Tools To Start ScrapbookingStart scrapbooking by having the right tools. Here we are going to learn about paper, scissors, pens, adhesives, punches and more. You will need a variety of tools to help you make your scrapbook everything you want it to be.You do not have to buy all your supplies at once. Feel free to borrow from others if you are scrapbooking with them. Add your tools as you can afford to. Once you have tools, you use them over and over again. So if you are going to make alot of scrapbooks and cards, the tools are a very good investment in the long run. When you start scrapbooking the right tools make the job so much more easier and fun.
When you buy any kind of decorative paper, albums, adhesives or pens, make sure that they are acid free. Remember looking at old photo albums and seeing pictures that had yellowed and the photos fell out of the album? That is because none of it was acid free. Acid free adhesives and paper will keep your photos in your album and keep them from turning yellow. The acid free pens will keep the ink from fading over the years. If you are going to go to the effort of making a beautiful album to preserve your memories, make sure that your materials are all acid free.
A paper trimmer will allow you to cut a piece of paper or a picture with a clean straight line in one motion. People who have a hard time cutting a straight line with scissors...love the trimmers! There are all sorts of fancy paper trimmers with ruled edges, paper holders and other features. Some have interchangeable blades. But don't forget the key feature: sharp blades that are safe and easy to use.
On the higher end of the scale, small machines (the Cricket is very popular!) will allow you to feed your paper in and it will cut our words and pictures for you. You will use these to decorate your pages. These machines will allow you to create a dazzling array of die cuts, letters and unique and personalized embellishments. They will make your scrapbook pages to be like no one else's. Most of us didn't start scrapbooking with a die cut machine...it is something to add when you can afford to. (P.S. the best deals can be found on the home shopping networks on t.v.!)
Don't forget to get a stamp pad and some rubber stamps. You can give your scrapbook pages that unique look that anyone will identify with only you. It could be a personally created design, your name, a logo... anything! Go one step further and get embossing powder and a heat tool and you can permanently encode your own personal design onto any of your pages.
Once you start accumulating your scrapbooking supplies, you need somewhere to store them. It is very popular to put them in a suitcase that has wheels. This is especially helpful if you go to scrapbooking parties. Others set aside a room or area of their home so that supplies are easily accessible when they are ready to work. Once again, when you start scrapbooking, the right tools make the project fun and easy!
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Buy Acid Free Supplies 
Most people get and acid free album. But your album does not have to be acid free if your photos are on acid free paper. If you are going to put your photos directly on an album page, then by all means make sure the album is acid free. Cover your finished photo album pages with a clear page protector. Most photo albums come with the page protectors. These page protectors keep finger prints off of the photographs when friends and family are looking through your finished masterpiece.
Paper can be bought in packs or in individual sheets. It is cheaper to buy the packs of paper. Packs of papers can be bought with themes to them. Themes of paper can be pastel colors, bright colors, school themes, sport themes, glitter and so forth. Start scrapbooking, the choices are all yours!
You need an adhesive to make your photos and embellishments stick to your paper. Adhesives come in the form of glue sticks and several choices of tapes. Just use whatever form you are most comfortable with. They all work well.
Basic scissors are a must and they need to be sharp. Have at least one pair of scissors that will cut a straight line. Besides straight scissors, get scissors that will cut a decorative edge. They come in a variety of decorative edges. They allow you to add pretty and unique edges to your paper and pictures. You can buy them individually or in sets. It is usually cheaper to by sets of decorative scissors than individually.
An exacto knife is another indispensable tool. There are times when it is just easier to slice on a board rather than to cut with the scissors. Especially when you are cutting something very detailed. You can expand on your scrapbooking tools by investing in a cutting or trimming board or a mat. This will save your desk or kitchen table from looking like a bunch of airport runways with lines at all angles!
A hole punch is another handy tool for scrapbooking. Hole punches allow you to string ribbon and string through your paper. Ribbons and strings add to how well your pages look.
You will want to invest in a corner rounder. Corner rounders will crop the corners of your photos or papers. Corner rounders can round the corner of a photo (or paper) just by sliding the corner of the photo into it and pushing down. Some corner rounders will even punch out a decorative design. When you are scrapbooking for hours at a time (trust me it is easy to do!) this helps you to have all your corners even.
One of the most important scrapbooking tool is a good set of acid free pens. The pens allow you to journal your memories. Pens come in an array of colors. Start scrapbooking with a good set of pens...you will use them alot. Pens come in thick, thin or fine tips. Stencils and templates are nice to add to your supplies when you start scrapbooking.
Have your stickers match the theme of your pictures. For example if you are working on putting your vacation pictures in an album then get vacation or travel stickers to go along with the pictures. Stickers do not have to be acid free. If however, your sticker is going to touch or sit on a photograph then, the sticker should be acid free. If not, then the non acid free sticker will yellow your photograph over time. Most of us buy acid free stickers when we start scrapbooking just so that we don't have to remember which stickers can touch pictures and which should not. 