I
started my scrapbooking journey in 1997. I was fresh out of college
and we had just lived in Dallas, Texas for 3 months. I wanted to
document our Texas adventures in a “pretty” way. Michaels had
just started carrying a few scrapbooking items. I bought a spiral
bound black album, some sticker letters, papers and I was hooked!
In
the past 16 years I have watched the scrapbooking industry rise to
the top and then come back down. What is happening to the industry?
Why aren't people scrapbooking? I think I know some of the reasons.
Top
4 Reasons why people don't scrapbook as much
TIME -
Scrapbooking takes time. Time to get the supplies out. Time to
print pictures. Time to work on layouts. We are all so busy now.
Whether it is school schedules, work, home, other hobbies.
PICTURES
– As the smart phones have emerged, people starting taking more
pictures with their phones and less with their cameras. They also
stopped printing photos as much with the digital age. Therefore,
when it was time to scrapbook, many people did not have the photos or
know where to begin.
SOCIAL
MEDIA / TECHNOLOGY – With the Internet, social media has taken
over. People are spending more and more time on Facebook, Pinterest,
Twitter, and YouTube. They are spending more time looking at inspiration
then actually creating and crafting.
OVERWHELMED
– I think people tend to get overwhelmed by scrapbooking. They sit
down to scrapbook and feel so overwhelmed by the amount of pictures
they have, they feel behind on chronological scrabooking, and don't
know where to begin.
Tomorrow,
I am going to write and remind you of all the reasons TO KEEP
SCRAPBOOKING!
In the
mean time, please leave a comment on what stops you from scrapbooking
and what you love or loved about scrapbooking? I have a great
scrapbooking kit to give one lucky winner. I will draw a random name
on 10/9/2013.
Erica
9 comments:
Hello! I usually scrapbook with girlfriends so when at home it seems to be a big task to set aside time to sb. I do best if I can leave my stuff sitting out, come and go and still do house stuff and of course watch tv! Otherwise I save up all my pics for my next day with friends!
I love the crafting/creating outlet but do need to put more effort into acutally documenting the little things and journaling more. My family loves to look back thru old layouts and that's when I know this is something I need to continue doing!
And sitting down with some pictures and a PS kit makes it all so easy! Thanks Erica for all your hard work!
All the reasons you mentioned are good reasons why I have drifted away from scrapbooking. I also had gotten in such a rut that I felt like I was scrapbooking the same memories over and over. As my kids are getting older, I want to start documenting their reality (challenges of growing up, their character, etc.) more like a diary with pictures. I value the memories I have preserved in my scrapbooks. I know I will get back to it eventually!
Ugh....every reason you brought up! Especially the time. As the kids get older, they get into more activities and I just become the chauffeur. And if there is any free time, it's usually going to fun places...where I can take lots more pictures. It's a never ending cycle!
Good Topic. One that my friends and I often talk about and I agree with your logic.
However, I think scrapbooking will never quite go away for the following reasons....
1) Being able to be fully creative and document precious memories in your own handwriting is simply priceless.
2) The 3D effect of a scrapbook page is more meaningful or more special. Not sure what the right adjective is but there is something about a handmade item. This is also true for cards and gifts.
3) There is such a culture of scrapbooking with friends. It is another excuse to get together - and sometimes go away!
Well, at least I hope scrapbooking will never go away. I have tons invested in this hobby! LOL!
Though I have to admit - when time is tight - scrapbooking gets the back burner. I guess that is why I am YEARS behind!
Although I understand that those things are a huge problem in all areas of people's lives not just scrapbooking, they actually haven't invaded mine. I don't have an iPhone, my kids aren't in every activity, and I'm not really letting social media run me. My problem is I became a photographer and spend all my time documenting others memories, leaving no time for my own. Most importantly I feel that our kids see our example. If we are on our PC, iphone's, or working all the time WHEN will our kids see that our own family history and genealogy is important to us? Not just you as a mother, scrapbooking includes everyone, even the family pet. So with that I've continued to do scrapbooking in a different way. I've given my kids little kits of their own and they make their own scrapbooks. I've taught a scrapbooking class to my cubscouts, and taught mixed media family collage to my art students. Even if we aren't scraping as much as we used to, I still try to find a way to get others I come in contact with to see the legacy and importance of documenting ourselves in some tangible way.
The biggest reason I don't scrapbook as much as I would like to is time. I am not one that likes to just put the pictures down without a lot of thought in the layout. I wish I could become a faster scrapper and not want everything to be perfect. The thought of sitting down and not accomplishing the layout in one sitting is daunting to me and makes me push of even starting. That and the fact that the kids are in so many activities that I am always running.
In my case, it's all about TIME. While busy raising kids, ultimately they are more important. I guess you can say I'm busy making the memories, but not getting them preserved very well. I try to scrap a bit when I can. I keep taking pictures, though, and hope that someday I'll get to scrapbook them and enjoy all the memories they bring!
Another reason I don't scrapbook as much as I used to is that I go to bed wayyyy earlier. I used to be a night owl but now I am in bed by 10!
I don't think scrapbooking will ever die, but the industry is definitely changing. There are so many factors including the manufacturers, the economy, changing fads, etc. I especially agree with your 4th point - it all just became overwhelming for some folks. Digital is definitely a factor in the decline too as there are more options for making digital books, but new tech is also making scrapbooking easier - like being able to taking a mini printer and your cell phone to a crop and print out those phone pictures to scrap instantly.
I love scrapbooking now more than ever but I am using a lot of tools to get more pages done in less time. High on the list is personal scrapper kits - I was just at a weekend crop last month where I completed 30 pages, almost all using PS kits!
I always do paper pages at crops (it's more sociable!) but I also do a lot of digital pages in photoshop on my laptop. It's so convenient when I'm traveling. I have them printed as 12x12 pages and slide them into toploading albums books next to my paper pages.
I have to admit I am a bit jealous of Erica's reason - I really wish I could make myself go to sleep at 10pm!
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