My scrapbooking observations in progress...

1) artistic, 1 photo pages have their place but are not fiscally responsible... or possible for every page.
2) journaling is of utmost importance. i want my daughter to be able to show these pages to her daughter and not wonder, "who, what, when, or where?" answering "why?" or "how" may be appropriate, too.
3) saving digital pictures in folders by date taken is a LIFE SAVER when my camera loses the date due to death of battery. i'm uploading pics daily these days.
4) even simple color blocking can be very pretty and costs less than using the best papers for every single page.
5) a corner rounder can really add a simple, clean look to a page without overdoing it.
6) the making memories circle cutter that has a center mount thing which the blade swivels around is hard to get perfectly round circles as you increase the diameter. hiding flaws behind photos makes this not-so significant. but if you are shopping for a circle cutter, as much as i like the cutting mat it came with, i don't know if i would recommend this.
7) if you have buttons out, your 20-month old daughter is sure to want to play with them. occupying her with large buttons is better than letting her play with scissors or a paper trimmer.