Layout a Day is Over & I'm Still Scrapbooking

By the time Layout a Day is over, I'm usually done scrapbooking until the next round of daily challenges, but not this time! LOAD214 wrapped up last Friday and I didn't quite make my goal of finishing Tabatha's pet memorial scrapbook. There are still a few more layouts I need to work on, plus do something creative with the cover.

As I finish up the scrapbook, I'd like you to enjoy a few of my favorite layouts featuring our sweet Tabby girl:

"Peace"

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau, BasicGrey), BasicGrey stickers, twine. Inspired by this pin.

"Our Sweet Girl"

Supplies:  cardstock (BasicGrey, Wausau), stickers (Jillibean Soup, October Afternoon, Bella Blvd., BasicGrey), acrylic paint. Inspired by this pin.

"Dance"

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau, Basic Grey), CTMH brackets, Bella Blvd. stickers, acrylic paint. Inspired by this pin.

"Diva"

Supplies: cardstock (BasicGrey, Wausau, black), American Craft Thickers, girly stickers I've had for several years, punches, doilies, washi tape, Close To My Heart stamp, StazOn ink. Inspired by this pin.

"The Waiting Game"

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau & lots of BasicGrey scraps I've saved this month), twine, stickers (Echo Park, Sassafras, Bella Blvd), staples. Inspired by this pin.

Check out all the pet scrapbook layouts I made this month on Flickr! ~Danielle

Related:

Happy Pages From the Pet Memorial Scrapbook

Pet Memorial Scrapbook: The First & Last Pages

The Saddest Story I Ever Told

Scrapbookers of the Future

Fast-forward forty years. You receive an email (or whatever form of future communication, maybe an ezap?) from an old scrapbooking friend who would like for you to visit her. You accept and once the weekend arrives, you pack up a couple scrapbooks and drive across state to her house.

As you make your journey, for a brief moment, you are infatuated with the one tree that stands desolate for miles. (There are not many trees these days since scrapbookers took over the paper mills and cut them down to document all of their memories.)

It’s late afternoon when you pull into her driveway. You grab the scrapbooks, your camera and walk to the front door.

Knock. Knock.

The door opens.

photo source: blakespot on Flickr

It is me. I’m old, wrinkled and worn-out from working in the paper mills so scrapbookers like me can spend a lifetime documenting everyday moments on pretty paper in 12x12 albums. (And this photo doesn’t show me with my usual collection of archival-safe markers in my ragged hair and the pair of scissors that dangle across my chest in place of the charm that was once on my favorite necklace. I couldn’t find a photo with a crazy old scrapbooking lady like that.)

I invite you in. Upon entering, your view of the living room that you had once cropped in has been blocked by a wall of scrapbooks. From the floor to the ceiling and 10 feet wide, these albums are not in bookshelves and you wonder how they stay in place without falling.

You follow me through a maze of paper stacks, more albums, boxes of photos and begin to believe that there must be a black hole at the local scrapbook store that sucked everything from there to here. You finally end up at the only chair free from any scrappy clutter...

---

Okay. This story is not going to happen. I’m not going to end up being that crazy old scrapbook lady because over the past few years, I've changed the way I scrapbook. It's a continual process of alternative scrapbooking and my focus is ecoscrapbooking.

The premise is simple.

1. Use my stash. Stop buying excess products. Save and reuse paper scraps. Dig into the recycling bin. Simplify. 

2. Seek out sustainable products. Companies like Basic Grey and K&Company have made eco-friendly changes. I've also found FSC-Certified 8.5x11 acid-free cardstock at office supply stores.

I've downsized the amount of products I use and still trying to be a full-fledged green scrapbooker. I believe the future of scrapbooking will be completely digital. We're already seeing traditional scrapbooking stores and publications close their doors.

Will I ever give up my paper and printed photos? I don't know. I love the creative process and enjoy time off the computer. However, I can imagine a virtual scrapbooking world that is easily shared, changed and moveable. Instead of traditional photo frames, think digital photo frames on your walls and shelves that can be programmed to display your scrapbook layouts. I've gone off on a tangent, but this kind of scrapbook sharing has endless possibilities and I look forward to seeing the growth of digital scrapbooking and media.

Before we get to that future, traditional paper scrapbooking must continue to change. I truly believe that ALL scrapbooking manufacturers need to jump on board and:

• Switch to FSC-certified paper, recycled paper or tree-free paper sources (maybe even elephant poo poo paper).
• Use soy or vegetable based inks.
• Offer reusable packaging.
• Consistently seek out ways to be more earth-friendly.

