In recent years, scrapbooking has become an extremely popular hobby for women (and men) all over the world. While it’s been around for ages, scrapbooking has evolved from a way to show off photographs and movie ticket stubs into a way to express yourself and free the artist within you, all while preserving your memories for generations to come.

Scrapbooking is no longer construction paper and tape or just putting your photos in an album. Now you’ll find that there are scrapbook stores all over the country, thousands of products to choose from, and techniques to learn to make the most of the art of scrapbooking!

Basic Supplies
While many scrapbookers can easily fill an entire room with all of their scrapbooking tools and supplies, there are a few items that are essential. To create pages you will need some or all of the following items:

Paper trimmer – Since many papers come in only 12″ x 12″, you will often need to be able to trim a sheet of paper down from this size. A 12″ paper trimmer is recommended whether you scrapbook in 12″ x 12″ albums or 8 ½” x 11″ albums. Heavy duty desktop paper trimmers are wonderful if you have the space for them, but you can also purchase smaller portable trimmers that are great for going to crops and keeping your supplies manageable.

Scissors – A pair of small, sharp scissors is important in order to cut smaller pieces and to have greater control over your cuts. Hold off on buying decorative scissors until you have a specific layout to use them. While they certainly have their uses and can make wonderful designs and embellishments, most scrapbookers regret cutting their photos with decorative scissors.

Adhesives – Each type of adhesive is appropriate for different needs. You will probably want to have a selection of adhesives to use for your layouts. A liquid glue pen is good for adhering small pieces, a strong liquid glue is good for larger and bulkier embellishments, photo squares work well for adhering photos, and repositionable glue dots adhesives are great when you want to move your elements around.

Acid Free Black Pen -Eventually you’ll want to have a collection of pens and colors, but a black pen is a must right from the beginning! It’s used for outlining, journaling, titles and drawing details.

Album and Page Protectors – Choose an album and corresponding page protectors in the size you wish to use. Albums typically come in the following sizes; 12″ x 12″, 8 ½” x 11″, 8″ x 8″, and 5″ x 7″. Buy page protectors designed for the album you buy to be sure that they will fit correctly.

Other supplies can be purchased as you go, such as papers, templates, stickers, die cuts, and embellishments. To save money, it’s best to buy supplies with specific pages in mind, so that you don’t buy things you won’t use.

This handful of supplies will get you started, and on your way to creating fantastic scrapbook pages.
About the Author
Andrea Steed is the author and creator of Scrap Tutor, a web site and CD-ROM that teaches you how to create scrapbooks and how to perform many popular techniques used in scrapbooking. For more information, visit www.scraptutor.com.

Pick Your Time
The best time to cut your baby’s nails is when he is most calm. Many people suggest doing it while your baby is in a deep sleep because they will hopefully not move. Sometimes however a baby will wake up or flex making it a close call with the clippers. Others attempt to cut their babies nails while they are distracted, for instance when they are nursing. If your baby is intent on eating his meal, he may not care so much that you are playing with his hand. Your baby’s already soft nails will be softest right after a bath, so cutting them during a nursing session after their bath, before bed may work for some.

Pick Your Tool
There are many different items you can use to cut your baby’s nails. There are small clippers that were invented just for your baby; there are also small, round-tipped scissors that were created to easily cut a baby’s nails. You can even use a file to file down your baby’s nails. It is really an issue of trial and error. You try out each option and figure out which one works best for you and your baby.

Biting Your Baby’s Nails
One way many people “cut” their baby’s nails is by biting them off. Some people say this is easier and safer, reducing all risk of accidentally cutting your baby. It is something that can be done most conveniently during feeding when you can hold your baby’s hand in yours and take care of the task while they are otherwise occupied.

Accidents Happen
Chances are, at least once in your young baby’s life, you will accidentally cut him. He will move right as you are snipping and it will get his skin, or cut the nail too close to the quick. When this happens don’t feel bad about it. Remember, it isn’t the first time this has happened to a baby and it won’t be the last. Babies get over pain very quickly and with a little kissing from you, the cut will be forgotten by your little one. You will probably feel bad about cutting your baby, much longer than your baby will hurt from the cut.

Ask For Help
If you have a particularly wiggly worm, don’t be afraid to wait to cut your baby’s nails until you have someone around to help you with it. You may need someone there to help hold down your baby or distract him while you cut his nails. Keeping your baby’s nails short is important so they don’t hurt themselves, so doing whatever it takes, even if it means waiting for help, is what matters in the end.