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Post by 950nancy on Apr 26, 2021 15:57:04 GMT
I can relate. I think that scrapbookers who are active online live in a different world in many respects. It's as if time has stood still for those who aren't online, and they are still scrapbooking in the same style as they were 20 years ago. Whatever floats your boat, but yeah, I do feel like an alien sometimes. Geez, I haven't been to a crop in over a year. I still have a crop credit at my "L" SS, but I bring small projects to work on. I bring one rolling tote, and that's it. Sometimes not even that much. I sometimes work on cards instead. Maybe next time I'll work on jewelry or Diamond Dots.  My LSS is doing some Zoom classes. I think I'll wait until they are in person. It might be a long while though. Right now you have to wear a mask, gloves, and get your temp taken at the door. I don't mind those things (well, I hate wearing gloves in a paper store), but if she is open in person, I'll wear whatever. |
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Post by riversong1963 on Apr 26, 2021 16:36:13 GMT
I can relate. I think that scrapbookers who are active online live in a different world in many respects. It's as if time has stood still for those who aren't online, and they are still scrapbooking in the same style as they were 20 years ago. Whatever floats your boat, but yeah, I do feel like an alien sometimes. Geez, I haven't been to a crop in over a year. I still have a crop credit at my "L" SS, but I bring small projects to work on. I bring one rolling tote, and that's it. Sometimes not even that much. I sometimes work on cards instead. Maybe next time I'll work on jewelry or Diamond Dots. My LSS is doing some Zoom classes. I think I'll wait until they are in person. It might be a long while though. Right now you have to wear a mask, gloves, and get your temp taken at the door. I don't mind those things (well, I hate wearing gloves in a paper store), but if she is open in person, I'll wear whatever. During the classes I've taken lately, we have to wear masks, sit 6 feet apart, and use hand sanitizer when we walk in. I don't mind that too much, but I don't think I could do the gloves thing. I wouldn't be able to shop or do much of anything else wearing gloves. I'd rather stay home in that case. |
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Post by artsyk on Apr 26, 2021 16:56:03 GMT
I go to a retreat twice a year (except for the past year) and I would say 70% of the women scrapbook creative memories style, which is not how I scrapbook AT ALL. I think some of them think I waste my time with one photo layouts. My annual retreat is like that. Several of the ladies are former CM consultants. One of my friends still cuts her photos into shapes. I can't stand it, but it's her deal and makes her happy. Oh yes, they cut their photos - I just do my own thing. I do have to say they are way more current on their photos than I am! |
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Post by gizzy on Apr 26, 2021 17:03:43 GMT
I can't wait to be able to go to retreats again! The last one I was at, there were people doing CM, digital, WITL, DD, traditional, project life, you name it. I like to walk around and see what everyone is working on and ogle their storage. I'm probably more of a storage scrapper than a paper scrapper.  |
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jediannie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,081
Jun 30, 2014 3:19:06 GMT
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Post by jediannie on Apr 26, 2021 17:29:10 GMT
Some people go to retreats just for an uninterrupted weekend of scrapbooking, without all the family stress. This is why go. I used to go a lot with a friend. Eventually she quit scrapbooking and I got my own craft room at home so I didn’t see the need. Now I have a toddler at home and can’t get anything done. It’s like a momcation 🙂 2.5 days to myself....it’s a dream. Thankfully my husband doesn’t have to call 27 times over the weekend 😂 I do this if I have a big project I want to get done, like when my entire family was going to Hawaii and I made mini albums for them all. I went to a crop by myself and made 6 mini albums that weekend. The ladies at my table were amazed at how I got so much finished. When I go with my friends I'm lucky if I get 2 pages done because we're usually laughing and chatting too much. I found Ali from the OG 2Peas site. I was a purely Michael's scrapper until I decided to search "scrapbooking" on the web and found all the resources, I think this was in 1999/2000. Some of my friends aren't as deep into scrapping as I am, they don't know designers or "famous" scrappers but my other scrappy friends are like us here, they're into all the things.  Before I had a kid, I remember some of the older ladies asking why I bothered scrapbooking if I didn't have anyone to give them to. I said I don't scrapbook for other people, I scrapbook for ME and that usually shut them up. |
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Post by jenna on Apr 26, 2021 18:22:31 GMT
The biggest "I'm out of place" feeling I had when I started to scrapbook in the early 2010's was because of my age. I was significantly younger than a lot of the people I met at expos or from popping into my LSS so it was difficult to find common ground or relate to anyone. And I guess I didn't care very much about the actual memory keeping aspect? I liked playing with paper and creating, it was a bonus I was able to add photos and a bit of journaling to look back on later.
