After looking at a friend's scrapbook he said "....nothing against it but the one you made me is pretty awesome I realized. I never fully appreciated it at first but now ... I've realized how good you are at what you do. So yeah thanks" He also told me to keep at it and to keep him updated on whatever I do.
How's that for making a mom's heart swell!
I'm sad to report that I haven't actually done any scrapping in a couple of years. It's not for lack of photos or memories to capture, there's plenty of both. Unfortunately I became the victim of burnout and rather than totally give up on artistic endeavours, I switched gears and found a new mode of release.
Scrapbooking was more than just a hobby for me. It was a passion. It also became a pretty lucrative source of income. I guess you could say that too much of a good thing led to it's demise. Business took off and it wasn't unusual for me to find myself working on several books at one time. However as time went on, while creating scrapbooks for others, I discovered myself totally ignoring my own. I couldn't justifying spending time on personal stuff while customer's photos got pushed to the side.
It didn't help that I had nothing to show for all the work I did. All the blood, sweat and tears, sorta like birthing pains, and then my "babies" went off to live in someone else's home. All of that along with the pressures of deadlines and eventually the scrapping-for-others business created total burnout.
Gradually the scrapbooking stuff got pushed to the side. As a natural born creative person I couldn't just stop being crafty. I found myself gravitating towards other venues, some of which have been chronicled here.
Before I knew it all the photos, paper, and embellishments were packed away and yarn
, felt 
and other fabrics
took over . The sewing machine took center stage
The idea board filled up with ideas for bags
, weavings
took the place of "photos to be scrapped," and the Scrap Room suddenly became the Sewing Room.At one point I began to think about scrapping again. I thought maybe going digital was the key. Unfortunately I didn't have the funds to buy the "right" software and using what I did have just didn't feel right. Using the computer didn't give me the same rush that I got when using paper and markers. I missed ribbons and buttons, paper piecing, and cutting out letters.
I recently discovered blogging and have used it as an outlet for chronicling my life, using old and new photos, journaling my thoughts and such. But again it's just not the same. I need something concrete to hold in my hands, something I can pass on to my children and grandchildren. Once again I'm thinking about scrapbooking and wondering if it's time to give it another try. Getting the text from Ian certainly seems like a push in that direction.
However, if I'm going to start back scrapbooking something is going to have to happen in the Sewing Room. I will have to make room for all my "stuff" which calls for yet another reorganization of space. I can hear my family groaning now!
For right now, I think I'll just mull it all over. And bask in the praise of my kid.
Here are a few pages from his scrapbook. I'm too lazy to scan and stitch them, so you'll just have to deal with photos of pages.
So, what do you think. Is it time to give scrapbooking another chance?
YES!!
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