Hello scrappers!  Sorry this is going up a day late!  I was having computer (cough*laziness*cough) issues.  I am back with another post for the Scrappy Journey series.  Today I am going to talk about being a solo scrapbooker.

When I started scrapbooking in 2009, it was a hobby to help fill my time.  It is something that I was super excited about.  But I had no real life friends to share it with.  This was rough because I really wanted to talk about it.... all of the time.

In lieu of scrappy friends, I used magazines and books to learn more.  There were no scrapbook stores near me.  So I struggled to develop my style based off the brief articles in the magazines and the out-dated ideas in the books.  My source of scrapbooking supplies was the local Walmart.  I really felt lonely.  That's when I discovered the enormous online community.

I joined Scrapbook.com and became active in the challenge community.  I also became active on a few challenge blogs.  I was a regular in these places.  I made a few email friends but they didn't last very long.  I felt like I was late coming to these online places.  They started changing and "closing".

I lost interest in being online for awhile.  I felt lonely again.  During this time we moved again and I started going to school.  I still scrapbooked but more as a form of stress relief.  I started teaching my kids how to scrapbook so that I would have someone to talk to about it.  I was still a member on Scrapbook.com and would occasionally post my layouts there.  Other than that, I did not feel ready yet to put myself back "out there".

That sounds silly, like I had some devastating break up.  But I really started to feel more of a connection with scrapbooking and was happy.  Then it all disappeared.  I was upset about it.  So I continued solo scrapbooking once more.

Towards the end of my schooling, I decided to get back into the online community.  Most of the places I frequented before were gone.  The challenge forum on Scrapbook.com had changed.  Everything was more geared toward YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.  So I started by watching YouTube videos.

I binge watched YouTube videos.  I couldn't get enough.  All of the YouTubers I was watching belonged to kit clubs.  So I joined kit clubs.  I was actively liking and/or commenting on almost all of the videos.  I tried to be active in chats and on the blogs.  But I never felt I was part of these communities.

I was having a struggle with posting to Instagram or Facebook.  Since none of my friends or family are scrapbookers, I have kept it separate from them.  Don't get me wrong.  I have my scrapbooks in my living room and I display layouts in my family room.  I just feel weird about making people look at them on social media.  For awhile I chose not to post on social media.  Then slowly I started joining closed Facebook groups.  I also started searching for sketch and challenge blogs again.

About 9 months ago, I decided to start participating more.  I created a blog, Instagram dedicated for scrapbooking, and a YouTube channel.  I found that I was trying to spread myself too thin so I finally narrowed down my participation to a few select blogs and groups.  I am active on Instagram and have been working to be more consistent on posting on my blog and YouTube videos.  I have slowly been making connections with others with new blogs, YouTube, and Instagram.

I have found that I am not the only solo scrapbooker looking for somewhere to belong.  Many people seem to be looking for a like/comment/heart/share/subscribe/follow to help them feel that their creations are special.   So I will keep on trying to support my fellow scrappers with my likes and comments.  I feel like this is my of welcoming others to the community in a way that I was looking to be welcomed :)

Thanks for visiting!  See you again soon!