Why I Scrap: Documenting and Creating

I've been reading a lot of different blogs lately from different scrap sites and designers. Some of the focus has been on why you scrap. So that got me to thinking about why I scrap. My initial thought, of course, was that I scrap to document the memories. And while that is true, I have realized that I do enjoy the act of creating almost just as much, if not more. I get a lot of pleasure from making something beautiful, while being able to document that memory. Because, essentially, posting pictures on facebook or Instagram is a kind of digital memory keeping. But that does not give me the same type of gratification that creating something does. There is something that I love about putting a layout like this together: picking a template, choosing the pictures, selecting the embellishments, and then seeing the finished product. I love it.

A-Splishin' and A-Splashin' (left)

A-Splishin' and A-Splashin' (right)

The only thing is that it takes longer to do (at least for me and my borderline-perfectionist tendencies--when creating), than I have time for in order to get everything that I want to done. I mean, I STILL am working on "My Story of Us" album, and I've been married for 8 years now.

So, I've discovered pocket-style scrapbooking, which has been the trend for a couple of years now. (I did some pocket-style pages in 2013, shown here, but then I stopped to create more layouts.) It does help to move things along much more quickly. I also find it ideal for all of those random photos that I take, which wind up being the everyday things that you want to remember. Half the time, on a regular layout, I struggle with embellishment placement. You can only do so many flowers, even for a layout about a girl. So, since the pocket-style has pre-made journaling and filler cards, it makes it so much easier to embellish! And there is still that element of creating.

Items by Just Jaimee

The bottom line, though, is that I plan to do a combination of both. Overall, the stand-out photos or events may get layouts, while the more everyday photos (or even those stand-out events with lots of pictures) may get the pocket-style page. It's just whatever I want to do at the time.