When a craft becomes as hugely popular as the craft of scrapbooking has websites will soon spring up to address the growing needs of the people who need supplies and/or want to learn how to do it, from the basics all the way to the most skilled. While scrapbooking for the most part is a hands-on physical craft it is something that also can be done digitally online.
Here are some of the best websites dedicated to scrapbooking and a little bit about them:
- www.craftcrave.com – This is an interesting site that although does not have a lot of helpful information regarding what the site itself provides, does have lots of interesting tips regarding which other sites and blogs to go to for information. According to its creators it is a computer-generated resource that scours other blogs and websites as well as search engines, to collate resources for freebies, tutorials and supplies for scrapbookers. It may be a good starting point to find what you are looking for.
- www.scrapbook.com – This well-respected site has a huge following which is usually an accurate indication that the site has value. It is dedicated to all paper crafts, including scrapbooking. As many paper craft skills carry over from one craft to another there is plenty to learn in the tutorials and lessons offered. You can find scrapbooking lessons under “Albums” as that seems to be the term they use for scrapbooks. Many of their lessons are free. The site’s blog include how-to’s, tips, news and inspiration. The site also maintains a strong social media presence with around half a million Facebook followers as well as being on Twitter and Pinterest. Their online store provides scrapbookers of all skill levels with supplies and tools. The site is very attractive and reasonably easy to navigate and they do have a newsletter to subscribe to.
- www.scrapbooking.craftgossip.com – Another attractive site that is fairly easy to navigate. Though this site is dedicated to numerous crafts, d.i.y. projects and other stay-at-home interests, it does have a very nice scrapbooking section. There are over 6000 scrapbooking ideas for both adults and children to enjoy. The site also provides tips and tricks for organizing your supplies, something that many craft lovers struggle with as their crafts and hobbies grow. This blog also provides links to other resources for scrapbookers so if you cannot find exactly what you are looking for on their own site they are willing to steer you in the right direction. It is a clean site that is worth spending time looking around.
- www.youtube.com/user/scrapmadesimple/videos - Though not a standalone website, this YouTube scrapbooker has over 200 video tutorials that are worth taking a look at to learn some interesting techniques you may not have seen done before. For visual learners, YouTube is a great resource for learning everything from the basics all the way to highly skilled techniques and tips. This particular YouTube channel is a great resource worth spending at least an hour or two on. You can subscribe to her channel and get updates when new videos are put up online. Tip: If you don’t like the style of these videos there are lots of other scrapbookers with video channels on YouTube. Just search scrapbooking and you are sure to find someone with whom you enjoy watching.
- www.studiocalico.com – Clean, attractive website that deals with many crafts. You can find specific scrapbooking articles and tips by selecting “scrapbook” from the left side bar. The site does offer a few lessons but there are not many. The articles and tips are where most of the value is, and they do have a store with a wide range of crafting supplies and products that offers discounts. You can receive a discount on your first order just for signing up. In addition they stock kits for those who want to start their projects quickly with most of the materials at their fingertips. Website is easy to navigate with an extensive drop-down menu from the top menu bar.
- debbiehodge.com – The name of the site is Get It Scrapped and is solely dedicated to scrapbooking. The site owner, Debbie Hodge, wants everyone to record their memories in such a way that following generations can follow the scrapbooker’s story. For new members of her site she offers a free lesson so this site is a good one for those who are new to scrapbooking to start their crafting journey on. Once you have learned the basics the site offers a membership section where you can learn more advanced techniques and tricks to take your scrapbooking to the next level. Debbie has had many articles published and was a contributing editor Memory Makers Magazine so is well-recognized as being knowledgeable.
- www.cathyzielske.com – With a tagline of “Taking the Crap out of Scrapbooking” you immediately get a sense of this being a fun website to explore. Though it does have some great resources on the site the site itself could do with some work. It is very simply designed and clean so may appeal to some people for its sheer simplicity. All that being said Cathy offers classes for scrapbooking and that is what many people are looking for, and the classes are very affordable. Cathy is a graphic designer by trade with her main focus being on print design, so is able to transfer her knowledge and skill in this area to teaching how to create beautiful scrapbooks. You can subscribe to her newsletter for updates of new blog posts.
- http://blog.hobbycraft.co.uk/papercraft-ideas/scrapbooking - UK based but touts itself as being the No. 1 craft blog in the UK. Great site to navigate, clean design and has some great informative articles for scrapbookers. Though not solely dedicated to scrapbooking there is sufficient space allocated to this craft that it makes the site worth exploring. The articles outline projects you can tackle and include hints, tips and tricks to make your scrapbooking projects even better than you may have envisioned.
This is just a small sampling of some of the best scrapbooking blogs and websites available online. A quick Google search will reveal that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of websites you can access for lessons, inspiration and supplies.
