The substance to scrapbooking is the pictures and items that you have collected from a moment in time that you want to capture forever. Whether it is a day out with the family or the birth of your first child having those treasured pictures and memorabilia displayed in this way will give it a unique and tangible memoir.

The photos are probably the most important part of any project but you will also need an album to display those photos in. It is down to each individual which size scrapbook you choose, the most popular being 12 x 12 or 8 x 8 because there is a vast amount of beautiful paper available for these album sizes.

Depending on how many pages you intend to create it is always worth purchasing some additional refills because once you get started you will not be able to stop. The refills will protect your pages and keep them in prime condition.

Because scrapbooking involves a substantial amount of cutting a good pair of scissors is a must. Never purchase cheap ones as this is one item you really need to spend out on as they can mean the difference between a perfect cut and a tatty looking page.

The paper itself can be purchased from most craft shops and online. You will need to purchase a variety of designs as no page should be the same, you will also need various contrasting papers for matt and layering and other variations of scrapbooking.

Adhesive is also essential, there are many different types of adhesive that serve different purposes, for instance the type of adhesive you use to attach your paper may not work with vellum if you decide to use that as well. Your adhesive collection will grow as you move on to more complex projects and before you know it you will have an adhesive for every occasion.

The most important thing when purchasing any scrapbooking materials and supplies is to make sure it is acid free this will make the pages last longer and stop them from deteriorating over time.

Above all do not rush your projects, if you have a photo and can not think how to create a page for it set it aside and try something else, an idea will come to you when you least expect it and before you know it you will be creating the perfect scrapbook page.