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Post by needtime2scrap on Jan 25, 2016 3:08:02 GMT
Lately I've been seeing a lot of posts on Instagram about scrapbooking with a finish line in mind, basically the completed scrapbook. Also along those lines of what feels like to me the ever so slightly putting down of the creative process. That those who spend more time being creative with their photos and stories beyond getting them into a scrapbook and calling done are being frivolous.
This really bothers me because most of us do this crazy thing called scrapbooking because we like being creative with photos, paper and stories. I know I will only ever be finished or caught up if I stop taking pictures and I that I will not do.
This so sounds like the old style of creative memories scrapbooking, the get it done approach. I *enjoy* the process of telling stories and creating. There is room for both trains of thought but yeesh layoff the badmouthing!
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 25, 2016 3:17:59 GMT
Ignore the haters. I scrapbook to make myself happy. I do elaborate pages, simple pages, and pocket pages.
I am with you on the deadline...I never have one. It's supposed to be fun.
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Post by Skellinton on Jan 25, 2016 3:26:09 GMT
I don't really worry or think about why others scrapbook, so I guess it doesnt bother me. If someone actually criticized me personally because I wasn't done that might bother me. I would have no trouble telling them that I likely won't ever be done, though. As long as it makes me happy to scrapbook i will keep scrapbooking. I do have some project scrapbooks I want to finish like Disney albums or vacation albums but you are right other than that I will never be done.
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Post by bethquiroz on Jan 25, 2016 3:42:12 GMT
I have a hard time with finishing any project, so I consider my scrapbooks as fluid. I'll do layouts as they inspire me & put them in the album where I feel they belong. My albums aren't meant to ever be "complete."
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Post by needtime2scrap on Jan 25, 2016 4:03:55 GMT
Honestly its BH and all her posts about how she used to be silly to scrapbook how she used to. I'm getting tired of her preachy tone and thinking its time to unfollow her
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 25, 2016 4:05:44 GMT
I have a deadline for my travel scrapbooks, but my kids' books will take forever to finish. I am nine year behind. I think some people feel that everyone should think like they do. I'm not sure why though. We all get something out of it, so why worry about anyone else.
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Post by anniefb on Jan 25, 2016 4:22:17 GMT
I have a few individual projects with deadlines eg if they're a gift, or documenting a particular vacation (and I want to be able to share the album) but I don't expect to finish scrapbooking any time soon. I have deadlines galore at work and definitely want to enjoy the creative process - that's a big part of why I do it.
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Post by alissa103 on Jan 25, 2016 4:33:40 GMT
I know what you mean. I've been quickly scrolling by Becky's posts most of the time lately on IG for a lot of reasons, but this is a partly why. Honestly it's not even really her all the time, but the comments on her posts by her followers.
I just enjoy the process and create to create for myself and my family. I don't care what or how other people scrapbook. I do try to be encouraging to other scrappers bc it's nice to have someone validate you once in awhile, someone who "gets" it and supports memory keeping, no matter how it's done.
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Post by mom on Jan 25, 2016 4:34:10 GMT
I think you have to remember that Becky Higgins has a horse in this race...meaning she only makes money if people are doing Project Life. She is trying to sell her products.
You do what you like - and if thats means not ever having a finish line, then so be it. Unfollow her and do your own thing.
