Sometimes scrapbooking can take a lot of work. And it can be tedious sometimes. And once in a while it can feel like another thing you "have to" get done. But there are a lot of fun parts to. Looking for supplies can be fun, buying stuff is definitely fun. And usually, most of the work involved in actually creating something is pretty fun to.
Today I have everything I need to get started on my next project. The albums arrived today, the 597 photos arrived 3 days ago. I've chosen the papers and embellishments, and stocked up on cardstock and adhesive. Today I spread it all out on the table, take a step back, and look at this pile of random stuff that I will turn into something meaningful. For me, this is the fun part.
Maybe it's just the anticipation, or maybe it's the idea of taking all of this stuff and working with it and manipulating it to have it become something else.
In reality, it's just paper and stickers and photos and tags. But maybe it's more than that. Or at least it will be. In a few days or a few weeks, it'll be something more. It'll be all that's left of our trip and all that's left of that time we spent together. It'll be our memories, our laughter, and sometimes our fears. It'll be our "I can't believe we did that" moments and our "do you remember when..." moments.
And it'll always be there, to look back at and talk about. Years from now when some of our memories have faded and the details of these moments have been replaced by those that have followed, we can pull it off the shelf and remember again.
Today I'm back to working on the Yellowstone book. I'd taken about a week off from looking at it. I had finished a bunch of layouts last week and was feeling burned out on it, so I put it off to the side for a few days and didn't think about it. Sometimes taking a break from a project is good - it clears your mind which helps motivate you to pick it up again! Losing motivation to work on scrapbooking can be complete and unexpected. As much as I may love what I'm working on, I just don't want to look at it anymore. Like at all. But after a break, I can't wait to get back to it!
So instead of the trip pages, I worked on some holiday pages from last year that needed to get done - Halloween and Christmas Eve. Since I had pulled supplies for these pages earlier and had them ready to go in my project bin, I got them done fairly quickly.
Halloween ended up being only 2 2-page layouts, while Christmas Eve turned out to be 6 2-page layouts. I still have to do Christmas Day, but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I'm back to the Yellowstone pictures.
I have 3 more sets of photos to do from that park, and today I wanted to finish up the layouts from one particular section of the park. With the number of photos I had, it ended up being 6 2-page layouts. Here is the first of the visitor center:
We also took a lot of photos along the shore of Lake Yellowstone. I decided to keep these layouts pretty simple and serene, since that morning on the beach we were the only ones there - it was very clam, peaceful, and quiet, and I wanted the layouts to reflect that. All the pages needed were a few colored papers and a few subtle patterns.
With these done, I have two more sets to scrap until I'm finished! I'm very excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It will probably be about 20 more 2-page layouts, and I'm hoping to have them done in the next few weeks.
Even though I lost my motivation for a week or so, taking a break allowed me work on a few other pages, and spend some time doing some other things besides scrapbook. When scrapbooking starts to feel like work then it's time to take a break - sometimes that break lasts a few days, sometimes longer. And that's okay. That's what is great about scrapbooking - there are no time constraints, no right or wrong ways to do it, no deadlines. Just pick up where you left off, or start something new - you'll be glad you did.
