The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking in 2026

How do you start scrapbooking? After 25 years of creating layouts and mini albums, teaching classes across the country, and being featured on the cover of Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine, I—Inessa Persekian, founder of Paper & Bling—get asked this question constantly. And I love it every single time.

Scrapbooking is one of the most rewarding creative hobbies you can pick up. It combines art, memory keeping, and storytelling in a way that is deeply personal. Whether you want to preserve your family’s photos, document a big trip, or simply have a creative outlet, scrapbooking can do all of that. It is also a great way to maintain your mental health!

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started—from choosing your first supplies to completing your first page.

What Is Scrapbooking?

Scrapbooking is the practice of arranging photographs, pretty papers, stickers, embellishments, and handwritten or printed journaling into a cohesive, decorative album. A finished scrapbook page—called a “layout”—typically tells a specific story: a birthday, a vacation, a milestone moment, or simply an ordinary Tuesday that you want to remember.

The word “scrapbooking” comes from the tradition of keeping “scrapbooks” where people collected newspaper clippings, letters, and mementos. Modern scrapbooking evolved that into a full art form, with an enormous range of styles from clean and minimal to maximally embellished and sparkly. (You can probably guess which end of that spectrum I tend toward—Paper & Bling exists for a reason!)

Why Scrapbook in 2026?

With phones full of thousands of photos and social media capturing every moment, why does physical scrapbooking still matter? Here is what I’ve learned after 25 years:

• Photos on phones don’t get seen. A scrapbook gets pulled out, held, and shared.
• The act of creating a page forces you to reflect on the memory—journaling it, curating it, making it meaningful.
• A physical album will outlast any cloud service, any phone, any hard drive.
• It is genuinely fun. There’s a reason I’ve been doing it for 25 years and still look forward to every session at my craft table.

What Supplies Do You Need to Start?

You do not need a lot to get started. Here is the honest beginner’s supply list:

The Essentials (Start Here)

• Cutter: A paper trimmer  and a pair of good scissors for clean cuts.
• Adhesive: Adhesive—a tape runner is my top recommendation for beginners. Foam adhesive squares for adding dimension
• Photos: Photographs, either printed at home or at a photo lab.
• Paper: Start with a collection that coordinates with your photo theme and colors. 
• Matching Embellishments: Grab stickers and die cuts for quick, easy embellishing from the same collection as the paper.

I purposely kept this list short. One of the biggest beginner mistakes I see in my classes is buying too much before understanding what you actually love to use. Start simple, learn your style, then expand. It will help keep overwhelm at bay!

Choosing Your Scrapbook Format

Before you buy any supplies, you need to decide on a format. The three most common options are:

• 12x12 page albums: The most popular and versatile. Biggest workspace, most embellishment room, widest product selection. This is where I recommend most beginners start.
• 8.5x11 page albums: Slightly smaller, easier to find non-craft-store protectors, works well for a more journaling-focused or minimal style.
• Mini albums: Smaller, theme-based albums (like a vacation mini or a baby’s first year). A great first project because they’re shorter—you only need 10–15 pages and you can have a completed project.

I sell class kits for my favorite formats (12x12 and mini albums) at paperandbling.com, so if you want to try one with a guided project and all the supplies included, that is a great way to experience the format before committing. You can also find a beginner bundle of my favorite basic supplies.

How to Create Your First Scrapbook Page: A Simple Process

Here is the process I walk my students through for their first layout:

6. Choose one photo (not a collection—just one). Your first page will be cleaner and easier with a single focal image.
7. Choose a color palette from your photo. Pull 2–3 colors from the image and find papers in those tones.
8. Place your photo on a 12x12 sheet of cardstock. Move it around—don’t glue yet. Try it in the upper left, lower right, off-center.
9. Layer a piece of patterned paper underneath or around the photo for visual interest.
10. Add a title. I love using titles included in collections or you can spell it out using alphabet stickers.
11. Embellish lightly. Three to five small embellishments is plenty for a first page.
12. Journal. Write 2–3 sentences about the memory. Don’t overthink it—future-you will be glad you did.
13. Glue everything down when you’re happy with the placement.

Common Beginner Questions

Do I need expensive supplies to make good pages?

No. Some of my first layouts were made with simple cardstock and a few embellishments. Technique and composition matter far more than the price of your supplies. That said, quality paper cuts cleaner and adheres better—it’s worth buying good double sided patterned paper even if everything else is budget-friendly.

What if my page doesn’t look “good’?

Every scrapbooker, including me, has made pages they don’t love. That is part of learning. The only page that truly fails is the one you never make because you were afraid it wouldn’t be perfect. Give yourself permission to learn through doing.

How long does a page take to make?

Beginners often take 1–2 hours per page. As you develop your style and build a supply stash, that can come down to 30–45 minutes. Some of my students—especially in my class kit format—finish a complete layout in 60 minutes flat, which is part of why I love creating classes and kits.

Should I do traditional or digital scrapbooking?

Both are valid. I teach traditional (physical) scrapbooking, and I believe the tactile experience of handling paper and embellishments creates a connection to the memory that digital tools don’t replicate. But if physical supplies are not accessible for you, digital scrapbooking is a wonderful alternative.

Ready to start your first project? My class kits at paperandbling.com include everything you need—pre-curated supplies, a video tutorial, and a layout template—so you can go from “I’ve never done this” to “I made something beautiful” in one afternoon. You can also find a basic supplies started kit here: BASIC SUPPLIES KIT