Randi's Review	Sarah's Review	Cathy's Review	Andrea's Review	Lynn Anne's Review

Review by Randi

Scrap Artistry is a manufacturer of post-bound, cloth and leather covered scrapbooking albums. There is padding inbetween the cloth and the covers, and on the insides of the covers is a material that feels much like canvas. They are very well bound with quality workmanship. They come with ten page protectors and refills may be purchased. The albums are available in both a 12" x 12" size and an 8" x 8" size. They range in price from $23.95 to $109.95. If you shop their sale section you may find a 12" x 12" album for as low as $12.78!

Scrap Artistry's motto is "Artistic Products for Creative Scrappers" and their vast selection of designs certainly allow for an individual's creativity. You'll find albums in solid colors and in dozens of your choice fabrics. What's more, they frequently release NEW fabric choices, so don't assume you have seen it all once you visit their website.

I chose a "You Go Girl" Shoes & Purses album from the "Girl Power" area of their selections.

While nothing is needed to dress this up any further, because it is adorable just as it is, I chose to tie a coordinating ribbon on its cover to customize it a bit more.

This album was a gift for one of my daughters, and she has moved her "teen" pages into it just fine! One thing that was much appreciated is the true 12" x 12" size. The papers used were Prism cardstock and DCWV patterned papers. We didn't have to trim the edges from any of her pages to get them into the protectors. I also loved that it lies flat when open. This allows for "pop up" pages if you choose, and just makes the album's flow so much better.

If you are looking for a cloth or leather covered album of supreme workmanship, I recommend that you check out what Scrap Artistry has to offer.

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Review by Sarah

Scrap Artistry: Albums with Style

Scrap Artistry is an online company offering unique and stylish postbound albums covered in fabric or leather, and available in two sizes: 12" x 12" and 8" x 8."

I was sent a 12" x 12" postbound (2-post) album covered in fabric, "Electric Rainbow Batik." This fabric is high thread-count cotton printed with vibrant rainbow colors fading one into another. Retail price is $31.95.

I really was not expecting this album to arrive covered in cotton, but as an ex-seamstress, I am impressed that this is a high-quality, designer cotton weave to be proud of. I think this is a wonderful choice for an album cover as it promises to be durable, and simple to spot clean.

The fabric is pulled tightly and evenly over the entire album surface. Inside, the edges are cut to perfect evenness and sealed in by a durable, fabric-like paper that conceals the entire surface of the inside cover (fabric edges can be felt through this sealing paper). The corners as covered by the fabric are addressed very nicely, being folded and trimmed with precision and care, and glued down to eliminate the possibility of things catching in the creases. This binding job stood up to my picking every edge and corner with my fingernails. I was not able to pull up the sealing paper anywhere except for inside the crease where the cover turns on itself to cover the posts – but only on one of the cover halves.

This is nitpicky analysis. I only mention it to make the point that you really have to go looking and spend some time purposely going at it with fingernails to find a flaw on a Scrap Artistry album cover. So often “handcrafted” products fall into that unfortunate category encompassing the sloppy, but Scrap Artistry albums distinguish themselves far above that stereotype. They have even included a gold imprinted logo and web URL on the inside back cover which looks ultimately professional and also permanently identifies the album’s maker. I think this is the finishing touch on a wonderful binding job. It drives me crazy to have an album that I really love and then not be able to remember where to buy another.

Scrap Artistry advertises on their website that 20 top-loading pages come included with their albums. What this actually means is 10 protectors that will hold 20 pages, NOT 20 protectors. They also advertise “true 12x12” protectors. This means the protectors are exactly the size to hold papers that are precisely 12” by 12,” with a ¼” margin at the top. When making pages intended to be housed in a Scrap Artistry album, make sure your paper is cut to those dimensions and keep bulky embellishments to a minimum.

