Episode 38: 10 Fun Scrapbooking Trends

(music). Welcome to the ScrapHappier Podcast, where we share quick tips, tricks, and techniques to help you create scrapbooks you love and be happier while doing it. I’m your host, Alice Boll. We have the best topic for today. I’m so glad you’re joining me. We’re going to talk about 10 fun scrapbooking trends. You know how the trends are, sometimes it’s something that hangs out for a while, sometimes it’s a flash in the pan, sometimes you’re stuck, wondering, and scratching your head to try to figure out what was the deal with all of those llamas.

Number one. And I’m trying not to cheat here, but this is kind of a cheat because it’s technically not a scrapbooking thing, it’s more card making. But right now, slimline design cards are super hot. A slimline design card will fit into a regular business mailing envelope. It’s three and a half by eight and a half inches. We’re seeing slimline design cards all over Instagram right now. And the worst part about these cards is because they’re so long and narrow, or tall and narrow, they can be rather hard to photograph and make them look nice. So I see people getting really creative. So definitely watch for slimline cards, watch for all of the dyes, stencils, and embellishments that are being created for slimline cards right now. And maybe try making a slimline card so that you get in on this hot current trend.

Number two is probably cheating a little bit, but I promise after this, they’re actually for scrapbooking. Number two are the Zebra Mildliner Pens. Now, we’re all familiar with highlighter pens. We use them in our office work, we use them to highlight our textbooks, but have you seen the mildliners. Mildliners are highlighters, but made in a lot more attractive colors. They tend to be less fluorescent and more appealing to a more discerning palette. I was introduced to mildliners pens through planners, and I absolutely loved the effect that I could make, because they’re less in your face. And it made my planners look really, really pretty. Even though, my planners are more of a work tool than a pretty decorated planner.

If you decide to go down the route of the mildliners, then you’re going to be wanting some pens that have absolutely no bleed. And I have found two that I really love, they have zero bleed. And one is the Copic Multiliner Pen, which you can get in different size points, like 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8. And then I also use a Sarasa Mark On Pen. These Mark On pens are amazing, and I highly recommend them. They feel like a regular ballpoint pen, but they dry and don’t bleed at all when using the mildliners.

Number three is Farmhouse. Everything Farmhouse is still super cool and really popular. I was surprised to see how strong the Farmhouse feel is sticking in the scrapbooking world right now. But I definitely appreciate it since I am full on Crazy Chicken Lady since pandemic started. And this Farmhouse effect has also transferred into the Simple Vintage Collections. We see them from Simple Stories. They’ve come out with multiple Simple Vintage Collections, Simple Vintage Garden District, Traveler, Great Escape, North Pole, Coastal, Cottage Fields, Ancestry, and most recently the Simple Vintage of Farmhouse Garden.

For number four, let’s talk about the Spectrum Noir Triblend Pens. These pens have made alcohol markers so much fun for me. I had tried COPIC markers, I had tried alcohol markers, and I thought, “Wow, these are sure complicated. I don’t think this is for me.” But what I have discovered is that there is an easier way, and that is the Triblend Pens. They’re called a Triblend because each pen actually has three different shades of the right color all together in one pen. And that right there, made all the difference for me. I could color in the image with the light color, add a little bit of dark shadow, add a little bit of medium shadow, go back with the light color. And it was like a magical coloring experience where it actually worked out perfectly, because I didn’t have to figure out which shades needed to mix together.

Triblends are super great for card making, but actually I am bringing them into my scrapbooking pages and it is so much fun. So if you’ve ever struggled finding the right color blends with alcohol markers and thought, “Nope, this is just too complicated.” Then you might want to give Triblends a consideration.

Number five are Gnomes. We are still seeing Gnomes everywhere. It is so funny. They hit the scrapbooking world over a year ago, and yet they are still coming on strong. And I think they’re totally adorable. I love seeing them in some of the collections. I love how a lot of the collections aren’t only featuring the Gnomes, how you have both sides of the paper, which one side might have the really fun gnomes that you can play with, and the other side can be a little more neutral. Photo Play has done a really good job with this, with their Tulla & Norbert collections. And I think they’re super sweet and fun. And with us all getting out into our gardens, they couldn’t have come at a better time. Because now I really want a garden gnome out in my garden. It seems appropriate.

For number six, we’re going to talk about Cut Files. Cut Files are still everywhere. People are spending all of this time backing some gorgeous Cut Files, using them for different mixed media techniques, making some of them into Shaker Pockets. I have just seen some of the most creative ideas being used with Cut Files, and I think they’re wonderful. In fact, they’re so wonderful, I went out and bought myself a Brother’s ScanNCut so that I can cut my own Cut Files. I was sure I could live without an electronic cutter, but nope, apparently I could not.

