Beginning Scrapper - remember when?

[LindaBabe]

we've come to visit our honorary grandkids, and their mom said "oh good, you can teach me to scrapbook!"

She showed me what she had done for the kids books already. They were both charming and creative. She used an Erik Carle (kid author illustrator) paper pad, sticker letters, and Jolie's embellishments, stuck down with glue stick & double face scotch tape plus the "stuff"they get from school. Her entire stash fits in a rubbermade plastic drawer unit.

Remember those days? She said what else do I need? NOTHING! (well, maybe some UN-du and some anti-stick scissors)

No Cricut. No cameo. No big shot. no Washi tape. no twine. no stamps. No ink. No brads. no eyelets. no ribbon. No Basic Grey. And yet, she gets pages done

When did scrapping become so much about "stuff"? Did you have more fun with less?

Does our "stuff" get in the way of our creativity?

Do our technical capabilities cause us to strive to stretch in different directions than we would if we didn't have them?

So many people on other boards say they don't have time to scrap. Does playing with the tools and 'stuff' eat too much of the scrappy time?

 

[Reddy]

we've come to visit our honorary grandkids, and their mom said "oh good, you can teach me to scrapbook!"

She showed me what she had done for the kids books already. They were both charming and creative. She used an Erik Carle (kid author illustrator) paper pad, sticker letters, and Jolie's embellishments, stuck down with glue stick & double face scotch tape plus the "stuff"they get from school. Her entire stash fits in a rubbermade plastic drawer unit.

Remember those days? She said what else do I need? NOTHING! (well, maybe some UN-du and some anti-stick scissors)

No Cricut. No cameo. No big shot. no Washi tape. no twine. no stamps. No ink. No brads. no eyelets. no ribbon. No Basic Grey. And yet, she gets pages done

When did scrapping become so much about "stuff"? Did you have more fun with less?

Does our "stuff" get in the way of our creativity?

Do our technical capabilities cause us to strive to stretch in different directions than we would if we didn't have them?

So many people on other boards say they don't have time to scrap. Does playing with the tools and 'stuff' eat too much of the scrappy time?

I make some LOs without turning on the cricut - I really hate the LOs where you spend all of the time looking for the pictures - you know the ones where the flowers are what you see instead of the picture of the kid playing football
or there is one pic that 2x2 & it is half covered in stuff

 

[JJ&JHsmom]

Sometimes we have to leave the "stuff" behind and just be creative. I still make pages without using the cricut, but I have come to rely on it for titles, so much easier than letter stickers for me.

 

[pjlla]

we've come to visit our honorary grandkids, and their mom said "oh good, you can teach me to scrapbook!"

She showed me what she had done for the kids books already. They were both charming and creative. She used an Erik Carle (kid author illustrator) paper pad, sticker letters, and Jolie's embellishments, stuck down with glue stick & double face scotch tape plus the "stuff"they get from school. Her entire stash fits in a rubbermade plastic drawer unit.

Remember those days? She said what else do I need? NOTHING! (well, maybe some UN-du and some anti-stick scissors)

No Cricut. No cameo. No big shot. no Washi tape. no twine. no stamps. No ink. No brads. no eyelets. no ribbon. No Basic Grey. And yet, she gets pages done

When did scrapping become so much about "stuff"? Did you have more fun with less?

Does our "stuff" get in the way of our creativity?

Do our technical capabilities cause us to strive to stretch in different directions than we would if we didn't have them?

So many people on other boards say they don't have time to scrap. Does playing with the tools and 'stuff' eat too much of the scrappy time?

I hear what you are saying Linda! It is so easy to get so caught up in the "stuff"! How many times have we all said... "I sat down to scrap but ended up ______________ instead." And the word in the blank is something like "played with my Gypsy, tried to cut out a title with my Cricut, couldn't find exactly the right COPIC marker".

I certainly got pages done back when my entire scrapping collection (including the album!) could fit in a milk crate! I feel like I could, if forced, cut my scrap collection by HALF and still create great stuff! In fact, I think sometimes I was MORE creative with LESS stuff!..................P

 

[lovingthemouse]

I so agree with everything!!! My mom made the most beautiful baby books for each of us beginning well over 60 yrs ago and we each treasure what she used - sheer imagination. Simple can be truly spectacular!!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Over the last year my pages have gotten a lot simpler. I mainly use my Cricut for titles.
My problem now is justifying getting rid of said stuff. I really want to purge and scale down but then I feel guilty about the $$. I am basically forcing myself to go digital on most things because of the lack of room but I still need to use up quite a bit of my stash.
DS16 has requested his school and sports albums be paper though, he likes the papers, the textures and the embellies. I haven't asked what the other kids want though.

