So there are subaddictions to my scrapbook "issue". I've found that there are pieces of the hobby that I absolutely adore, occasionally to an obsessive type level. Today I'm going to go Intervention style and lay it all out on the table. Hi. My name is Elle. I'm a scrapbook addict. An unapologetic addict.
My first and always love is the basic need for scrapbooking. It's the photos. I love photos like nobody's business. I like looking at them, I like taking them, I like manipulating them...there isn't a piece of them that I don't love. Yet, I've found that for some reason this year I've become less prolific in my photo taking. I'm not sure if it's because our budget is tighter so we do less outside of the home, if it's the craziness of our schedules resulting in my inevitable and perpetual worn out state or if it's just plain laziness on my part. It makes me a little sad. The last time I actually printed out pictures was last year. Blasphemy! They are sitting quietly on my computer (with a backup on the portable harddrive just in case) completely unedited and untouched. This I know is because of our crap budget. I love the process of prepping my photos for printing. I like editing them, picking out the ones I like and manipulating color. I even like the trip to Costco to get them printed. And I love picking them up when they're done. Even though I've already seen them quite a few times by then, there is something really breathtaking and special about opening that little Costco envelope and holding the glossies in my hot little hands.
But if my only love was photo...I would have stacks of photo albums around the house. I very much do not. I don't think I have a single one. In fact, I abhor the old style photo albums because their lack of acid free pages makes me cringe. So...in comes my next addiction...paper.
Oh glorious paper! I have more of the stuff than any one sane person should ever have. I have all colors, all patterns, all sizes. I think I've mentioned this before, but there is no way I will ever use up all the paper I currently have before I die. Yet I hoard it like pieces of ethereal perfection. In fact, there have been times when I've purposely avoided using a paper that was otherwise perfect for a layout simply because it was the only piece of that paper I had and it just didn't seem right to use it. I have standards for certain pieces. I won't settle for less than perfection. It's sad really. My addiction to paper runs deep. Just because I own enough paper to line end to end to the moon and back is no reason that I won't buy more in the future. It's a given.
And then there were idea books. I need them. No really, I do. There are times when I just can't make a page happen without getting some idea where to start from one of my magazines or other scrap books. I have my favorites and standbys. You will not see me at a crop without at least one of them. I feel naked without one. Some scrappers claim that they only use their own ideas - they never scraplift. I call boloney. Everyone scraplifts at some point. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Honestly, it wouldn't matter if you used the same layout over and over again. The point of scrapbooking is the memories. If you're getting it down on paper (ah, paper) then I think you're doing just fine thank you very much.
There are other loves that come and go. My poor Sizzix that sits on the shelf relatively unused...it didn't get a day's rest between 2005 and 2008. Staples...they were everywhere for a 3 month scrap period. Rubons, ribbon, paint...they've all had a phase.
And this I think is the whole point. There are standards that will never leave (photos, paper), but the ones that walk into my life and then fade temporarily into the background - these are what keeps me going. This is what makes scrapbooking so fun. Dragging out old supplies on a scrapbook challenge revitalizes me. It makes me love it all over again. So maybe we should just cut to the chase and be blunt...I am just addicted to it all. Ah, scrapbooking...I love you.
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