I don't have any friends irl who are into the crafting I am, "why don't you just use instagram??" is something I've gotten a lot. But over the last 5 years or so I've definitely ran into more people around my age and in similar places in life.
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scrappymeg
Full Member
Posts: 317
Sept 18, 2020 22:59:35 GMT
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Post by scrappymeg on Apr 26, 2021 21:03:08 GMT
The last in person class I attended at a scrapbooking class was exactly like this. It was a painting class with Dana Weekly but I was also buying some supplies for December Daily. The ladies asked me what I was buying for and none of them had heard of DD or AE or PL. It blew my mind. Even the gal working the counter had no idea. I was also the youngest person there by a good 12-15 years and I was 39 or 40 at the time. They weren't exactly welcoming either and I felt judged for being a different scrapper and for scrapping at all since I didn't have kids. It certainly made me uninterested in taking more classes as I didn't fit in (which is fine, to each their own). I was so surprised since all I see are other online, non-traditional scrappers. I hadn't realize there were still so many traditionalist folks out there. You're making me wonder who buys Ali E's stuff and how they found her. Are all of her customers old 2 Peas followers? Do people come across her organically and start scrapbooking? I'd love to know how many customers she has. Interesting I'm a newer scrapbooker and I discovered Ali Edwards pretty early on in my scrapbooking journey. In 2018, I realized I needed a planner, and was introduced to the world of decorative planning/memory-keeping in a planner. One night, I was watching a planner YouTuber and she mentioned she was doing this project called December Daily, which led me down the Ali Edwards rabbit hole. I discovered that the part I liked about planning was the memory-keeping aspect, so that led me to looking up other companies and kits, and I eventually stumbled on this message board and gained an education on tools, die cutting machines, designers, shady business practices, etc. I still use a planner now, but it's basically just an appointment book....and there aren't too many of those lately! |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 17, 2024 5:35:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2021 22:00:57 GMT
There really are two vastly different groups. People like most of you, who know every brand and every celebrity and are more up on the latest than I am as a store owner. Then there are people like the three dear friends I scrapbook with personally...I don't think any of them could name a brand of paper. And they don't seem to care.
As long as both of you groups are shopping, it's all good to me...LOL!
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Post by cupcakepeddler on Apr 27, 2021 3:17:13 GMT
The biggest "I'm out of place" feeling I had when I started to scrapbook in the early 2010's was because of my age. I was significantly younger than a lot of the people I met at expos or from popping into my LSS so it was difficult to find common ground or relate to anyone. Yes to all of this. I was single, child free and 20 when I was introduced to scrapbooking and I absolutely got treated very differently to how I do now, in saying that I am still usually amongst the youngest at classes or events I have attended and I am now almost 40. At least I don't get asked what could I possibly scrapbook or why anymore  I have come into contact with so many different kinds of paper crafters over the years and yes sometimes what I talk about such as different brands and types of scrapbooking I do get that blank stare. I know a lady who does weekly card classes and scrapbooks and she had never heard of project life before and was overwhelmed with the concept, she could not get her head around the idea of a page protector being separated into different sized slots. |
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Post by miss2peas on Apr 28, 2021 3:58:05 GMT
