- Cropping each photo with the paper cutter / trimmer: your photos will end up different sized rectangles and squares. That’s quite fine. More about cropping later on.
- Placing the photos in chronological order for the "story" that the scrapbook will tell.
- Grouping photos that belong together on each page.
- Selecting a background color for each set of photos for each page.
- Placing the photos into a page protector with your selected color. Don’t use both sides of the cardstock, because it becomes too hard to shuffle and re-order the pages. Don't worry about arranging the photos on the page yet.
- Putting the page protectors back in the binder in the correct order.
Now you have your photos on their pages in the correct order for your first draft. Go back and flip through the pages. Is the order correct to tell the story you want to tell?
Full page memorabilia is put in their own page protectors and inserted into the binder at the correct point to tell your story. If any memorabilia or document is priceless I make a color photocopy.
For smaller pieces of memorabilia, they and background piece of cardstock go in the proper place in the binder. I like to mix smaller photos and paper keepsakes on the same page, especially a photo that includes the item and a person.
Now the first draft of your scrapbook is done !
