That’s it. I am putting it out there to be considered (and challenged, if you must). But today I want you to take a few minutes of your busy lives to just sit, and consider this statement.
SCRAPBOOKING IS THE CRAFT THAT YOU GET TO KEEP.
Yes, it’s my own opinion and could be heavily debated by any Crafter passionate about their own craft. However, I am not here to have the debate. I just want you to consider…
What does this Craft provide for you?
Let’s be honest with ourselves… how many Crafts have you tried through your lifetime that have created “STUFF”?
(If are smiling now, you can relate to this question, so you just have to read on!)
Stuff to adorn your walls, shelves, and home. Maybe even to be worn. I am sure they were treasures you were proud of, or excited about when you created them. But many/most are the result of a passing fad that won’t see the light of day and others just don’t fit your home, décor, taste or style any more. (Yes, there are occasionally a few exceptions, but you DO know what I mean, right?)
Do you want to even consider the hours that went in to creating them?
It’s probably not likely you will regret the time you spent on them. For many, Craft provides a healing or relaxing time, opportunity for creativity and even social benefits.
But where are all those creations now?
Have they discretely disappeared to an unknown dark place?
Are they stuffed into the back of a cupboard?
Or the rubbish bin if we want to be honest?
Are they displayed in your home “somewhere” because you put so much time, effort and money into them, or simply there, because they have ALWAYS been there and you’ve never thought to take them down? (Even if your partner/spouse has thought about it MANY times?)
Now let’s be honest, I am not here to bag anyone’s choice of Craft through the years, because if you can relate to these questions and are grinning at your own answers, I am right there with you.
Having recently dealt with 20+ years of “stuff” to declutter when we moved house, I can tell you I had plenty of Craft debris.
I have tried, and enjoyed, (and parked or stopped,) many things in my lifetime as a Crafter.
No matter how much, or how little time I spend on it, I am always doing Craft of some sort. I know that isn’t the case for everyone.
So, Why is it…
- Some Crafters will try Scrapbooking and others don’t?
- Some Scrapbookers stick with their Craft and others eventually let it go by the wayside?
I get that there are phases in life that make it easier to Craft than other times for sure. But I am so curious why Scrapbooking seems to totally disappear from the lives of some people after they have enjoyed it, and been so connected to it.
As a result, I often start thinking about my own reasons for seeing my Scrapbooking as so valuable. Not the creativity, or social aspect or any of that (which of course is also super important). But just WHY I invest so much of my limited and valued time doing it.
Above all else, I MAKE TIME for my Scrapbooking, and INVEST TIME in my hobby because it’s a Craft where…
I GET TO KEEP MY SCRAPBOOKS, and SHARE THEM… FOR-EVER!
Have you ever looked at it that way?
What reason do you, (or did you), make time for your Scrapbooking?
Another way to look at this, when life gets busy and you find it hard to find time for your Craft, you could remind yourself by considering:
What is the value of your Craft?
Now I definitely don’t mean how much money you have spent on it. Heaven forbid any of us should ever have that conversation in a public forum where husbands and spouses might accidentally see or hear it. (Not that there would likely be any lurking around this blog – but, you know what I mean, right!)
I mean VALUE as in the importance or worth to you, which you can measure in so many different ways, including personal, emotional or historical value too.
How do we measure Value?
What do most people answer when asked what they would grab first if a fire was approaching their home (after living people/animals)?
It’s always those possessions that cannot be replaced, which are usually photographs or albums. Their personal, emotional and historic value is enormous, don’t you agree?
If you don’t already know my own personal story about losing our (almost) 10 year old daughter to a medical condition in July 2007, you will still appreciate how valuable and incredibly precious every single album that I made about her life is. Their worth to our family multiplied by an infinite number the day she passed away.
But I am not hear to get all sad and gloomy. I just want you to consider the value of your own Crafts.
Let’s take a look at some of the other produce of my crafting hours (and years) as a comparison. Many of these I am proud of, and some even served a great purpose in their time. How many of these did you do, or can relate to?
A trip down Crafting Memory Lane
Puff Painting
In my Puff Painting phase I copied cute designs onto windcheaters (jumpers) to sell at Markets (in my early 20’s). Those sales enable me to buy my first serious camera before travelling overseas. I have kept one special one that was quite detailed with a koala in a tree. A great talking piece when you are meeting other tourists overseas but totally kitsch now and I would not wear it. But I haven’t quite managed to let it go (yet).
Embroidery and Teddy Bear making
During the time I explored Embroidery and Teddy Bear making I produced two beautiful Teddy Bears to give to my two dearest friends (my bridesmaids), when their first baby was born. I have a half-completed bear for myself which hasn’t been touched (literally) since I started serious Scrapbooking in 2001. I did make a small cot blanket for my own first born which I was enormously proud of. Being woollen it wasn’t very practical and a pain to hand wash. It survived a number of children in our family but didn’t fare well being washed in the washing machine (eek!) I am pretty sure I somehow found the courage to discard this (forever) when we moved. As much as it pained me to do so, it saddened me to see its state so in a “Love It or Chuck It?” moment, I let it go.
