Somewhere along the line scrapbooking picked up a reputation. The thing is, the ideas you have in your head about scrapbooking may not jive with reality. Scrapbooking today looks a lot different than it did 5, 10, or 15 years ago. It’s fresh, modern, and can be customized to fit any lifestyle.
1. Scrapbooking is expensive.
You can create beautiful scrapbook projects on a budget and without a lot of supplies on hand. It’s easier than ever to keep it simple and basic.
2. You have to be creative to scrapbook.
With the tutorials and ready-to-go ideas available on the Internet, scrapbookers today can rely on the creativity of others to get inspired and create skillfully.
3. Scrapbooking takes too much time.
Technology is the best friend of today’s busy scrapbooker. From editing photos while waiting at the doctor to ordering a photobook from your iPad, scrapbooking today can be super fast if you want it to be.
4. Scrapbooking requires a lot of space.
You don’t need a lot of fancy tools or unlimited storage space to be a scrapbooker. You can even scrapbook with just your computer – only hard drive space required!
5. Scrapbooking is difficult.
Scrapbooking today can be anything you want it to be. At its core, scrapbooking is about combining your photos with words that tell a story. It’s your story, so your rules apply!
6. Scrapbook supplies are not my style.
There’s far more to scrapbook supplies than the cutesy and feminine items you see at the hobby store. Whether your style is artsy or ultra modern, or anything in between, today’s scrapbooking products can fit any personal aesthetic.
7. Scrapbooking requires a fancy camera.
This is not so! So many scrapbookers today use photos taken with their phone for most of their pages and projects. The best camera is the one you have with you.
8. Scrapbooking is for older people.
Scrapbookers today are not just empty nester moms. From college students to great-grandmothers, you can be a scrapbooker at any age and with any lifestyle.
9. I’m too far behind to start scrapbooking.
Scrapbooking is a way to celebrate your memories, but there’s no right way to be a scrapbooker. You can start any time and with any project. You don’t even have to scrapbook events in order.
10. Scrapbookers are weird.
We’re moms, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, friends who take pictures. We’re just like you. We love our lives and our families and don’t want to forget a single moment!
You’ve read my mind. I’ve had a similar blog post idea sitting in draft form for several weeks now, and I think you hit all the same major myths I had thought of. Number 4 is one that even I struggled with myself, which is why I made the switch to digital, at least until we move to a bigger place someday!
This is a SUPER list! I plan to print it out and incorporate into a LO. You’re awesome, Jennifer! I do so appreciate the ‘reality’ and encouragement you bring to our efforts.
Cheers~
Keep scrapbookers weird. 🙂 No problem with that. We love all kinds here. Just share your work and we will share with you.
This is all so true. I was having a similar conversation about knitting recently about what you believed was an absolute truth when you began to knit. It made me think about scrapbooking and my main one was that you ‘HAD’ to start with a plain sheet of cardstock! You could put patterned paper on top but never use it as the base. Thank heavens I know better.
Love your list, but the line: We’re moms, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, friends who take pictures, make it seems like a female thing only. I know of many men with fishing, golfing and sport scrapbooks. Let’s include them in our blogs.
I was intending more to be general than exclusive, but that’s a fantastic point Nicky. Thanks for sharing it!
No one has a smaller space for scrapbooking than I do. I live in a 410sq ft apt. I’ve been scrapbooking for 10 plus years and have a more than an extensive supply of materials and various machines and I have my “stash” very well organized in my tiny space. I work on a card table. So you really don’t need that much space.
Thanks, Darlene. I know what you mean. I feel like I am struggling to keep up with all the chengas that are happening in technology. My husband is a programmer, and seems to understand everything as it hits the market. My kids can too. I guess they just watch him and pick it up. But I’m just not like that. He will try to show me things, but if he doesn’t stand there and walk me through it, letting me do it myself, I’ll never remember it. You’re probably right about the computer. Everything chengas so quickly now, that after a year, it’s not up to par anymore. It’s such a shame, but that’s the way it is. My husband upgrades our computers a part at a time, and saves money that way. There’s no way we could run out and buy a whole new system.