I walk into the large banquet room, and am assigned my table/workspace for the day. There is much work to be done. I will be working from 9 AM until 5 PM. I need to get moving. I unpack my bags. Paper cutter, cutting tools, papers in all shades and designs, tape runner, stickers, my own personal sheet for the Cricket machine, box of pictures sorted prior to today, scissors, tweezers, a list of my plan for the sequence of the book. Then, ta-da! I crack open my newest album. Today is the day I start C's high school scrapbook. Prior to this, I have documented and journaled about her life from birth to eighth grade. Lots of memories, and now more to come! First pages of albums are always hard for me because they need to set the tone for the rest of the book -- I skip that for today, and dive into her freshman year activities. It's 4 pages of cross country season - laying out the pictures, deciding which one goes where. Choosing the borders that will be the best accent for these pages. Choosing the font that I want on the Cricket machine for the title -- I'll go with "George" today. Tape and lay down. Tape and lay down. Over and over, for all 4 pages. Leaving room for my journaling -- leaving my thoughts for C.Time to move to Homecoming and start all over again.
* Note: I started scrapbooking in earnest six years ago this past October. One of my closest friends, Cheryl, had just lost her battle with breast cancer. A few other friends and I gathered at her house to help in whatever way we could. One of the biggest jobs that we chose to undertake was to go through all their family pictures, and find pictures that told Cheryl's life story to display at her memorial service, and then for her daughters to have. She took such pride in being a mom to 2 daughters, and we wanted to gather pictures for them that had meaning. We pulled out boxes and boxes of pictures, haphazardly dumped together. As we sorted through the pictures with her daughters, talking and remembering as we went along, it became crystal clear to me that I wanted to leave a physical legacy behind for my own two daughters. There are many legacies we leave behind, but I wanted K and C to each have a tangible object that came from me -- made with my hands, containing my handwriting and thoughts, and sealed with my love for them. Scrapbooking became the vehicle for what I wanted to do. This is truly a labor of love.
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I do it too and it's most certainly a labor of love!
ReplyDelete--Stacey
What a great keepsake you both will have.
ReplyDeleteMy scrapbooking box sits in my closet collecting dust. I want to start making a scrapbook of the memories of my fiance and I so far to have at our wedding.
Good luck with the project!
I understand your desire to leave a legacy for your family. I have a scrapbook area in the upstairs of our home. It is loaded with memories: photos, the paper world of our lives, drawings the kids made when they were young, memorabilia of all sizes, shapes, colors, and textures. The area is full to overflowing with scrapbook projects. 37 years of marriage with three grown children and 2 1/2 grandchildren. There will be enough scrapbook material for many years and many generations to come.
ReplyDeleteI love to save everything!!
Wow.
ReplyDeleteA part of you I never knew, after all these years. I had to check and make sure this was you writing. I couldn't picture you in that setting!
Wow.
So nice to read about this part of you! I am so impressed that you can do this. What a great thing for your girls:-)
ReplyDeleteKaren-
ReplyDeleteI loved loved reading this about you and relate to the love of scrapping. You describe it as more than putting pictures on a page...it is a true art and I agree involves memories and emotion. I would love to take a peek at your masterpieces. My children adore looking at the books I created for them. I just can't keep up anymore! Happy scrapping.