Make a Change Monday - How I Scrapbook (and a great giveaway!)

Ok all my scrapbooking friends...raise your hand if you are still:

a - scrapping chronologically

b - complaining about not being caught up on your scrapbooks

c - all of the above

I am going to feel like a SERIOUS dork if I am the only one who has raised my hand - but I know I can't be alone! I have been scrapbooking for a lot of years - and while I have always been open to (and enjoyed) creating mini albums, making cards, creating home decor, etc. I have ALWAYS held steadfastly to the belief that I need to scrapbook chronologically. I don't know where that idea started, or why I haven't been able to let go, but I held on to it to the point that I was starting to "dread" scrapbooking.  Every time I looked at my piles of photos or started to print out pictures from my computer I just lost the excitement and started to feel the pressure because I was "so far behind".  It feels ridiculous now that I am typing it out - but it is the truth, and I think there are many of you out there who feel/felt the same way.

THEN - a few years ago my scrapping mojo was literally saved by Xyron when they started carrying the Everyday Stories (EDS) albums and page refills.

 

 

 These days the idea looks very familiar, as there are several companies/celebrity scrappers who have created entire systems and collections based on this type of divided page protector process.  I remember the first weekend I tried it - I printed out 3000 photos (yup - you read that right!) and got them ALL in albums in a weekend.  ALL OF THEM.  It was so incredibly freeing - because you CAN still do 12x12, but now you've also got other/easier options as well.  Were all of the pages decorated and journaled in that weekend?  HECK no!  But you know what - that was ok, and eventually they got finished.  Now, whenever I get a coupon for online photo printing I'll print out all of my "current" photos, put them in EDS albums, and then I can go back and add paper/embellishments later.  I am, for all intents and purposes, "caught up".

Recently I have finished the albums for Don's childhood (you can see the first one in the second video above) and our time in Hawaii and it is SO MUCH FUN to be able to go in to a store and know exactly what kinds of products I need and to complete several pages in one sitting.  Also - for those of you who are product hoarders (like me) - scrapping this way has been HUGE in helping me purge old products I will never use.  For example - one weekend I was in a "Halloween" mood so I went through all the albums and embellished/added paper to all of the Halloween photos.  Afterwards I was able to go through ALL of my Halloween product and get rid of items I KNEW I would never use - papers I didn't like any more, products that didn't apply or weren't my style ("our first Halloween" die cut anyone?), etc.  I pared down my Halloween products to stuff I love - and it felt gooooood.

I bring this up for MAC Monday because this weekend I was vendoring at the Cut Out Cancer Crop in Southern Pines, NC and I talked to SO many women who STILL feel the pressure to get "caught up" and have lost their love of scrapbooking - and I want to help one of my fabulous online friends find the joy in this type of scrapbooking.  So I'm doing a GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Post a comment here and tell me what you think about this way of scrapping.  Have you tried it? Do you have questions about it?  Have you used other divided page protector systems?  Tell me your thoughts and one lucky winner is going to receive a 12x12 black leather (REAL leather - not pleather!) EDS album with one pack each of all of the page refills we carry.  Deadline to enter is midnight Eastern time on Wednesday February 15th.  Good luck everybody - and Happy Scrapping!