By Cherry 2026
Scrapbooking is a really fun hobby where you can make all sorts of messes and try to find the beauty in it and every angle in it, but there are things I learned from years of scrapbooking. My skills and abilities reflect me and how I consume the growing world around me, and from those years of experience, I have taught myself important skills and learned which items were the best to purchase to complete my vision, but most of all, the skills that helped me improve my scrapbooking skills
1. Bad color palette
Don’t use every color on the page; just pick 2-4 main colors. Make sure they complement one another or contrast each other in a way that works, but the trick is not picking more than 4. The struggle with this is to fill in your pages as much as possible, but with very few options, you’ll get frustrated
I do admit, the spirit of junk journaling is to use anything from something you don’t use anymore to put in your book, but I do admit that buying colourful washi tapes (ShopeeMY), buying Japanese sticker books (ShopeeMY), and buying colorful paper does help A LOT. These suggestions may be small, but they will absolutely elevate your page
2. Not knowing how to layer
Although simple layering doesn’t have to be just pasting a bigger shape underneath the object you’re pasting, you can make weird shapes to put behind your little receipts or cute stickers on top of your photos. To make this easier, I’m going to say “main object” to talk about the main object that wants to be layered, for example, stuff like a polaroid photo, a letter, a drawing, or even a candy wrapper.
People usually make it 2 layers (yes I count the main object as a layer), by putting the main object underneath some stickers, washi tapes, or ripped line notes (ShopeeMY), but if you wanna decorate further you can make 3 layers, and the usual technique is by adding decorative papers on the first layer, and then the main object, and then stickers or washi tapes on the third layer. This goes without saying: you can layer as much as you want, cause layering is one of the most fun parts about scrapbooking, but you have to realize layering is what makes scrapbooking pages thick
Here’s a little tip: when layering over the main object, don’t be afraid to cover the main object a little bit, maybe the corner.
As I said in my explanations, you can layer any way you want and any junk you see fit, but the easiest thing to layer without fail is decorative paper (ShopeeMY) or single-color washi tapes (ShopeeMY). These always come as lifesavers, especially the vintage decorative pattern paper (ShopeeMY).
3. Not gluing your pages
Many Scrapbookers will advise you this early on, but after you’re done making a page, you have to glue that page and the next empty page together. In the midst of having fun scrapbooking, you will realize that your book is getting thicker every time you make a new page, and you can take this as a sign of accomplishment or explosion.
YOU READ THAT RIGHT, yes, I recommended layering, but layering too much makes closing the book harder, and for people who don’t glue their pages, the book can just combust. You might be asking, “What should I glue it with ?” Answer? Glue stick. The answer is as simple as a really good glue stick (ShopeeMY). You can also use glue tape (ShopeeMY).
4. Lack courage
Many Scrapbookers will advise you this early on, but after you’re done making a page, you have to glue that page and the next empty page together. In the midst of having fun scrapbooking, you will realize that your book is getting thicker every time you make a new page, and you can take this as a sign of accomplishment or explosion.
YOU READ THAT RIGHT, yes, I recommended layering, but layering too much makes closing the book harder, and for people who don’t glue their pages, the book can just combust. You might be asking, “What should I glue it with ?” Answer? Glue stick. The answer is as simple as a really good glue stick (ShopeeMY). You can also use glue tape (ShopeeMY) or glue paste (ShopeeMY), just don’t make it too wet.
5. Buying terrible writing tools
I can NOT urge you guys to buy good pens. Some will bleed through the paper, or some won’t dry fast enough while writing, so it smudges everything and onto the rest of the pages. So I urge you to buy good pens, or at least choose the best pens for you, but for now, I’ll show you my go-to pens (ShopeeMY).
One of the best reasons to start scrapbooking is that scrapbooking does not need expensive supplies or even artisitic talent to start, cause the most important thing is to have a good ammout of the basic tools to start, just so the start of the scrapbook journey can be enjoyable for you. Don’t worry too much, just have fun and experiment till your heart’s content, cause even if you make an ugly one today, you’ll see that nothing has to be perfect, it just has to be there, so we can see ourselves struggle a little bit. ,