Scrapbooking? I don't get it.

[Mergath]

Could somebody please explain why some women get so excited over this? I'm not trying to be snarky at all, I just honestly don't get it. I mean, you glue some pictures and some paper cutouts into a book and then it sits there collecting dust. Why do people spend thousands of dollars and have entire rooms devoted to this? Am I missing something here? I have friends on fb that actually take scrapbooking vacations with other women. One woman I know spends hundreds and hundreds of dollars on it and then ignores her children when she's not working because she spends every minute scrapbooking.

 

I just don't get it.

 

ETA: And I just looked at the Sizzix website, because someone I know is freaking out because she bought some of their die or whatever for ONLY a hundred dollars, and their machine, which costs $350.00, is sold out! People are crazy.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Ahh. A kindred spirit. :-)

 

I have a good friend like that. I considered what it would take for about 15 minutes, then I decided I would rather read a book. I haven't looked back. All my pictures are in photo albums with sticky pages or shoe boxes.

[Mejane]

I'm with you. I know people who love doing it, but I'd rather have a red hot poker stuck in my eye.

 

Ok, not really, but you know what I mean. :D

[Remudamom]

People ARE crazy. I just don't get obssesions like ............. 'scuse me, I think my horse needs something.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

:lol::lol::lol:

 

I am one of those women! I go on scrapbooking weekends with my BFF, mom and sister. I have a scrapbooking room in my house, and I've spent thousands of dollars on scrapbooking in the last 7+ years. I put a DVD player in the scrapbooking room so the kids could hang out in there with me. My kids sometimes even like to scrapbook with me. They have a shelf of their own pictures and supplies. I have dozens of scrapbooks, but they don't just sit on a shelf. We take them down and look at them often. My extended family likes to look at them when we have holidays or parties. And if I've done an exceptionally cool page, I force everyone who comes in contact with me to see it! :)

 

For me, it is an outlet for creativity. Some people write in journals, some people knit, some do pottery, etc. This is my hobby and I enjoy it. I usually scrapbbok after the kids are in bed, and I go on weekends 2-3 times per year, so for me, it doesn't really detract from quality time with the kids. I'd still rather read stories to them for an hour than scrapbook. Plus, when my kids are grown, they will have a picture documentation of their entire childhoods!

Edited April 24, 2010 by thescrappyhomeschooler
added a sentence

[KidsHappen]

My family would be happy if they could just get me to put the pictures in the empty frames I have all over the house. :001_smile:

[Alicia64]

I don't see the obsession in it at all. They're a load of work.

 

But I started doing one that I gave to my parents for Christmas and they loved it.

 

Now I'm keeping one for my boys for each year starting in Jan. going till Dec. showing highlights of what they did that year.

 

It's fun. But an obsession? Not at all. (In fact I have to prod myself to pull them out once a month or so and work on them.)

 

But, too, I don't get really fancy at all.

 

Alley

[QueenCat]

I love scrapbooking. I don't spend as much as some do on it but buying quality products is important so they'll last for the grandkids to see them years from now. When I scrapbook, I write the story that goes with the pictures, so my kids will remember the details, as will the future generations. My grandparents (most are long gone) have so many pictures but I don't know the background behind the pictures, and my parents remember too few of the details. I scrapbook 3-4 Saturdays per year plus one weekend a way per year.

[Miss Peregrine]

I don't scrapbook but I did feel guilty about it at first. The implied message is that your kids will feel deprived if they don't have these keepsakes. We look at old pics all the time. That's all the kids care about--the pictures. :)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

When I scrapbook, I write the story that goes with the pictures, so my kids will remember the details, as will the future generations. My grandparents (most are long gone) have so many pictures but I don't know the background behind the pictures, and my parents remember too few of the details.