The "extra wide margins" (for where the posts go through) advertised by Scrap Artistry are very nice for helping your pages really and truly to lay flat when the album is opened. This feature is sometimes hard to find on postbound albums, so it is appreciated here. The album I received is supposed to hold up to 100 pages (which I assume means 50 protectors). Refill pages are available, and the album looks like it would safely house 50 filled protectors with use of one extension post.

The plastic page protectors are medium-to-heavy weight, with extremely durable "stitching" around the sides and bottom. That is, the front and back pieces of the page protector are "stitched," or melted together at the edges to form the page sleeve. In the past I have experienced problems with this type of protector coming apart with repeated handling: so I tried to rip a Scrap Artistry page sleeve apart at the seam. Wow, you've got to put some real muscle into this kind of abuse. These sleeves are of extremely high quality workmanship that isn't inclined to just fall apart. Scrap Artistry page protectors exhibit slightly better-than-average creasing and wear-and-tear when housing pages embellished with bulky and/or pointed products.

In Summary: With a tremendous variety of fabric choices available and top quality covering and binding, Scrap Artistry really does offer a product unique to the scrapbooking world. The binding job is really incredible! The albums are complemented and completed with page protectors that are durable and high quality. Scrap Artistry Albums: a sensible - and fashionable - choice for displaying your memories.

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Review by Cathy

Scrap Artistry Albums are definitely designed with style and quality in mind. Since 2000, Scrap Artistry has been manufacturing albums, in the U. S. A. There are so many terrific cover designs for almost a ny occasion. I received a Bright Maxi Flower On Black 8x8 Print Fabric Album. The album retails for $23.95. I love the bright colors and the fine construction. The materials are all first rate. The albums hold up to 100 pages. The post bound albums are easy to load and the screws are well hidden. Pictured below is the album.

The heavy weight top-loading page protectors are made with a wide margin so the pages lay flat. The inside covers are lined with a rich embossed paper. I have included two example pages showing the top loading 8x8 album. The pages are a heavy quality plastic and the paper slides in easily.

Materials Used:
StoryTellers May Pack and
Adhesive Tech: The Borderline Glue Stick.

Materials Used:
StoryTellers: May Pack;
Making Memories: Scrapbook Colors- Pink;
Making Memories: Foam Stamps;
Frame Ups- Pink Frame; and
Adhesive Tech: The Borderline Glue Stick.

The options for albums include high quality cloth, leather and custom covers for special events. I definitely am impressed by the quality and variety of the Scrap Artistry Albums. I can tell they are designed with scrapbookers in mind. I give Scrap Artistry Albums my highest recommendation and recommend that the reader visit the Scrap Artistry Website with out delay. I am often asked about specialty alb ums and will be recommending Scrap Artistry to my friends.

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Review by Andrea

When I started scrapbooking, the strap hinge album was the first kind of album that I was introduced to. It has been my album of choice over the years with a few post bound style albums thrown in here and there. Many new album manufacturers have entered the market recently and not knowing the difference between them has made my decision to stay with the "known" strap hinge kind an easy one. Don't fix what's not broken right?

Until now!

Scrap Artistry albums are a true 12x12 in size post bound album. There are also albums available in an 8x8 size. There are many themes to choose from ranging in cute and hip to classy contemporary. Almost any color can be found and the type of albums are fabric, leather covered or faux suede. I think their web site description explains it very well "vibrant colored fabrics and captivating prints"! The inside of the covers have a heavy embossed paper and the 2 screw posts are covered from view. The page protectors are heavy flexible plastic with a wide margin so that the pages lay flat. All albums come with 10 top-loading pages with 10 white acid-free and lignin-free 80 lb cardstock sheets. All materials used are acid-free and archival safe. AND they are made in the U.S.A.!

The first great thing was that I was able to pick the album that I wanted from the web site! I picked the Whimsical Cats 12x12 Fabric Album with a retail value of $31.95.

