Nov 6, 2007

Who are we REALLY scrapping for and why do we worry?

I saw a thread on a MB the other day where a scrapper was critical of her style. Several others chimed in the say they too didn't feel like they "measured up".

Well, just that afternoon, my sons dragged out the scrapbooks to look through them. I had to laugh as I looked at some of my pages from 10 years ago. If deco scissors and pop-dots were crimes, I'd be a "lifer". Many of those pages (not even my earliest - my scrapping days go back to the mid 90's) are so downright funny. The photos are matted with cardstock whose edges have been lovingly cut with my deco scissors. Then I went for the "layered look" and raised photos and embellishments up off the page with foam dots.

But, who cares? I get a laugh out of the "retro look", but my boys spent a couple of hours looking through them excitedly talking about the things they did remember and asking questions about the things they didn't remember. Anytime you can get an 8 and a 10 year old boy to not fight with his brother for 2 hours (okay, there was a scuffle or two, but they were mild) and talk together, that's a good day!

And, they didn't say, "UGH, MOM! What were you THINKING using this plaid paper???" Or, "ICK! Sticker Sneeze!" The most important thing to them are the memories and stories behind the photos.

I jokingly refer to scrap magazines as Fashion Mags for Scrappers. You can't afford the $2000 purse in Vogue anymore than you can afford to spend 3 weeks on one page with a single photo and some words of wisdom that would make Ghandi look like a rube. Yet, we look through the magazines and try to copy the pages and then criticize ourselves when they don't look good enough. The women making those layouts are very talented, but I would bet good money that just as the models in Vogue go out without makeup and fancy clothes most days, the everyday scrapbook pages of those magazine scrappers are quite a bit different from their published pages. Personally, I have all but stopped looking at the magazine layouts. Actually, I have all but stopped taking scrap magazines. I simply don't care. I'm not scrapping to please anyone but those two boys. It's their life - it's our family. We are all that matters. I could glue the photos on construction paper and write the stories with a ball-point pen and they would be thrilled.

Something to remember...

1 comment:

Trish D said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - I wholeheartedly agree!! I think this is the trend in virtually any hobby (knitting, beading, altered arts, etc) and I wonder how many of us have half-finished projects or pages buried somewhere that were "inspired" by a magazine.

And BTW, I really do want to re-do my wedding album. The powder pink cardstock everywhere, stickers, and lack of journaling is downright depressing :)