4 Big Myths About Scrapbooking
I love scrapbooking and I have a singular obsession with it. I am somewhat amazed that for the many years I've been doing it (over ten years digital scrapbooking and basically my whole life paper scrapbooking) I have not yet tired of it. In fact I think I love it even more today than I have in the past. Part of the reason for this is that in the last few years I've really been able to focus in on what I love and do more of it. What's helped me make this breakthrough was identifying certain myths that were informing what I thought I should be doing. Since it was such an important part of my creative journey, I thought I'd take some time to collect some common scrapbooking myths (thanks to everyone who helped me!). Hopefully taking some time to consider your own creative journey in the light of these myths will help bring you to a new level of creativity.
Once I started thinking about the myths of scrapbooking, it turned out there were a lot! In today's post I'm going to focus on the big idea myths of scrapbooking. In my next post I'll focus on the nitty-gritty myths of scrapbooking.
1. You don't have to be a heritage scrapbooker.
Most of the literature and people talking about scrapbooking are coming at it from a place of creating something to pass on. It took me a long time to realize you don't have to scrapbook to create an heirloom. It seems somewhat silly at first glance to admit that I'm not creating and saving these scrapbooks for the future. But the truth is that I'm interested in the patterns and the colors and the embellishments. I like layering papers and adding flowers. I like including photos because I like looking at my photos. I care about creating in the moment and not really what happens to my pages after that. It's totally okay to create something for the sake of creating it. It doesn't have to have purpose or be given a place of honor (or even space in the closet).
Being freed from the heirloom myth means I can make scrapbooks that won't stand the test of time (neither my junk journals nor my travelers notebooks feel like they have much lasting abilities) and I don't have to do stuff I don't like doing, like journaling.
2. You don't have to keep everything you make.
For me one of the biggest realizations was that I could throw my stuff away. I'm a very prolific scrapper and the thought of drowning in scrapbooks and notebooks was actually keeping me from making anything. Once I realized I could get rid of them if I wanted, I started making a lot more stuff.
3. You don't have to scrapbook for your kids.
When I meet new people and they find out that I basically make scrapbooks for a living they will often tell me their guilty secret, which is that they haven't made a scrapbook for their child. I always find this a bit comical since the whole reason I scrapbook is because my mother also did not make me a scrapbook. Scrapbook what you want. It doesn't have to be your kids. Or don't scrapbook if you don't want to. Life is short and scrapbooking should not be attached to guilt. Make what you want to make.
4. You don't need kids to scrapbook.
Another invasive myth is that you need kids to scrapbook. Since I started scrapbooking as a teenager it never bothered me that I didn't have kids to scrapbook, but I can certainly see how most images from the scrapbooking community would lead you to believe that having kids was important to scrapbooking. Children are certainly a common topic for scrapbook pages, but certainly not the only one.
Basically what it comes down to is that there's no right way to scrapbook. Pay attention to what you like doing and what motivates you to create a scrapbook. That's a lot more important than any scrapbook ideals you may have picked up along the way. What myths have you believes over the years about scrapbooking?
Blog By
About Me
Hi There! I’m Marisa Lerin and you’ll see me around at DigitalScrapbook.com a lot. I started this site in 2010 soon after I discovered a new love in digital scrapbooking. DigitalScrapbook.com has gone through some significant changes since that time and it’s grown into this lovely community site you are seeing now. I am daily surprised by the turn of life’s events that has led me down this path. If you're new to the site, welcome! Here are a few tidbits about me that I hope will help you get to know me better!
I’m originally from Minnesota, USA, but spent a good chunk of my childhood living abroad (in Bolivia and Hong Kong). I returned to Minnesota to attend university, got married and then moved overseas again (Korea, then Jordan and 1 year of traveling). My designs are heavily influenced by these many nomadic years. I am currently back in the USA, now living in the great state of Oregon!
I have no official training for what I’m doing, since I decided very wisely (haha) to study physics in university. I am always learning new things about digital scrapbooking, and this community has been immensely helpful for that!
If I manage to stop digital scrapbooking you will probably find me watching TV, reading or baking. I also enjoy writing for the blog here at DigitalScrapbook.com where I talk about whatever happens to be catching my fancy at the moment.
