The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Scrapbooking

by Wendy Smedley, Alpha Group

You're no idiot, of course! You know that, in the end, our lives are really just scrapbooks--bits and pieces of our past, lovingly stitched together to become an emotional archive of who we are. But when it comes to assembling your photos and mementos into a valuable heirloom, you feel like you'll never have anything more elaborate than a tacky photo album. Don't scrap the idea yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Scrapbooking shows you all you need to know to create a scrapbook you'll cherish forever... and that won't cut-and-paste away your time or money. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the second edition at a thrift shop, so while it's definitely outdated, I knew that going in and still managed to learn a lot.

There was quite a but of explanation about film cameras, but since I used them without knowing how they worked, I found it very educational. This book wouldn't be much help with picking a digital camera, although it does briefly mention them.

I learned quite a bit about how to make long-lasting, photo-safe scrapbooks, so it's a solid read for a beginner. My main complaint is that many pictures/templates are hard to see in black-&-white. There's a center section with a few color examples of completed scrapbook pages, but I really think all of the examples used in the book should be. Bad decision on idiot's guide's part, as I would have rated it much higher if it was better quality.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book as the basis for my Scrapbooking Basics class at Barnes & Noble University. Very comprehensive and well-rounded overview of the scrapbooking hobby. Useful reference book full of resources!

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good detail, tips and tricks. Wish there was more samples and more colour but overall a great starter book to scrapbooking and I am sure many senior scrapbookers could find tricks as well :)

[Laura]

An alright overview, but the book was dated. I wrote down some of the timeless, good ideas and suggestions.