The Power and Gift of Scrapbooking

Note: While I am on my trip I invited 3 ladies to guest post for me. Meet Soraya!! I interviewed her a few months ago for "Make My Monday". I love her work and am always inspired by her posts. She is a MUST Read for me:) Please stop by her Blog today!!


I started scrapbooking seriously when I was pregnant. I am an artist but stopped painting at that time for fear of exposing my baby to all the toxic substances. Scrapbooking became a major creative outlet for me and was a great way to prepare for baby. I plunged right in buying all sorts of how-to books and fell in love with all the decorative papers and epherma. I made layouts to fill a whole book that included ultra-sounds, a baby shower and a month by month of baby’s first year. All the while…I never really understood how powerful this craft  really is; it is visual storytelling in art form.  Here are the extraordinary gifts I received…

Communicating with future generations:

 I was able to preserve memories of Tara’s life that only I, as her mother, would know. These memories will get passed down to generations…how powerful is that? Tara’s great, great grandchildren can read all about Tara. They will have an idea of their roots; they will know where they came from and have a sense of identity and belonging. I can communicate with my direct descendants yet to be born!  

Writing:

Another gift is that I started journaling  a lot on my pages. My writing took on a whole new direction and a whole new avenue of creativity laid before me. My writing became infused with vulnerability, honesty, humor, heart and soul. I started writing poetry again and once I wrote a whole page about Tara’s beautiful little feet! The minutia of life became important enough to preserve.

Photography:

 My photography skills greatly improved; I wanted only the very best pictures for my layouts. I started taking pictures from different angles and in different light. I started capturing the mundane and the beautiful. 

My Art:

 Scrapbooking also affected my art. When I started painting again after the birth of my daughter, I found myself using decorative scrapbook papers and my own text. I loved the visual elements of storytelling that I was now able to incorporate into my art.

I don’t get a chance to do much scrapbooking now…I am very busy with Tara and painting…but one of my all time fave things to do is to pull out the beautiful book of Tara and re-experience her magical beginnings. Its’ all there…preserved, cherished and come to life on these pages. It brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart with the most incredible joy.