Scrapbooking Supplies – 10 Must-Have Scrapbooking Supplies For the Beginner Scrapbooker

If you’re just starting your scrapbooking journey, the range of scrapbooking supplies can seem crazy. It can be confusing (and expensive!) knowing what you really need.

However, you don’t really need everything when you’re just starting out. You can gradually build up your scrapper’s kit as you go but to start we recommend the following 10 ‘must-have’ items as the basics:

#1 Card Stock

Good quality, acid-free card stock (or pasteboard) is used as the background for every scrapbooking page. The range of sizes and colors is vast and can be purchased as a single sheet or in cheaper bulk packs. When buying card stock it is a lot cheaper to purchase multi packs of 10-50 in colors you will normally use.

#2 Patterned Papers

Lightweight patterned papers bring your scrapbooking alive with their vast range of designs and colors. Scrapper’s use them along with the background card stock as well as for photo mats, lettering etc..

#3 Paper Trimmer

A paper cutter (we recommended a 12 inch one) will become indispensable to your scrapping. They can either be guillotine style or rotary and both will cut papers more precisely than using scissors. A paper cutter will speed up the cutting and give you a much more professional finish than scissors.

#4 Scissors

No scrapper is complete without a pair of medium-sized, good quality scissors for detail work such as die cutting, cutting letters from stencils etc. Buy a great quality pair, keep them away from the kids(!) and you will have them for many years to come.

#5 Adhesives

What you prefer to use for adhesives is up to you and the project you are working on. You can choose from glue dots, double sided tape, photo stickers etc. Whichever one you choose, be sure to check that it is specifically for scrapbooking ie: acid free. NB: Never use the clear gel gum paste from the kids’ craft box as it is not likely to be acid free!

#6 Pens for Journaling

The written notes on a scrapbook page is called journaling. Choose acid-free markers with a fine tip – black is usually the most useful color to start with.

#7 Stencils/Templates

Templates/Stencils are a guide for you trace your own letters, shapes etc. You can trace onto the scrapbook page (or paint over, emboss etc) or trace onto card and cut out the shape to be added to the page.

#8 Sketches/Layouts

Beginners often find they have their supplies but don’t know where to start which is where sketches come in. A layout sketch is a plan for your page which you then ‘fill in’ as you wish. You can buy books of sketch plans/layouts online or search for free ones.

#9 Album

Your finished pages are stored in an album. There is a huge range of albums available and if you’re really keen to add that personal touch, you could even make your own.

#10 Page Protectors

Page/sheet protectors sit between each page of your finished album. They protect your finished pages from dirt and dust as well as preventing photos from sticking to one another. They might not be as exciting as other supplies but they are very important.