The de-evolution of scrapbooking thru "pocket pages"

I'm another one who can't seem to "get" the allure of pocket scrapping. I've done two albums in pocket style, and I stress over embellishing every little thing! If I can see the back of a photo on the next page, I try to cover it with pretty paper. Rounding or not rounding corners... too many decisions...

I think it's easier just to make one big 12x12 page than it is to make 6 smaller ones!

At the height of scrapbooking, everyone jumped on board. Pictures came out of albums to go into scrapbooks. Then digital photography inundated us with thousands of unscrapped photos. People got overwhelmed. Now there of piles of pictures unscrapped and not in albums. People decided they were never going to scrap them.

A niche was found where all these unscrapped photos can slide into pockets, but leave space for the extras that make it more like a scrapbook. The goal is to get the photos into a book where they can be enjoyed, and this fits the bill.

I am an avid traditional theme scrapbooker. I have tried pocket style pages. They limit me. My photos aren't oriented the direction of the pockets, my memorabilia doesn't fit, and it just doesn't work for my style. I can place my photos on a piece of cardstock and colorblock them in the same way they would slide into pockets, put some adhesive on the back and have a page that looks like a pocket page but isn't. This works for me. I have also not sold off all of my supplies, so I like using them as often as possible.

Pocket scrapping fills a niche for folks who want to slide their pics into albums and go back and add stuff to the pockets. Not saying everyone does that, but it does help those that have abandoned traditional scrapping and have piles of photos.

Yes, this! I was a traditional scrapper from 2001-2010 or so. As the timing worked out, the advent of digital photos (i.e. SO many!) coincided with my family growing and taking more of my time out of the house and the economy going sour so I have to work more. Voila! Pocket page scrapping saved the day! I don't have time to do traditional layouts most of the time, but I want my photos in an album while I can remember the details to journal and my kids are still home to enjoy them.


Pocket pages don't have to limit you. Some ideas: Have lots of configurations and sizes handy. I've started getting odd sizes and configs when I find them on sale (or adapt the ones I already have) and now I have one for all situations (e.g., darn, I got all the photos from one event into this Design A but there are 2 horizontal pics left; I then cut a (6) horizontal 4x6 page down to (3) horizontal 4x6 slots, add 2 photos and a journaling card - done!). Also, every photo doesn't need it's own slot. Sometimes if my photo amount/configs don't match up with the page protector, I slide in the ones that fit, then put extras in 1 slot. You can put an arrow, a pull tab, or whatever to indicate "hey, there are more photos in here!" LOL

Anyhow, I'm glad you've found another system that works for you (putting the photos in your own arrangement, directly onto cardstock). That's another great way to get those photos in albums for those of us too busy to scrap the traditional way.

I'm a pocket-page scrapper NOW, at this time in my life. But my kids won't always be living at home, I won't always have to work this much, and I know I'll get back to traditional scrapping someday (I still do some traditional layouts, mostly at retreats where I have more time). In the meantime, I'd rather be doing pocket scrapping than nothing at all during these busy years - which is why I think a lot of scrappers have just dropped out altogether and that's sad

I don't think pocket-scrapping is a DE-evolution, just an evolution to solve a problem of our times.

I think pocket scrapbooking has made everyone's pages have such a homogenous look and feel and too much "sameness". I loved the old days when I could look at a layout and identify the scrapbook artist before I read who it was credited to. So many people had such an original look and style and uniqueness to their layouts. Now, to me it all looks the same, down to even the same preprinted cards and trite sayings over and over. I've seen enough "hello" cards and "best. day. ever." sayings to last me a lifetime. No more "Yes, please": I'll say "No, thanks!".