 

:iagree:

[OrganicAnn]

I think it is a combination of 3 things. Capturing the stories. A way to save and keep the pictures. An outlet for creativity. I would love to do a little scrapbooking, but I don't have time. Unfortunately I can do so many crafts - knit, crochet, paint, etc that I find I don't have time to do it all.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My sister loves to make crafts out of paper. One of the things she makes are these small keep-sake albums. For the last 2 years I've bought an album from her. Then I give her $10 extra, plus pictures I've selected of the kids from the last year (pertinent information is written on the back of them) and hire her to make a small scrapbook for me. I then give it to my mom for Mother's Day.

[Crissy]

I don't relate to the fascination with scrapbooking, but I don't think the amount of time, energy and money women spend on it is all that different than any other hobby.

Pick one: knitting, sewing, painting...

Each one calls for a basic set of tools, has a learning curve that requires an investment of time and attention and can be taken to an extreme when it comes to buying supplies.

 

My sister would roll her eyes at someone who has a closet full of scrapbooking materials, but thinks her closet full of fabric and fancy thread is perfectly normal. My aunt has a similar closet full of rubber stamping supplies.

 

My closet? It's full of various rolls of media for my large-format inkjet printer. ;)

Edited April 25, 2010 by Crissy

[Guest janainaz]

I don't think most people pay much attention to layouts and all the "fluff". What I want to see when I look through an album is the pictures and maybe remember what the photo was of. Long ago, I decided that if I were to get into scrapbooking I'd have no time to make memories with my kids. I used to watch a scrapbooking show on TV for fun and I was amazed at these women who come up with all these crazy ways to enhance their photo pages. I really don't get it either - but to each his own.

 

I make slideshows to music and it takes far less time and it's more fun for everyone to watch.:001_smile:

[Dandelion]

I don't scrapbook either... Tried it once (about 15 years ago) but just couldn't get into it - it took me an hour just to make ONE page! I couldn't imagine making an entire album.

 

Having said that, I agree that it's just like any other hobby and I think it's great that so many people enjoy it and are able to produce such beautiful keepsakes. And, as others have noted, it can (and does) get taken to extremes...

 

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get pictures into albums and frames (most of ours are on the computer and/or saved onto CDs). To each his own! :)

[Jen500]

I don't scrapbook. It's just not my thing.

I also don't really enjoy looking at people's scrapbooks.

But to each their own. :D

 

I do have an old childhood 'scrapbook'. With some photos, clippings, ticket stubs, etc. just loose or taped in to a page. Stuff that would only be interesting to me, or maybe my kids if I were to tell them stories behind some of the items.

[Ferdie]

I used to get together with the neighbors once a month to scrapbook. It was kind of like a quiliting bee - I imagine. We would sit around talk and encourage each other. It was also great fun to look at different photos and finished pages.

 

My children love the scrapbooks I finished. They look at them several times a year. I haven't done any scrapbooking since I started homeschooling so the books stop at elementary school. LOL! I am still making great memories though.

[jazzyfizzle]

People ARE crazy. I just don't get obssesions like ............. 'scuse me, I think my horse needs something.

 

 

 

:lol: :lol:

 

 

The dogs are calling here. :D

[Chris in VA]

I don't like scrapbooks that have one picture surrounded by a bunch of doo-dads. My kind of scrapbook is like the one in "Up," with, as a PP said, lots of pictures, bottlecaps (lol), stubs, etc. And then some memories jotted down.

 

Dh used to buy albums with the sticky stuff on them--they may not last for generations, but they take 30 minutes to put pictures in, and they last at least 30 years--we have lots of our early marriage and his college days, and they are really fun to show the kids.

 

But :iagree:, it's just like every other hobby.

[ChristusG]

I love to scrapbook! I've moved to all digital scrapbooking now. I love memories and I want to remember them. I want to look back when my kids are 30 years old and remember their childhoods, the funny things they said, their favorite toys, the looks on their faces as they open a gift and the story behind that gift, etc. Plus, people love looking at them. My girls take down my scrapbooks often and just flip through them. People who visit our home love to look through our scrapbooks and get a glimpse into our lives and what we do. I do a lot of journaling on our pages.