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Post by paperpilekitten on Jan 25, 2016 9:59:20 GMT
Heheh, that's why I rarely read the captions to instapics. I just look at them and like them if they're pretty.  The other day it hit me that I might accidentally like photos where I wouldn't agree with the text. Oh, well...  I don't mind certain deadlines (such as finish last year's December album before starting on the next) but even if an album is "finished" I might add some embellishments later. Usually, I don't set any deadlines for myself. It's supposed to be fun! And speaking of PL, here's the lady with unfinished PL albums for 2012 (2013 I didn't even get started), 2014 and 2015. I've given up on PL and I've set out to finish my unfinished PL albums before I start another one. That may take a few years or so.  Doubt that I'm ever doing PL again. For 2016 I'm keeping a written journal, like I used to do. No photos. Embellishments are optional. It's much quicker and easier. I will make mini albums (PL style, 6x8 or 4x4 albums) for special events instead of documenting every day. |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 25, 2016 11:19:22 GMT
I'm not bothered by it because only I choose what is the right way for me to scrapbook. Most of my albums are ongoing. There is no "finish." I'll be done when I no longer have family and things going on in my life to photograph. Or when I'm no longer around. So, I don't ever want to finish those albums. Some albums, like DD... Yeah, they'll be finished eventually. But I feel no rush placed on me by anyone other than me. Don't let others' opinions on "the right way to scrapbook" get you down. You know what they say about opinions, don't you? Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one.   |
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Deleted
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May 9, 2024 4:12:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 11:44:20 GMT
I'm glad you brought this up. I am reluctant to post about this subject because I don't want to offend anyone.
BH was a big influence when I started sbing. I haven't changed my style very much in the last few years. I still have her sketch books and have my favorites memorized but still get them out occasionly.
PL is fine if that's what you want to do. Better than leaving your pics in your camera or on your computer or even in the envelope they come in when you print them.
I really don't get the idea of taking a picture every day except BH sells more product. How long does anyone really keep that up?
It's not something that makes me want to look at your pics if you are not my friend or family,however. I guess I'm just wondering about all the PL blogs that I see posted here and wonder why the blogger expects a stranger to be interested.
My dh is a pretty good landscape photographer and I have learned a lot from him and I like to enhance our work with pretty paper and journal about our adventures. Maybe I'm kidding myself that it looks 100% better than PL.
I'm in the "do what you like camp, too." Even if you leave your pics in the camera or don't even take any.
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PaperAngel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,316
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jan 25, 2016 14:51:19 GMT
Sadly, many companies use the marketing strategy of belittling a competitor to make their product look better (i.e. the same concept as people putting down others to feel good about themselves). Each consumer chooses whether to reward this approach &/or use their product. (Personally, I don't want to support a company that doesn't even believe its products are worthy to stand alone.) Remember the same person was praising sketches for those "silly" traditional scrapbook pages before learning the current tune & will undoubtedly adjust her pitch to sell the next trend when the industry tires of pocket scrapbooking.
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Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,218 
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Post by Peamac on Jan 25, 2016 15:40:11 GMT
I can see how BH and others would use "get it done" as a selling point to many scrappers (especially those who would like to scrap but don't have a lot of time for it right now) because that's what her products are meant to do in a way (PL, pocket scrapping). It also can draw people in to the idea of scrapping, then lead them to "regular" scrapbooking (for lack of a better word) once they see what else it out there that can be done with photos and pretty paper.
I have many projects I need to finish- several different travels albums from the past few years. I finally finished DD#2's highschool/graduation album- 3 years later. Still haven't even started on my wedding photos, and I 've been married over 25 years. I didn't start scrapping until DDs were in their teens, so I'll never be caught up, but that's okay- I like the process, not just the finished product.
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Post by jen on Jan 25, 2016 16:12:38 GMT
BH is selling a business and I get how her personal style has evolved so much from what she use to do. IMO she was always a pretty simple, scrapbooker and she's just streamlined it to be project life now.
My personal scrapbooking style has always been a creative outlet, so I want the papers & embellishments & 12x12 format that I always loved. Even though my style has elvoved from what it was 16 years ago, I still need the stitching and playing and creating. I don't have anything that needs to be "finished", I just create what I want to.
I still totally get what the op is saying about the recent BH posts.
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,454
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Post by caangel on Jan 25, 2016 16:59:59 GMT
I don't let anyone's "right way for them" make me feel bad about the "right way for me". Part of what I like about people like BH, Stacy Julian and Shimelle is that they share their thought process for how they arrived at what works for them. It helps me understand how they came to their conclusion and I can use their thought process to help me decided if it is something that would work for me.
Sometimes I can appreciate where they are coming from even though I know it would not fit my style/process. I like that they share the way they do and I don't take what they choose as the right thing for them to mean that it is the right thing for everyone.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 25, 2016 17:05:09 GMT
My only deadline is when I'm actually DEAD. Until then, I'll spend my time scrapping the way I want to and the heck with what the haters say!