See, when people talk about why companies aren't making the products that "we scrapbookers" want, I think we are missing the point that we're just a little subculture of scrapbooking. I went into a LSS when Starshine came out and the person working there (the owner?) had never heard of Shimelle and she looked at me blankly when I said she was an American Crafts designer. They know about Graphic45 and Tim Holtz - I'm not sure if the AC thing was snobbery or what because don't AC own half of scrapbooking? But I'm 100% sure they wouldn't have known Studio Calico, Ali Edwards, and certainly not Kelly Purkey, etc. When we complain about too much pink, too many gendered lines, dumb icons, and the companies come back and say, but that's what scrapbookers buy, I think they're talking about that great mass of people who craft and scrapbook who we are just a tiny offshoot from. Hope you're having fun despite feeling a bit out of place. This is why I love this board. To find other people who are as “into” scrapbooking as I am is a unique experience. My family knows a little about different aspects of scrapbooking (celebrities, products, etc) but I know they listen because they know it’s my thing and don’t fully understand. I have not been to 100’s of crops or anything but over the years I’ve gone to plenty and I’ve never seen anyone creating a IG type layout. I just love the fact that people love to do the same hobby as I do. |
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JRock
Full Member
Posts: 115
Jan 2, 2019 13:53:33 GMT
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Post by JRock on Apr 28, 2021 21:37:04 GMT
I've definitely felt out of place! When I first started scrapping, I had recently gotten into card making/was big into SU. Someone from the card side of the world sent me to one of the big stamping online forums which introduced me to the online paper crafts community and what a rabbit hole it can be. From there I started scrapping and somehow wound up on 2Ps. I never really felt a part of my local scrapping community, in part because I never felt I 100% fit in with the folks in the area I lived in general but I did make one really good friend there. She is still my only scrappy friend! We were part of a small group that met for crops now and again. I was always *the most* into the online community. The fact that there are so many scrappers out there who have never watched a YouTube video or been on a forum blows my mind- most of my scrapping life has included the online community as a huge part of it!
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lynn0117
Full Member
Posts: 247
Jul 2, 2018 15:47:03 GMT
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Post by lynn0117 on Apr 28, 2021 22:16:52 GMT
I’m single, childfree, and an only child. I would not fit in at retreats because I am not doing this for anyone else. What’s going to happen to my stuff when I’m gone? Who cares, I’ll be gone. Plus there is no guarantee anyone is going to want the 70+ albums that some of the older scrappers are planning on handing down. What we may see as a gift, others may see as a curse.
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,395 
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Post by artbabe on Apr 28, 2021 23:20:37 GMT
I'm single and childless. I go on a President's Day weekend retreat every year. We have been doing it for over 10 years. I know I am the only one of them that is obsessed with all sides of scrapbooking. I recognize most papers and can tell you what company made them. I know every new product coming out and know all of the new scrapbooking styles. The other people are always commenting on how artistic my pages are, but I'm just using all of the new ideas I get off the internet. Everyone is totally cool with how I scrap, or at least they never tell me they are not.
I remember in the old days going to other retreats with other people where I did get comments about the way I scrapped. There were a lot of CM scrappers that didn't understand what a young single person had to scrap. A lot of people thought it was wasteful to only put one photo on a page. Or they thought I used too much product. I felt pretty judged.
I don't understand people that use premade kits with directions on what goes where. It just isn't how I scrap at all- I don't get the point. But scrapbooking is a hobby and everyone should do it the way they like to do it. I'm silently judging you (ha!), but it will be silently.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Apr 29, 2021 16:52:35 GMT
I’m lucky to still have an LSS. They sponsor daily crops and 3 day crops. I’m actually attending my first 3 day this weekend. My last crop was in early March 2020 when we were finally realizing the pandemic was going to be a thing. Im meeting up with 4 scrappy friends and we’re all vaccinated so I feel comfortable. We have people from old school CM 2 page layouts, mini albums, card making, knitting, to needlework. Even some mixed media. I’m one of the few doing PL. There is no ostracizing and everyone likes to walk around and see what others are doing. It’s being held at a hotel so we have space to soils distance. I’m not sure how many are attending but it will be smaller than previous years due to distancing. I like to go because I don’t feel pulled to spend time with DH or do housework. It’s my 2.5 days to do nothing but craft guilt free.
