Have you been following the No Scrapbooking Police Blog Series? My super adorable and creative friend Cara Vincens asked a group of passionate scrapbookers (including yours truly!) about the “should’s” of scrapbooking and our take on debunking those myths. We’re talking everything from journaling to perfection, from legacy to chronology and all the “should’s” in between.

So when Cara asked me to debunk the myth that a scrapbooker SHOULD follow the trends and be aware of what others think of her pages, I have to be honest and say that the statement threw me back to high school. Huh?! Say what? I know! High School!

TRENDSETTER

While in high school in the late 1980’s, I was voted best dressed. Woohoo! I was, without a doubt, a trendsetter. Lace and gold, fringe and turquoise, suede shorts and boots, big perm and bigger earrings — yup, I was on the forefront of trends. Appearances, trends, what others thought of me… all of that was of utmost importance to me. Of course… I was seventeen!

While in college in the early 1990’s, I stayed on trend with fashion, and dabbled with different styles. I met my husband during my “grunge” phase – he still jokes he was duped as that phase didn’t shine any light on my true-blue girly-girl or high-maintenance sides! Haha!

Into my twenties and thirties, I was still very aware of trends and what others thought of my appearance, but as the years went by, I started figuring out what felt right for me, regardless of what was in magazines, on the runways, or draped on celebrities. I found colors that suited me, silhouettes that were flattering, and overall styles that worked for me, as opposed to feeling like I was working for them.

That’s basically how I’ve come through my evolution in scrapbooking, too! When I started in the craft in 2008, I was like a kid in a candy store, or a teen in the 1980’s in Contempo Casuals – I wanted to try everything! The trendier, the better!

I bought every themed pack of paper and ephemera I could get my hands on. If I saw a beautiful layout that inspired me, I wanted to buy every bit and piece needed to make that page too so I could duplicate it exactly… stamps, inks, patterned papers, ribbons, punches, brads, eyelets, flowers, stickers (oh, the stickers!), and more. You too? Yeah, not surprising!

COMPARISONS

But as time has gone by, I’ve realized that jumping into a trend from head-to-toe may have worked as a teen (envision neon!), but doesn’t work for me anymore. Just as importantly, comparing my pages to others pages doesn’t serve any purpose either. There really are no scrapbooking police that will ticket me for not following trends, for not making pages like so-and-so, for not leaving enough white space, or for using too big of photos on my layouts. Trust me, I’ve tested each of these, and nope, no scrapbooking police tickets have come my way!

Just like in fashion, incorporating a little bit of trends here and there is good for helping keep things fresh, but it’s not the be-all, end-all in life. What’s important is feeling comfortable in my own skin, particularly my creative skin, creating pages I love and developing my own style along the way!

EXPECTATIONS AND APPEARANCES

Of course we want to be liked and we want others to like our pages. That’s one of the upsides to belonging to a community, like Layout-a-Day, ScrapHappy.org or the forums over at Paperclipping.com. It’s nice to get accolades for our work! But when we create pages for ourselves (for the creative process) or for our families (so they know how much they’re loved) or for future generations (for the stories shared and people highlighted that we don’t want forgotten), when we focus on what WE want from and in our pages, then it doesn’t matter what the trends are or what others expect from our pages. Getting the accolades is a plus, but the real payoff is in loving our pages… it lets the hobby grow in our hearts, and our creativity grows wings ❤

On the flip side, sometimes it’s hard to share pages if we feel they’re not “good enough” – not from the design and products perspective, but from the content or subject of the photos. Maybe it’s a “mundane” everyday moment, as opposed to an exotic vacation or a flashy outfit (I can’t get away from fashion!). It’s important to remember that scrapbooking isn’t about comparing lives. It’s about sharing what’s important to us. For me? It’s the everyday moments that take my breath away. They’re the ones that make me laugh. The ones that make my heart happy to be a scrapbooker. Let me tell you why…

Both of my daughters are used to being subjects for my photos, layouts, photo assignments and more. About a year ago, my now 7 year old, started pointing out more and more details in our everyday lives, things to photograph, and it just blows my mind how she’s taken it in. She notices the color “sunset” in the sky outside her bedroom window as the sun dips behind the houses on the hills west of us. She squealed in awe when she noticed the new flowers planted at the corner of the shopping center in our neighborhood and asked me to circle around so I could see them too. She’s insisted I grab my camera and go with her to the backyard… because a rose has bloomed and we need to photograph it before the petals fall. It’s those details and so many more that are part of our everyday lives, that are just as important and cherished as those less frequent and more opulent indulgences! Now excuse me… I have some more everyday pages to go create… {sniff, sniff}

Follow the blog series

I’m totally enjoying all the posts and hope you do/are too! We’re on the tail end of the series, but be sure to go back and read the posts you may have missed… they’re totally worth it and if you’re not familiar with these fantastic scrappers, get ready to fall in love, at least once, if not with all of them! xoxo

August 4 – Paige Evans
A Scrapbooking page SHOULD always have a story and lots of journaling  

August 5 – Ashli Oliver
Scrapbook pages SHOULD be fast and simple to just get them done 

August 6 – Jen Gallacher
Scrapbook pages SHOULD look perfect 

August 7 – Melissa Shanhun
Digital scrapbook pages should look as much like a paper page as possible  

August 8 – Ashley Calder
Scrapbooking SHOULD be done *this* way  

August 9 – Caroline Davis
A Scrapbooker SHOULD scrapbook FOR her family 

August 10 – Lisa Harris
Scrapbooking SHOULD be a legacy for the scrapbooker’s family

August 11 – Connie Hanks
A scrapbooker SHOULD follow the trends and be aware of what others think of her pages

August 12 – Marie-Pierre Capistran
A Scrapbooker SHOULD scrapbook chronologically  

August 13 – Nancy Gaines
Scrapbooking SHOULD be 12×12 traditional paper pages

August 14 – Cara Vincens
A scrapbooker SHOULD always be caught up

So if you’re a regular reader, you know this was a lot meatier than most my posts. Thanks for sticking with me… I clearly had lots to say on this subject I am oh so very passionate about! If you’re new here, welcome! Stay a while, poke around, and I hope you enjoy all things photography and crafting 🙂

Before I say good-bye, I must ask: How do you handle trends? Do you adopt every scrapbooking trend that comes along? Do you avoid them like the plague? What trend are you not willing to let go of? As for me, I don’t think I’ll be giving up chevrons or wood veneers anytime soon 🙂

Tomorrow, Marie-Pierre Capistran will debunk the myth that we should scrapbook chronologically, so be sure to check out her post!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day! Make sure not to miss any future posts by signing up for the Clicky Chick Creates email list here! You’ll get a great little freebie download as my thank you 🙂

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c