We must unite to make sure these changes happen so we can continue to create scrapbooks and not worry about a mass consumption of virgin paper (or scary old scrapbooking ladies of the future). ~Danielle

Learn more:

EcoScrapbooking: Crafty Ideas for Eco-Conscious Scrapbookers

Simple Ways to be an Eco-Conscious Scrapbooker

9 Scrapbooking Manufacturers the Love the Earth

25 Eco-Friendly & Free Scrapbooking Supplies

Tell the Story & Keep on Truckin'

As scrapbookers, it's our responsibility to tell the story and keep on truckin'. Sometimes it's fun to document the process like these two-page layouts below:

"Tell the Story & Keep on Truckin" Two-Page Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: black cardstock, Cosmo Cricket cardstock & diecut stickers, washi tape, Scenic Route Stickers.

"I Craft A Lot" Two-Page Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: kraft cardstock, Colorbok chipboard letters, the negative side of chipboard arrow, acrylic paint.

Have you scrapbooked about crafting or scrapbooking? ~Danielle

Related:

4 Examples of Minimalist Scrapbooking
How I Organize My Eco-Friendly Craft Supplies
Scrapbook Comparison: 2005 vs. 2012

4 Examples of Minimalist Scrapbooking

You don't need a long list of supplies to create an eye-catching scrapbook layout. When I'm perusing scrapbook layouts on Pinterest or Flickr, I tend to gravitate toward the ones with a lot of "white space" or minimal supplies. I like to put those pages into a category called minimalist scrapbooking.

I spoke briefly about minimalist scrapbooking in last week's post. Today, we'll look at four example layouts using minimal supplies.

One way to reduce the amount of supplies is to downsize layout size. Instead of always scrapbooking 12x12 pages, try making more 8.5x11 or 6x6 albums.

A plain sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock, washi tape, paper scraps and a few embellishments highlight this photo of the tablet I bought myself last Christmas:

"Tab" Supplies: FSC-Certified white cardstock, red scrap paper, Bo Bunny stickers, washi tape, Craftwork Cards Candi, black ink, Instagram photo.

Another scrapbook starting point with plain cardstock includes plenty of white space:

"What Happened to It?" Supplies: FSC-Certified white cardstock, CTMH cork arrows, Echo Park letter stickers, Instagram photo.

Many times, designers do most of the work for you and create an almost-finished look to decorative paper, making scrapbooking easy and less time consuming. I added a photo, washi tape, a few stickers and stitches to this scrapbook layout:

"Preschool" Supplies: Basic Grey decorative paper, cardstock, preschool-themed stickers, washi tape, thread, one photo. 

Here's another 8.5x11 scrapbook layout using decorative paper that's almost ready to go. It even includes a title:

"You Make Life Beautiful" Supplies: DCWV (I think) decorative cardstock, ink, two Instagram photos. Note: I trimmed 12x12 cardstock to create the 8.5x11 page, used circle scraps from the leftover strips behind the photos. The music note strips behind the photos where scraps from another sheet of decorative cardstock. I added lines for the journaling.

Read a more in depth discussion about minimalist scrapbooking by Zaira Sierra in her chapter of EcoScrapbooking: Crafty Ideas for Eco-Conscious Scrapbookers. Also, check out Zaira's new blog here with a featured layout by me. ~Danielle

Related:

Scrapbooker Saturday: Zaira
Fast Scrapbooking: Making Time for a Quickie and Where I Do It
Video: Organizing Paper Scraps

A Favorite Scrapbook Layout: Us

As I mentioned last week, my husband and I recently celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We've been through a lot over the years and today's scrapbook layout, one of my favorites, documents our early relationship.

"Us" 12x12 Minimalist Scrapbook Layout

A couple of old photos, one sheet of gorgeous paper, a few embellishments and plenty of journaling show us that a bunch of supplies aren't needed to create a stunning scrapbook layout. I'll talk more about minimalist scrapbooking in next week's post. See you then! ~Danielle

Supplies: Me & My Big Ideas decorative paper, Bo Bunny letter stickers, black acrylic paint, bird and flower embellishments from Lisa of Recklinghausen Musings.

Related:

It's Time for Another Round of Layout a Day!
LOAD Blog Hop: Prepping for 28 Days of Continuous Scrapbooking
The Unexpected Scrapbook Layout

P.S. Are you ScrapHappy? I'm prepping for another Layout a Day in October, but this one is for ScrapHappy members only. If you're not already a member, check out True Scrap next month, another scraptastic event created by the one and only Lain Ehmann. Get your sneak peek of True Scrap 5 tomorrow (September 26) - Click here to view more details. It's free!