 

Digital scrapbooking is awesome. Less clutter (actually, none), less expensive, and so much easier! I print the pages out when I'm finished and stick them in an album.

 

It's just another hobby (and one that my family will enjoy for future generations). Some people like to cook....personally, I despise it and would rather scrub the bathroom. Different strokes for different folks.

[lynn]

I really don't mind sitting with my sisers going through mother's suitcase of pictures. No books fancy or not just a big suitcase of pictures we love going through.

 

Now I have put together of those books where you pick the templates, drop the picutres and order the book all bound for big vacations they ar about $50 which is a whole lot less than most people spend.

[Mrs Mungo]

I scrapbook. It is a creative outlet and a way to preserve memories. I may not be around to tell my great-grandchildren about a trip or a funny incident from when my kids were little but I can write about it in a scrapbook.

[unsinkable]

I don't think most people pay much attention to layouts and all the "fluff". What I want to see when I look through an album is the pictures and maybe remember what the photo was of. Long ago, I decided that if I were to get into scrapbooking I'd have no time to make memories with my kids. I used to watch a scrapbooking show on TV for fun and I was amazed at these women who come up with all these crazy ways to enhance their photo pages. I really don't get it either - but to each his own.

 

I make slideshows to music and it takes far less time and it's more fun for everyone to watch.:001_smile:

 

What program do you use?

 

TIA

[Jenny in GA]

Could somebody please explain why some women get so excited over this? I'm not trying to be snarky at all, I just honestly don't get it. I mean, you glue some pictures and some paper cutouts into a book and then it sits there collecting dust. Why do people spend thousands of dollars and have entire rooms devoted to this? Am I missing something here?

 

 

I used to think the same thing. I saw women spending two hours decorating a page with ONE photo on it and thought they were nuts.

 

I think I scrapbook a little differently than some. The name of the game to me is writing. My scrapbooks are basically illustrated journals. Lots of writing -- I often type it -- photos to go with it, and some very simple decorations -- triangles of color in the corner, a few stickers, maybe a title, something like that.

 

I did an entire 12x12 Disney album in less than five days while my husband was out of town. It's nice to be able to hand people something so impressive-looking to look through instead of just posting a couple pics on FB. And, to me, it's a lot more interesting meaningful to read about it, instead of just having a pile of pictures to look at.

 

When I look back on the scrapbooks I did just five years ago when my girls were toddlers, there are things that I literally wouldn't remember had I not typed them up in those scrapbooks.

 

Some people scrapbook to be social. I don't. I do it because I want it to get done, and I usually do it alone.

 

Jenny

http://beanmommyandthethreebeans.blogspot.com/

[tatertotschool]

I love y'all! I tried to get into scrapbooking because my friends are addicts. I just couldn't do it. I did get into digiscrapping for a while and I found the while I was busy "recording their lives"- I was ignoring my children. Each picture I took had an alterior motive. I stopped cold turkey one day and never regretted it.

[Tess in the Burbs]

I scrapbook. Simple stuff though. No machines, lol.

 

My kids BEG to sit and look through them with me and hear the stories about then....it's worth it to me. I do it at night when they are asleep now. No more day crops for me. But it's relaxing and seeing them enjoy the books is worth it.

[nukeswife]

I could never get into scrapbooking. For me it was the expense of the stuff just to use it to make a 1/4 border around something. I mean if I'm going to buy such pretty paper that can be costly depending on what kind you get, why would I want to cover most of it up with other paper or pictures.

 

It will sound weird but my mom bought us a cricut machine which makes the die cut shapes, and it was fun to use in our school work when making some lapbooks, but we haven't used it in a long time. I will probably get it out when we do our US geography next year because she bought us a cartridge with cut outs for that, but even then I'm not sure because it does take quite a bit of time to plan stuff to cut it all out. I don't have room to leave it out all the time so it's kind of a pain.

[HeidiKC]

I love to scrapbook, but don't spend nearly the time on that I used to! Why do I love it?

