Scrappy CONFESSIONAL: unpopular opinions, spending, etc.

As much as I like saving money, I get a wee bit tired of certain scrappers who talk about how you can do things cheaply. I'm lookin' at you, RTS. And don't get me wrong... I love SO much about Janet/RTS. Heck, she's one of the few I registered to Patreon to follow. I just get tired of hearing about how expensive things are, and how you don't have to buy XYZ you can do your own version.

It's actually bizarre the extent to which I get irked by it; I suspect it's because intellectually I know that, no, I can't XYZ myself, because I lack both the talent & the patience!

I use these cloth bins...
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GQ3U1WQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It doesn't fill the whole cube but is large enough for 12x12 papers. This is what it looks like in the cabinet.


Storage box in Kaliax by Christine C68, on Flickr

YES!

I am turned off by “ minimalist” scrappers who HATE clutter and CANT STAND a large stash. They insinuate that having a lot of supplies is DISTASTEFUL. Then they push new products from design teams and manufacturers. WTH?!

I can’t stand scrappers/YouTubers who want you to “guess an upcoming (fill in the blank)” or those who constantly allude to a personal issue, but then don’t share. My thought is “KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!”

Also, photos/layouts with peoples FACES BLURRED out give me the CREEPS. It’s personal safety, I get it. Then don’t show it, it’s not that game changing. Sometimes I’ve actually thought I had eye problems before I realize all the blurring was intentional.

Don’t tell me your scrapbooking is a hobby when you have a paid membership, a Patreon membership, design teams, teach classes and sell items. That’s a business. If the IRS is involved, it’s not just “sharing with friends”.

If I don’t like a company or designer, I don’t but from them and support them with my money. I don’t complain and then buy their products. Why set myself up for disappointment? Why pay them to not deliver?

Returning to my corner.

mrssch - I get your point re: the blurring. I can't share pics of my niece & nephew online, though. Hard rule from my bro & sister in law.

Given that - do you think it's better to just share a layout prior to the pics being adhered (If they aren't matted it occurred to me I can just flip then over) or would some kind of post it or something be less annoying than the blurring? Just looking for ideas of ways to share that respect my brother's wishes, but also lets me share.

this is why I could never really get into her videos.  She had some great ideas and I liked her approach but it took more time than I was willing to spend.  

When I share layouts that include people that I don't have permission to show, I just put a white or black punched out circle over their faces before I take the photo of my layout. I prefer that to blurring the faces, because it's so obviously intentional.

Okay, when I saw that a user named "kiwikate" quoted me on this thread, I gotta admit, I was nervous! Haha, I thought I was going to be called out! Glad to know I didn't offend you and sorry you share the same affliction 

* I take way too long to create pages - like if I was able to measure the time probably around 8 hours a page from the time I select the photos until I glue on the last embellishment. The 8 hours is usually over the course of 5 - 10 days - an hour or two per sitting.
* I own lots of pre-mades but usually make my own (for example, cut a Silhouette title instead of using alpha stickers, punch or stamp flowers instead of using flower die cuts). Premade/manufactured die cuts annoy me. They are never the right element and they are flat and usually have a white border, but I buy them anyway thinking they will save time and make my pages look more creative.
* I love pink, I buy lots of pink, but 80% of my pages are primarily blue.
* Like most scrapbookers, I have tons and tons of supplies (and still buy more, just at a slower rate than in past years) but I rarely get rid of any (purge ) - I never know what I'm going to use on my pages, and if something is really ugly, like paper, I use it for notes and practice cuts or mats. Also, with the cost of everything these days as well as the scarcity of some supplies, I don't feel as bad about having an abundant inventory.

I don't get the splatters and sprays. I can't imagine taking a perfectly good layout and splattering it with paint, oxide, ink.
You can't fix the spray if it goes somewhere unwanted. Too uncontrollable and messy.

I'm not Jackson Pollock. I love his work in museums; not on my pages.

AND why is matchy-matchy such an evil thing? I like my things to match or coordinate. I much prefer matching to random.

I stopped working on it sometime in late February. I really want to pick it back up. Taxes and a trip oversees took a lot of my time over the past month, but all that is behind me now. I need to get it done before I am completely consumed by yard work.

sleepingbooty thanks for what you do. I really like these Christmas threads.

I forgot to mention that I don't like inked edges.

My confessions:

1. I hardly ever throw anything away. My scrap can be 1" x 2" with a hole in the middle and I am more likely than not to keep it. Why? I don't know. It's some weird after use hoarding affliction.
2. I've bought out three people's collections in the last year. One person had passed away and her husband was selling off her collection. That was really hard to go through. The other two were people who were just getting out of the hobby, but I couldn't bear the thought of them trashing their collections so I bought them out. Now, I obviously didn't pay full value, but what am I going to do with three other people's collections plus my original? I can create for the next 50 years and probably not have to buy anything except adhesive. And I don't have room for all this stuff. I just keep moving piles around and promising myself that I'll get better systems in place so I can actually find and use this stuff. But I can't seem to get past the stuff shuffling phase right now.
2a. I did a huge purge when I moved from one state to another about a decade ago. And I'm extremely regretful of some of the things I got rid of in that purge. So now I tend to go the other direction and am struggling a LOT to let go of any of my supplies - including the stuff I got from these other three people that I know I will never use for my own creations.
3. I hardly ever watch videos. I do occasionally, but if I'm watching a video, I'm usually watching the video and not creating. And I feel as if I get such limited amounts of time in my craft room to begin with, I just need to get moving rather than watch videos. I feel like I'm left out of the loop in the industry though because of this practice.
4. Anything with a star or stars on it, I hoard.