Summer is a joyful time full of sunshine, fireflies, and fun photo opportunities. The long days and warm nights are welcomed, but can leave you wondering if you should give up scrapbooking until fall.
My quick answer is yes. Yes, you should give up and be at peace with the decision if that’s best for you and your family. I’m always 100% for being realistic and simplifying where it’s needed.
But if memory keeping is a priority for you, if the creative outlet is what keeps you grounded and happy, then I have a longer answer for you. It starts with:
You don’t need a lot of time to keep up with scrapbooking during the summer.
Yes, time can easily get away from you because there’s just so much fun to be had. And that’s how it should be. I want to see you slow down and really enjoy the moments, without worry or guilt.
This is because I believe that the more you’re really present in the memory making, the more excitement and energy you’ll have for the memory keeping.
The more you soak up the summer sun, the more likely you are to find that 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there to make progress.
Sure, you’re probably not going to tackle that big project of scanning 20 years of slides. But you can make sure your photos get transferred from your cameras to your computer.
Sure, you’re probably not going to create dozens and dozens of richly-layered layouts with long journaling. But you can keep a summer journal or create a mini book.
Sure, you’re probably not going to get as much done as you would during other times of the year. But you can make time to focus on what really matters most.
If you know that you would really miss how scrapbooking fills you up, how the online community supports you, then no you definitely should not give up on scrapbooking during the summer.
So provocative! Ironically I actually scrap more in the summer because
A) my scrap space in my basement is cool and offers relief from the heat (we don’t have central air)
B) My babysitters have more availability thus I can take off for a Saturday crop at the scrapbook store
C) I stay up later or get up earlier because of the sunrise time and if my girlies are sleeping I can sneak in some creative time.
Although I will say on my planner I left the summer months fairly bare so I have space for what strikes my fancy.
Since I’m a teacher, summer is my time to finally have time to do many of the projects I can’t have time to work on the rest of the year. So I feel like the rest of the year I’m struggling to keep up. I do try to at least work in small bits during the school year, 15 minutes here and there, which allows me to get my photos uploaded, organized, backed up, and maybe do some writing. So if your summers are super busy, maybe even just having the expectation of only getting photos uploaded and organized will take off the pressure later. Or do smaller, easier projects when you have time. Jennifer, thank you for the thoughts!
I use to give up scrapbooking every year during my college years. It meant I had time to live all the memories and find all those friends, explore new places and just have fun! Then I’d spend the summer scrapping. I totally think taking time off is worthwhile. If I could do it all over again I’d make sure to journal. That’s it!
I think I scrap more in summer because it’s light for longer!
I’m trying something new this summer to keep me going. I prepared an album ahead of time in a very Project Life -ish setup, with each week numbered as one layout, ready for me to just pop in that week’s printed pics. Not elegant or classy, but at least I’ll have the memories captured.