 

- it's a fun hobby where you produce something beautiful

 

- it is such a wonderful, warm feeling to look through all the great pictures of your kids and remember the fun times.. and to then create a nice memory page of that event. I would not enjoy scrapbooking someone else's photos because I didn't share in those memories and they don't hold special meaning for me. I love preserving the memories for my kids.

 

- the books DO NOT SIT ON THE SHELF! My kids look at their books all the time! We look at them together. I feel like it really helps them remember things we've done together and keeps the memories alive. Several times I have totally forgotten about some fun thing we did and when I see the pages in my scrapbook, it all comes back to me! Like the time we found a playhouse on the curb and brought it home and scrubbed it clean. I have a great page about that!

 

- I take photos of the things we spend our time doing (not just birthdays or zoo trips). So I have photos of our car, of their bedrooms, kitchen, the sandbox, parks we visit, their favorite toys and books. The photos that were taken from my childhood didn't have many of these - they were usually vacations or birthdays. I would so love to have photos of my bedrooms from when I was little or the toys I played with every day - or the BOOKS!

 

- it's a very nice way to spend time with girlfriends - talking about mom stuff, girlfriend stuff, but also our kids and the events from the photos. We all admire each other's cute photos now and then. And we're being productive. I feel it's a better way to spend time with friends than going to a movie or something.

 

- I also journal about what is going on in the photos, so it's kind of a combo photo album/diary for the kids of what their childhood was like. Hopefully THEY will remember it, but their children will not have experienced it and I hope their kids will love it. I'd love to have scrapbooks of my grandparents' childhood, along with journaling about how their days were spent, favorite places, activities and toys.

 

- maybe one of the most important things: I want my photos in albums, not boxes (or no one looks at them, they aren't labeled, get lost, etc.) and I just won't work on my albums very often alone. It's kind of like having a workout buddy - someone to sit beside you to get the job done.

 

- my kids love it when I scrapbook because they love their scrapbooks.

 

I certainly do not NEGLECT my kids while I'm doing this! I do it after they are in bed, or occasionally do a weekend with friends. Which is just a GREAT mom break, relaxing but also productive. I hear a lot of people say that scrapbookers are missing all the real memories, etc. I don't think most scrapbookers are spending 5 hours/day or anything! Right now I'm only doing it for a few hours once every other month or so. I would like to get back to 2 hours/week. I feel like I can keep up with it if I do that. I also don't do very fancy pages. I think it is really unfortunate that so many people just have photos in boxes that won't be enjoyed by the family.

 

I have a Chirstmas album that I add about 2-3 pages to each year, and then I set it out on the coffee table during December. Everyone (including the relatives, since they are featured in there!) loves looking at it.

 

P.S. I am SO not a crafty person otherwise and I do not like crafts, or anything like Precious Moments or sappy sayings!

[mammaruss]

I also thought it was an odd thing to do---until I tried it once and then I fell hard for the art of scrapbooking. It is a creative outlet for me since I do not have any interest in sewing, knitting, crocheting, etc....I take a LOT of pictures--probably too many pictures...some pictures I enlarge and hang on the wall, some pictures go in a regular album and the pictures that I really want to tell a story--I scrapbook it! These pictures were taken because I love my family--I want them to understand that I loved them enough to take picture of them doing what they might think is mundane things--but to me it is our life...I took the time to take a picture of both ds reading books together, doing dishes, getting their haircuts, oldest ds getting his brows waxed--I want to remember as many as those moments as I possibly can. I also journal about the picture--was ds getting his brows waxed for prom or just because his brows were getting wild and out of control?? I want to remember the youngest ds standing holding his older brother's hand in case the waxing hurt....this is what I will hand down to my children so that they can remember these moments --big and small--and they can share with their children and for generations. I am preserving our family traditions, our family "history" and our moments together.

I am blessed to have a very large Event Center on our property so when I get the urge to scrap-- ds will invite a friend or two over and while the children play all the mothers can scrapbook together.

