Scrapbooking Basics

Scrapbooking is a visual art. We all want our pages to look good. Granted there is more to scrapbooking than just the pictures, we still want our items to look their best. No matter what type of visual endeavor we try, there are basic principles that define it. In endeavors such as painting, photography, home design, home decor, graphic design, and other visual arts there are terms and concepts that apply to it. It is putting study to what makes things look good. What makes something visually pleasant when we look at it. Granted we all have some variance in what looks good. However, I think reviewing these principles will be a starting place. Each week, we plan to discuss some of the basic terms and concepts as they relate to the scrapbooking or other paper arts & crafts that we do.

I hope most of you will find useful information in the posts. I hope that it will be a learning experience, even for some of the more experienced people. I especially hope it will be helpful to those of you feeling scared or insecure about scrapbooking and increase your confidence as you look your work in this way. It is not specifically scrapbooking 101, but it is the basis of all artistic design and a methodology to learn how to put together even better work. Think of it as the structure of the project.

Starting next week, we will start the discussions on this subject. Be on the watch for posts about principles of design such as balance, harmony, contrast, dominance, movement and unity. Once we see how that goes, we will see about discussing visual design elements such as line, shape, form, value, color and texture. Be sure to give us your thoughts!