There are a lot of great places to find amazing Cut Files, but one of my very favorites is from Paige Taylor Evans. And I encourage you to check out her site. Her Cut Files are really reasonably priced. And if you sign up for her email list, you can even get some for free. She does that pretty regularly.

Number seven is all about Rainbows. Whether we’re talking about the actual rainbow arches or we’re talking about rainbow effects on our pages, Rainbows are everywhere. I’ve seen all kinds of Rainbow builder stamps and dyes and Rainbow papers, it is just everywhere you look. We’re also seeing a lot of Rainbow effects applied with our embellishments and our mixed media. Rainbows are definitely in the whole color palette is in.

Speaking of a color palette, one of the biggest trending colors is still Teal. Teal, Aqua, Azure, Blue Green, Bluish Green, Turquoise, Peacock, whatever you want to call it, it is still in. We’re seeing it common in pairings with Teal and red, or Teal and pink, or Teal and peach, or Teal and yellow.

Number nine. The other place that we’re seeing all of our color palettes, whether it’s the Rainbow or the Teal combos is through a Watercolor. Watercolor is really hot. We see a lot of different paper collections that are designed with a watercolor base, have watercolor elements, or designed to help you create your own watercolor effects. If you’d like to see some of my recommended products, if you want to add a little bit of watercolor to your pages, go to scraphappy.org/faves, F-A-V-E-S.

Number 10 is Stencils, and not just regular Stencils. Okay, well, so we’re totally using regular Stencils a lot. It’s amazing. All of the mixed media that I’m seeing is so much fun, and Stencils are definitely a big part of it. But one the newer trends that’s come in, and I’m pretty sure it’s here to stay for a while, are Layered Stencils. At this moment, I’m seeing Layered Stencils more for card making. But the first thing I thought of was, “Oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun for scrapbooking.” If you’re looking for some Layered Stencils checkout Gina K. Designs, or PinkFresh Studio. Both of them have some fabulous Layered Stencil designs. And I know more companies are coming out with them. So if you know of a great one, let me know on Instagram because I am totally into these. You can find me on Instagram @aliceboll, B-O-L-L.

Okay, I know, I said this was a top 10 list, but I can’t help putting this in. And that is number 11, for a bonus, let’s talk about foil. I am getting really excited by some of the cool products that are allowing us to add foil to our pages. We R Memory Keepers came out with a Cordless a Foil Quill Freestyle Pen. And this seems to be a really good upgrade for this tool.

The other thing that I’m really excited about is the Thermoweb Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo. This isn’t exactly a brand new product, I get it. It’s been out for a little while now. But with the amount of mixed media and the stencil use that I’m seeing, I think this is going to be the perfect addition to what we’re already playing with. With this Transfer Gel, you can use it in two ways. You can either use it with a laminator, like a regular Transfer Gel, or you can press it through a Die Cut Machine. Just make sure that you’re using the right kind of foil, because there are different styles and some work with different techniques, and others don’t.

Okay. That’s the end of my top 10, or 11, fun scrapbooking trends list. I’d love to know what you think of this, what you’re seeing as the hot trends in scrapbooking right now. If you send me your ideas, share your insights into what you’re seeing as the hot new trends, I can include that in an upcoming episode. You can leave me a SpeakPipe message and I’ll be able to include your voice and have you share this directly, or you can send me a message on Instagram. I hope that this top 10 list will inspire you to try something fun on one of your pages. Maybe something that’s a little current, maybe something that you’ve been wanting to try, but you haven’t quite got to yet.

You should also check out the YouTube series called Happy @ Home, on my ScrapHappy YouTube Channel. We have done so much creative exploration. It is just a treasure trove of scrappy inspiration. And I can’t wait to let you know about this. I have been waiting so long. Our LOAD Challenge is finally ready. So come and check out the next LOAD Challenge, it is the LayOut A Day Challenge. We are going to be scrapbooking every day through the month of May, inspired by the Golden Girls. Our challenge is called LOAD521 Live Golden. And you can get more information about this and get registered at scraphappy.org/LOAD, L-O-A-D. And because I love my podcast listeners so much, use the code PODCAST15 at checkout to save $15 off of this LOAD Challenge. That’s just for you. The other option is that you can use that same code and join the ScrapHappy membership, and you’ll save $15 off of your membership. ScrapHappy hosts three LOAD Challenges every year, and as a member, you have access to all of them.

I hope that this episode will help you use our current trends to scrapbook your own scrappy stories. I’d love to know what you get up to creatively, so be sure to tag me on Instagram. You can find the show notes for this episode at scraphappy.org/episode38. I hope this helps you make layouts that you love, and have fun while doing it. Happy scrapping. (music). Oh you guys are so cute. That was the sound of some of my cute little baby chickens.