Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking can produce one of the most treasured possessions of future generations, whether it’s future generations of your family or future generations of others.
You may find it curious that I have an interest in scrapbooking.  I’ll tell you up-front that I’m new to the scrapbooking world.  I know this creative talent is primarily enjoyed by women, but I think you’ll agree the finished product – a scrapbook, memory book, diary, photo book, a journal; whatever you want to call it – is treasured by women and men alike. Have you ever spent time leisurely wandering through a well prepared memory book?  If you have, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

You may have even shared the “scrapping” experience and didn’t even know it.  That’s right!  Even if your “memory book” is simply a drawer full of scattered photos and letters and keepsakes, you probably have scrapper DNA.  That drawer contains the essential particles for a vibrant, growing structure.

So let’s see if you have the scrapper DNA:

Is the drawer where you keep the special items a place that you enjoy visiting privately whenever possible?  And when you get a chance to rummage through it, do you often think “why don’t I do this more often?”  Or, because you enjoy the rediscovery experience, do you think “I really need to organize this ‘stuff’ because I really want to keep these for the future?”  Or, is doing so too painful?  Does it hurt because the inner wounds become irritated when you stroll through the drawer?  And is that what keeps you from organizing it?

In the English vernacular, one meaning of “scrapper” is someone who fights to the very end; someone who puts forth the effort to get the job done when the odds are not in their favor.  Regarding scrapbooking, the term “scrapper” refers to a scrapbooking enthusiast who finds creative ways to exercise their talents to preserve memories of people, places, things or events by collecting many pieces of memorabilia – or what others might call “scraps” – and giving them order, explanation and new enduring life.

Scrapbooking can be in the form of a paper-based book, or it can simply be a collection of photos.  It can be an array of digital content that is assembled, and stored, and possibly delivered to someone else at a later date.

Scrapbooks can be prepared within a limited period of time for a specific purpose (such as this beautiful wedding scrapbook) and then stored for safekeeping, or they can be an organic, ongoing, life-long project that is focused front-and-center in your psyche.  Sometimes the lifetime projects are executed with the intent of passing the memories to future generations.  Have you ever embarked on a lifelong project with future generations in mind?  Aren’t kids a lifelong project?

Archiving memories is interesting to me, but I’m not currently involved in any type of organized scrapbooking plan.  My dad has done a wonderful job of categorizing, digitizing and archiving family memories.  My wife and I have many family photos that have accumulated over 30 years that need to be organized and stored correctly.  As I began searching the web for direction and ideas about storing them I became intrigued with the large amount of information available to scrappers for scrapbooking.  Hence the idea for this site.

As Ricky Lee Jones, the American singer songwriter known for the 70′s hit Chuck E’s In Love sang the lyrics “You never know when you’re making a memory” in the song Young Blood. Archiving memories are important; as we age our memories occupy a much larger venue in our lives. The same memories will be treasured in the future by those that follow us.

“A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever.”

I welcome your input into this endeavor.  I want this blog to be beneficial to you and others, so please leave a comment below so I can learn from you and we can all learn from each other.  After all, sharing is what scrapbooking is all about!  Tell me why you love scrapbooking and what’s important to you about archiving your memories?  Do you have scrapper DNA?

Now, for a change of pace, check out this video. You’ll get a tour of a beautiful accordion miniature scrapbook album. And BTW, that’s not me in the daisy above…