Edited April 24, 2010 by mammaruss

[Carrie12345]

I love the art of photography. I (try to) carefully compose my shots (and got some great ones at ds's opening day today!). It makes perfect sense to me to carefully compose the display of such shots in creative scrapbooks.

 

Unfortunately, I just don't have the space to devote to it right now, and it gets to be a real pain to haul everything out and put it all back, since nothing can be left out with little ds around!

 

I'm at the point where I'm actually considering selling my Cricut Expression. :eek:

[BikeBookBread]

I got sucked into scrapbooking by some friends when we lived in the scrapbook capital of the universe, Utah (my dh was stationed at Hill AFB at the time). I felt highly pressured to buy stuff...and I did. When we moved to ND, I had friends who all scrapbooked. Again I bought stuff (my friends sold stuff...) Now I'm carting this STUFF around -- paper, cutters, slicers, traders, stamps, special pens, special stickers, special brads, embellishments, etc.... I'm embarrassed by the amount of money I spent, and the fact that it is gathering dust in my closet. Periodically I will make a greeting card with the cute scraps of paper, or other random little projects for the girls' birthday parties, etc...; recently, I used the supplies to make hand-made baby shower invites (that were SO cute -- but took me about 24 working hours to make...and my DH was mad at me in the end because of the overwhelming amount of time I put into them...)

 

I have two beautiful empty scrapbooks (of very high quality) sitting in my closet: one was to become LLLs scrapbook, and the other was to be my family's history book. I can tell you now that neither of the projects are EVER going to happen. I don't have the time, patience or desire to do it, not when digital photo books are so easy to make, and just as appreciated by my family.

 

Even easier, my girls get a huge thrill out of looking at our digital pictures as slide shows set to the default iPhoto music more than they ever do looking at the few scrapbook pages of PDGs first five months... (poor LLL doesn't even have one started...)

 

All of this being said, I can understand WHY people want to do it, but I think it can, like any other hobby, cause you to get in over your head very quickly...

[Kari C in SC]

I love scrapbooking, but haven't scrapped more than a few pages in 2 years because I haven't made the time for it.

 

I know the reason I want to scrapbook though. My sister in law died 6 years ago. Before she died, she had made something like 25 scrapbooks of her 5 kids and even before her children. I sat in her basement one evening, nursing my brand new baby that she would never meet missing her more than anything else in the world. I flipped through her scrapbooks and saw her words and her personality on every page. It was a comfort to me. I felt like she was talking to me and telling me it would all be okay. I went home and scrapbooked over 300 pages that year. I wish I could get back to the place.

[justamouse]

I'm not into the die cuts, the what have you thousands of dollars worth, but I AM into preserving the pictures and journaling for the kids and their family.

 

Why?

 

I have so many pictures of my grandparents and my great grandparents in places with all these people and I have NO idea who they are, why they were there, what they were doing... And I can't ask them now. So, I don't want the fun stuff lost from our family. And my kids LOVE looking at pictures of the family and me telling the stories over and over. But spending gadzooks amounts of $ on it? No.

[LisaKinVA]

Golf is a hobby. It's an expensive hobby. And all you have to show for it at the end of the day is tired feed and a hole in your wallet.

 

My mother cross stitches. I cannot stand cross stitching. Nor, do I know what to do with all of the things she has stitched.

 

Sewing isn't a hobby for me, it's a chore. It's something I will only do out of absolute necessity -- and if I can replace the item instead of fixing it, I will. :lol:

 

If it's not for you, no amount of cajoling or talking is going to make it "fit" for you. No harm, no foul.

 

Scrapbooking, I get. It fits me. It's something I've really done my whole life. I don't have the space to do it right now (not the way I like to, but that will all change in 4-9 months when we move).

 

I am going on a scrapbook weekend May 7-8. I will get a bunch of pages done. My kids will be thrilled.

