What is your approach to how you decide what to scrapbook?

Please accept my sincere condolences on the death of your child. (((hugs)))

Perhaps because I'm left-brained, creatively-challenged, indecisive, & s-l-o-w, I keep my hobby simple & exclusively create 12x12 albums that include various size & configuration of page protectors for extra photos/memorabilia/etc. I have a backlog of stories/photos to scrap & no time or interest in cardmaking, art journaling, mini albums, projects (e.g. OLW, WITL, DD, JYC), etc. My scrapbooking is story-driven, so I chose to only scrap the stories that I want to tell (& use the photos/memorabilia that support them). Although I don't scrap chronologically, I organize my layouts/albums in chronological order. 

I always say that I'm a storyteller who happens to scrap so my scrapping is story-focused. I do not take the best photos and my pages are not artistic or technically stunning, and I'm okay with that. What is most important to me is capturing the stories of our life.

Of course, this includes events and activities but my favorite kind of pages to make are moment pages. One of the biggest priorities for me as a mom is knowing my kids better than anyone else on this earth so my scrapping emphasizes that: pointing out connections and patterns and traits that I think define them now and that might define them in the future. For example, my middle-schooler is currently writing a novel and talks about it so frequently that they can refer to it by its title initials to their friends and everyone knows what they're referring to. Not only that but they are writing it under a pseudonym that their closest friends all call them vs. their actual name or nickname so when I was texting with one of their friend's moms about getting together, I had to refer to my child by this pseudonym so the mom even knew who I was talking about! I don't have any photos for this but everything about this is so my kid right now: how they've always been a writer, the new friend group they have cultivated since starting middle school last year, their passion for their craft that is so persuasive it has brought everyone on board to read/discuss/edit this story, how much they love names (the pseudonym means Divine Goddess) and their meanings, how they are becoming more confident after the pandemic really took a toll on them emotionally and mentally, how they are embracing their queer identity and how that filters into their work and friend group... I could go on and on. 

Those are the kinds of things I make a point to scrap. 

My albums include happy & sad things as I want to remember it all. I have created a handful of artsy-fartsy/feeling pages about my divorce from my kids' dad that I am not planning on including in our family albums but don't, as a general rule, create things that don't have a purpose.

I'm a digital scrapper so it's easiest to scrap square since digital supplies come in that size. While I scrap 12x12, I actually print 8x8 softcover Shutterfly albums during their unlimited pages sale. This is usually 2-3 volumes (softcover Shutterfly albums hold up to 111 pages each) per year of pages. I have done PL off and on over the year and am currently doing a "Random Roundup" double spread monthly pocket page for 2022. While I do usually take lots of photos one week per year a la WITL, I don't create a separate album or specific pages for that project. I do not enjoy scrapping birthday parties, Christmas Day, sports, or animals (but would not be able to handle having a family album that completely ignored them) so I will throw all the photos from those events/activities into a single multi-photo digital template and call it a day.

The only separate albums that I do regularly are vacations + Countdown to Christmas (December Daily). I love Christmas the very most and since I'm a planner and get at least 50% of my joy during the season from the anticipation of and prep for Christmas, my Countdown to Christmas album is my favorite thing to create. It runs from Thanksgiving weekend through Christmas Day, is only Christmas-related things, and has one page per story vs. one page per day (so I often have multiple pages from one day since we tend to double up on activities and traditions on weekends). My C2C album also scratches my ADD need-for-routine itch as we have many traditions that I scrap every single year.

I am planning on printing a separate COVID album which I think I will end with when my youngest child got his COVID vaccination last year. Those pages will be included in our 2020 and 2021 albums but it feels like something we may want to have as a separate album to look back on, too.

