When was your happiest/best scrapbooking period of life?

2002- 2006 a variety of products and techniques began to surface. I also had two groups of friends who scrapped, one just because but were very CM oriented. The other were into the art or product side.

The CM types eventually have it up, especially as a group. I loved scrapping with the more creative group but it eventually got strange. There were several scrap teachers and minor published in the group. They became too aggressive to be fun for me. One of the teachers wasn't very original, yet she felt the need to offer suggestions on everyone else's layout. Those in the group with graphic design and other art backgrounds would visibly cringe, but she didn't get it. The drive to be published became a competition for a few. As expected those with design professions got their validation elsewhere.

i scrapped with them almost ten years, and am surprised how little I missed them after I stopped. Haha, apparently I'm still a little bitter though.The CM types I still see, we were bonded over kid and lifestyle choices.

I started becoming obsessed late in 2002. ...but...If I had to pick one time period, I'd say right now. Last year and this year! This place provides my scrappy social network and does a darn fine job of it. Although I miss 2peas, I really like this place so much better. But more than that, my kids are finally old enough to not need constant supervision and some of their school is done by video (no mom instruction){obviously we homeschool}, I feel like I have more time to scrapbook. My craft room is also right off the main living area, so I can pop in for 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Last year I finished 140 layouts and I'm already up to 144 layouts for this year.

Great question

I would say that the best point up until now was probably 2007 or so. There was a LSS 30 minutes from our house, plus I didn't keep up with any trends or lines, so I was content with whatever was available at Hobby Lobby. I also feel like I was more easygoing about just getting things scrapped - less of a perfectionist.

That being said, I was still a teenager at that time. Now as a new mom, I prefer to think that my best scrappy years are still ahead of me.

I started scrapbooking in 1998 after the birth of my 2nd child. Those first 6 years or so where so fun. There were lots of crops to attend and I had lots of friends who scrapped. My kids were little so no activities to run to, early bedtimes and naptime. I loved my new hobby!

Fast forward to today and all that has changed.

My favorite years were 2005 and 2006. I'm really specific about those two years because that's when my neighbors and I decided to have rotating crops at each other's houses. We'd open a couple bottles of wine and have the greatest time! My DDs remember that time fondly too because they saw me having fun with my friends instead of just being mom.

The worst thing about moving away is saying goodbye to friends.

I would say around 2005, and for a few years after. I got to be a stay at home mom, money was good, and everyone I seemed to know scrapped. I seemed to have more time.

Scrapbooking is my happy place. I jumped in with both feet in 2002, and took on the challenge of making my own embellishments, finding supplies and glue that worked for me, getting my stories into this new form.

Over the years, I have met wonderful people IRL and on line and I have learned so many different ways to create pretty things. Some of the styles I attempted were definitely not ME, but I moved on. My stash grew from one little tub to an overflowing room.

I don't think I could choose a time when this hobby was "best" for me. It seems that as one favorite phase receded, another one took its place. Paper magazines were replaced with Pinterest and other on line inspiration. Choices in patterned paper were augmented with the techniques to create my own from plain cardstock. Premade embellishments can be done with dies and electronic diecutters. And I can still bring into play my paper piecing skills from before all this was readily available if I want to.

I like having a room dedicated to this craft. Because I am retired, I have the time to play. I have a camera and a kick*ss phone to take photos when on the go. I love that my kids send me photos to include on my pages if I can't be with them and the dgk's for a period of time or a specific event. I love sharing my pages here, and with family and friends IRL.

I am lucky enough to have a LSS within just over an hour's driving, and a few more less than 3 hours away. But I am comfortable ordering on line as well if I see something I like that these stores don't stock. I get one monthly kit, which I tend to use for "special" pages. For the regular ones, I know where to get what I need, and as I said I have a huge stash to "shop" from.

So, I guess, it's ALL good!

This was a rough time because scrapbooking got very competitive unless you were insulated from the LSS, classes, magazines and message boards.  It was hard to resist the pull to 'be someone' in the scrap world because everyday folks were becoming admired and acknowledged outside of their personal sphere.  In fact, this is when a big split started to develop among those who wanted to scrap for fun and those that wanted to scrap for money, prestige, acknowledgement, ...   Product was so abundant that people started to acquire more than produce and many people bailed on the hobby because it became too overwhelming.

