., Avon, Massachusetts, 2002. Presents e-facts (soundbytes), e-ssentials (quick tips), e-alerts (urgent warnings), e-questions (solutions to common problems); also has tips on affordable scrapbooking, layout principles, specialty albums, etc. Black and green ink on white paper.
The Grandmother Principles by Suzette Haden Elgin. Abbeville Press, New York, NY, 2000. A guide to practical grandmothering that includes good instructions for recording, organizing, and preserving family memories; great for elders and anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time or money to spare on elaborate projects. Black and white.
Living Legacies: How to Write, Illustrate, and Share Your Life Stories by Duane Elgin and Coleen LeDrew. Conari Press, Berkeley, CA, 2001. Has a section on scrapbooking, but mainly focuses on how to collect and record your stories; ideal if you want to try journaling. Brown and blue ink on white paper.
Meals and Memories: How to Create Keepsake Cookbooks by Kathy Steligo. Carlo Press, San Carlos, CA, 1999. Specializes in recipes and stories about food/cooking, but some material will generalize to other scrapbook projects; use for collecting favorite coven or church recipes. Black and white.
Michele Gerbrandt’s Scrapbook Basics: The Complete Guide to Preserving Your Memories by Michele Gerbrandt. F&W Publications, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, 2002. Full color with shopping list, organization tips, journaling ideas, and instructions on making your first page and album. Full color.
Scrapbooking for the First Time by Rebecca Carter. Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York, NY, 1999. Introduces the basics, techniques, projects, etc. Nice “How do I…?” sections explain how to use natural papers on a page, decorative scissors, etc. Full color.
The Simple Art of Scrapbooking by The Scrapbook Guild. Dell Publishing, New York, NY, 1998. This book inspired most of the technical definitions for things like “acid-free” in this article.
Magazines
Creating Keepsakes – The most popular scrapbooking magazine; focus on all the newest techniques and tools; advanced.
Memory Makers– Focus on themes; a good mix of easy and advanced material.
Simple Scrapbooks – Emphasis on storytelling and design, with a more sophisticated presentation but simpler techniques; good for adult pages and for beginning scrapbookers.
Websites
“Scrapbook Albums” by Your Family Legacy, 2000-2007. A basic description of album types, with links to some you can buy.
“Scrapbook Links” provides a substantial list of links to scrapbooking resources on the Web.
"Scrapbooking Alley" sells albums, diecut tools, cardstock, stamps, digital scrapbooking materials, and more.
“Scrapjazz” allows members to share layouts in personal galleries, to flag favorite ideas, and keep notes on why you flagged that layout.