All About MY Scrapbooking

 I have started and deleted this post a hundred times over the past few years.  When I started sharing photos of my scrapbooking pages on the blog I had so many questions about my scrapbooking and was asked to create a whole post dedicated to it... but I always flounder at how to answer these... what to include and not to.. so I decided to start a mini series about scrapbooking!  In today's post I'll give a quick overview of MY scrapbooking timeline and what I've done through the years and then I'll have some other posts with more details later on (I'm thinking 1 a month for a few months?).  


When I started: I started scrapbooking in 2001... my sister gave me a scrapbook she put together for my wedding shower and I just loved it and that inspired me to add pages into the back of her album of our actual wedding then I put a scrapbook together of our honeymoon.  My hobby just sort of took off from there! 

A sample of some pages my sister made:



Some of the pages I added:



Some of my earliest pages: Now you have to remember that I got into scrapbooking in 2001; which was before it was the HUGE industry it became (at least here anyway) so there weren't many embellishments or papers or even adhesives and books to pick from.  There were no scrapbooking stores and online purchases weren't really a thing. My earliest pages are rather blank and boring and amateurish but I was an amature.  I relied a lot on the few rubber stamps and ink pads I had as well as colorful papers and textures to add interest. 



I often used program, ticket stubs and the like to fill in pages as well (or used maps as background paper)

I used stickers when I could find them and often made up my own embellishments and even patterned "paper" using paper weaving, stamps, and whatever else I could find that went along with the page I was creating. 



I used wire to sculpt my title on this page and then glued it onto paper.

I used the same stamp set on Ian's nursery walls to decorate the pages in his scrapbook to match.

(My sister and I were due just a few weeks apart so we had a joint shower; which is why we're both opening gifts here)

I used 2 different stamps from Stampin Up! to create a patterned background on this page

the paper weaving I mentioned

I used to create pocket pages to store cards and other keepsakes in too.


Where I store them: I have a deep bookcase that holds all our scrapbooks.  I went searching through a furniture store for a bookcase that was 12" deep specifically to hold our albums.  


A few smaller albums are stored in a giant basket under one of our end tables. 


I keep the albums I'm currently working on in my craft room and I honestly don't know what I'll do with them when they are full because my bookcase is full too.  I've been trying to convince my husband for YEARS to build a giant bookcase on each side of this window and build a nice bench underneath it connecting the two... wouldn't that be perfect?


How Many I Have?  Oh boy... um...  41?! I think.. at last count.  (Of the 12x12 size anyway but I do have some smaller scrapbooks too!). 

How I divide up my pages: Normally I just make up a single page spread but depending on how many photos I have of the event I'm scrapbooking I may make a double page spread as well.  So I guess the number of photos I want to use often dictates how I divvy up my pages.  




When the kids were little I used to take more photos so the pages often included flaps and flip up sections with even more photos.  





I got really good at fitting a lot of photos on one page.



But a few times I'd even take just one photo and enlarge it to nearly fill the page..




Some of my favorite pages: picking some of my favorite pages is like trying to ask me to pick my favorite child.. it's impossible to pick just one.  I thought I'd include a few favorites with each of these blog posts. 

Sometimes it's my favorite because of the photos!




Sometimes I just fall in love with the layout/ embellishments/ colors of the page:




Sometimes it's my favorite because of the memories associated with it!



Sometimes it's a new layout I fall in love with. 


Linking up with: Wednesday Link Party, 











Comments

  1. So cool to learn more about your scrapbooking! Around here, in the early 2000's a company called Creative Memories was really popular. I bought some supplies and have made a few scrapbooks over the years but have not been a committed and creative scrapbooker. Your pages are so good- they preserve the memory and include your creative and artistic flair as well.

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    1. Thank you! I first learned of Creative Memories when my oldest was a few years old.. so probably around 2005 or 6? I fell in love with their strap albums.

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  2. Such a fun way to document memories!

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  3. I love the idea of scrapbooking, it is a great way to record all of those special moments. I love all of your scrapbook pages. x

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  4. I love how your pages have gotten more and more creative as time has gone on- my favorites are the Disney pages :)

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  5. Love it. You can see how your style and skill changed over the years. What a lovely way to record all those memories.

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  6. I used to scrapbook. I found that I took way more photos than I could handle to scrapbook with!

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    1. It can be tough to whittle them down and limit myself to just a few photos.

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  7. This makes me so happy! I use to sell Creative Memories and still have so many supplies....finally getting my guest room set up as an office and I'm itching to scrapbook. My oldest two have scrapbooks through high school but the younger two not so much.

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    1. I'm finding it hard to pick a "stopping" point! LOL. I thought 18 but then made up a few pages for my oldest son's book this year... so maybe just whenever they move out??

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  8. Ah - the memories! I used to be huge (ok, really big) into Creative Memories. We would go to CM parties and just scrapbook for hours. And, then I somehow convinced myself that scrapbooks weren't "cool" or at least weren't a thing anymore....and there sit all my photos (already organized) in boxes downstairs. I really need to work on them again - if just for the fun and love of it!!

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    1. I took a good long break from scrapbooking for a few years before picking it back up again.. I nearly got rid of all my stuff too and I am so glad that I didn't!

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  9. You can really see your evolution Joanne. I just loved doing this back in the day, and seeing this makes me want to start again. Except that I gave everything away, haha.
    XOXO
    Jodie

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    1. Aw, thank you! That's what I was hoping to show.

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  10. I envy you the way you've organized your memories! You will never forget them now! The biggest reason I never got into scrapbooking was I knew I'd never finish one! And, then the narrowing down of photos...gah!!! I agree...your husband should definitely build some bookshelves with storage underneath!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. It can be so hard to narrow down my photo choices!

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  11. I love this so much! I also absolute LOVE that you print so many photographs! As a photographer, I know what a rarity that is these days, so it's wonderful! What memories you have in those pages <3

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    1. Thank you! I know I am one of those rare people that actually still have my photos printed.

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  12. Wow! You are so talented. Those albums are such keepsakes for everyone. I think bookshelves and a bench would be amazing!

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  13. You know I've been looking forward to this post! OMG I cannot believe how many scrapbooks you have!!!! I'm with you, your husband definitely needs to build some bookshelves for you, especially if you hope to continue this hobby. What treasures those will be for your family members in the future!

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    1. Yeah, I have A LOT of them... and I'm struggling with when to stop and at the same time I'm also seeing a day in the future when I won't have much to scrapbook and that bums me out.

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  14. I used to scrapbook, I wish I could make time for that but it's hard with a baby. The bookshelf you have fits all of your albums perfectly!!

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    1. It definitely is! I'm pretty sure I took at least a couple years off when my boys were really little (I often had baby albums and pages ready go so I just had to add the photos in).

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  15. Scrapbooking has surely evolved into something quite different from when we first envisioned it. I love all the pretty papers and embellishments we can buy now. Enjoyed seeing your pages!!

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    1. I love all the supplies that are available to us now! It really has become a form of art.

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  16. I love seeing your scrapbooking history. You've been so creative over the years. I especially love the word "wire" done in wire. So smart!

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    1. Thank you! I love when creative inspiration hits like that.

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