When I was an art student living in Dundee, I collected magazines by the dozens. I had unread piles of them all over our tiny apartment and was always buying more. One day, after spying a shiny new issue in the newsagents, Tom asked "why don't you read the ones you already have first". Even though I knew he was right, I bought it anyway and was hit by guilt when I got home to face the existing pile that was waiting for me. I had intended to read them but I just never got around to it and realised I probably never would. It was going to have to stop and the following day, I bought myself two lovely new scrapbooks. I hunted out my scissors and started ripping out pages from the magazines. I didn't really know what I was doing at first but it felt good. Gradually my collection started to decrease as the pages of my scrapbooks filled up. The other day, my Mum was debating whether or not to get a subscription ti Gardener's World when my Dad said "why not read the ones you have first?". Inspired, I decided to put together a little guide to scrapbook to help my Mum and all you other magazine addicts out there!

Before you can start you need to get over the preciousness of keeping magazines intact so that you're not afraid to cut in to them. Remind yourself that they're intended to be disposable and that you didn't plan on keeping them forever when you first bought them. Also, how useful is a magazine if it's left intact, filled with adverts and unread?! Scrapbooking removes the clutter and leaves you with the most inspiring and important pages. I still have those first scrapbooks I created six years ago and they're still an amazing source of inspiration today. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll turn a huge stack of magazines in to an organized scrapbook. It won't only save space but you'll love the end result!

1. Gather your supplies

Before you attempt to take on the magazine monster, let's gather together a few supplies that you're going to use. You will need a good pair of scissors, an A4 plastic folder, a file folder or bull clips, a glue stick, and of course, your shiny new scrapbook. In terms of Scrapbook size, I'd suggest one a little larger than A4 so you have the freedom to stick in whole magazine pages but can still scan the pages without too much fuss. Even though higher quality scrapbooks have thicker pages, I like thiner ones so that you can layer your scraps without making your book to thick. As for the colour, you can use whatever you like. I have manilla but white is also a good choice.

2. Attack the stack

Start by flipping through the magazine and rip out the page whenever you see an image or article that catches your eye. Pop articles in to your file folder or hold them together with bull clips to read later and slip images in to a plastic folder. You'll be amazed how fast you get when you get a rhythm going.Once you're reach the end of the magazine, pop it in the recycling.

Grab your scissors and start working through the pile of pages you ripped out. Look for the thing that caught your eye at first and cut that image out, making sure to check the back incase there's something even more inspiring on the other side. Pop the individual clippings in to your plastic folder. Once all the clippings are in your folder, grab your scrapbook and a glue stick. Arrange the clippings in front of you on the floor and group together similar images. Perhaps you want to have a page of just red images or one dedicated to hats. Organize them however feels / looks right. Now lay the clippings on the scrapbook pages and when you find an arrangement that works, glue them in place!

3. Fill in the blanks

Space will feel unlimited when you open a new scrapbook but as you fill it up, blank pages will soon become a precious rarity. To get the most space from your scrapbook, start by sticking down the largest clippings first and then filling in the surrounding space with smaller scraps so there's as little space left on the page as possible. Feel free to just buy extra books, if this isn't your style. Some people prefer to keep things minimal but I like the cluttered inspiration overload look.

4. Stay tidy

Scrapbooking can be a messy business, so keep a waste bin at hand to drop cuttings in to. It's also a good idea to wash your hands at regular intervals as your fingers can get really sticky. As you pick up new scraps and inspiration day-to-day, make sure to stuff them in to your clippings folder so that everything's in the one place when you feel motivated to have your next scrapbooking session. Because magazines are monthly, it's a good idea to scrapbook monthly too. Don't worry if you can't afford subscriptions, you can scrapbook with anything! Keep an eye out for images that inspire you on flyers, pamphlets or in free magazines.

5. Share your inspiration

Now that you've started a scrapbook, why not share your inspiration? Once I've filled up a whole page, I like to scan it and share it with you guys. I then put a little star on the page so I know I've already uploaded it. You can do the same by scanning or photographing the pages and sharing them on your blog, Facebook or Pinterest. I love this because I have my inspiration with me at all times and can refer to it on the go. If you don't want to go to all that effort, then you can just leave it on your coffee table for your friends to look through.

Are you ready to give scrapbooking a go? Let me know how you get on and feel free to share your pages on my Facebook. I love seeing what inspired you guys!