Scrapbooking is such a great creative outlet. In fact, most scrapbookers are very happy and calm when they are creating layouts to record their wonderful memories. And why shouldn’t they be?
Our scrapbook albums are typically filled with beautifully designed layouts, amazing photographs that almost look professional, thanks largely to some very strategic cropping, and some wonderful, perfect, happy memories.
Except, that is not all that our lives hold. Not every day is full of beauty, not every photograph comes out looking totally perfect and certainly not every person has nothing but wonderful, happy memories. It is just not possible.
That is because we are human. Humans are not perfect, and our lives often reflect that. Which is normal. And wonderful, all at the same time.
Quite often, I am asked by fellow scrapbookers, if it is okay to include these things in our albums. Things like deaths, funerals, hospitalizations and other not so rosy aspects of our everyday life. YES!
Does it not do a total injustice to your family and friends, not to include those layouts in your albums too?
It is not just our memories that are not always perfect. Photographs can be printed and suddenly what we might not have noticed when we snapped the photo, becomes the sole focus of that photograph. It could be a bad hair day, a pimple, an unflattering pose, or even an embarrassing outfit. Even those memories should be commemorated in your scrapbooks too.
And even further than our imperfect lives, and our imperfect photographs, there is also the practicality that not every single layout turns out the way we expected. Come on now! I know you have a layout somewhere, one with a big glaring spelling error, or perhaps it is coming apart, you used some strange product, or your style has changed dramatically or whatever makes it imperfect. Do not redo the layout without first commemorating what went wrong.
Don’t always make your life look perfect. It isn’t. But that is okay and it is part of what makes you who you are.
Look for more great ideas for which imperfect events in your life you can scrapbook and what you can do with the layout during next weeks articles!
For more great scrapbook articles, see the related articles below of visit the scrapbook blog or the Scrapbooking and Paper Crafts forums.
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Dispelling Scrapbook Misconceptions
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My Scrapbooking Mess: a Personal Saga