Any new or semi-new scrappers here?

I am not a new scrapbooker, but I didn’t find this place until 2020. I can’t remember how I stumbled onto it. I didn’t know it existed, though I was very active on the 2peas boards - mostly the off topic board and the publishing one. Years later I was on the SC boards, but found the vibe weird and cliqueish and never really settled in.

I think I stumbled here via a Google search, that seems most likely. I was probably curious about gossip of some kind regarding one of the big names and came here through that, though I can’t remember what it would’ve been. The first things I did here was read the SC and AE threads straight through from the beginning though, so likely something from them. I remember being surprised/delighted to stumble across this board.

Regarding recruiting new (younger?) scrapbookers - I’m not sure the younger generations are into message boards. My teens aren’t. At all. For us oldies, boards are how we grew into online relationships, but for these younger kids it’s all social media and YT. My daughter (15) is scrapbooking (very slap dash sticker sneeze-esque) and she would have no interest in discussing any of the stuff we do here. I can only imagine her reaction to learning about this place and the things we discuss. *laughs*

I’ve been scrapbooking for 10 years, but I’m not young (56). I have a friend who scrapbooks and she’s been at it since high school. She’s 31. I go to crops and there seems to be an even split between grandmas and moms in their 30s-40s. The younger paper crafters seem to gravitate towards planner style memory keeping.

I think this craft has always been dominated by mothers. I know as a crafty person I wasn’t interested when I was in my 20s. But photos weren’t as easy then either.

I guess I fit the bill of new and young. I have peers who are very creative, and would be a good fit with scrapbooking. But my age group doesn't usually have a lot of space in our apartments (I started scrapping on the floor with a small stash and very few tools) or disposable money to spend on crafts. Also, I think the perception of scrapbooking is a little passé and dated. Another challenge is the bias that is being discussed over at the single/childless thread. So there lots of factors and barriers to entry, but as with most hobbies, interest wanes and flows.

I turn 40 this summer and started scrapbooking in 2020 (what a year to start, huh?).

I came to the hobby through planning. I mentioned this in the thread on how I found 2peasrefugees, but back in 2017 I bought a planner and fell down the decorative planning rabbit hole on Facebook and Instagram. Eventually I realized I was less interested in planning and enjoyed the memory-keeping, so I switched over to scrapbooking.

I started off with Project Life, which is still my main, ongoing scrapbooking project, but I do 12x12 spreads when I'm feeling inspired. I've also now branched into cardmaking, which has been a lot of fun. I also see it as a way to justify my scrappy purchases since nearly everything can be dual-purpose. It's funny because I was never into arts and crafts when I was a kid (I got C's in elementary school art class), but now I want to dabble in it all - mixed media, making cards and mini albums, vinyl and HTV crafts, etc.

I don't personally know anyone who scrapbooks, but I live in a pretty populated area (DC suburbs in Virginia), so I'm sure there are people out here who do. With the pandemic, its not like there has been a lot of opportunities to go out and meet people IRL. That's why I'm so thankful for this message board, to get inspiration, recommendations (and enabling!), and chat with other like-minded people.

Not a new scrapper, but new to 2peas. I have never attended an in person crop as I am anti social, don’t like to share, don’t usually like a lot of the “popular” in store products and like to scrap in my pjs. I also refuse to join social media outlets like Facebook, instagram etc as I disagree with a number of their privacy policies and cannot stand the fan girl fakeness of a lot of it (I want real opinions from a variety of people who do a variety of projects in a variety of sizes with a variety of brands!)
That’s being said, I cyber stalked and read the threads of two peas for a while before I joined at the start of this year. I like the variety of topics, I like how easy it is to find things on this site, and I appreciate people posting sneaks etc for me as I am not on Facebook etc as per above. I also love not having advertising shoved down my throat, and that I can quickly catch up on the threads in a few minutes each day.
I like the supportiveness and respectfulness of most of the scrapping peas, we disagree and love different things and that is all respected from what I’ve seen.
I am a relatively young scrapper age wise.

I wonder if a section change to "Paper crafting and scrapbooking" would entice more people who stumble upon the board to stay and read a bit.

I followed the group over from 2 peas, but was not very active there.

I've scrapped pretty consistently since college but didn't find this board until SC shut their message boards down and needed to find somewhere to vent (or, actually, to read other peoples frustrations with SC). I slowly explored other threads and even more slowly have started replying. In summary, not new to scrapbooking and been hanging around here for about five years - my account says 2018 but I know I was checking this site out for months (maybe a year?) before I decided to create an account.

Hello! Ive been a lurker here for a bit but decided it was time to make my debut. I have a very different scrappy history than I think most of the active members here do. I am single, childless, and only 25 years old. I have always been very into crafting, have journaled my whole life, and I am a photographer so when I stumbled upon project life style scrapping in 2016, something "clicked". I got hooked on this hobby that combined my love for photography, documenting my life, and playing with pretty papers and have completed PL albums for every year since 2017. I scrapped on my bed in my apartment on campus in college and my supplies have travelled with me as Ive moved many times since.
That said, I do not know a single person in real life who scrapbooks, let alone anyone my age, and I stumbled upon this board a few years ago, forgot about it, re-found it a few months ago, and have been here daily ever since. I would love to be able to chat with others in this hobby who are as into it as I am (my poor mother faces the brunt of my scrappy talk and although she listens and is a terrible enabler, she isn't in the hobby and I think she could use a break!). Very few of the people in my life know that I scrapbook, aside from my immediate family and a few very close friends. I have found that those who have seen my albums are a bit surprised because what I do does not fit into their idea of what scrapbooking looks like. They associate it with large, traditional 12x12 albums and dated products although I don't know if the knowledge and availability of fun, trendy products would be enough to encourage them to join in. I really cannot tell you why more young people aren't in the hobby. A lack of disposable income, space, and time may factor in, all of which I have struggled with, but it is my main hobby so I have been able to prioritize it in my life.
Message boards are not very prevalent in my age group and it seems most people prefer the major social media channels, but I don't have FB and I have never been able to find these kind of discussions anywhere on instagram. I do not have a crafty insta where I share projects so even though I follow a lot of crafty people, I wouldn't say I am an engaged member of the community over there. So maybe I am just the odd duck in my age group in that I prefer this format for crafty content but I enjoy coming here and being able to fully immerse myself in whatever crafty discussions my heart desires. I also like looking at older threads and reading all the gossip from when I first started and before I knew about this board. All that being said, Ill stick around and will do my best to carry on the scrappy legacy, even if at some point Im just chatting with myself!

Yay, welcome out of lurkdom!

Glad you chimmed in! It was interesting reading your story and hearing your insights - I agree with a lot of what you said about why more people your age aren’t scrapping/participating in message boards.

I started seriously scrapping in 2015, but as a crafter with many interests, I was a lurker member of the old board, long before I actually scrapped. I’m 34 with a kid now, but I was not married and kidless when I first started!