Are you a bit non-mainstream in this hobby? This is for you.

Hi!  I've been reading but not commenting as much lately.  Every quarter my work life ramps up to a crescendo that is basically a 90-minute meeting, and then settles back down.  I am currently climbing the ramp and this will be intensifying for the next 2 weeks or so.  Usually all I can manage at this point is to dip my toes in non-work stuff, but I'm determined to try to break that cycle.

So I'd like to share a little about what has really struck a chord with me lately, reading here.  It probably always strikes a chord if I'm honest, but I've been thinking about it more in the last month or so.  Here it is:

If you do something other than 12x12 layouts using fairly traditional materials (an example is Echo Park kits but there's nothing wrong with Echo Park kits at all), I just want to encourage you to keep sharing your interest here.  For example:  Do you work with digital products and scrapbook digitally?  That's so exotic to me.  It may be that it is more mainstream now, probably is, but for me that is slightly off the mainstream center.  Another example, and one that I personally dabble in:  Nontraditional sizes or means of documenting your photos and stories.  This could be anything other than the standard 12x12, but the more "different," the better.  I do a lot of stuff in travelers notebook inserts these days because many stories, to me, just don't warrant a 12x12 layout so I have left a lot of cool stories untold in the past because I have that mindset.  

Here's an example of what I mean about little stories that would have been untold.  This is in a TN:

Portland Leather Goods by Seanna., on Flickr

What about "altered books" or junk journals?  Anyone do those?   So freaking cool.  I have done one altered book and it was back in the days when circle journals were a big thing.  It's one of my most prized possessions, actually.  

I also love looking at Project Life types of projects.  I even have some of the stuff to do those but just never dove in.  I think those are pretty mainstream, but I thought I would throw those in anyway.

What about documenting unusual stuff?  I get so much inspiration from that.  People who art journal gratitude, for example.  That's just so cool.  I'm sure there are 100 things I'm not even thinking of right now.

If you do 12x12 layouts only?  I think that's great, too.  I still do them on a fairly regular basis.  I ultimately came to the conclusion that it's a lot of real estate that is not always necessary, and I guess I have more of an awareness that this stuff is going to have to get processed after I croak--but also, even before that, if I decide to downsize and travel a lot in the future.  I don't want that to drag me down.

Anyway, I wanted to share some  love for off-the-beaten-path folks and their cool stuff.  It's not necessarily even the actual output.  It is also the way they approach this general paper crafting hobby.  Some people buy only per project and keep a tiny stash.  That's AWESOME and I love reading about it--so different from what I consider the mainstream.  I've loved the different approaches to organization as well. Some don't even use much in the way of traditional scrapbooking products.  They use found stuff, mostly ephemera, fabric, magazine pages, etc.  Amazing.  I love reading about that.

If you've been hesitant to talk about your niche "thing" here because most people don't relate to it, I encourage you to let your niche flag fly.  I'll read it for sure.  I'll bet lots of people will.   And if you've shared your cool way of approaching this general hobby:  My eternal thanks.  I've gotten a lot out of it.  I'd call some of you out by name, but I don't want this to be weird.