Evolution of a Hobby: Confessions of a Former Scrapbook Junkie

Sometimes when I’m thinking about what to write for this blog, I look at the calendar and see what official holidays or other events are taking place that month. For this month, I saw that National Scrapbook Day, which fell on the first Saturday of May, just passed. And, I was hit with a pang of nostalgia.

For those who may not have heard of it, scrapbooking is essentially a creative way to make photo albums. Years ago, before the “magnetic” albums of the 70’s & 80’s, the individual photo-sleeve albums of the 90s, and today’s digitally-produced photobooks, scrapbooks looked like large journals with blank pages. The paper could be white, brown, or like the image below, black, and folks would paste in or use sticky photo corners to add their pictures, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia.

Based on that old-time method of preserving photos and mementos, a new type of scrapbooking gained popularity at the turn of the millennium. It involved craft supplies, stickers, thick papers, and (usually) 12 x 12” albums. This was the kind of scrapbooking that caught my attention after I got married, and it was my favorite hobby for many years.

That said, I haven’t scrapbooked (yes, it’s also used like a verb- and my Word program didn’t flag it with the spellchecker) in years. I miss this fun activity, but I probably won’t be going back to it any time soon.

In this article, I’ll chronicle how I got into scrapbooking, what I liked about it, and what happens when life’s natural evolution means that you’ve got to leave a hobby behind, or at least allow it to naturally evolve. I’ll also explain how the supplies and skills leftover from my old hobby are still in use today, albeit in a different way.

How and Why I Got into Scrapbooking

As I like to tell my kids, a long, long time ago, before there were smart phones (the dinosaur era, basically), we took pictures with cameras. The cameras were filled with these little canisters that had a roll of translucent brown film. And, we would have to wait until the film was filled up with pictures to send it off to be developed so we could see what the actual photos looked like.

This story still boggles my kids’ minds. Waiting for most things seems impossible to people who have grown up in an instant results world. And, for young people who have always been able to see a photo within seconds of having taken it, they still cannot get over that I would have to wait to see what my photos even looked like, let alone have to get them printed on photo paper to do that.

My kids take hundreds of photos each week and barely give them any thought until I tell them it’s time to clear out the photo stream. Because their phones hold a ton of pictures, they don’t think much about taking several photos of the same thing until they capture the image they want.

But, I remember those old days of cameras and dropping off film canisters to be developed. Because you didn’t know exactly how your pictures would come out, and it cost money to see them, you tended to be more careful and selective when taking photos.

And, it was because photos were so precious that I first started scrapbooking. In high school and college I basically kept a few albums from things like trips I took or my sweet 16 (although my hair is so big, I’m surprised you can see anything else in those pictures). I would keep them either in sticky-backed albums (called magnetic albums, for some reason) or in albums that had sleeves for individual pictures.

Although I had never heard of scrapbooking, I managed to find ways to adhere papers related to the event (restaurant menus from trips, invitations, etc.) to the inside covers of these albums. And, I would even find the occasional sticker sheet to add some funny quotes or embellishment to what would otherwise be a series of boring pictures.

When I got married, we had a wedding photographer who showed us 4×4” proofs of every photo taken at the wedding and reception, so we could choose the ones for our official albums. After the official albums were complete, we received two boxes of the proofs. They were too big to place in photo sleeves, and I worried the magnetic albums might ruin them. I left them in their boxes, not knowing what to do with them.

A few years passed by (translation: I went to law school where my every waking moment was dominated by studying), and after getting my law degree, I got a job and found that I had time on the weekends to think about what to do with all the photos left from the wedding as well as ones we’d taken since that time.

I learned that craft stores were selling these huge 12×12” albums that would hold tons of photos. And, to my utter delight, I found that people were decorating these albums with patterned paper, stickers, pens, glitter glue, and all manner of craft supplies that I had been missing from my school days.

Hobbies are an important part of self-care, as I have written about in articles like this. Practicing law is a stressful career, and I needed a hobby to help me unwind. I learned about scrapbooking, and it seemed like the answer to my prayers.

What I liked about scrapbooking was that I could take my personal photos and use craft supplies to make fun memories out of the pictures. I not only wrote down the dates and people in the photos, I could do a little journaling and explain what we were doing or feeling at that time.

Another perk was that it was a popular activity. I was able to load up my supplies into a craft bag and take it with me to do anywhere. There were meetups calls “crops,” which was reminiscent of a quilting bee but with paper and way more craft supplies. At one point, my sister came to visit and we scrapbooked about scrapbooking (this is embarrassingly true. And, it was all my idea!)

I also loved the shopping. I would purchase differently shaped punches and stencils, scissors that cut different patterns, rubber stamps, markers, brads and eyelets, wire, and papers that were shiny metallic, sheer vellum, or textured mulberry. There was no end to what I would buy and what I could do with it.

Most weekends, I woke up excited to start my day as I thought about what fun arts and crafts projects I could make in my scrapbooks. I hate to admit it, but there were even some events that I planned for the sole purpose of being able to create a layout for it in my scrapbook.

But, as with all good things, my scrapbooking came to an end. Sort of.

When Your Seasons Change, So Do Your Hobbies

The first scrapbook I created was of my wedding. I took a lot of those 4×4” proofs and carefully placed them in a large white album with gold foil trim (it was classic wedding-themed). Although not the most creative album, it was my first dip into the scrapbooking pool.

The second album, I got a little more creative. I took the photos from our honeymoon and some of the keepsakes from the trip (coins, show tickets, etc.) and created layouts with stickers and journaling. That got me hooked.

I went on to create several albums after that- one about law school and my new career, and others that kept up with what we were doing each year. My layouts became more elaborate as I collected and used more supplies. In some, I would texture the paper myself using texture plates and embossing tools. In others, I would create my own paper patterns using blow pens (yup, pens that act like air brushes when you blow in them).

