“My scrapbooking is all about my children. They are the stars of the show,” says mom Michelle Dixon. “When you have kids, you want to record their stories. Most moms want to record every single moment. We take tons of pictures and then what can we do with them.”
Scrapbooking is a way to organize photos and create memory albums. Static pictures become a creative collage by using:
- texture, colour, patterns, recycled materials and family memorabilia.
In tight economic times, scrapbookers are also designing with inexpensive, recycled objects from yard sales and thrift stores. These home-based crafters dress up designs with treasured objects of special family significance including:
- beads, buttons, lace, ribbons, maps and even old postage stamps.
Scrapbooking IdeasRecording family milestones, the first year of school, birthdays, vacations and special times – can all be part of scrapbooking. Children can be invited to contribute pictures, drawings, poems, awards and treasured mementoes. Capturing those priceless times will preserve family memories. Ancestry, a family tree and genealogy can also be incorporated.
“Many moms are scrapbookers,” reports Michelle Dixon. Michelle began scrapbooking as a way to record and organize a 2½-year work/travel experience and create a distinctive Christmas present for her own ill mother. Her scrapbooking changed though when she had children. It became more elaborate and detailed. Her two young boys also enjoy scrapbooking. One son created a scrapbook, after a family trip, and took it to school to show everyone. Her son is anxious to see his hockey experiences, including his Trevor Linden Canucks hockey autographed photo, scrapbooked.
Scrapbooking Retreats & Classes
Michelle Dixon has taken this hobby to a whole other level. In 2005, she started a home-based, scrapbooking retreat business, called ScrappingAway.com, by using her personal family experiences. The idea came to her one day while in a scrapbooking store, where she heard a customer report that she had to line-up since 5 am. to get into a scrapbooking retreat. Michelle immediately identified a gap in the market and began organizing retreats in the Vancouver Canada.
Her scrapbook retreats are a way for moms, in particular, to take a break from cooking and cleaning. “As a parent you rarely get a big chunk of time during the day. The retreats bring people together for a very social experience. I equate them to the early quilting bees,” Michelle says.
Scrapbooking appeals to three types of people:
- Those who like pictures
- Those who like to write
- Those who like to create
It can also be a very therapeutic experience for participants - a way to deal with past & present, personal, emotional life events. Michelle’s advice for new or seasoned scrapbookers: “don’t get overwhelmed or bogged down in the process. Stay focused and enjoy it.”
Scrapping Away retreats involve contests, door prizes, goodie bags, accommodation, meals, scrapping tools and more. The pajama dress-up contests are especially popular. The lively gatherings have attracted 25 to 70 women per weekend - mainly moms - 25 to 45 years of age. Michelle’s retreat locations in British Columbia Canada have been Whistler, Harrison Lake, White Rock, and Vancouver Island – among others. In addition to preserving memories, the hobby has become popular because of the strong ongoing, social network that scrapbooking can provide.
Scrapbooking for Charity
Michelle added a special twist to the retreats. She says, “what keeps me going and keeps the experience rewarding is that at the retreats, we also do fundraising for charities such as the BC Cancer Society. Some companies even match charitable funds raised.” Schools, churches and parenting groups use scrapbooking for fundraising. BC Scrapbooking Crop For Kids holds a yearly weekend of scrapbooking to raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital. In 2008, they raised $22,000 for the hospital.
History of Scrapbooking
Marielen Christensen of Utah is credited with reviving interest in scrapbooking. She designed fifty memory albums, published a how-to-book, called Keeping Memories Alive, and opened a scrapbook store in 1981. The “craze” took off across North America by creating a new category of crafts called “memory crafts.” Some designers even turned their artistic scrapbook pages into wall mounted pictures or pillow designs.
Digital Photography & Scrapbooking
The internet and digital photography escalated interest. Scrapbooking has generated specialty stores, books, magazines, online sites, classes, retreats and bloggers. Internet sites such as Facebook and Flikr have become a type of digital scrapbook. These contemporary forms of “memory hobbies” tap into a need to preserve one's family history in a fun, creative way while honouring personal and family events.
Learning more about photography can also enhance scrapbook projects.
AIC101
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