To make sure that I don't forget a story I want to scrap, I have a "To Be Scrapped" folder on my EHD. It's organized by year & month with copies of the photos I want to use in subfolders. I will sometimes create a Notepad file inside the subfolder with any relevant details that I think I might forget in the future. While I print and organize chronologically, I do not create chronologically so it can sometimes be several months (or a year or two) before I get to a story. Once I have created the page(s), I can delete the subfolder. I use Google Photos not just for backup purposes but also because you can search by a person's name, a holiday, etc. and sometimes if I have a story like the one I shared above, I'd rather search there than through my EHD to find a representative photo. 

I'm not sure if this is what you were asking or if it was helpful at all but I hope it was!

People who insist not having children means scrapbooking or anything else isn't valuable make me SO mad!

You document anything you want! I am documenting things I see on my morning walk in my new location. No one else may see the beauty in the caterpiller on the sidewalk, but it made me happy so it's going in my new house scrapbook.

I scrapbook whatever moves me. I am somewhat chronological, but use the 3 ring binder albums so I can place things in date order as I create. I also slip in all different size pages in my 12x12 albums. I just add new holes to the sleeve to make them fit.

I think the only rule is YOU DO YOU!

Congrats on becoming a grandma very soon!

In all honesty, I didn't scrapbook for a couple of years and only started back up again when I became pregnant with my son. Something about a cute, squishy baby made me want to cut up all of the paper and create! I made a pregnancy album and documented all sorts of things, such as decorating the nursery and food cravings. You don't have to wait for the baby to arrive to get those creative juices flowing!

You mentioned the OLW project, maybe your word could be "Grandma" and you can document how you are preparing for the little one's arrival. Especially since you said some of your favorite pages are ones you created when your kids were young. 😊

You can document how you found out you were going to be grandparents, the first toy or clothing item you purchased for the baby, maybe a special ornament, all sorts of things. Maybe even document the differences between being a mom vs. grandma (the main difference is the spoiling. Grandparents, by international law, must spoil the grandkids!).

I admire the strength you have shown while grieving, and I hope you find a creative solution soon to help you continue to cope with your loss. Lots of hugs to you!

^^^^^

I don't have too much to add, as others have pretty much echoed what I think and feel. I believe in not having a set of rules for scrapbooking (as in what to do) I scrapbook 12x12, but really that is only because I have tried other ways (small albums, PL) and 12x12, especially a white sheet of 12x12 Bazzill in the super thick variety makes me feel inspired. I can throw ink on it, splatter it, cover it with pretty paper, etc. 12x12 gives me the room I need to make a mess. Sometimes there are no photos, just some stuff I collected from whatever it is and a bunch of ink and journaling. I also scrapbook very loosely chronological, but not always. And yeah, there are periods I don't scrap, and don't know if I ever will. And that is okay. (((hugs))) jeremysgirl

I truthfully haven't loved scrapbooking memories the last five years for several reasons. I keep facts simple and pages are very basic.

Currently, my albums are 12x12 using divided sheet protectors. My plan is to have photos printed montly and put them in the sheet protectors with the dates written on them. Go back, scrap, or journal when I want. It's in albums chronologically, but scrapped and not scrapped pages are next to each other. I am behind, but I'm not concerned.

I prefer to scrap events and happy things. I have zero desire to chronicle all the bad things. For me, this is a hobby. Something crafty to do.

It started out as mainly for recording memories. I don't really have much of a life anymore, so I could not care less to record my boring life. I don't have a job and I don't travel. I keep track of small things I want to do like read or watch something, but I don't feel a need to record it for posterity. My family hasn't shown an interest in what I've made.

I have some 8.5x11 albums I'll put out at holidays that are more embellished. Again, way behind on those, but I don't know. I'd just rather create some random mini albums where I have fun playing with paper rather than trying to record some profound story because I suck at journaling.

((((Hugs)))) loss and grief really interfere with the creative process ime - and my losses haven't been as devastating as yours nor are they as recent. Scrap what you want to scrap - scrap HOW you want to scrap - skip over the hard places - it's okay to leave them empty...maybe you'll go back, maybe you won't...and if you don't, that's okay...maybe the emptiness of that part of the album will be a apt symbol of the empty spot in your heart and life that Esther left.