Monthly archive
- November 2012 (9)
- December 2012 (37)
- January 2013 (17)
- February 2013 (13)
- March 2013 (20)
- April 2013 (26)
- May 2013 (29)
- June 2013 (9)
- July 2013 (8)
- August 2013 (13)
- September 2013 (16)
- October 2013 (14)
- November 2013 (16)
- December 2013 (12)
- January 2014 (15)
- February 2014 (9)
- March 2014 (15)
- April 2014 (11)
- May 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (9)
- July 2014 (8)
- August 2014 (7)
- September 2014 (8)
- October 2014 (13)
- November 2014 (6)
- December 2014 (3)
- January 2015 (13)
- February 2015 (14)
- March 2015 (14)
- April 2015 (13)
- May 2015 (12)
- June 2015 (11)
- July 2015 (10)
- August 2015 (8)
- September 2015 (7)
- October 2015 (10)
- November 2015 (8)
- December 2015 (10)
- January 2016 (7)
- February 2016 (6)
- March 2016 (8)
- April 2016 (7)
- May 2016 (8)
- June 2016 (8)
- July 2016 (6)
- August 2016 (5)
- September 2016 (8)
- October 2016 (8)
- November 2016 (11)
- December 2016 (7)
- January 2017 (6)
- February 2017 (12)
- March 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (7)
- May 2017 (9)
- June 2017 (9)
- July 2017 (10)
- August 2017 (7)
- September 2017 (11)
- October 2017 (8)
- November 2017 (9)
- December 2017 (8)
- January 2018 (8)
- February 2018 (8)
- March 2018 (8)
- April 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (9)
- June 2018 (9)
- July 2018 (4)
- August 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (13)
- October 2018 (19)
- November 2018 (18)
- December 2018 (14)
- January 2019 (23)
- February 2019 (20)
- March 2019 (17)
- April 2019 (14)
- May 2019 (17)
- June 2019 (14)
- July 2019 (8)
- August 2019 (3)
- September 2019 (14)
- October 2019 (17)
- November 2019 (16)
- December 2019 (6)
- January 2020 (14)
- February 2020 (20)
- March 2020 (16)
- April 2020 (18)
- May 2020 (19)
- June 2020 (16)
- July 2020 (8)
- August 2020 (5)
- September 2020 (8)
- October 2020 (10)
- November 2020 (10)
- December 2020 (7)
- January 2021 (4)
- February 2021 (9)
- March 2021 (8)
- April 2021 (7)
- May 2021 (7)
- June 2021 (7)
- July 2021 (10)
- August 2021 (7)
- September 2021 (8)
- October 2021 (5)
- November 2021 (7)
- December 2021 (6)
- January 2022 (5)
- February 2022 (7)
- March 2022 (9)
- April 2022 (6)
- May 2022 (7)
- June 2022 (4)
- July 2022 (2)
- August 2022 (1)
- September 2022 (3)
- October 2022 (6)
- November 2022 (4)
- December 2022 (6)
- January 2023 (4)
- February 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (6)
- April 2023 (5)
- May 2023 (5)
- June 2023 (5)
- July 2023 (5)
- August 2023 (5)
- September 2023 (5)
- October 2023 (4)
- November 2023 (4)
- December 2023 (5)
- January 2024 (4)
- February 2024 (5)
- March 2024 (5)
- April 2024 (2)
Recent Comments
i liked the small one better, but this had some food for thought.
Thank you. :D
Inspiring ideas!
Great post! I also started scrapbooking long before kids, long before husband, too. In fact, when I had kids was when I stopped scrapping for many years because I simply did not have time.
I also don't care about heritage scrapbooking or scrapbooking for my kids. For me, scrapbooks are not only a creative outlet but somewhere I can include photos to tell stories. I don't do everything chronologically anymore because it messes up my go with the flow attitude. I scrapbook what I want when I want with several projects in process. Because I let go of these myths, I enjoy scrapbooking much more and do it much more often.
I love this post. So freeing. I'll have to reflect on these things and incorporate the ideas into my way of scrapbooking. Thanks Marissa!
I love this. Especially the comment "it's okay to create something for the sake of creating it". Often I've been asked why and what feelings (torment, anguish, whatever) led to what I was creating. I always said, cant I just create for no other reasons except that I like it. For the record, if I'm really stressed out I cant create anything at all.
Very beautiful Marisa!
Fantastic post Marisa!
The kids one was huge for me (even though 90% of the layouts I make here involve my kids!) But I was single until I was 30, and once I got through college, aside from some big trips that I wanted to document, I really struggled with why I was doing it. I honestly never finished a LOT of my layouts from back then, though I think that if I'd had all the fun digital embellishments to play with instead of just trying to painstakingly make my own from the paper and leftover sewing supplies I could afford, I might have done better. I love documenting our family life, but it's been freeing to also discover new ways of playing, like the collage kits and Bible journaling challenges. I'd like to dive more into that as time allows.
Thank you for sharing this - a couple of these really ring true with me. I especially relate to the idea that not everything has to stand the test of time. I have only started to really accept that and just do what I like doing with no "rules" to force something that I don't enjoy. I also have come to accept that I can re-use photos because there is no rule that says once a photo or a set of photos have been used you can never make another layout with them. Once I got my head around that I could just enjoy trying new things and playing with techniques and goodies.