Thrifty Scrapbook Backgrounds

Magazines

Magazines are an excellent reusable resource for scrapbookers! You can use complete photos or just clippings of the photo and/or advertisements. It is also fun to use blocks of text from magazines in a background layout. You could use just one word or several. It is an excellent idea to use cut out words from magazines and combine with other text to make a background pop out at the viewer.

A colorful or patterned page in a magazine can be used as the entire scrapbook background. Be sure to use double-sided adhesive tape with the magazine photos, because ordinary glue seldom works with glossy pages.

Wrapping Paper

Do you hate to see all of the lovely holiday wrapping papers get thrown out? Recycle it and keep the used wrapping paper for making a scrapbook background. Wrapping paper makes perfect background pages, because it depicts a certain occasion not just for Christmas and birthdays but also for Valentine’s Day, weddings, and christenings. Some wrapping papers have cartoon character prints so you cut out random images for your scrapbook page, and use them for a child’s themed scrapbook.

Print Outs

Perhaps you receive colorful children’s school projects, company presentations, or your own prints of recipes, articles, brochures, etc. Before you throw them away, take a closer look. You could keep them, or parts of them, and use them for your scrapbook backgrounds. You can mix and match colorful print outs with your photographs to make an amazing layout.

Old Encyclopedias or Books

You can create a vintage or antique look for your scrapbooks by utilizing pages and words from old dictionaries, encyclopedias, and old books. These pages are perfect for classic or vintage themed scrapbooking because sometimes the pages might be naturally aged from sitting on a bookshelf or in a box. I have also used old books from second hand bookstores.

News Papers

The newsprint material for a newspaper is easy to age, just crumple it, and age by smudging the ink, and then writing on them. Be careful of the acid content of the paper that you use, and do not put paper you are uncertain about near your photographs. Strips of newspaper on the sides of your pages are a great way of adding that aged effect. Also, you can burn a tiny part of the edge of your paper to make it look old. Tear, instead of cut, clippings and words for a different effect.

Maps

I do not know about you, but it seems like I always have a map stuck here or there, either from a trip, vacation, or even city maps! These are excellent for a cover page, because they are made of thicker, more resilient paper. But you can use bits and pieces of a map throughout the album, also. Maps are a great background choice.

With a little bit of imagination with the layouts and using the simplest embellishments found around your house, you can have a beautifully created scrapbook without spending a fortune.