Is there a place for Minimalism in scrapbooking?

This is my board for Project Life Inspiration; different ways to use the cards.


It's hard to say how you should pare down. I guess know your style is the big thing. I tend to buy more masculine lines that aren't too busy looking. I use a lot of B side paper.

Coming back to add, I think challenges can be a great way to use what you have and stretch yourself a little bit in the process. I also do DD and to avoid spending money that I know I won’t need to around that time of the year I went ahead and made my foundation pages. That way when the new releases come out I will still be tempted, but will have no reason to justify the purchase. I also like going back and looking at my completed pages to refresh myself about why it is that I scrapbook and experience the pleasure of looking at the finished product. It reminds me that, for me, the completed page is the goal and the reward, not the shopping.

My scrap budget is much larger than my space. I pare down every few months. As long as I keep creating, I am good with that.

Oh hi! *arm yanks up in the air*

A minimalist scrapbooker? Me, me, me!

i haven't read the replies yet, but am interested in reading them.  i am not your focus group though, as i buy buy buy and really have outgrown my small space and frankly, don't care   but i have been scrapping a ton since march, so i do use a small portion of it!

I find I use more of the supplies I choose to purchase myself than those that come in kits. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you might want to put one or more subs on pause.

Join a team and take on some challenges in August. You will get a chance to use the supplies you do have in different ways.

Currently I don't subscribe to any kits or company emails, etc. Being out of the loop keeps me from feeling like I gotta have something and needless shopping. Add in my 20 years as a scrapbooker and I definitely have my own style. My goal for a long time has been to NOT outgrow my space. So far so good! I will admit it gives me anxiety when I see stuff like my Halloween and baseball collections when I no longer have little kids. I definitely over bought in several areas and will probably never have a use for those supplies.

I'm glad I came across this thread right now. I was about to buy a huge box of Christmas supplies that would have been a "really good deal" but would have completely overwhelmed me! I have enough. Thanks for the reminder, because minimalism and frugality are some of my core values.

Lately I've been watching people like Shimelle who use a lot of layers and product on a page and who revel in that - they need a lot of variety to choose from, but they also use it fearlessly (no hoarding). I like the style, but it's also pretty overwhelming to me. I like to use things up rather than having a lot of sticker sheets with half of the stickers gone or papers with chunks missing from them. Knowing your personality and style, how you work and knowing what makes you feel good/satisfied is really important, like the folks above me have said. Knowing when you're over a product is helpful too - getting rid of the stuff you don't love makes space to use the stuff you do love. (The Kon-Mari-style gut test - does each item in your stash make you go or UGH - can be invaluable.)

I'm trying to remember how to get crafty and to make do with what I have (but in such a way that I will enjoy the result, because if I make something I find ugly it's a waste of time and products and just makes me sad to look at). I'm in the thick of a project to use up and finish a bunch of leftovers, turning them into usable embellishments. It's a messy creative project, but I'm excited to turn things that weren't usable into something beautiful, and to get to the point where I can toss out/give away the truly unusable leftovers without guilt.

Like the others above have said, minimizing "inspiration" and exposure to advertising helps. Focus on the people who help you use things up rather than the people who help you buy stuff. Maybe sign up for a class that focuses on getting things used - from what I've heard Shimelle's Clear the Desk helped a lot of people turn stash into pages.

I'm with you.
I don't buy kits unless they are 1/2 price at HL.
I don't buy anything without a coupon or on sale.
I try to stay out of Tuesday morning.
I try to make do with what I have instead of shopping.
I don't purge much. Sometimes I use really old stuff...like 20 years old.
I order my photos from whoever is having a sale.
I don't buy any cutting machines or computer programs. They just frustrate me when I can't figure out how to troubleshoot them.

I still have way too much stuff.

Great read, great read!!!

Big difference between minimalist SUPPLIES, and minimalist SCRAPBOOKING.

example - Cathy Zielske - best minimalist scrapper out there IMO. But her gorgeous work depends on that 1-2 pieces of the PERFECT embellishment, the perfect colour, the perfect size, and the perfect placement. Her eye is amazing. Taking her courses taught me lots but actually let me to buying MORE, because I needed more choices. And I ignored some otherwise great supplies because they weren't the perfect piece. And boy did my stash grow during my minimalist phase!  Ali is rather the same way IMO.

example - Tanya Hubbard - does anyone else watch her youtube channel? When I started watching her, she would seriously RUN OUT OF SUPPLIES while she waited for her next-month's kit to arrive. And she'd make it work, just work with what she had. And far from minimalist style too. I think she has more of a stash now that she's part of the kit design team, but still, it was enlightening.