My Pepere made a beautiful album for Memere with their honeymoon pics. It is wonderful and in great condition.

 

[Spinning]

I can agree to all of this! I have way more stuff than I will ever ever use! It all seemed so neat and the more in the know I was the more I bought! Now I only buy what I really need. Or I try....I never did buy a cricut even though I looked, planned, calculated and was set to buy one on so many occassions but then realized It would get used for a while then become a dust collector.
I took a long break from scrapping and now I am getting back into it. I am keeping with the basics. Not a ton of embellishment but color and matting...I like it a lot and seem to get more done.
I try to throw in a fancy page about every 10 pages. Using ribbon, flowers and some sparkly stuff.
I do still ink a lot. I love that look and it seems to give just enough flair on some of my more boring pages!

 

[morgansmom2000]

I find that most of my pages are paper and cardstock. I use my Cricut for almost every page - for titles or small embellishments. I am in the same boat as BAMB, I can't bring myself to 'toss' it because of the amount of $$ involved in buying it. I'm trying to find new uses for it, though.

 

[mommy2mrb]

I still make plenty of simple LO's with paper and a few embellies...don't like the over designed LO very much either! I've been really good lately on buying stuff because "oh its cute, I'll use is someday" I always have a list and keep to it now when I shop!

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

I remember those days! Now everything barely fits in a room!

I still do pages with pics and no mats

I used up a lot of my stash, and have just leftover stuff that I have no idea what to do with it..... like the stuff I'll never use. I usually give it to the kids but they have so much! I feel like I have more of that stuff these days than what I really want/use. But I also have so much that is waiting to be used for specific stuff. Guess I better figure out how to get more hours in a day.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Yes, I remember when I could carry all of my scrapbooking supplies in one tote bag. I swear this stuff multiplies like rabbits as I now have a whole room filled with scrapbooking goodness.

I read this article a few months ago and found the results horrifying:
http://organizedscrapbooks.com/article71.html

Apparently, I have enough paper on hand to make approx 3000 layouts. That's insane! So over the summer I did some purging and reorganizing. I sold some things on FB and sent a carton of papers & embellishments to a local library about to host scrapbooking classes for teens.

I have a long ways to go still, but it feels great to have some breathing room in my scrap space. I haven't made any scrappy purchases since the beginning of the summer but I am now more aware of what I like on my pages vs. what looks cute in the store or on someone else's layout.

It's definitely liberating and it's easier for me to dive in and get creative instead of sifting through countless supplies.

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

Yes, I remember when I could carry all of my scrapbooking supplies in one tote bag. I swear this stuff multiplies like rabbits as I now have a whole room filled with scrapbooking goodness.

I read this article a few months ago and found the results horrifying:
http://organizedscrapbooks.com/article71.html

Apparently, I have enough paper on hand to make approx 3000 layouts. That's insane! So over the summer I did some purging and reorganizing. I sold some things on FB and sent a carton of papers & embellishments to a local library about to host scrapbooking classes for teens.

I have a long ways to go still, but it feels great to have some breathing room in my scrap space. I haven't made any scrappy purchases since the beginning of the summer but I am now more aware of what I like on my pages vs. what looks cute in the store or on someone else's layout.

It's definitely liberating and it's easier for me to dive in and get creative instead of sifting through countless supplies.

great article!

 

[HeatherFeather]

Also enjoyed that article. I go thru every year or so and purge supplies that I am sure I won't be using and give them to our Girl Scout troop leader so the girls can use the stuff for projects. It is hard though sometimes because I am always thinking maybe I should keep it....just in case!

Too bad we don't all live closer...I think a supply swap/get together would be really cool. One man's trash....

 

[MazdaUK]

I'm a terrible hoarder - so much that I keep papers but won't cut them in case I need it for something else, or use a whole page because that would be a "waste" when I might need it for another similar pagen I do make cards quite a lot and try to use scraps for that rather than cutting whole sheets. I don't have a cricut - only my annoying Xyron PCS that I only use for letter swaps - but I do have a big shot (which I can onlyget out if Dh is at work! Shhhhhhh! ) which I use mostly for embossing swaps as I don't (yet) have a ton of dies.

I don't have a scrap room, just a corner of the dinig room but stuff flows into the conservatory - and now DS(19) is at Uni I don't even clear that end much

Like others I'd hate to throw stuff, and there are not many scrap groups where I could donate paper. I'm going to ask our local children's hospice if they can use stuff.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Did you know that many paper packs and multi sheet slabs usually have 10-20% of their patterns that will not suit you within a pack? (one sheet in 5 may not be to your taste so don't keep it in the stash--share!)

