As a scrapbooker, you probably already know on some level why you do this.

The first reason that comes to mind is saving memories for future generations. Scrapbooks are a great mechanism to show moments in time and capture history and our thoughts--even if it is something as mundane as what you ate one morning for breakfast, as fantastical as a family vacation to a national park or as insane as a what you did while stuck at home during a global pandemic. 

History books are dry, and let's face it, inherently flawed. They may tell you about major goings on at a broader level for a particular point in time, but they don't tell you what was in the hearts of people at that moment. They don't delve into the humanity of history. That is what art does, and scrapbooking is an art. 

And while you are creating your pages, scrapbooking gives you an opportunity to reflect. Whether it's self reflection or reflecting on a moment in your family, that introspection can be deep and cathartic. One such time that this happened for me was when I scrapbooked my Oma's wedding photo after having a huge fight with her while being her caregiver. Her dementia made it difficult and sometimes tensions boil over no matter how hard you try to hold it together. 

Another reason for scrapbooking, and one of my favorite reasons, is the creative outlet it provides. The pure joy I get from layering papers and arranging embellishments knowns no bounds. And when I'm feeling down or upset, you'll either find me playing my flute or in my scrap loft. 

Scrapbooking, while inherently retrospective, surprisingly also allows you to be present in the moment. Selecting your papers and embellishments, feeling the texture under your fingers, hearing the crinkle of packaging as you dig out some embellishments--they are all opportunities to be present in the moment. 

When combined, all of these aspects of scrapbooking create something powerful within us. As a musician, I imagine it's much like writing a symphony. You are experiencing all these different sensations and emotions at once. And the whole act of bringing all the different parts together is much like individual members of an orchestra playing their individual parts together to create something new and delightful. 

So yes, while preserving your memories is utterly important, it's also what you get out of it personally. And I hope that the next time you scrapbook, you don't just go through the motions to create something that is only pleasing to the eye. 

Now let's dive into my tutorial for (Inter)National Scrapbooking Day--a day that celebrates the art and community of scrapbooking and paper crafting!

I chose two photos of my dogs. As a nearly 40-something with no kids, my boys are my life. They are both getting older, especially my Yorkie, Jacob, who just turned 14 earlier this year. And I wanted to look back on him when he still had his adorable snaggle tooth and Magnus when he was actually into modeling for the camera for me. (If you are wondering where their names came from, they are both named after book characters!)

I wanted these two layouts to be sort of a double paged layout of sorts. The easiest way to do this is to stick to using a single collection. I choose the new Miel Collection from Prima, because my boys are both sweet as honey! They both got a 12x12 sheet of a small floral pattern--Jacob got blue and Magnus got pink (he has a pink flamingo toy that he loves so I feel he'd love this color choice). I then selected a coordinating 8x8 sheet with a white background and floral pattern for each. 

I added just a bit of adhesive to the backs of the 8x8 and glued it down to the center of the 12x12 page. This helps my layer stay in place while I run it through my sewing machine. I like to sew about a quarter of an inch to a half an inch from the edge. I then distress the edges of the layer, using my fingers to crease, tear and fold. 

Next I selected a 6x6 floral patterned paper from the collection for each page. I trimmed one edge down to two inches and then tore one of the long edges. I glued this strip down with foam adhesive after adding a little bit of sewing to one edge. After matting my photos onto white cardstock, I then prepared my embellishments. 

I die cut several sprigs from the same white cardstock. I also stamped one of the floral outline stamps from Tim Holtz on smooth white cardstock, heat embossing it with Ranger's super fine embossing powder in white. I watercolored the stamped image and the sprigs die cuts with Distress Ink in spun sugar and in speckled egg. I then fussy cut the stamped image out. I adhered this down with foam adhesive as well. I then mixed a bit of pearl satin pops of color with a few drops of water and splattered the paint on my layout, creating a subtle shimmery effect when the light hits it just right. 

I added the photos with three layers of foam adhesive and then began layering my embellishments! I added some tag ephemera pieces, paper flowers, the sprigs die cuts and some gems. I also chose two bee rub ons, adding them to smooth white cardstock and fussy cutting them out so I could glue them down with foam adhesive. To finish off the shabby chic look, I dry brushed a little white paint onto the flowers and then added some rock candy glitter using glossy accents. 

These aren't layouts that will go into a scrapbook. Instead, I plan on getting two 12x12 shadowboxes to frame them in and hang them up. I hope in the future when people see these layouts, along with all of the other ones I've done of my dogs previously, they'll know what an important part of my family they are to me. Until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

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Below are the products that I used on these layouts.