Are You A Scrapbooker, Or A Life Artist?

So, I ask you… do you call yourself a scrapbooker?

 

Or would you rather be called a “life artist”?

I’ve been doing scrapbooks since my high school days in the 80s. Of course, those were the old-fashioned kind using products that were not archival.

 

In the 90s, I switched everything over to archival-quality papers and scrapbook albums and tossed those old clunky “scrapbooks” to the curb. I spent many years attempting to create “the perfect” scrapbook pages. I only use archival-quality items, no exceptions. But soon, that became impractical, as there were programs and such that I really wanted to include in my scrapbooks.

 

At the turn of the century (you know, that one that was supposed to have the world crashing to a halt once the Millinnium bug hit.), I lightened up a bit and did my best to spray non-scrapbook friendly things with archival spray to make them last, but I still included whatever stickers and embellishments I felt were cute, rather than always using embellishments that were “safe”.

 

Today, I have fourteen 12×12 scrapbooks. Each one of them is jam-packed and filled to the gills with my lifetime of memories. I don’t add to to the albums as frequently as I used to, but I cherish my scrapbook albums just the same.

So yeah, I like to think of myself as a Life Artist. What about you?

What Are Your Scrapbooking Goals?

I encourage you to take a few moments to think about your goals with scrapbooking.

Don’t miss this post where Ali discusses what a Life Artist is. It’s a refreshing look at scrapbooking and art — and where the lines cross.

I would venture to guess that anyone who works with a lifetime supply of personal photographs, has memories journaled in the margins of pages, and likes to get creative with fun tools & embellishments is, indeed, a Life Artist.

Welcome to the club.