How to Make Your Own Scrapbooking Paper

Find patterns that you like on fabric, wallpaper or even plates and trays, and scan the patterns into your computer. If you don't have a scanner, you can photograph the patterns with a digital camera on a high resolution setting.

Upload the photos of the patterns onto your computer. Utilize a photo printing program like Photoshop, and adjust the settings to print your pattern on a standard 8-by-11-inch piece of paper. Place your paper into the printer and print the number of sheets desired.

Take photographs of people, places and/or things and save them to your computer. Use a program like Photoshop to create single or multiple images onto one sheet of paper. Play with the colors and sharpness of the images using Photoshop as well. You may also change the background colors of the entire page. Print the pages on your printer.

Utilize the services of companies like Scrap Sassy if you're not as digitally inclined as you'd like to be. Here you simply scan and upload your artwork or download your photos to your computer and upload them to the Scrap Sassy site. The technicians there will create paper patterns from your images and email them to you for proofing. You only order the ones you'd like to buy.

There is one last method of creating your own scrapbooking paper, and while it is deemed the most archaic of all the processes, it often results in the most creative and detailed papers. Sketch, draw, paint, stamp or perform all of the aforementioned methods of artwork onto a standard-sized piece of paper. Embellish, highlight outline and even sign it if you wish. Now go to the nearest print shop where you can either play with a copier--adjusting color, brightness and clarity of your image--or ask a technician to do the same. The result will be incredibily unique scrapbooking paper options.