Scrap Therapy

Yesterday, I had a major dose of scrap therapy. As in scrapbooking therapy, for those of you who don't dwell in the cult of funky patterned paper and too-cute embellishments as I do. Most people, when I announce, "I'm going to scrapbook all day at a 12-hour crop on Saturday" say, "You're kidding, right?"

But there's this possy (possie?) of us who know that scrapbooking for twelve hours straight is not only quite possible, it is utterly wonderful and ends up being too little time instead of too much. As an added bonus, it ends up being cheaper than real therapy if you exercise a little restraint.

At any rate, off to Archiver's I went, totes, personal trimmers, adhesives and photos in tow. And it proved to be all I hoped it would be.

I was reminded of the many reasons that this, with reading a great novel at a somewhat close second, is my favorite Jen-only pasttime.

• I get to exercise a little creativity. Scrapbooking is perfect for me as I can be a little original, but I can also scraplift other people's ideas and add a personal flair to make it look like I thought of it all by myself.
• I've always loved art supplies, but I would have made a horrible painter or sculptor. With scrapping, I can dabble in all of the supplies and artsy-tartsy mediums and pretty much just rearrange them to look cool. In essence, I feel like I'm being a real artist.
• It is a great way to link up with another of my VERY amateur hobbies: photography.
• I can incorporate one of my other favorite hobbies, writing, into my scrapbooks to tell the stories my girls will either love me for or hate me for later.
• In sifting through my photos, creating layouts, and journaling about the stories behind the pictures, I get to reflect on the moments and the people in my life and realize again how blessed I am.
• Sometimes I'm a solitary scrapper, but yesterday, I got to hang with two great friends while scrapping. (Thanks Wendy and Abbie!!) (Oh, and sorry you had to sit catty-corner with the geriatric group, Abbs).
• I won a prize, albeit a tiny one. Pink crystal gems to put on the pages to be exact. Good thing I have two girls.

I wish I had a good scanner so I could share some of my layouts with you, but alas, my scanner has an inferiority complex so you will just have to make due with descriptions until you come to the house to see them for yourself.

I was pretty excited with what I got done; I finished Camille's 8x8 album of the 4-year photos Jacki Franzen took of her and Liv (I think 7 8x8 pages) and I did 7 12 x 12 layouts for Camille's book from the NICU. Yeah, be quiet. I know that means I am four years behind. But....what a cool thing. To look back at her three-pound self four years ago at this time (when she was a month old) and see how far this girl has come!

And thanks to my great hubbie. Because of him, I am able to carve out 12-hour "just for me" days.