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Post by myboysnme on Jan 25, 2016 18:11:33 GMT
This is nothing new. In fact the big rift between CM style and 'other' style back in the day was that CM was all about getting the photos into a photo safe environment - saving them from magnetic album destruction. The non CM products were seen as deterrents to getting photos safely into albums.
When the artistic camp really went for it back in the days of scrap magazines, the rift became wider. Painting, inking, glittering, distressing, embossing, getting messy was the antithesis of what CM was all about.
Eventually, as CM ventured into more mainstream scrap products the 'average' scrapbooker had a focus on getting pictures into albums in a creative/artistic way. The two kind of developed a sort of truce.
I am all about getting my pictures into albums, but not just sliding them into pockets. That does not work for me. So I have developed my own style of scrapping with the focus on getting lots of pages done while still using elements creatively. I do not, however, scrap just to be artistic or creative. First and foremost I want my photos to be in albums not boxes.
There are still many scrapbookers who do so for exclusive creative artistic expression, but most go back and forth or end up somewhere in between.
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Deleted
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May 9, 2024 4:12:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 18:58:05 GMT
I agree. For me an album is never really done...you never know what I might run across that will be the perfect accent for a page I've already done. I'm not above adding to or redoing.
I've been Scrapbooking for 19 years.
I mainly do pages with just one photo, primarily because I like to have plenty of room to tell the story.
I hear and read comments like "well if I only put one photo on a page, I would have six million pages" and "why waste all that space?".
In my head I have learned to repeat this mantra: "it's my damn scrapbook and I do what I like".
Wash rinse repeat.
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Post by thracian on Jan 25, 2016 19:04:44 GMT
I will never be caught up, and it doesn't motivate me to think in those terms. So I don't.  |
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Post by ilikepink on Jan 25, 2016 20:13:05 GMT
My albums are complete because I want them to be - not because some industry person says I should. I started scrapping 18 (or so) years ago to document my family and the things we did. To me, the photos are the story, and the journaling tells the story, and the paper/embellishments go along with it. I love the playing with paper aspect of it, so the whole pocket-scrapping isn't scrapping to me, it's putting the pictures in a different kind of photo album.
I'm glad that PL started after my boys were grown, otherwise I might have been tempted to try and document every day, which would have driven me crazy. I do my own personal journaling and gratitude list, so my "days" are well documented; I don't need daily photos. I tried at one point to do a weekly picture - that lasted until February that year - lol.
My album deadlines have been because it was a gift, or mostly because I wanted to finish it before I forgot all that happened. I scrap chronologically because it's easier for me. I appreciate that the designers want to sell the newest/greatest ideas and products, but that doesn't mean I will buy into it.
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beachgirlht
New Member
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Post by beachgirlht on Jan 25, 2016 20:16:10 GMT
I scrapbook for me and for my family. I do it my way so it doesn't really matter to me how anyone else does theirs unless I think it might make me more prolific.