I have managed to break this habit from the article. I don't use a lot of the paper stacks and while I love them, I refuse to buy them because 1/2 the paper would go to waste.

 

[LindaBabe]

Also enjoyed that article. I go thru every year or so and purge supplies that I am sure I won't be using and give them to our Girl Scout troop leader so the girls can use the stuff for projects. It is hard though sometimes because I am always thinking maybe I should keep it....just in case!

Too bad we don't all live closer...I think a supply swap/get together would be really cool. One man's trash....

I would LOVE to have a swap! As it is, I take a shopping bag full to Camp Wannacropit every March - and sometimes end up "shopping" from my own discards

 

[Lanie]

I definately think the stuff is taking over my creativity! I found myself time and time again looking for the right paper for 1h and then deciding on a plain 1 colored cardstock!!!!!

I became a CM consultant in January of last year and since then I have decided to streamline my stash. 1 Power Palette per scrapbook but extra paper of the same colors if needed, but that's IT! Makes it so much easier to bring to crops and to decide on which color to use with every layout! And I look at my tools and cartridges about once a month to figure out which ones I can use for that album.

The only exception to that rule is my Disney papers... Cause I can never have enough Disney papers!

 

[bigsis1970]

Yep I love some of the more simple layouts i've done in the past .. altho I do not use my cricut as much as I want to because in a mobile home space is VERY limited altho I do have a desk to work on.. I've had to do 3 BIG purges so far -- went from a 3 / 4 bedroom home (cape with finished upstairs) to two rooms at my sisters 3 bedroom ranch to a two bedroom mobile home! (this is my final stop for a while) I do purge my stuff when I head to a few annual crops that have swap tables (I bring more for the table then I take back)

I would like to know more about the Camp Wannacropit? sounds like fun!!!

 

[lynner]

I've been thinking about this quite a bit, Linda, since you posted this. I also read the article...very interesting, and I know that I have enough paper and stuff to never have to shop again!

My favorite scrapbook store is closing down by the end of the year. This is the store that, twice a year, has a garage sale where you can sell your stuff...and it has been great for me! I would go through my stash and sell off some of my older papers and embellishments, then buy new from the proceeds (my sales came back to me in the form of a gift card). So now I don't have an outlet to sell off my old stuff, and need to figure out another strategy to turn over my stuff, and turn the old stuff I won't use into something more trendy I would use. (and don't feel bad for the store owner, the store did not go out of business because of poor sales or management, but she got offered a super job in the scrapbook industry and decided it was time to make a life change; I kind of admire that, but am sad that someone has not come in and offered to purchase the store).

Was it easier to scrapbook with less? Maybe it was, but it sure wasn't as much fun! I love using different techniques and trying to mix and match things differently. I also like to load up some layouts with all kinds of stuff, and then doing the simpler things. But, admittedly, I do spend a bit of time sorting, organizing, cleaning up, and working with all my stuff, rather than sitting and scrapbooking!

 

[LindaBabe]

I've been thinking about this quite a bit, Linda, since you posted this. I also read the article...very interesting, and I know that I have enough paper and stuff to never have to shop again!

My favorite scrapbook store is closing down by the end of the year. This is the store that, twice a year, has a garage sale where you can sell your stuff...and it has been great for me! I would go through my stash and sell off some of my older papers and embellishments, then buy new from the proceeds (my sales came back to me in the form of a gift card). So now I don't have an outlet to sell off my old stuff, and need to figure out another strategy to turn over my stuff, and turn the old stuff I won't use into something more trendy I would use. (and don't feel bad for the store owner, the store did not go out of business because of poor sales or management, but she got offered a super job in the scrapbook industry and decided it was time to make a life change; I kind of admire that, but am sad that someone has not come in and offered to purchase the store).

Was it easier to scrapbook with less? Maybe it was, but it sure wasn't as much fun! I love using different techniques and trying to mix and match things differently. I also like to load up some layouts with all kinds of stuff, and then doing the simpler things. But, admittedly, I do spend a bit of time sorting, organizing, cleaning up, and working with all my stuff, rather than sitting and scrapbooking!

When it was reported on TwoPeas, I wondered if that was the store you took me to. So sad for your loss.

I would like to know more about the Camp Wannacropit? sounds like fun!!!

Camp Wannacropit is a crop held in a little town on Cape Cod, once a year, for a weekend in March. It's a bit of a drive for me, but we have an absolute BLAST.