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None of my creations were stunning works of art, but they were hand-crafted by me. And, that meant that I felt a personal connection to each one.

However, as a recovering perfectionist, I can tell you that this sort of hobby only grows more obsessive over time for someone like me. I ended up feeling the need to have at least one layout per month so I could use every sticker in the months-of-the-year sticker set I bought. I didn’t want to ruin any photos, so I would painstakingly cut out designs and mount the photos from behind using photo corners.

In the end, one layout could take hours for me to create. And, the process went from joyful to exhausting.

The end to my scrapbooking came when I learned that I would be a mom. First, I was tired. I was working a law firm job, which didn’t leave much down time, except a little on weekends. And, when you’re pregnant and working full-time, this meant that I decided to catch up on rest during my days off rather than spend them crafting.

Although I planned a big scrapbook for my pregnancy and first child, which I thought I would work on during maternity leave (yeah- I can laugh about it now), it never happened. Once that precious little boy came into my life, I wanted to spend my free time with him. That desire to spend time with him became even more of a priority when I returned to work.

So, I left my scrapbook supplies in a closet in my home office. My daughter, who has recently discovered and thumbed through my old albums was shocked to learn that there was no big baby album for either her or her broth. Although, I did manage to find one with photo sleeves to hold photos from his first years.

When our seasons changes, so do our priorities. Giving up scrapbooking was a way to show myself some grace. It’s not like I didn’t have any other hobbies. When I wasn’t on the floor playing with Kid K’nex with my son or Barbies with my daughter, I read, volunteered at my church, and got creative in the kitchen with different recipes.

Reinventing a Scrapbooking Hobby

That said, I didn’t give away my scrapbooking supplies after my son was born. And, I kept them even after his sister was born a few years later.

At first, the scrapbooking supplies came in handy for making crafts with my little ones or creating projects to do as Sunday School lessons when I taught the kids at church. After my kids got a little older, some of their school projects required some creativity, and they were delighted to explore the craft closet.

As the kids grew older (I have a tween and teen right now), I let started letting them use my decorative scissors, punches, and fancy papers. I also found that the more independent my children became, the more time I had to get back to my hobbies. And my daughter, in particular, enjoys crafting and memory keeping, so we started doing some quasi-scrapbooking activities.

Here are some hobbies that helped me use my scrapbooking skills and supplies without becoming overwhelmed:

Travel Journal. The first of these was creating a travel journal. I’ve mentioned this journal in this prior article about creative journaling, but it’s basically a notebook that we take on our trips with us. Along with markers and a glue stick, these few supplies allow us to creatively journal about our travels. The key is using a small photo printer if you want to add photos from your trip while you’re still on the road. I love our using our very portable Canon Ivy (#Ad) for this.

Creative Journaling. I wrote about this type of journaling in this prior article. I also get to use my old scrapbooking supplies when I do my creative journaling. This is such a fun and relaxing way to do some paper crafting without having the big commitment that a 12×12” layout requires. Whether it’s a standard-sized traveler’s notebook insert by Paper Penguin Co. or an A5 journal by JM Planning Essentials, the couple of pages I play with take very little time. I also make sure to skip around in the journals so I don’t end up committing to a set schedule, which can be hard to maintain when you’re working (now two jobs) with kids.

Planners. I’m never surprised when I find out that people in the planning community used to be into scrapbooking. Because I have been a sticker-lover for ages, I was intrigued when I realized people were decorating their planners with them. Then, I found that planning could give me an excuse to be creative every week so long as I used multi-colored gel pens and highlighters as well as washi tape. The planning community proves that a functional task can also be colorful, creative, and fun. Today, I have multiple planners (as I note in my 2021 planner lineup article), and I decorate several of them. My favorite one to dress up is my classic Happy Planner, which I use to manage household tasks, fitness, and wellness (see above). (Click here for a link to my article on how I use this planner for household task planning and click below for the planner itself (#Ad)):

Shutterfly Photo Books. That said, when I do want to have a photo album with a little journaling to tell explain what the photos mean to me, I am now using Shutterfly. I don’t do this often, I’ll admit. These take time to make, and I usually will make one as a gift around the holidays. This past holiday season, I created three photobooks. One was of each of our parakeets (each child has their own bird), and a third was of a parakeet who passed away. My kids adore these books, and it reminds me of why I scrapbooked in the first place. Having photos organized in way that tells a story helps to keep alive the memories behind the visuals we see in the pictures.

Never Say Never

As much as I have told myself I will never have the time or inclination to scrapbook again, I know it’s best not to speak in absolutes. I still have a lot of photos we developed, which are stored in photo boxes. And, like many people I know, we have tons more that are digital and would be lovely to place in albums.

I may catch the scrapbooking bug again, but the new world of scrapbooking will look different from the one I was a part of years ago. Scrapbooking supplies, which I used to purchase at local brick and mortar scrapbooking stores, are now pretty much sold online. And, many of the brands I used to love are no longer in business or don’t make scrapbooking-specific products.

The lack of stores devoted to scrapbooking, along with shrinking scrapbooking sections in larger craft stores, is a sign that this hobby is not as popular as it once was. Another sign is the large number of Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Craigslist posts with scrapbooking supplies for sale.

However, thanks to my evolving interests in arts and crafts, which have me my using my supplies more these days as I try mixed media in my sketchbooks and do more creative journaling, I may just turn back to my first love: scrapbooking. Luckily, I’ll still have my basic supplies that will allow me to pick up where I left off, if and when I decide to get back to it.

Were you a scrapbook junkie or have you never stopped? Leave a comment and share your scrapbooking story.

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** Image of scrapbook page in cover graphic found on Canva.

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