It was shrink wrapped when I received it. When I opened the album, I was immediately impressed by the entire product. The fabric was bright and cheery, the pages on the inside were nice and heavy. I couldn't see the screw posts until I turned the front album inside flap over. This flap is an extension of the front cover, so it is very sturdy. Everything about the album was "finished" - there were no odd pieces of paper or fabric where they shouldn't be, in fact I was ready to start putting pages in right away it looked so good! I did add 4 pages and was extremely happy how they easily slid into the page protector with no difficulty. I frequently add 3-dimensional elements to my pages and there was no trouble accepting that type of page either. When turning the pages, there were no creases or "bulges" and the pages do indeed lay flat! I even unscrewed the posts to see how easy it was to insert additional pages. This was very easy to do with no explanation.

I wanted to personalize the album cover a little, so I added a black and white swiss dot wide ribbon. I then stamped in black paint the names of the cats that the album will be about, Cheddar and Lewis. I added some white dots to the black letters to make it similar to the ribbon. You can see it better in person than in the picture. The fabric accepted the paint just fine and it dried in a few minutes. This was the first time that I altered the front cover of an album! It was fun and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Materials Used:
Album (Scrap Artistry, Whimsical Cats)
Stamps (Making Memories, Misunderstood)
Paint (Making Memories, CityScape paints)
Ribbon (Offray)

I just LOVE my new cat album! Scrap Artistry has got a phenomenal product here and I will buy more albums from them for future projects! I love the way the pages just slide into the top-loading page protectors, the way the pages lay flat as you turn them and the variety of available albums. Even a die-hard strap hinge album lover like me can appreciate a high quality product when given the right one - Scrap Artistry albums! I highly recommend this product to any scrapper wanting to preserve their memories in a safe and secure way. Thanks Scrap Artistry for producing a great product!

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Review by Lynn Anne

Scrap Artistry produces an extensive line of scrapbook albums covering a range of styles and themes. Acid-free, archival and guaranteed to "stand the test of time," the albums sport covers ranging from leather to fabric, which comes in a dizzying array of prints. The album I received, billed as ‘vintage grapes with texture’ and included in the ‘wedding and gift’ category on the Scrap Artistry website, is a 12 x 12 fabric covered album.

The album is beautiful. The fabric shows a grape and grapeleaf design in soft shades of pink and green, against a backdrop of a warm, light burlap color. Some of this fabric is also found on the inside of the album, where it is used on flaps that ‘hide’ the posts that hold the pages in. Ten protectors are included, along with ten separate sheets of thin white cardstock. A pretty textured paper (which the company calls ‘embossed’) lines the insides of both covers, and the Scrap Artistry name and logo is embossed in gold at the bottom of the inside back cover. The $31.95 asking price is competitive for an album of this quality.

Scrap Artistry claims their albums are ‘true 12x12,’ which I’ve always taken to mean will neatly fit a 12x12 sheet. I tried to slip in a layout I’d done on a sheet of 12x12 paper by Arctic Frog, and it didn’t come close to laying flat. Thinking the problem might be the layered embellishments, I then tried a couple of blank sheets of cardstock by two different companies. The only way to get them to lay flat was to trim them just under a tenth of an inch. I trim most cardstock before even beginning my layouts, for ease in scanning, so this isn’t a big deal to me. It is something to be aware of, however.

I really feel like I can’t wait to fill this album and begin showing it. I’m pretty sure that it is the most beautiful album I own, and the real fabric covering makes most of my pretty QVC albums look pretty cheap in comparison. I like the quality details, such as the hidden posts, and the ease of the top-loading protectors. Even though I will need to keep trimming my pages a little in order to make them lay flat in these protectors, I probably would have done so anyway to fit them on my scanner. I give a happy thumbs-up to Scrap Artistry for their beautiful line of special albums.

NOTE: As of 2006 all Scrap Artistry albums have true-sized 12x12 and 8x8 page protectors. There is no need to trim your paper.

For more information visit ScrapArtistry