@cumber1137 , two suggestions that work for me:

1. dig through your old supplies and put together a few kits. Then work only with those until you are ready to part with the remnants. Jen
Schow has a few youtube series where she did this really well - she even at the end goes through what is left of her kit and what she is throwing out.

2. commit to a manufacturer and create from only that manufacturer. Like "Echo Park" - and dig out sticker sheets, ephemera and paper from that manufacturer and run with it for a few layouts. Or maybe for you you could commit to using PL cards on every LO - for die cutting, layers, etc.

And just to chime in regarding scrap budgets and scrap space: I don't have a set budget, but have to keep my expenditures low because our income is low and our kids are expensive I loved kits, but find I get more bang for my buck elsewhere. Plus, when I was getting kits, I didn't delve into my stash because I always had new stuff. I have a tiny corner of my basement, I am so crammed in! But I rarely purge because that old stuff is still good stuff...

Don't think of myself as a minimalist scrapper but I'm on a reasonably limited budget and have a small craft room with limited storage space so I'm becoming more and more careful about buying. Definitely wanting to avoid just buying stuff because it's a great deal or because it's something I see being used.

Now that sounds like the kind of YTer I want to watch! Using stuff up is my favorite thing ever Thanks for the tip - I've never heard of her before.

I have paired down my scrapbooking stash. I scrap 8.5x11 and do Project Life. The more I scrap the more I see patterns of what I like to use. I am a very simple scrapper - I dont use tons of layers, clusters of embellishments.

I don't buy embellishments (usually). I find that I don't actually use them. I buy one white/Kraft/black card stock, because very rarely do I use color card stock and when I do, I can pick up the one piece I need when I need it. I never buy a whole collection, we I just wont use it.

For my PL, I have found I don't need remade cards (like SC does) for filler cards. I can make my own cards if I need them. My PL style is photo heavy vs. filler cards.

What I do buy:
enamel dots
6x6 pads of paper for PL (if I will use 80% of the pad)
flat stickers
individual sheets of pattern paper, if I know I will use it

I have a huge scrap room and don't really have a budget. But I have learned buying more and hoarding it does not make me happy.

I think a lot of us have bought more than we need.

I shop my stash. I don't live near any LSS, so I have to make what I already own work for my project. I can't just run to the LSS or craft store. I do have a huge stash, and I still have to get creative a lot of the time, to make do with what I have on hand.

You referred to Project Life cards, I think? Am I right in thinking those cards are multiples of only a few designs? I never bought those because I figured they would be hard to use more than once, unless they can be used to make greeting cards. I would probably take the extras and use them as a background mat, and layer something else on top to the oiint that you don't see much more than color. Sometimes even ugly patterned paper can be a splash of color that way, and you don't necessarily see the actual design underneath. They become mats underneath photos or journal boxes.

Make mini albums as gifts, perhaps? Use your cards or papers for home decor items to display or to give as gifts. Check Pinterest for ideas. Home decor made with scrapbook supplies is something I have seen at more than one LSS when I have been on travel.

There are also usually local places that appreciate scrapbook supplies being donated, such as schools or shelters. Sometimes it's just better to get what you no longer want out of the house.

I used to scrap with friends. Sometimes I took my unwanted supplies, put them on a table, and said they were free to anyone who wanted, and they almost always got taken by someone. Two friends turned papers I would never have used into some really cute greeting cards.

Scrapbooking is what you want it to be, not what someone else tells you it should be. Be minimalist if it makes you happy.

I would get rid of anything you no longer want or would use. The problem is that selling scrapbook supplies is not easy, and you will never get back what you spent, but you might make up kits and see if you have any takers (if you have any scrapping friends who might want to buy them). I'm not sure from your post whether your goal is simply to minimize, or pay off your loans, but giving away what you don't want is far easier than selling it.

If you are trying to pay off loans, though, I would stop all subscriptions. I don't subscribe to any kits. None. The times I bought kits, such as at LSS yard sales (when I lived near the LSS), I almost never used much of what was in the kit. Tuesday Morning sometimes sells kits, and you can see what is included rather than getting a sub and hoping you will use that month's offerings.  I buy only what I like, and I rarely buy kits.