I found the old peas through Smashbooks during a Google search. That introduced me to products available online. We also had an Archivers which was heaven and do much new stuff that you could actually touch.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,552
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Apr 29, 2021 17:08:43 GMT
I'm the only person I know in real life who scrapbooks. I'm also the only person I know who reads (besides my kids, guess where they got that from?) And I'm the only person I know who writes. I know a lot of people, but apparently the wrong ones  |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,449
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Post by scrapnnana on Apr 30, 2021 4:40:37 GMT
I started scrapbooking in 1996. I still remember the appalled looks I got from the CM rep when she saw that I stamped on my CM pages. Or the CM crop where I used tools from other companies. I felt like a leper, never went back, and I stopped using CM albums long ago. I had friends who did CM, and that was fine. They weren’t appalled by my way of scrapbooking, and I didn’t bug them about their way. When no CM reps were involved, everyone got along just fine. I think that CM reps were the first self-appointed scrapbook police.
I was scrapbooking before it was popular, before there was any LSS in my area. I started working at the LSS soon after they opened, and I taught classes there. Customers who came and cropped there had a wide variety of styles. A few of the customers were as bad in their own way as the CM reps.
There is no right or wrong way to scrapbook, but there will always be some individuals who try to make you feel like there is.
I have no LSS near me now. Although I miss it sometimes, I shop from my stash and do my pages my way. I don’t have to please anyone but myself, and it’s a great feeling of freedom.
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Post by mikklynn on Apr 30, 2021 13:33:39 GMT
I’m single, childfree, and an only child. I would not fit in at retreats because I am not doing this for anyone else. What’s going to happen to my stuff when I’m gone? Who cares, I’ll be gone. Plus there is no guarantee anyone is going to want the 70+ albums that some of the older scrappers are planning on handing down. What we may see as a gift, others may see as a curse. Exactly! I told my kids to toss them in a dumpster if no one wants them. I'm sure they won't keep them all. I do hope they pull out at least some pages to treasure. I never want anyone to keep them out of guilt. I had the enjoyment of creating them. That is enough. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Apr 30, 2021 14:24:20 GMT
I think you are right. I sometimes laugh at how much time I spend thinking about or looking at scrapbook stuff online. Obsessed is probably the word. I just assume everyone is like this. My implicit bias toward scrapbookers lol. I feel like an alien on this board. Once upon a time, I knew it all. I taught classes. I was all over 2peas. I gave up scrapbooking in 2008. In 2011, I started digital scrapbooking. And then in 2016 I went back to paper. I no longer know all the celebrities. I no longer keep track of paper lines. I still use buttons and ribbons! I don't do much stamping or mixed media. I own exactly 13 ink pads. I don't often post on this board because I just don't follow it all anymore. I'm just not interested. I scrap my way and I'm happy with that. I do a lot of one photo layouts. Because I'm just not interested anymore in taking a million photos at an event and just would rather kick back and enjoy the event. I don't have a clue what WITL means. I don't think I fully understand what project life is or how it works. My kids are growing older and I just have less photos of them and more of my everyday kind of things, so I'm debating learning more about project life. And well, I'm debating going back to digital too because that just seemed more versatile for me and now that I'm working from home and my craft room has become my home office, I no longer have the space to make a mess anymore. I anticipate never going back in the office full time again. |
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Post by Citygirl on Apr 30, 2021 14:46:18 GMT
I’m single, childfree, and an only child. I would not fit in at retreats because I am not doing this for anyone else. What’s going to happen to my stuff when I’m gone? Who cares, I’ll be gone. Plus there is no guarantee anyone is going to want the 70+ albums that some of the older scrappers are planning on handing down. What we may see as a gift, others may see as a curse. Exactly! I told my kids to toss them in a dumpster if no one wants them. I'm sure they won't keep them all. I do hope they pull out at least some pages to treasure. I never want anyone to keep them out of guilt. I had the enjoyment of creating them. That is enough. So I will say that a few things have changed (for the better imo) since I frequented crops years ago: I wasn't the only one there alone. Probably 3-4 ladies at this retreat and the last one I went to were there alone. Also, there were several childfree women scrapping away. I never understood the judgement in this hobby on childfree scrappers. To me all hobbies have therapeutic value and don't require a child to participate. I didn't have my first kid until I was 39 so I scrapbooked for MANY years childfree. To be honest I don't feel like it's changed that much since having a kid. I still do it for me. I still do several projects that are about me and for me and have nothing to do with my kid. I made her a baby book, and plan to do a school of life album but beyond that it's for me and my enjoyment. |
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Post by refugeepea on Apr 30, 2021 15:55:05 GMT
I met my cousin who is probably more of a die hard scrapbooker than me at an Expo. She gets more done than me and would go to the Expo yearly and travel from another state until they stopped having them. I thought with all that enthusiasm, she probably had a plethora of supplies. No! She told me she did have a die cut machine but got rid of it because she didn't use it enough. She did basic 12x12 pages with cardstock and pattern paper. You could see the love in her pages and I do like them.
