Most people who enjoy the art of scrapbooking spend a lot of time and money creating each page, so it's a real letdown when you're almost finished with a page and you make a mistake. Goofs happen; it's part of life, and no matter how careful you are, you will make a few in every album. However, there are steps you can take to prevent accidents from happening and ways in which you can fix your album so that nobody knows the difference.

The most common way to ruin a page, as with a shirt or a rug, is by spilling something on it. It's not something you think about a lot of the time, but protect your work by keeping food and drink separate from your crafting station. Make sure your family knows that rule as well, or your child may set a cup near your things, right where you're bound to not notice it and knock it over, potentially destroying hours of work. Also, immediately put your pages into page protectors when they are finished. Most albums come with these plastic protectors, but in case you run out, have a back up plan. I like to keep extra page protectors in a binder, and use them to store pages until I can buy a refill pack that will fit my album. This will help keep your pages safe from spills and messy hands.

Other mistakes come from human error when creating the pages. Always check your spelling before you begin journaling. It's a good idea to write it out on a piece of scrap paper before you write it on your scrapbooking paper. Write your words on the paper before gluing it to the page if possible; that way, if you make a mistake you can start over without having to ruin the whole page. If it is necessary to glue the paper down first, before you do so, cut another piece of the same paper the exact same size, using the first as a template. If you make a spelling error, you can easily glue the second piece of paper over the first and no one will be able to tell. Other mistakes made when journaling, such as stray marks, can be covered with stickers or die cuts.

Be open to reworking your design. It is easy to mistakenly lay a picture or embellishment in the wrong place, off center, or crooked. Make the most of the goof-often times you will be surprised that the new look is actually better than the original. If all else fails carefully cut each element from the background sheet and start again. At least this way you only ruined one piece of paper instead of multiple pictures and embellishments. If you find that your hands are unsteady and you often mislay elements, you might want to invest in removable tape or glue. You can easily reposition these kinds of adhesives, so you'll make fewer mistakes.

Try to laugh at your own mistakes when they are unfixable. Scrapbooks are homemade, so they will never be perfect. That is part of the charm of the craft. Blunders are often avoidable or fixable, but those that are not only give your album character.