I still scrap old school: I cut, paste, embellish, journal, and layer. Every page of mine tells its' own unique story because I firmly believe that scrapbooking is all about the storytelling. I want each LO to stand on its' own, as if I'm standing over the viewer's shoulder. Even long after I will be gone, the stories will live on. I find pocket pages to be so mundane that the characteristics of each family member (their quirks, idiosyncracies, habits, and foibles) will fall by the wayside. But not in my scrapbooks. No prperinted tickets and ephemera; no letterpress cards that say the same thing that thousands of others scrappers have in their collection.

I'll stick to my LO combos, ideas, sketches, stories, and stash of much beloved papers and pieces. I'll find the time to sb because it's my hobby and my kids don't look thru their books all that often. (Frankly, I scrap for me, not them so I'm not offended if they're not perusing their LOs). I understand the time crunch some people are up against so I do think pockets fill a niche. I'm OK with that. It's just not my thing but it's a big enough tent for all of us.

That doesn't sound like my pocket pages at all.  *Because* I pocket-page scrapbook, I'm able to capture all those things on my layouts.  If I only did traditional layouts, I'd maybe have time for 3 pages a month = not nearly as many moments, quirks, habits, memories, etc captured.

Maybe the pocket-page scrappers who share their work online are giving a false impression of what most of us are doing with it . . . 

Precisely why I try to create my own embellishments as opposed to buying them.

I tried pocket scrapping for a couple of years. I wanted to love it but in the end, I found that I missed the tactile experience of cutting, pasting, creating. All of my photos are now online and I can share them easily and readily with family (we have an Apple TV to flick them up on the tv to show people, we all use Dropbox to share photos etc), so my scrapbooking is as much about the process as it is about the end result.

Interestingly, I felt far more pressure to "keep up" when I was pocket scrapping than I do making traditional layouts.

One of the most interesting minibooks I ever saw was one created by Erica Hernandez: she had used all different misc. sizes of page protectors on her project. There were 2-up pocket pages in between a 5" x 7" on one side and an 8" x 8" on the other. I don't know if it was a mishmash of using up what she had on hand but it seemed like the sizes she used really flattered and fit each page: it really showed the photos to their best advantage. It was a great concept and in the end, it is way better to have something scrapped than in a shoebox.

I do think there can be an undercurrent of competition in scrapping: I've never understood it or participated in it but some sites do have a definite feel of one-upsmanship to what should be a fun hobby. Each of us should do what fits our life, style, and time availability. For some, that means 12" x 12" and for others, it's pockets. To each her own. I'm not sure it's de-evolution per se, but rather doing what is appropriate and practical for one's time, interests, and abilities.

I do traditional 12 x 12 scrapbooking. I like to use the divided pocket pages for "extra" photos I don't necessarily want a whole page for. I put it in between a two page layout. I usually use 3 horizontal pockets on the side closest to the d-rings and cut off the outside half of the pockets. That way you can still see part of my 2 page layout. Or I'll use 4 of the 6 vertical pockets.

If I can't use all those pockets, I put in coordinating paper and maybe an embellishment.

Not a pocket page person.....I'm just not organized enough...love to see them as I often change the size of pages in my books but it isn't me....
However, I think its great to have trends....keeps the hobby fun and interesting....

I remember that feeling too - wasn't it great! 

I agree and I do both. Both styles work for me for different things. Following my puppy as I train him is perfect for pocket pages. Random shots of him being his goofy self, perfect for a layout in the dog scrapbook.

That is a lot like what I  do! WRMK albums usually come with one pocket page. I will sometimes use the whole 12 x 12 pocket page, but more often cut it down, like the 6x12 you show.

And this is why I like crafting.

The trends can change, and if I don't want to go with that flow, I don't have to. If everyone stopped scrapbooking as an industry altogether, I could still sit and make my 12 x 12 pages because I have the tools (adhesive isn't going away, and I have stencils, pens, punches, stamps, ink) and even if I run out of paper, I can create my own patterns or use wallpaper books or other creative outlets.

So I don't think too much about the craft devolving these days. I do know pocket scrapbooking wouldn't make me happy, but that's not a judgment, just a decision.