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Post by southerngirl on Jan 25, 2016 20:50:44 GMT
I was looking at Becky Higgins instagram yesterday and I found it interesting. I saw that she was sharing how her personal scrap booking style has evolved over many years in this industry. I personally took it as just that - her evolution and how she is being intentional about determining how she wants to go forward with scrap booking and how she might help anyone through the process who is currently feeling "overwhelmed". It seemed to me that she was speaking mostly to the scrappers who do already feel their own pressure about needing to "get it done". I personally didn't see her putting down any kind of scrap booking at all. I definitely didn't feel that she thought traditional scrapping was silly or pointless. Honestly, she has more albums completed than I think I could store in my house - I think it makes perfect sense that at this stage of her life she is considering what does she really want to continue scrapping and feeling like she just doesn't need to keep scrapping everything. I don't take that as a judgement on what anyone else chooses to scrap.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 21:52:59 GMT
Honestly its BH and all her posts about how she used to be silly to scrapbook how she used to. I'm getting tired of her preachy tone and thinking its time to unfollow her I unfollowed her awhile back because she takes and posts 27 pictures a day. So if I want to scrapbook one picture pages, I will. To each his own and I'm comfortable with my 2-3 instas a day as much as I am my scrapbook being a continual thing. I makes pages that sit in piles...I don't even put them into albums. |
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Post by ellewood on Jan 25, 2016 22:10:37 GMT
I agree with what mostly everyone is saying here! I do PL and I always bristled at "just get your photos into albums, it doesn't matter how!" But it matters TO ME! I devote time to this because I LIKE IT! And I want it to look good! So don't tell me if I spend more than 5 minutes making a page on my phone I'm doing it wrong. And also, yes, Becky wants it to be so "simple" and "easy" that ANYONE can do it! And then that anyone can buy her stuff! And further, can you imagine a marketing strategy (for anything, not just scrapbooks) where your whole plan is for people to spend hours and days and hundreds of dollars on supplies and then tediously glue down sequins and ribbons and paper pieces? That wouldn't sell anything! We do this because we like it, not because someone tells us to. We are not "normal" because we've already drank the kool-aid  Just you wait until the products come out to "simplify" and monetize the newest trend: art journaling! It'll be coloring books in leather jackets! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 22:37:15 GMT
I agree with what mostly everyone is saying here! I do PL and I always bristled at "just get your photos into albums, it doesn't matter how!" But it matters TO ME! I devote time to this because I LIKE IT! And I want it to look good! So don't tell me if I spend more than 5 minutes making a page on my phone I'm doing it wrong. And also, yes, Becky wants it to be so "simple" and "easy" that ANYONE can do it! And then that anyone can buy her stuff! And further, can you imagine a marketing strategy (for anything, not just scrapbooks) where your whole plan is for people to spend hours and days and hundreds of dollars on supplies and then tediously glue down sequins and ribbons and paper pieces? That wouldn't sell anything! We do this because we like it, not because someone tells us to. We are not "normal" because we've already drank the kool-aid Just you wait until the products come out to "simplify" and monetize the newest trend: art journaling! It'll be coloring books in leather jackets! I don't use adhesives--I staple everything! Can't get much simpler than that |
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Post by ellewood on Jan 25, 2016 22:39:10 GMT
I agree with what mostly everyone is saying here! I do PL and I always bristled at "just get your photos into albums, it doesn't matter how!" But it matters TO ME! I devote time to this because I LIKE IT! And I want it to look good! So don't tell me if I spend more than 5 minutes making a page on my phone I'm doing it wrong. And also, yes, Becky wants it to be so "simple" and "easy" that ANYONE can do it! And then that anyone can buy her stuff! And further, can you imagine a marketing strategy (for anything, not just scrapbooks) where your whole plan is for people to spend hours and days and hundreds of dollars on supplies and then tediously glue down sequins and ribbons and paper pieces? That wouldn't sell anything! We do this because we like it, not because someone tells us to. We are not "normal" because we've already drank the kool-aid Just you wait until the products come out to "simplify" and monetize the newest trend: art journaling! It'll be coloring books in leather jackets! I don't use adhesives--I staple everything! Can't get much simpler than that But do you use *a TINY ATTACHER*? haha #monetized |
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jan 25, 2016 23:24:35 GMT
I have no hate for BH. Project Life brought me back to scrapping. There is no right or wrong way to do anything, just your way. Find the people that inspire you and enjoy your process.
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katers415
Junior Member
Posts: 87
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Post by katers415 on Jan 26, 2016 3:21:43 GMT
I think BH is just trying to cater to a different audience. If you look at her DT, they mostly do pretty minimally embellished spreads. I think she tries to focus on the simplicity and feasibility of PL to attract people who aren't scrapbookers or people who feel overwhelmed by 'regular' scrapbooking. I feel like the people she is wanting to appeal to are the people who genuinely just want to get their photos in albums, but don't necessarily want to do scrapbooking for the creative outlet.
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The other day it hit me that I might accidentally like photos where I wouldn't agree with the text. Oh, well... 