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nicolep
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,197
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Post by nicolep on Apr 30, 2021 17:48:46 GMT
I had the enjoyment of creating them. That is enough. 100% this. This is the reason I scrapbook! Also, there were several childfree women scrapping away. I never understood the judgement in this hobby on childfree scrappers. To me all hobbies have therapeutic value and don't require a child to participate. I didn't have my first kid until I was 39 so I scrapbooked for MANY years childfree. To be honest I don't feel like it's changed that much since having a kid. I still do it for me. I still do several projects that are about me and for me and have nothing to do with my kid. I made her a baby book, and plan to do a school of life album but beyond that it's for me and my enjoyment. YES YES YES. Thank you for saying this. I scrapbooked from 2004-2014 without having a child in my life. I was never at a loss of what to document. The judgment was real and VERY hurtful at the time. I always felt like I had to defend being a childless scrapbooker. Throw in years of infertility and it made for a miserable experience. I had my first and only child at 40 but I still scrapbook for ME. I'm nearly 46 now and it's still MY hobby. I love it for ME. |
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Post by miss2peas on Apr 30, 2021 18:36:42 GMT
I’m single, childfree, and an only child. I would not fit in at retreats because I am not doing this for anyone else. What’s going to happen to my stuff when I’m gone? Who cares, I’ll be gone. Plus there is no guarantee anyone is going to want the 70+ albums that some of the older scrappers are planning on handing down. What we may see as a gift, others may see as a curse. 100 percent correct. I have 5 kids but that doesn’t mean they are gonna be thrilled to get my albums. I photograph my layouts now, so I know they’ll at least have that but other than that i scrap because I love it. Sometimes I question why I do it as I’m sure some of us do but it always comes back to, I love it and if they end up trashed after I’m gone so be it. I enjoyed the process. |
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Post by refugeepea on May 1, 2021 22:47:20 GMT
And I guess I didn't care very much about the actual memory keeping aspect? I liked playing with paper and creating, it was a bonus I was able to add photos and a bit of journaling to look back on later. I started out believing the memory aspect was my number one goal. It was ingrained in me to RECORD YOUR STORY for future generations. It took me several years to realize I do not care. I like playing with paper.
Yes to all of this. I was single, child free and 20 when I was introduced to scrapbooking and I absolutely got treated very differently to how I do now, I was a teen, child free, and fit right in, but I was Mormon and lived in Utah.  I’m single, childfree, and an only child. I would not fit in at retreats because I am not doing this for anyone else. What’s going to happen to my stuff when I’m gone? Who cares, I’ll be gone. I have the same attitude and three children. I know two would not care and one hoards enough of her beloved treasures. She does not need anything more to keep.
I don't understand people that use premade kits with directions on what goes where. It just isn't how I scrap at all- I don't get the point. But scrapbooking is a hobby and everyone should do it the way they like to do it. I'm silently judging you (ha!), but it will be silently. I totally get premade kits, but it's the photo orientations that throw me off. Also, the number of photos that may or may not fit. I am not artistic or creative. I like scrapbooking for the cutting and pasting aspect. Think elementary school basic art class, where there isn't much thinking going on.
It’s being held at a hotel so we have space to soils distance. I’m not sure how many are attending but it will be smaller than previous years due to distancing. I like to go because I don’t feel pulled to spend time with DH or do housework. It’s my 2.5 days to do nothing but craft guilt free. That sounds heavenly!
I never want anyone to keep them out of guilt. I had the enjoyment of creating them. That is enough.  |
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