Hi scrapbooking friends!  Today I am kicking off a new series on my channel.  I wanted to explore my scrappy journey and how I have evolved as a scrapbooker over the years.  I thought I would share this exploration with all of you!

I wanted to start with the most obvious of evolutions, my personal style.  I'm sure everyone can see this type of change in their own work.  I first dabbled in scrapbooking in 2004 or 2005.  I made an album for my husband about our life together.  I had no idea where to start.  One of my friends at the time brought me to our local Archivers to get some supplies.  I was totally overwhelmed.  I ended up leaving with very little.



I went to a garage sale later that week and found some scrapbook supplies.  I didn't have any idea what to do.  I used ephemera that I had collected from our trip to Las Vegas and really created more of a collage than a scrapbook page.  I didn't have embellishments so I cut out my own out of construction paper.  I was so proud of how it came out!  I think I created 5 pages that were either almost bare or totally collaged.  I was totally into scrapbooking but was not able to afford it at that time.

In 2009, my husband got his first job out of college and we had to move across the state.  I ended up staying home with my kids, but only had one at home with me during the day.  I was totally bored.  I didn't have any friends.  The only thing I had to do was read.  I literally read all of the Harry Potter series in a week and a half.  So bored.  That pushed me to find a hobby.  I started with quilting but wasn't able to afford all of the fabric and things that I needed to start.


That's when I rediscovered scrapbooking.  I joined Scrapbook.com and became involved in a lot of the challenge groups.  I created many layouts based on the challenge issued. I tried a lot of different techniques and design elements.  I spent a lot of time perusing the gallery and picking out the layouts that really inspired me.  I started scrap lifting, which further allowed me to discover what I liked and didn't like.

Since 2009, I have had peaks and lulls in my scrapbooking.  Life has gotten in the way and there has been long stretches of time where I won't scrapbook.  I find that I tend to reach for sketches and challenges as a way to pump up my mojo.  These tend to influence my style as well.


I would describe my style as colorful, layered, bold, and clean.  My style is not as refined as some scrapbookers.  I like to try new things and get bored if all of my layouts look the same.  But I feel that my layouts all represent my style.

I don't like using circles.  I'm starting to think that circles did something to me in another life because I really dislike using them.  Mixed media is something that I struggle with.  I don't like my layouts to look messy and I don't like the lack of control over things like paint or mists.  I have discovered texture paint and I am enjoying that.  I feel like its about being able to control where it goes.

I hope you enjoyed my journey.  Sometime, think about your journey.  What has influenced you?  How would you describe your style?  Where do you go for inspiration for your style?  What things are you against in scrapbooking?  Have circles wronged you too?  I would love to hear about your journey in the comments!

Thanks for visiting!  See you again soon!

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