Hand Knitting
My Knitting phase has a number of funny stories of which I will share one. My mother started a white new-born cardigan for my brother (circa 1972) and never finished it. I remember completing the second sleeve after I discovered it whilst filching through my mother’s knitting needles. I brought it out again in 1997 whilst pregnant with my first, and finished it. Of course, woollen clothing was so impractical then, when you had the choice of wash-and-wear stretchy grow suits that I don’t think I even managed a single wear for a photo opportunity. Now where IS that item of craft? Not sure where that ended up in the move. (Hmmm?)
Folk-Art Stencilling
My short but useful Folk-Art Stencilling phase (circa 1996-98) proved valuable to decorate my renovated weatherboard home for re-sale. I remember balancing between a ladder and the porcelain toilet top whilst 6 months pregnant doing a vine design around the walls of the small toilet room (WOW!). Then there was the Teddy Bear design around the Nursery in our newly built Unit, followed soon after by the Nursery in our larger home in 1998. Whilst there were fond memories of these, I had very little emotional attachment to it some years later when I was keen to redecorate and move on.
I Love my Photography
I love Photography and it is a Craft in a non-crafty sort of way. When I was 27 and well entrenched in my Business IT/Computing job after University, I was considering taking on a Photography Degree part-time for the pure education and enjoyment. Instead, my employer, one of the major Banks in Australia who owned Banks in the UK and Ireland, offered me a placement in the UK for a few years. My Photography Craft had a major “practical” boost as my fiancé (now husband) and I lived in the UK but travelled extensively to places like Egypt, Kenya, Denmark, France, Italy and all over the UK during our breaks. The photos I have as memories allow me to re-live all the opportunities we had, and the amazing people we met. Now that is a Craft that is priceless.
Cross-Stitch
My Cross-Stitch phase developed out of my 2.5year stay in the UK as I needed a Craft that was more portable. I produced a number of large pieces which I had framed and hung in my daughter’s nursery for some years. But what the heck do I do with them now? And I have one which is 70 percent complete and now awaits somebody to rescue and complete, decades later, like I did the knitted baby cardigan (LOL!)
So, have I convinced you that I have explored and enjoyed many Crafts?
Some Crafts have an end-date.
I have treasured many of the fruits of my labour. But I have also been real about many of these pieces having an end-date of usefulness, or enjoyment.
Scrapbooks Live on forever.
But Scrapbooking, and the pages, projects and Scrapbooks we produce… they live on forever.
In fact, they HAVE TO surely gain value as they get older, if they capture the memories and stories of our lives.
Scrapbooking is the Craft for me, not only because of the incredible value of what we produce and the enjoyment I get creating it. But also, the social and connection side of all the amazing Customers and Colleagues I have met, and friendships made through this Craft.
Scrapbooking has a language of its own and connects across many boundaries.
That, IS VALUE. I know so many of you who started along a Scrapbooking path, and had to, (or choose to) set it aside. That does not mean that you didn’t see its value.
Life can be the reason we Scrapbook.
Life can be the reason we Scrapbook. However, Life, can also be the reason we get Stuck, Stalled, or Stop Scrapbooking. Because life just isn’t simple sometimes. (Or if you have my life it isn’t simple, well, most of the time).
Whilst I may not be able to remove all the barriers and hurdles of life, it’s my passion, and my mission, to remind everyone of the value of Scrapbooking and Storytelling. I believe that with passion, knowledge and confidence, you can find the energy to overcome overwhelm, and find the time that your Craft deserves… and find a love of your Craft again.
What small but important steps can you take today, tomorrow, this week and this month, to increase the value of your digital images and photos?
Scrapbooking is a Craft You Get to Keep. And your photos hold great value, even more value if you do something with them.
What is the Health Status of your Scrapbooking?
- Are you an avid Scrapbooker who overcomes
obstacles to connect with your Craft?
- When was the last time you connected with your photo projects?
- What stops you from getting them out and working with them more?
- Does your Craft Stash overwhelm you and disarm you instead of engaging you?
- Do you lack systems and approaches to clear a path to make your Scrapbooking time more productive?
- Are you a part-time Scrapbooker that is happy where they are at, chipping away at what they can?
- Are you a want-to-be-someday Scrapbooker, but doesn’t really know how to start or how to step-it-up-notch from where you are?
It doesn’t matter where you are at, I invite you to come along and explore…
Scrapbooking WITHOUT THE BAGGAGE!
So, let’s remove the complexities, setup some systems and take control of your Craft Stash. I will equip you to move forward with simple replicable ideas and systems, to give you the freedom to enjoy the Craft you deserve.
Your Photos need your Attention.
Your Stories are Worthy of Telling.
LET’s DO THIS!
Together… I am right here to help.
HOW?
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