 

I occassionally do digital books -- but I don't enjoy the process of making them. I love designing the pages. I love seeing them come together, and I love watching the kids' expressions when they see them and read the stories and photos. I don't scrap everything. I scrap important things, I scrap some every day moments... I scrap because I enjoy it.

 

I do cook and I do bake -- I can get a little creative with my children's cakes. But after I make a birthday cake I am exhausted. My children are delighted, but it doesn't give me the satisfaction I have after I've completed that page.

 

I am not "into" everything that some people are. I don't care much for patterned paper... but I love cardstock, ribbon, buttons... texture. I love my Cricuit, because I can make titles and things just for my pages. I don't buy sticker letters... I have some stamp alphabets, and some tools. But I don't "need" all of the rest. Occassionally, I will have a really incredible photograph that I want to make extra special and I will, but most of my layouts contain 5+ photos, and I have some from the zoo or museum which contain a hundred or more.

[mlktwins]

I love scrapbooking, but haven't scrapped more than a few pages in 2 years because I haven't made the time for it.

 

I know the reason I want to scrapbook though. My sister in law died 6 years ago. Before she died, she had made something like 25 scrapbooks of her 5 kids and even before her children. I sat in her basement one evening, nursing my brand new baby that she would never meet missing her more than anything else in the world. I flipped through her scrapbooks and saw her words and her personality on every page. It was a comfort to me. I felt like she was talking to me and telling me it would all be okay. I went home and scrapbooked over 300 pages that year. I wish I could get back to the place.

 

My mom passed away very unexpectedly 9 years ago and never did anything with our pictures. They are in envelopes in boxes with no details on them. I'm getting ready to go through them with my dad to see what he remembers before it's too late. That is why I'm scrapbooking my twins' lives. I want them to know when they first walked, what their first words were, when they scored their first goal in soccer, etc. I want them to see the words that tell the story of their lives in my hand writing so they have it for always. I would LOVE to have something like that from my mom to look through. I love looking at the old cards she gave me to see her beautiful handwriting.

 

Anyway, I am very behind in doing mine, but am hoping to start working on them again a little when they nap and when they go to bed. I'm 5 years behind at this point :-). I also have done a video montage (digital pictures and video clips set to music) for each year so far and they LOVE watching them. Those don't take very long to make so I've kept up with those. We are moving soon and I'm getting a whole room (a small bedroom) to be my craft/scrapbooking room so I can leave my stuff out and close the door to keep the little ones from getting into the tools and stuff. They can be in there when I'm in there though.

 

I also love to read and cross-stitch but haven't had much time since the boys were born.

 

I think it's great to have an outlet of some kind. A lot of people spend tons of time on the computer these days and that's their outlet. Too each their own.

[katilac]

Why do you want this hobby in particular explained to you? It's a hobby like any other, and you either enjoy spending time and money on it, or you don't. Which may sound a bit harsh, but so did your original post (to my ears). "What do you enjoy about scrapbooking?" would have been a rather nicer way to ask ;).

 

The vast majority of hobbies do not make monetary sense. Sewing, model trains, hunting, fishing, painting, birdwatching - - as Crissy said, all hobbies require some basic tools, and I can't name a one that doesn't have expensive tools and materials AVAILABLE. You can scrapbook with paper, pen, and adhesive. You can birdwatch with a book. Or, you can spend tens of thousands on either hobby.

 

I love to see people get all geeked out about hobbies I don't 'get.' It's like a window into their personality, and if I truly listen, I always find myself nodding and saying, yeah, that does sound interesting. The passion of people, and the sheer diversity of interests, reminds me of what a wonderful world we live in - - there's always something new, something I never thought of or considered interesting, until someone else explained it to me! Viva la difference, I say.

[Jenny in GA]

Why do you want this hobby in particular explained to you? It's a hobby like any other, and you either enjoy spending time and money on it, or you don't. Which may sound a bit harsh, but so did your original post (to my ears). "What do you enjoy about scrapbooking?" would have been a rather nicer way to ask ;).