I love this thread! I was traditional 12x12 chronological for years (plus trip albums and occasional convention project) - pre kids thru young elementary school and then I got burned out. I started doing ad hoc layouts, tried hard core project life, and then December daily starting in the original studio calico kit days. For the last 8-10 years it’s mostly been ad hoc projects, but pretty consistently doing December daily - although rarely finishing it but still loving the process of capturing some memories and the fun products. I will add, I also picked a OLW the last 5+ years and would follow the class even if I did not create much to go with it.

I got Covid almost exactly 2 years ago in 2020, and then major long Covid hit me. I had put in a big DD order just before I got really sick and I could not even muster the energy to open it when it came. What I instinctively knew was that creativity has always been therapeutic for me, so when I had energy, I made it a goal to create something each day. No rules or expectations, just playing with products for fun. Since then I’ve joined various subscriptions, started a weekly PL in a 8x10 (but on my own terms so no pressure), and have tried some mini projects along the way with the #1 goal being to play and create for my health. It’s been so therapeutic for me during this seasons of life where I have had to give up or step back from other things.

One month I just created a tag each day playing with stamps for fun. I had subbed to the HS stamp society and was new to stamping so it was all fun. I’ve started OLW, WITL, a 4x4 travel album and now about to start a Halloween past album. I have 1 college kid and 1 high schooler, so it’s also a different season.

in the beginning, it was all about documenting my college days, then early marriage and my babies. Now it is really about the creative expression and personal reflection. I suspect next year it will adjust to where ever my head and heart are at and I am good with that also.

Lastly, I do like to find ways to use the creative energy and right now I send my college girl pocket letter style mail about once a month. It’s a really fun way to play with my products, love on her and I will always include new and old instax sized pictures. So for at least these 4 years of college, I have this fun season of creating and memory keeping in this unique way.

I do love how this hobby is big enough for us to innovate and evolve with our lives. I can’t imagine a season of my life where I won’t use my creative energy in some way and the last 2 years have really shown me I need some kind of creating in my life for my own mental health.

I do traditional 12x12 scrapbooking. In the past I have tried digital and hated it primarily because so much of my life is already spent in front of the computer. I am at work on the computer for 9 hours, then I come home and do school work for another hour or so. I also have a very small photography business which keeps me on the computer editing photos sometimes. So it's very enjoyable to me to have a hobby that doesn't keep me sitting down in front of the screen. I tried other page sizes but I do really enjoy large photos so 12x12 allows me to have larger sizes on my pages.

As for the "what" I choose to scrapbook. Well I'll scrapbook almost anything that makes me feel something. This might mean I have 40 pages of very similar horse photos but the journaling on each of those is going to tell a slightly different story. I might have taken the pictures because I felt a sense of peace on a busy day when grooming him, or a sense of pride and accomplishment at teaching him something, or just because I braided his hair and it looks pretty. I know that he is my last horse and when he is gone I'm going to be so glad I have all of those memories to look back on. I also make layouts of things I do with friends and family. I don't typically scrapbook holidays and birthdays and I don't do anything chronologically. I just work on what speaks to me when I want to scrapbook.

When I finish a layout in goes in an album for that year, even if the event didn't take place that year. At some point I am going to take my albums apart and instead of doing them by date I'm going to do them by category. Family, horses, other pets, friends, travel. Because when I want to go back and look at something I don't think to myself "I want to see what happened in 2019" it's "I want to see the pictures from the beach trip we took as a family a few years ago". 

Since I'm single and I don't have any kids I decided a long time ago that scrapbooking was not going to be a pressure filled hobby. I feel no sense of being "behind" even though I have only made a few layouts in the last five years. If I decide I don't want all of my albums taking up space anymore I'll scan the pages and get rid of them. People often think I'm a bit silly for scrapbooking since I don't have kids but I think it's ok to have my albums just for me. 

Your pages look great!!! I am so glad you were able to create today! 😊