Once you have your pictures you have a few options. You can go the easy way (by internet) or do it yourself (the hard way). Doing it yourself may be harder because you start with nothing at the beginning. But for many, while its more work, it is also more personal.

The nice thing about doing scrapbooking is that you can use anything you want for your album. Stencils, themes, colored or cut paper, pictures, leaves; whatever you feel brings out the right feelings, there are no rules. It is your album and your treasure. If you want your picture to look good down the road then here are a few tips:

1. If you are seriously considering putting your original pictures in your album, look for the paper that mentions acid free. If not youll have a bad surprise one day. All your pictures will have turned yellow or not as sharp. That is a direct cause of the acid.

2. You do not want to waste time making borders? Just use a color printer. But be cautious as there are certain types of ink that can discolor your pictures in the long run.

3. As I mentioned previously there are absolutely no rules when you scrap book and you can use any materials you want even though they pose a risk to your memories. Dont despair however. There is a product called the Archival Spray. Its a spray that goes over your souvenirs and creates a barrier against acid.

Font-free

You might ask what is a font? It's a writing style for digital typing. So font-free means that you will not use a computer on your scrapbook page.

There are so many fonts out that it is easy to find one appealing. However, personal journaling is more personal for a scrapbook. If you don't like your penmanship, there are many options, like stickers and different templates.

First, there are templates; you can find many alphabet templates, in various shapes and sizes. You simply need to choose the more suitable template for your scrap album. Once that is done, you simply have to pencil that letter in as you desire, that's it. This makes a permanent marking.

Secondly, there are stickers; there are many companies out there that make letter stickers, in all shape, size and color. Some even make pre-written statements like ?Happy birthday!!? or ?Congratulation? for the more popular themes. You only have to make sure that they are acid and lignin free and of course that they match your theme.

Thirdly, there are stamps; you can find them in many designs. Plus, you can get archival-quality ink in various colors. Still you have to remember that all products used need to be acid and lignin free, or photo-safe.

Fourthly, there are die-cut designs; which are like stickers, but you need to put your own adhesive. Just like all the products that we mentioned before, you can find them in various designs and they are all available online. Something to keep in mind and that we keep repeating it needs to all be acid and lignin free.

All those materials can be found in crafts stores around the world or on line, but you need to remember that you can do it all yourself and do your own journaling with special none acid and none lignin pens and markers.