 

 

My guess is that she sees all kinds of people she knows getting crazy into this, and she feels like a foreigner in some strange land.

 

Also, I know a lot of people almost feel like they're expected to scrapbook if they're a mother, or that they're being negligent or something if they don't. Not that anyone has ever told them that, but it's just sort of feeling people get.

 

Jenny

[Guest cattchels]

My husband's step mom is obsessed with scrapbooking. She travels hours for conventions on scrapbooking, has a whole room dedicate to it, and all sorts of crazy stuff. I can understand the desire to take pictures and preserve them, but I just don't understand the stickers, backgrounds, and all that stuff.

[Crissy]

Also, I know a lot of people almost feel like they're expected to scrapbook if they're a mother, or that they're being negligent or something if they don't. Not that anyone has ever told them that, but it's just sort of feeling people get.

 

 

I don't doubt that this is true, but what a strange thing to feel guilty about!

Like we don't give ourselves enough of a mental beating over the things that really matter.

[DarlaS]

My sister would roll her eyes at someone who has a closet full of scrapbooking materials, but thinks her closet full of fabric and fancy thread is perfectly normal. My aunt has a similar closet full of rubber stamping supplies.

 

My closet? It's full of various rolls of media for my large-format inkjet printer. ;)

 

Only a closet full of fabric? Amateur! :D (I have roughly about thirty rubbermaid bins of fabric in the basement--and no time to sew lately. :blush:)

 

I don't get into scrapbooking either, but I do kinda get why.

[LibraryLover]

You don't get mothers/others keeping hand -written records? Scrapbooking is a journal w/photos. I don't scrapbook, but what's not to get?

Edited April 25, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Nestof3]

Not trying to be snarky and people are crazy all in one post.

 

Well, there are hobbies for all sorts of people. I don't enjoy sitting around watching television, boats, shoe-shopping, expensive jewelry and handbags, bingo, hunting, painting, playing an instrument and so forth. But, there are people out there that do. So there.

 

I happen to love scrapbooking and making cards. It is the only think I indulge in. I have thousands of dollars worth of supplies accumulated over the last 15 years. I make wonderful layouts that are an artistic expression of mine. There is a creative outlet that I cannot explain -- probably akin to what a painter or musician feels when creating. I am not good at any other art, but without bragging too much, I am very good at this.

 

I use a lot of different artistic techniques, though: watercolors, markers, colored pencils with mineral spirits, embossing powders, dry embossing, and many more. My son also enjoys making cards with me. I hold card parties sometimes. It's a lot of fun. Oh, and my boys feel very special with every layout I make. They will have these when I am no longer around.

 

You don't need to understand it, but I think you are being rude. It's like asking someone to explain why they would have a big screen television or a pool.

[Nestof3]

Honestly, I make them because I enjoy it. Even if they all went up in smoke the moment I died, I'd still do it. It is my art -- my creative pursuit. No one questions painting or music like this.

 

I don't think most people pay much attention to layouts and all the "fluff". What I want to see when I look through an album is the pictures and maybe remember what the photo was of. Long ago, I decided that if I were to get into scrapbooking I'd have no time to make memories with my kids. I used to watch a scrapbooking show on TV for fun and I was amazed at these women who come up with all these crazy ways to enhance their photo pages. I really don't get it either - but to each his own.

 

I make slideshows to music and it takes far less time and it's more fun for everyone to watch.:001_smile:

[DarlaS]

I am not good at any other art, but without bragging too much, I am very good at this.

 

 

Yes, you are good at this. I haven't looked at your blog lately, but I have admired your work in the past.

[Hockey Mom]

I used to be one of those crazy, obsessed scrapbookers. I loved it. Even had an entire room devoted to my Cricut (which I still have), stickers, paper, computer, etc.

 

When I realized that I no longer captured real moments on my camera, I decided to stop. A lot of my pictures were manufactured experiences simply because I found the "cutest paper". That, and I was spending about $500/month on paper and stickers. I was more of a collector of scrapbooking things than an actual scrapbooker.

