I really love the scrapbook pages that you have shared on your blog in the past. I’ve recently become obsessed with scrapbooking, and I’m trying to invest in some good tools. One thing I would like to get is a good home printer/scanner for printing/scanner for pictures. Do you have any suggestions you could share with me?

In the time it will take me to respond to this, I easily could have created a new scrapbook. I try to make one once a year, or my “year in review of two.” I’ll first say, there’s something to be said for a year-end video montage–my father still watches the one I made last year of the radishes. Do they take time to create? Hell, yes. But they’re worth it. And so are scrapbooks. Aside from Adobe Photoshop, here are a few of my favorite supplies:

HP Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer It’s wide-format makes feeding scrapbook papers in easy, plus you can print wide photos without having to cut them later. I use it to print all our photos around the house. The all-in-one printer/scanners I’ve owned have always broken on me, so I prefer a proper scanner (Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner) wide enough to accommodate scrapbook pages, so they’re always stored digitally.

This isn’t the most eye-catching of materials, but there’s something to be said for adhesives. These are my go-to moves: Scotch Pop-Up Foam Squares and Fabric Adhesive Stick

To add a bit of flair not just to pages but to actual photos, I rely on punches, which are quick, easy, and readily available without much forethought or planning. It almost looks like you’ve knit a delicate eyelet stick onto the edge of your papers and photos, giving them this timeless feel–so simple, but just a nice touch. Also included here is the ribbon punch, which creates evenly spaced slits, so it’s easy to weave a ribbon through a photo or card, which is nice when you want to keep things simple and just embellish with a single ribbon (Embossing Border Punch, Extra Large Craft Punch, Shape Templates). When I’m at a loss for words (moi?), I just print a single word, song lyrics, or a quote on transparency paper and attach it to a photo.

My absolute favorite scrapbooking tool is my Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter (I got it for Mother’s Day a few years ago). Many of the rock star packaging materials I find on etsy can actually be made with this sucker. I’m all for supporting other artists, but if you want to make something personalized, this is the machine for it. It’s a personal die-cutting unit that hooks up to your computer, “printing” anything you see on your computer. For example, I can take a photograph of Lucas & Abigail, feed it into my Silhouette, then on my computer I can pick my favorite font, and write “Best Friends” or something equally as vomit-inducing, “cut” and the photo of the radishes will then be shaped like the words. I love it! It makes the best gift tag cards for holidays… and basically does it all. Love it like the scrapbook nerd that I am. I used the Silhouette to create the “Giving Thanks” print above, then attached it to the paper with the pop-up foam squares I mentioned earlier.

Ooh, also, I have the Xyron 9″ Creative Station, which enables me to apply adhesive, laminate, and magnet to any item up to 9″ wide… which just makes things way more fun in bed. But, bigger is always better, so if I had to choose now, I’d go for the big daddy.

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