Customer Reviews

Getting the Most from Your Scrapbook Tools (Memory Makers)

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

 

 

Memory Makers is a well known name in scrapbooking as their magazine is one of the firsts in the industry. The folks at Memory Makers have a reputation to maintain, which they clearly understand.

The concept behind this book is to offer ideas and inspiration to get you to look at your collected tools with a fresh eye. As the craft of scrapbooking progresses and new trends emerge, a common problem is to have an array of tools that seem old and boring. This book is designed to show you how a number of tools you already own can be used to provide fresh results.

For the beginner scrapbooker, this book will offer the justification for buying those supplies you've been coveting. You'll find a second project idea for almost every tool you want to purchase.

For the experienced scrapper (6 years for me) this book may be a disappointment if you expect too much. Of course, a lot depends on whether you own the particular tools they are showcasing and what your scrapbooking style is. In my instance, I found about 50% of the book offered me ideas I had not imagined. And that's not bad, but admit I was looking for more from such a trusted source.

This book is well photographed with clearly understood directions for duplicating the projects.

One of the reasons I enjoy Memory Makers magazine is the same reason I love this book. When they show you anything from a layout to a technique, they always have clear instructions in how to accomplish it. Some of the more popular books, magazines, etc. spend more time in telling which products are used and not how to use the items to create.

This book is beautifully photographed and contains updated uses for most tools you may have or intend to buy. All of the instructions are clear and accurate. Granted, I have been scrapping for about a year and some of this may not be as fresh and new to long timers as it is to me. Still, because of the reasons I mentioned, I believe this one deserves the 5 stars for rating.

It is obvious that the authors of the articles contained within this book know their stuff.

I've just gotten into scrapbooking, and was a bit confused by some of the tools and materials on the market. This book provides a good review of scrapbooking tools and their use. Most of this material is taken for granted in magazines, and this book fills in the gaps.

The pages and projects shown in this book are very attractive, but I'm a complete newcomer to scrapbooking and the tools used. I'd hoped for a guide to how to USE the all these new gizmos, complete with helpful tricks and cautions, step-by-step instructions and lots of how-to photographs - not ideas about more things to make with them. Since I'm new and have no experience with this equipment, I can't even give an example of the sort of helpful tips I was seeking. Sigh! I expect I'll have more appreciation for all the lovely project ideas once I've actually gotten some successful experience with my new tools through trial and error. I'd hoped to avoid the 'error' part of that process with the help of this book ...

I purchased this as a gift for my Mom. I did take the opportunity to look through it before I wrapped it and I was very pleased. This isn't a fancy book with impossible techniques. It is a good book for getting fresh ideas for the common tools most of us have, as scrapbookers. I think, after a while, we sometimes run low of fresh ideas and this is a good book to help you start simple to get fresh perspectives.

`Memory Makers' magazine has put together a good book for scrapbooking beginners like myself because it shows the basic tools every scrapbooker needs, and it gives illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to create over seventy sample pages using the tools. There is also a section on care and storage of your tools.

The book itself is divided up into chapters on "Cutting Tools," "40 Shape Cutters, Punches, Die Cuts," "66 Stencils, Templates, Decorative Rulers," "Additional Page Instructions," "Supply List for Pages," and an index.

Advanced scrapbookers who already have a hobby room full of tools and paper probably don't need this book, although even an expert can get some cute ideas from the colorful examples that fill almost every page. I was especially motivated by the authors' clever use of parchment, spirographs, and 3-D metal embellishments using a shape template.

"Getting the Most from Your Scrapbook Tools" has put me well on the road to creating a memory book for my sister on the theme of our last California vacation. We decided to make gifts for each other this Christmas (because of the recession), and I can't think of anything she'd appreciate more than a book full of happy, personal memories.

I have a hard time being creative and I thought this book was excellent because it showed me to how to use the tools I already have in new ways that I'd never thought of. Scrapbooking is a big investment and if you can find a way to use what you own without having to buy more expensive supplies, then it's a big money saver. I thought this was one of the better books on scrapbooking. Every time the author demonstrated a new way to use a tool, I thought "That's so easy! Why didn't I think of that??" I would definetly recommend this book, especially to someone just getting started and doesn't have a lot of tools.