Choosing pictures can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  I am the type that tends to make it complicated, but  that is mainly due to my ability to get sidetracked and it makes it difficult for me to focus.  When I return from a trip I have a  layout plan for a page or two in my head, which makes it simple selecting the ideal pics for the page.  Then there are all those many, many other pictures pining to be utilized in some way.  If I don't have a plan before I sit down, I drive myself and the other occupants of the house (my husband and pets) absolutely crazy.

There are a few questions that I ask myself to try to keep me focused on this project.  First I decide how  I want to present the theme of the scrapbook.  How does the trip stand out in my mind?  Do I want to focus on separate activities of the trip? would I rather document it in chronological order?  Do I want to focus on a specific person or persons?  Is there a main event or reason that we went on this trip to begin with?  Will that be enough to make a scrapbook?  Do I want to have an introduction to the book that leads to the main event and then a prologue?  There are so many different approaches and none of them are wrong.  Do your album in such a way that it allows your personality to shine through.

Now that you know how you are going to arrange the scrapbook album, it's time to choose those prized pictures, You know the ones that  help you get your thoughts and emotions across to your viewer.  the nice things about albums today is that you can add as many pages as you'd like, so there really isn't a limit on the number of pictures you choose.  Just remember though that you don't want to make it so long that it gets boring, or people will start to flip throught the pages rapidly just to the end.  That usually isn't a problem with scrapbooks, because it is like reading an exciting novel.

Now that you have chosen those wonderful pictures, now what?  Start laying them out in the order you want.  You can mount them on paper to frame it.  You can cut them out to make a different sized or shape to give it character.  Just make sure that when you do cut a picture that you have a duplicate just in case you don't like the way you cut it.  There have been times that I have cut to much or cut the wrong shape, and instead of starting over I've used the mistakes to my advantage.  Sometimes these mistakes give the pictures that extra added charm.