What Should a Scrapbook Look Like?
Preserving the memory is just as important as having the experience - it gives you the opportunity to relive it over and over again.
We had a bridal shower for my sister-in-law Kendra the day before her wedding last week (this has been the month of showers!) and her long-time friends from Washington DC came. These gals have literally been Kendra's friends for years and they have a history filled with funny memories.Two of them decided to create a scrapbook for Kendra - a journey from the time they lived together to now. Neither of them are scrapbookers. In fact, Jen told me that she walked into Michaels and had no idea where to even start.But here's the thing...even though Jen was embarrassed that it didn't "look" like a scrapbook, I loved it. I asked Jen if I could post their scrapbook for Kendra on my blog. It captured all of the best parts of their lives together - the fun, the memories, the stories behind their inside jokes, everything important. It's one of my favorite scrapbooks I have ever seen and I'm so grateful that they took the time to put it together even if they didn't feel like they had enough "experience at scrapbooking."
Notice how there are all the elements of a fabulous scrapbook in their gift: photos, journaling, even a few embellishments. Sure it's great to use all the latest products and techniques to create our scrapbooks but sometimes I think we lose sight of the real reason why we got into this hobby in the first place - because we like to celebrate memories...and if we can be creative in the process, even better!I know that sometimes as scrapbookers we might feel like our efforts aren't as good or as skilled as someone else's. The funny thing is that even though Jen and Heidi didn't feel "experienced" enough to scrapbook, what they created was one of the best scrapbooking experiences I've seen in a long time.So go for it! Anyone can be a scrapbooker because anything that captures a memory is a scrapbook of sorts. Put photos in a photo album, create digital photo books, write in a journal, put a photo in a frame...whatever! It's all a part of celebrating memories and that's what we, as scrapbookers, are all about.