 

I took the room down. Sold what I could sell, and boxed up the rest for the kids to play with. Except the Cricut. I still haven't found the courage to get rid of it.

 

I blog now. And those moments, while not the same as my scrapbooks, ARE real. The kids aren't perfectly posed, and the 'jounaling' is more authentic as well.

[Nestof3]

Yes, you are good at this. I haven't looked at your blog lately, but I have admired your work in the past.

 

Thank you so much. I really don't mean that in a snooty way, but a person grows up being good at certain things and really bad at certain things.

 

I was the person no one picked to be on their team in sports. I tried to play the guitar, but it wasn't my forte. The idea of drawing something invokes fear. I feel like there's a list a mile long of things I do not excel at. I was rather shy growing up, and my parents did not broaden my horizons.

 

I found something that excites me. I found something that makes me think about design, color, texture, lines, and above all, the great things that have happened to me and the ones I love in this life.

 

For me, it is an expression of me. It is art.

[Giraffe]

I used to scrapbook fanatically, before I married and had DD. Now I have about 4 years to catch up on. The funny thing is, it's DH pushing me to get going and do it already! He wants OUR lives preserved in scrapbooks, not just my life before him and DD. :blink:

 

So now that we're moving and our new place is larger, I'm planning on carving out a corner for scrapbooking, catching up, and then staying on top of things. DH is an avid photographer, so I have lots of material to work with!

 

And no, I don't do the ultra fancy pages - mine are fairly simple, accenting the picture and journaling, not the art. I love looking at others' pages that are like that, but it's not my style.

 

Maybe DD will finally get a baby book!! :D

[Mergath]

Why do you want this hobby in particular explained to you? It's a hobby like any other, and you either enjoy spending time and money on it, or you don't. Which may sound a bit harsh, but so did your original post (to my ears). "What do you enjoy about scrapbooking?" would have been a rather nicer way to ask ;).

 

 

I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to come across as rude, and I should have been more clear about what I was asking. It's not the act of doing it that I don't get- I totally understand the desire to preserve memories- so much as the financial aspect of it, and the extent to which people take it. I don't see why a person would need or want to spend thousands of dollars on making photo albums, when you could use that money making memories. I do think it's crazy to spend over three hundred dollars on a machine that cuts out little pieces of paper. And I also think it's strange to spend hours every day doing it when you have littles at home. I guess I'm not so confused about why people do it as an ordinary hobby, but I don't understand how people can turn it into an obsession.

 

Once again, sorry if my post seemed harsh, I honestly didn't mean any rudeness.

[Imprimis]

Honestly, I make them because I enjoy it. Even if they all went up in smoke the moment I died, I'd still do it. It is my art -- my creative pursuit. No one questions painting or music like this.

 

I think it's wonderful and admirable that you take the time to create meaningful and long-lasting works of art for your children---and, all the better that you enjoy your craft.

 

I would like to get back into scrapbooking again, as I have a few albums in progress, but they have been sitting neglected the last several years...

[LibraryLover]

I don't know any scrapbookers who are 'obsessed' or who have thousands of dollars worth of supplies. However, I do know someone with an $800 dollar sea kayack, and it's sweeeet. ;)

 

Ah. Hobbies. What about golf fees? Or the upkeep on a 'little' sailboat? An awesome couple of surfboard? Tatoos?

 

My bil, a very sweet soul, has a gazillion dollars worth of winter climbing gear. Maybe you haven't priced a sub zero sleeping bag lately? ;) Its more than acid-free pens or a cutting machine. lol I also have several friends who are fab knitters-- and really, we don't want to discuss the cost of good yarns...

 

People sometimes spend money on their hobbies. So? If they are not borrowing the money from us, or taking it out of their children's mouths while we drop off baskets of food at their door, who are we to question what they should or should not spend on harmless personal pleasures?

Edited April 25, 2010 by LibraryLover