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Yes I have a scrapbook – I have a terrible memory, and also I love an excuse to collect lots of things that remind me of places or events that I have been.
I do have a problem though – I am not very crafty, at least I don’t have any natural talent, I get inspiration from other textures, pictures or ideas and then have to simplify them to my artistic ability which sometimes doesn’t go so well.
So I thought I would share with you some of the backgrounds in my scrapbook and how I did them as inspiration for those of you who (like me) need a bit of help making things look craftier than they are :p
Here are some of my backgrounds for things I have used to brighten up my scrapbooks and given life to the pictures and memories I have put in there.
Dried pressed flowers
I have used this idea a few times for anniversary pages (because I usually get flowers – yay!) I dry and press them in large cookery books (in between two baking sheets to dry them out) and then stick them to a block colour background to add texture and to remind me about them 🙂
Cut Up Cards
I love doing this for birthday pages. I hate throwing things away and so this is a great way to reuse cards I got for my birthday for the pages and I always get funky stickers on my cards so it is a great way to make use of those too!
Paint & Sponge
This is probably the most simple! Using a sponge, dab the paint onto the paper and it creates a great effect behind the pictures.
Alternating Colour Double Page
Choose two complimenting but contrasting colours and paint a double page spread in each colour and use a sponge or paintbrush to paint the opposite colour over the top once it is dry. This is one of my favourite methods for double pages as it stands out together. Another option I have tried is black and white which looks really good as well.
Drawn Picture Background
It is not very often that I do this because I am not very artistic, BUT if I am in a drawing mood I will create a background picture to put photos over. Usually it is a landscape but on a couple of occassions I have found nice pictures to copy and draw myself. This is one that turned out particularly well and I used watercolour pencils for the background sunset.
Paper Pouches
Like I said above, I hate throwing cards away, so sometimes I like to paint or colour a picture on a seperate piece of paper and then use it to make a card holder within my scrapbook for my birthday cards. Folding and sticking the paper creates a little pouch that you can put other memorable pieces that you don’t want to glue down too!
Lace Mesh 3D Effect
When I did a double page spread for the pages of nice things my husband has done. I found some lace from our wedding car ribbon and decided to glue it onto a painted background to make a textured background for the fixing things too. This was a really nice way to add some extra dimension to the page as well as using something memorable. Lace is another favourite of mine to use if I have any lying around from other projects.
Block Colour Fading
This is a simple way to add a more interesting vibrant background. Start in the corner and using a sponge or by dabbing a brush fade the colour into the centre. I used four colours on mine but you can alternate or just use one colour against the background. I like this one because it looks a little 3D so it is eye catching once you have photos or memories on.
Old School Colouring
There is nothing wrong with good old fashioned colouring in. Do you remember doing this as a child? I still find myself colouring in this way now when I am bored so I decided to turn it into a background!
To create a nicer finish you can use water colour pencils to blend in the strokes (as you can see from this one there is a lot of colouring and so it really shows up!)
Colouring Book Cut Outs
I have been bought a couple of adult colouring books and once I am finished with a page I like to cut it out and create shapes to rearrange on the page. This makes me feel like I am getting the most out of the book as well as creating a funky abstract background for the page!
Do you have any ideas for backgrounds that you want to share? Do you scrapbook? Let me know in the comments section
For More Inspiration for your projects or scrapbook backgrounds why not follow our “Project Ideas Board on Pinterest“
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19 comments on “Easy Scrapbook Background Ideas”
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Thank you for sharing this fun post on #ThePinterestGame! Good luck and we hope to see you again next week!
I like the old school colouring. I don’t know if I am able to write all over the beautiful drawings like you did. 😉 thanks for sharing. #TheList
As you can probably tell by the name of my blog I love art. These ideas are great. I especially love the use of cards.
Holy Cow Charlotte…you have really been creative with your backgrounds. I am very impressed. I’d love to see some of your finished pages.
Happy Weekend, Lynn
Thanks lynn I was planning on doing a series a bit more in depth about my scrapbook!
I love to scrapbook! I’m actually working on a huge project right now to redo and reorganize all of my family’s scrapbooks and albums. This post is so fantastic! I always want to spice up the pages but never know what to do. I absolutely love the paper pouch idea! It is so perfect and solves so many problems for me. I have so many memorabilia and keepsakes that I don’t always want to glue them down. But then I end up with five shoeboxes full of cards. So excited to try this out with my family photo project!!!
haha i know exactly how you feel! I would love to see some of the pages when you are done! I love saving some of the memories! xx
You have some great ideas here that I’m sharing on Pinterest and tweeting for all scrapbook lovers.
thanks lovely ! xx
I used to scrapbook but I got so busy that I could no longer find the time. I have three scapbooks, two for my boys and one family one but they are falling apart. I might start new ones this spring. This is a great idea!
you should definitely start again! it does take a lot of time though I dont do it as often as I like x
This is fantastic, I’ve been hoping to start a scrapbook for at least the past year and I just never get around to it! It looks like so much fun 🙂
Forgot to mention: shared on Pinterest!!!! 😉
What fun backgrounds Charlotte! My girls love doing scrap booking and these ideas for backgrounds are so nice, I’m sure they’ll get inspired!!!
I have always loved the idea of scrapbooking and you have some great ideas to inspire me. I never thought of drawing my own pictures! Great post #thelist
Hi Charlotte, I have never scrapbooked, and how you can say you aren’t crafty (in the nicest possible way, of course), I don’t know!
The pockets, lace mesh affects and dried flowers are my favs, but all of your back grounds are quite lovely and will make browsing through your memories a pleasure when you are old and grey!
xx
thanks so much debbie 🙂 I see all of these other projects on pinterest and it makes my projects look like a toddler did them :p
What unique scrapbook pages and SO MUCH FUN for kids! Zoey will love this!