The Thursday Review

Thursdays at For the Love of Scrap include reviews of products, books, magazines, stores, and all things related to scrapbooking and papercrafting.

Up for review this week is Scrapbook Page Maps by Becky Fleck.
Let me start out by saying I wish I had written this book. This is the best scrapbooking book I have purchased to date (let's just say I have a few).

So what exactly makes this book so great? First, the book's construction. The book is spiral bond, so it lays flat when open. But, unlike most spiral bound books, the publishers were smart enough to cover the spiral binding with a hard cover. This way when the book is on a shelf, you can still find the book by looking at its spine. Also, unprotected spiral binding tends to snag itself on objects. The books pages are printed full-color on glossy paper.

Second, the books sketches or page maps (60 in total) vary in size and orientation. They include: 12x12 single, 12x12 double, 8 1/2x11 vertical, 8 1/2x11 horizontal and 8 1/2x11 double. In addition, each sketch is accompanied by no less than two full-color sample layouts.

Third, along with the details of how the sample layout was created, each page contains "tip," "give it a try" and/or "eye spy" boxes. The "tip" boxes give advice, such as "For added dimension, double up photo anchors one on top of the other and attach with a brad." The "give it a try" boxes provide step-by-step photos demonstrating a scrapbooking technique, such as how to create a title block that looks like granite. The "eye spy" boxes draw your attention to details contained in the sample layouts that you may not have noticed, such as "Connie used the negative piece left over from popping the 'Y' out of the nested chipboard letter and backed it with patterned paper."

Lastly, the most unique and arguably the best part of this book is the deck of sketch cards that is included. The cards and card box are located at the back of the book. All you do is punch out the cards and box. The box is easily assembled by folding on the pre-scored lines and taping shut one side. The cards, just like the book, are full-color. One side of each card contains the sketch and the other contains a sample layout along with a materials list needed to recreate the layout. The cards are the size of children's playing cards and are coated, thus perfect for bringing to a crop or shopping.

So, is there anything I don't like about this book? Yep. I don't know when or if a sequel will be published.

This book is perfect for the novice scrapper to the seasoned scrapbooker.

Rating: $$$ out of $$$
$ = Not worth the money.
$$ = I wouldn't pay full price, but definitely pick it up when on sale.
$$$ = Don't wait, buy it now!

Happy scrappin',
Colleen