Hey all,

I've been doing some Catching up again and read one of Ali's newsletters again. She's been talking about Essentials. What's essential to you for scrapping? The challenge she sent us, is:

What are your essentials? If you had to get rid of everything and just keep a modest amount, what would be on your list? The challenge this week is easy: draft up a list of your essentials. What do you reach for time after time?

This shouldn't be too hard to do.........

1. Solid Cardstock
If you've seen several of my layouts you'll see I'm a bit like James. I'm not "into" overdoing with embellishments and patterned papers. Usually I use solid cardstocks. Since I'm using quite a lot of photos on my layout I prefer not to have many patterns with them, so as not to distract the attention away from the photos. The solid cardstocks work best to keep the attention on the photos and the journaling, exactly where I want the attention to be.

2. Journaling pen
As you can see on many of my layouts, I'm very fond of journaling. Hidden, in plain view, standing alone or with photos, I'm convinced that journaling is very important in an album. And for that I do need pens! I usually start writing straight with my pen, no pencils first......

3. Glue-itt rollers
Usually I use the "Glue-Itt" rollers from Pritt to attach everything to my layouts. In certain cases, when I know that a certain item will be turned frequently or an item is heavy, I will use something else. I've tried several glue rollers and other products like glue in a tube and the glue sticks, but none of them work as good for me as the Glue rollers do. I prefer them above everything else! I've also tried glue rollers from other brands than Pritt, but I didn't like them. That's why I decided to stick with the Pritt roller.

4. Double sided tape
In case I want to include something interactive (read: sliding out, flipping or something else) I usually turn to double sided tape. That way I know for sure that everything I want to include will stick to the layout, instead of falling off.

5. Trimmer
For cutting papers I'm using the Fiskars 12" trimmer. I really love this tool! The only time I don't use it, is when I need to cut something in a circle shape or an odd angle or something like that. All the other times I think the trimmer is IDEAL for cutting my cardstock to the right size!

Well, I think these are my true Essentials. Of course this may evolve in the future, just like my Manifesto, but that's okay! Things don't need to stay the same always!

What are your essentials when it comes to scrapbooking? Let me know!

Talk to you later!