Don't let all those options intimidate you. A heritage album can be sophisticated and simple, beautiful yet budget-conscious. You don't need to spend a fortune on doodads and die cuts. You don't have to worry about wrecking your precious photos and keepsakes, either. All you need to create your first heritage album is a few basic supplies, a little safe-scrapbooking savvy and plenty of preparation. These steps will get you started.

a. Choose color schemes and embellishments.
Look through scrapbooking magazines and others' albums for color schemes you like, or consult Color Index by Jim Krause (HOW Design Books, $23.99). A tried-and-true tip: Choose three colors, one for your background paper and two for photo mats and other accents. Add a pattern or two if you want. Many scrappers stick with neutral hues such as beige and black, muted colors such as sage green, or jewel tones such as navy and burgundy to complement their heritage photos.

To easily coordinate your album, use the same color scheme and embellishments throughout. If you want more flexibility, you might use the same basic scheme with different accent colors. Some people pick a different color scheme for each branch of the family; if that's you, try to select schemes that coordinate with one another. Purchase extra papers and accents to allow for errors and new pages and, most important, make sure your materials are acid-free and lignin-free. A hint: Before starting to scrap, test your background paper in your album's page protectors—papers aren't always exactly 12x12 or 8 1/2x11—and trim your background papers if needed.

b. Write it down.
One of your heritage album's most essential elements is journaling—the written descriptions of the photos, records and keepsakes you're attempting to preserve. You'll have to decide whether to handwrite or computerize the journaling in your scrapbook. Handwriting adds a personal feel and style. But if you don't like yours, you can type your journaling and print it on acid-free paper to be cut out and mounted on your scrapbook pages. Or combine typed factual photo captions with handwritten memories—it's up to you.

Print or type the journaling (including page titles) you'd like to appear alongside each photo or memento. This can be just names and dates, or expand your descriptions to include personality profiles, interview transcripts, family stories and your own memories. Consider adding historical information: maps of the family's hometown, newspaper clippings and tidbits about pop-culture trends. For families you have little information about, write down questions you hope to answer through further research. If you're not a good speller, ask someone to proofread your journaling—spellcheckers don't catch everything.

When identifying relatives, remember that future generations won't be as familiar with them as you are. Identify each person by his or her full name at least once, then a first or pet name if you wish. When you use terms such as Great-grandpa, be clear whose great-grandfather you mean.

c. Lay out your album.
Gather all the materials you plan to scrapbook—photos, memorabilia, documents and journaling—and start deciding what will go on each page. Place each grouping in an archival page protector. To guide your scrapbooking, sketch your arrangement for each page on paper.

d. Gather supplies.
Stock up on essential supplies so you don't have to run to the store in the middle of a productive scrapbooking session. Here's a list of the basics:

• sharp, pointy scissors
• X-acto knife and cutting mat
• 12-inch paper trimmer
• ruler with a cork bottom
• mechanical pencil
• gum eraser
• photo-safe glue (for embellishments)
• double-sided adhesive
• black pens with permanent, waterproof ink, in fine and medium tips
• clear photo corners
• un-du adhesive remover (for glue and sticker mistakes)