Scrapbooking is one of the fastest growing hobbies you can find. But, where and how do you learn how to make a scrapbook? Here are some tips to get started making a scrapbook today.

The thought of scrapbooking can be overwhelming if you have never tried it before. With the ever-growing supply list of scrapbooking accessories, it’s easy to get lost. Use these four simple steps for scrapbooking made easy:

Step 1:  Gather your photos.
If you’re like most, you have photos stored throughout your house. Locate all your pictures that are in boxes, drawers, and wherever else you stash them. Gather every picture you’ve ever taken and make one big pile.

While gathering photos, this is the perfect time to have any digital pictures printed. If you’ve been saving them on a disk, waiting for the right time to have hard copies made, this is the time! If you have rolls of film that’s waiting to be developed, take those with you, too.

Step 2:  Sort through all photos.
Now that your photos are all together in one pile, it’s time to sort. This is the most overwhelming part of scrapbooking that tends to discourage people from creating their scrapbook. Seeing all your precious memories in one heaping mound can feel intimidating. Don’t let it scare you! This step could take up to a few weeks, depending on the size of your picture pile. So take a deep breath and dive in.

There are many ways you can sort your photos. The main idea is to group your pictures together by themes or dates. Some examples of different sort piles you might create are summer vacations, sports activities, school programs, holidays, family outings, birthday parties, etc.

Don’t worry about the number of photos are in each pile. Don’t try to make rhyme or reason of your piles either. It doesn’t matter if you have more photos in one pile than another. Just sort your pictures by theme.

Step 3: Determine your starting point.
Now that all your photos are sorted, it’s time to find your starting point. First, you should determine what kind of scrapbook album you would like to make. Look at your picture collections. Do you see some sort of overall theme? Do you have tons of vacation photos?

Think about what kind of categories you may have to work with. If you have a child, you might start by creating a scrapbook that includes her pictures from birth to age five. Alternatively, if your family travels frequently, you might consider creating a family travels scrapbook and include photos and mementos from your journeys.