Always and now. Always because scrapbooking is my happy place in whatever evolution it is in. And now because my kids are grown and I have more time and space. It is crazy to me that people think there is nothing to scrapbook after your children have become adults. I am scrapbooking now more than ever. I have grandchildren. I can scrap whenever I want. I have more disposable income. I have children and grandchildren who love to spend time with me in my scrapbooking room. My DGD is my best scrapbooking buddy. Products, people, stores, styles, "new" - they've never driven my scrapbooking. I still love telling stories with scrapbooking and it just makes me happy.

When I rediscovered it through Smashbooks in 2011 and Project Life in 2012. And we had an Archivers. I still love it. I'm an ADD crafter. I like to try new things. Consistency is an issue for me. Card making and PL are the only things i've continued and kept up.

^^^  I agree with the bolded text above.  I've been scrapping since sometime in the mid-late 90s- ??  (not really sure) but it was definitely best when everything was new, and fresh, and exciting!  Oh, I know they always come out with new things, but it really seems like some the ideas are recycled from ideas and trends that were popular before, or just a new take on a tool, a twist on something already existing.  

But back then?  it was ALL new!  My sister lived in Milwaukee and I lived in the Chicago suburbs, so we would get together and go to crops, stores, and conventions, all over the area- we even drove to Madison for a day crop once!  We were packed in the convention center ballroom like sardines, and we both carried our supplies in laundry baskets (LOL!!  it's funny to even think about that now, considering the amount of crafting supplies I have) but the creative energy and buzz in the room was just an amazing feeling.  

Or the feeling of walking through a HUGE scrapbook expo with ALL the vendors selling and demonstrating their new stuff, taking classes when EVERY technique or project was totally new to me, different, and exciting-- that was definitely the best feeling.  Walking into a scrapbook store-  just think of it! The idea of a WHOLE STORE, ALL devoted to that hobby was so amazing!  With its wall of sticker rolls, the themed paper displays, all the colorful markers, page decoration templates, alphabet templates, decorative scissors, etc.  It was great!

The feeling of wanting to read thru the magazines the minute they came in the mail, poring over them again and again to get different ideas, marking half the pages with paper flags to find something later... <sigh> Those were the days.  And back then, the internet wasn't around or at least nearly as popular, so the conventions, magazines, stores, and classes were the only places you COULD get the newst ideas and see the new products. 

Scrapbooking (and papercrafting in general) is still a really fun hobby for me, and I won't ever stop doing it in some fashion, but I guess I'd say I've 'matured' as a scrapbooker now so the excited 'new, fresh, and different' feeling just isn't the same any more.  It's like any long-term relationship; the infatuation and new relationship feeling has changed over time into more of a comfortableness.

Thats a good question! In highschool, my bff and I would share a scrapbook. It was fun to see what the other one inserted, etc and pass it back and forth. Really just drawings, notes, and pictures we took. No embellishments. Thats the last time I scrapbooked with someone. I quit scrapping for awhile and in 2010 picked it back up. I had no idea scrapbooking had such a huge online community. I scrapped just by picking up products at Michaels or Hobby Lobby for about 2 years, I had no idea there were sketches online, blogs, design teams, etc. It wasn't until I was looking for more of a certain product that I saw how big scrapbooking was online. It was fun and overwhelming. I found so many stores, ideas, and at some point 2peas! I scrapped life with my DH from 2010-2015. In 2016 I had my daughter and it made scrapbooking so exciting for me. There was someone to pass these stories on to, someone else to talk about and of course I could now use the TONS of pink product in my stash. Right now is probably the most fun Ive ever had scrapping. I wish I could find a friend IRL who scrapped but most of my friends think its dorky (whatever) but I'm having fun on my own

sorry for the long ramble post!

@crimsoncat, you summed it up perfectly for me. Everything you said is exactly right, especially that last paragraph. It's not the same as it used to be, but I still love doing it.

Thank you so very much for a thought from afar, from a person whose opinions  (on many topics) I respect. What a pity we will never meet. I am proud to be considered your friend.

I have not read the thread, apologies peas, I will catch up soon.