What Do You Need to Make a Scrapbook

Reasons To Give Scrapbooking A Chance This past year I've realized that a lot of my friends are just NOT interested in scrapbooking. When I ask them if they would ever try it, their response is, "Nope. Not for me!"

Their reasons are often that they don't have time, don't like the traditional scrapbook supplies in stores, or the commitment to buy a bunch of "stuff." Sometimes they simply don't like the idea of scrapbooking, saying it feels fussy or old-fashioned.

I get it. I do. I've struggled with all these things myself. I took a nice six-year break from making any scrapbooks at all, but in the end I did really miss it and decided to reinvent it for myself, my own way.

As I've become more and more open to the idea of calling myself a "scrapbooker," I've been seeing that it is what you make it, that it doesn't HAVE to be cheesy or expensive or incredibly time-consuming. A scrapbook can simply be a prettier photo album, OR it can be really artsy. It can also be both, depending on your mood (I love both, and I'm moody—great!). It is what you make it.

Today I'm here to convince the inconvincible. Raise your hand if you're like, "No way!" This post is for you. I want to share something that's become a really special part of my life.

Open your heart and grab a cup of coffee… it's time for my sales pitch! (spoiler—I'm gonna convert you!)

10 Reasons To Give Scrapbooking A Chance So naturally, we collaborated with our friends at Canon USA on this post because printing at home is kind of a lifesaver for scrapbooking. I need my pictures in way too many shapes and sizes to try to have them printed somewhere. That printer in the picture is the Canon PIXMA iP8720, which as of recently probably gets the most use for my scrapbooking because the wide format lets me print amaaazing quality up to 13×19 inches.

Now, onto the list:

1. Your photos deserve a real life home (and your phone doesn't count!)

I have an old cell phone sitting next to my bed. It has a ton of photos on it that aren't backed up. For more than a year now I've been meaning to back them up and print them, and then probably donate the phone to one of the many kiddos in my family that love playing kid games on it. But to be totally honest… I'm lazy.

That cell phone is just one of MANY places where I have really special memories that haven't been printed yet.

Scrapbooking makes a home for these memories. It motivates me to get organized. And as soon as I begin, I am SO thankful when I see dozens of wonderful memories that would have been forgotten.

Your photos deserve an album. One that sits on your shelf for your kiddos and your grandkids to look at. An album that you can flip through one day and remember all these great times that are happening way too fast.

2. You can scrapbook with your own style, in your own taste.

I meet many people who think scrapbooking is cheesy. And you know what, they're not wrong. Scrapbooks can be cheesy.

But you know what, it's your scrapbook, you can make it look however you want!

When I made my first family album last year, I realized that I wasn't loving a lot of the scrapbook supplies available in stores. So I focused on lots of big photos. That was how I made it feel like my style, and I loved the resulting look.

I've seen beautiful scrapbooks that were incredibly minimal, just photos and a few stories included. I've also seen beautiful scrapbooks that were super artsy, pretty much an art journal with photos. Both are great options. It's up to you to decide what fits your style.

Be encouraged that no matter what your style is, you can make a book that feels like you!

3. Scrapbook to record stories, because memories lie.

Memories lie. Jeremy and I remember our first dates differently. Emma and I have lots of childhood stories that are a little blurry on the details, so we tell them differently. Memories change over time.

But you know what doesn't lie? I journal entry that you wrote at that time. You can look back and read exactly what you thought or felt or experienced at that time. It might be nostalgic or it might make you cringe, but either way it will take you back.

4. Scrapbooking will make you a better photographer.

True story.

When I'm planning to scrapbook, I take more photos. Specifically I take more detail photos. If I'm in the instagram mindset, I might be OK with 3-4 cute photos from a vacation, but if I'm in scrapbook mindset, I'll come home with ten times that many!

Scrapbooking will motivate you to take more photos of the important stuff (like your family!) and the little things (like your everyday routines). It's a great reminder to tell stories through photos.

5. Making scrapbooks will help you feel thankful and reflect.

When I made our first year of marriage book, I had the best time remembering our honeymoon, our first Christmas, our new puppy, and our one year anniversary trip to Hawaii. What a special year!

Taking the time to make the scrapbook helped me reflect on these happy memories and be really really thankful for them. Since then, each time I pull the album down from our bookshelf, I experience those emotions all over again.

Living with a thankful heart is really important to me, and scrapbooking does a weirdly good job of putting me in that mindset.

6. Scrapbook to zen out, decompress and relax (glass of wine, optional!)

It's good to have a hobby you can do at home when you want to relax. When combined with guilty pleasure television and a glass of wine… well, even better I say!

I like projects I can do with my hands while I hang out with Jeremy, or by myself, at night. It's a good way to unwind, forget about the day, and get ready for sleep.

7. Scrapbook to be creative.

When I was growing up, art class was always my favorite. I loved the process of getting a new medium (clay, paint, tissue, glue…) and making something creative with it. I still love that ritual today.

The scrapbooking aisles are filled with new things to try and play with. There is no shortage of new techniques and mediums to experiment with. A lot of my favorite ideas come from taking something that's not necessarily a scrapbook supply (like yarn, contact paper, or watercolor paints) and trying to find a new creative way to use it on my pages. Scrapbooking can be a creative outlet, no doubt. In a way, it's multitasking because you get to be creative while doing something useful (making family albums).

8. Scrapbook as a gift to your family.

I love looking at my grandmother's family albums. She consistently created albums throughout her life beginning with the photos that were passed down to her, throughout every stage and season of life (I can look at my dad's first year, or my own first year!), up to the present day.

If you love and appreciate the albums in your family, use them as an inspiration to get motivated to start your own! They are one of the most precious gifts you can ever make for your loved ones.

9. Scrapbooking helps you to mark years, seasons, changes and milestones.

Most of us have a pretty fast-paced life. It's easy for me to look back at my twenties and be like, "WHOA! That went by fast!" But when I look at all the photos throughout those years, it reminds me how full and wonderful those years were.

Weddings, babies, moving to new homes, new jobs, graduations—these are all seasons in your life that you can document. The process of making these books is good for you to help you process each season, appreciate it, and remember the details while also creating something to look back on in the future.

10. Scrapbooking is really really fun.

If you've never tried it, it might be hard to believe. My advice is to just try it! Make one album. Don't worry about whether or not you are going to scrapbook your whole entire life… just try it.

I love making scrapbooks. It's one of the most fun projects in the world to me. The key is to find your way to do it! You need to love both the process and the end result. So make it as simple and organized or as artistic as you want. I have a feeling that if you find what works for you, you'll become as obsessed as I am!

10 Reasons To Give Scrapbooking A Chance I'm here to answer your questions in the comments! So chat with me if you have any questions. xo. Elsie