Customer Reviews

Creative Photo Cropping for Scrapbooks (Memory Makers)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are still new to scrapbooking and have discovered this book, I envy you. There's no telling how much better my early pages would have been if I had read Creative Photo Cropping for Scrapbooks (CPCS) first. I probably would have saved a lot of money also, for example, by learning how to display my photographs in a way that kept them interesting but didn't rely on buying a lot of decorative accents and fancy papers.

After a short section in the beginning about the tools and basics of cropping photographs, the techniques shown quickly lead to more creative ideas. Techniques covered include: cropping frames into the photo, silhouettes, innovative ways to integrate punches into the action, shapes from templates or freehand, twenty-six ways to make letters from photos, using other photographs as mats and borders, photo mosaics and quilts, weaving, and leaded glass effects. It should be emphasized that these are all things that do not take a lot of artistic talent or training; however, when you feel inspired to try for a certain look or two, you may find yourself changing the way you take your pictures from the start.

One great thing about creative photo cropping, IMHO, is that you are not rushing to the scrapbook store every time you decide to try a different technique with your pictures. The most-used tools in your supply box will be scissors, adhesive, a xacto knife, a straightedge metal ruler and a cutting mat. True, some of these layouts ideas call for templates. The book provides three such templates for enlarging with a photocopier, and several cutting patterns as well. The reader may even be inspired to try some freehand pattern drafting. Scrapbooking with the methods in this book is very easy on the wallet.

Basically, I love this book. My layouts are better and cleaner, and I am inspired by CPCS to focus on the real stars of the pages - the photos themselves.

-Andrea, aka Merribelle

I just received this book a couple days ago and it is absolutely worth the money! I don't have a lot of money to spend on scrapbooking stuff and this book gives so many ideas that dont require expensive tools! (you can use simple scissors for all of the ideas) Each page is full of easy, fun ways to make your pages look absolutely spectacular!! I am so glad that I bought this book and I recommend it to everyone.

This is a great book for ideas. Reading through its pages really gave me some great ideas for using several rolls of film I'd taken of a long weekend trip. The ideas for cropping your pictures are innovative and unique. I found my creative juices really flowing after reading this book. Highly recommended. See also: Memory makers Embellishments!

I got this book at the public library and I've really enjoyed looking through it! There are lots of GREAT ideas in here. However, most of these techniques aren't for beginning scrapbookers (like me).

I did pick up some helpful tips, but please be aware that much of this book is about creating a piece of ART from your cropped pictures. While I loved some of the looks, many of them are so elaborate that take away from the picture which I've always felt should be the focal point of the scrapbook page.

The author does include some basic information on reproducing your pictures for cropping (scanning, using Kodak Picture Maker, getting prints from negatives, taking a picture of a picture, color copying, etc) and also there are good instructions of some basic techniques such as framing and silhouetting. I really like the looks of the partial silhouette on page 34 and this is something I might actually try.

At the end, there are some techniques which require real artistic ability, in my opinion - at least some good technical and proportional drawing skill! There are also some interesting-looking layouts using illusions and even some where there are animal heads on people's bodies and vice versa. While these are interesting to look at, I wouldn't put this kind of layout in my scrapbook! But to each his own!

Happy Scrappin'!

Since scrapbooking is ultimately about the photos, this book hits the mark. Putting your photos on a page has never before been so intriguing! This book is not about what color mat to put under your photos or how to align them on a page- it's about how to transform your photos into works of art, even the shots that did not come out so well. From the whimsical to the elegant, there are techniques in this book to help you design the most interesting and unusual pages. And best of all, for most of the projects you don't really need a lot of fancy tools or purchased accessories- just scissors and glue. And, though I am a crafty type, I don't like to do projects that are too fancy and involved, and this book only has a few truly advanced projects ( like kaleidoscopes, which also require you to develop multiple and reversed copies of your prints). I would suggest this book to any scrapper out there who wants to add intriguing images to your pages.

I bought this book as a gift for my sister-in-law and fellow scrapbooker. Well, after browsing through it quickly, I could not resist looking deeper and studying the ideas presented. Now I had to break down and buy my own copy. The ideas shown here, are so much more than your typical scrapbook page embellishments such as stickers, papers, frames and mats. This is how to make your photos into works of art. The techniques shown here make the pictures the center of attention. I find that when I do these kinds of pages, I get great results with just a simple hand drawn border.

You may need to buy a few new tools to do these kinds of techniques, but I find this to be such an investment over buying more stickers, papers, etc. These pages really wow people, and once I made the initial investment, they are actually cheaper to do.

I especially love the sections on mosaic pages, slicing pictures and using a photo to frame itself. This book is my all time favorite right now...

While I enjoyed looking through this book for the ideas, I found that most of the techniques were very advanced - particularly cutting out images with a craft knife. While anyone CAN do that, it takes alot of practice to be able to make such clean-looking cuts.

Many beautiful pages and unique ideas, but not for a beginning scrapbooker such as myself.

I had not run out to buy this book when I first heard of it, having learned--finally!--that just because I scrap doesn't mean I need EVERY new thing that comes along. The cover suggested such basic things as silhouetting, which was not news to me.

Then, others in one of the online scrapping communities began to sing its praises. So many that I decided to just go ahead and get it anyway. I'm glad I did.

Indeed, some of the old stand-bys are present, such as silhouetting, but some of the ideas are completely unique. Some will even challenge the reader to look at day to day things and photograph them differently, just to try some of the techniques shown. As an example, some of the techniques involved multiple prints in b/w, color and sepia, artfully cut and arranged like a puzzle to create an arresting scene. Others showed scenes taken from the same vantage point throughout the day, then cut into strips and woven into a composite.

Many of the techniques are ones that have become familiar, but are shown here with a slightly different twist, such as photo mosaic layouts and self-framing of the photo. Long time readers of Memory Makers will recognize some of the layouts shown on some pages, which is a pet peeve of mine when I purchase a book created by a magazine publisher, but there are so many new ideas to wake up tired layouts, I have decided to overlook this little flaw.

The techniques range from those that can easily perk up any layout to some that the scrapbook artist will use sparingly, as a personal challenge. Not every techniqe will please everyone, but there is enough variety within the pages of this book to get any of us motivated to stretch our layout designs every so often!

This book is for those who like to try innovative cropping techniques. I'm a beginner in scrapbooking and it is not so difficult to try. The samples are excellent source for inspirations and by just looking at the color samples, I can say "wow." I like the idea of using leftover photo scraps and turn them into mosaic pieces. Bad photos can turn into a piece of art. The book gives a variety of ways of cropping not limited to using templates. Start with a sharp cutting tool (razor or scarpel), cutting/healing mat and a metal ruler and away you go. The book also asks you to send in your artwork - perhaps it maybe be featured in a Memory Makes issue. An excellent reference book.

I have looked and wasted so much money buying scrapbooking books here and there for these tiny bits of "goodness" in them. When this book arrived I realized I finally found a true inspiration book - no fluff, no fillers, no really basic-how-to-scrapbook instructions. Everytime I open this book I become entralled with the examples....(Ooohhh, I NEED to do that next time...WAAYY TOO COOL!).

If you are a beginning scrapbooker - this book is not for you. The methods of cutting or cropping are better left to those who've gained experience with cropping photos and using a paper trimmer. A better book for you would be Scrapbooking for Dummies (covers a wide variety of basics) or a class.

However, if you treat your paper trimmer like a third arm and are quite comfortable with it - you've got to get this book! Well worth the price even at full retail!