Intro to Scrapbooking with guest blogger Vivian Sapp

Scrapbooking…..seriously?

Many of my friends wrinkle their noses when I mention scrapbooking, and I’ve heard it all. “I couldn’t sit still that long.” “I’m not that creative.” “It takes too long.” If one of my friends asked me to hike up a mountain or take up baseball games I would wrinkle my own nose, so I get it. Everything isn’t for everyone. When Nina asked me to write for her blog to introduce others to the scrapbook world I forced myself to reflect some on why I do it…why the madness? Companies such as Shutterfly make great photo books that have easy templates to insert photos and a week later there’s a beautiful hard-bound printed copy of any special trip or person or event. So why go to the trouble? Why scrapbook anything? I can’t speak for others, but I can tell you why I do it…

~Individualized Creativity. I am a creative person, and I need a creative outlet. When I was younger I kept my very patient father busy with ideas….rain detectors and ant houses and earring holders…I learned early on I was a loner with a creative brain, and I am happiest when I have an outlet. I’ve never been one to follow the leader and all the rules. Scrapbooking has no set rules. No set style. As with any hobby, you can learn and increase your skill set, but your style is all you. Every friend I have who scraps learns from others and loves to try new things, but still has her own style.

~Social Flexibility. I know people who only scrapbook alone, and others who only scrapbook at crops. For me, it’s very much a mixture of both. My very best friends are scrapbookers. We love to be with each other and spend evenings, days, and sometimes entire weekends scrapping. Some of the best times of my life have been spent road-tripping with friends to events and late night chats with my besties! However, scrapping alone is my time to unwind and relax. That’s my me time…my therapy…my way of processing my life. I will explain more about that in a bit…

~History. For me, scrapbooking is creative storytelling. At this point in my 48 year-old life, I have lost all of my grandparents, and recently my mother. What I would give right now to have a written, pictorial biographies of their lives. My grandparents were amazing people, and I worry that the generations to come won’t know who they were, or maybe one day who I was. I have recently begun to collect photos of my grandparents and parents and am creating albums of their lives to pass along to future generations. I want my children’s documented lives, as well as their parents’ and past ancestors’ lives left for them as a gift for them when I’m no longer here.

~Storytelling. Everyone has them. Those shoe boxes, Ziploc bags or envelopes full of random photos. The precious memories of our lives deserve a better home than a drawer or a shoe box. Scrapbooking gives me a way to put those photos to paper, journal the story of that memory and display it for people to see. Memories fade over time…old age distorts our memories. Documenting and journaling about events is the way of telling the story of your life, your life as a family, and that of past generations.

~Therapy. There’s something very therapeutic about scrapbooking about a stressful or sad event. I’ve never been one of those people who believes in a “Disney World” image, and my scrapbooks reflect that. I’ve scrapbooked messy days, funerals, sad moments. Journaling about a feeling, a not so happy event, a stressful relationship, grief…it is more beneficial than you may realize. One day when my children look back on these albums I want them to see our life as a family wasn’t always roses and unicorns but was good and happy and real.

What do you need to start?

~You need a space. Whether it be a table, a corner of a room, a spare bedroom…just a space to start. After a 15 year evolution, this is part of my space

~Tools. Start simple. A good paper cutter. (Stampin Up’s is the best around. Trust me!) Some basic solid color paper. Scissors. Adhesive. An album. Page protectors. Maybe a work mat. The rest will come as you learn and do more.

~Content. You need a topic area to begin. Don’t start buying random items. Pick pictures from a birthday party, a wedding, a school event. Just get things for that. Add to it as you do more and learn more.

~Ideas. Don’t buy idea books. Once upon a time those were important. But Pinterest and Google have become a jackpot of ideas, so use those resources and save your money to buy other things.

~Network. Learn from other people. Go look at their albums, their spaces, scrap with them and ask questions. Look on Facebook pages and get ideas from strangers. Sign up for crops and classes. My door is always open for anyone who wants to come to my house and look through my albums and my space, and scrap with me. I’ll set you up a table and we can scrap together!

Thanks for reading my thoughts, and thanks to Nina for inviting me to contribute to her blog. Happy Scrapping! 😊
Vivian Sapp