Starts with an 'S' and ends in 'crapbook'

By:mum2three, Whitecourt, Alberta Canada

Hi everyone and thanks for taking the time to read my essay. I first discovered dMarie in 1997. I was already into scrapbooking and was taking my first step out of ‘the box’. Meeting people online helped me to get both feet out and jump. The people I remember most about the first year at dMarie are Diane and her “set your posts to 20 and press reload”, Mountain Momma, Tomie, and Bee. Most of the people are still there some have moved on to other things. I met my best friend at dMarie. Jil and I started coming to chatland at the same time. We both were and still are avid scrappers and took in everything that had anything to do with the craft. Thank you dMarie!

It was through dMarie that I learned about scrapbook conventions. Oh My Gosh did I learn. I drove 22 hours from the middle of Alberta Canada to Minneapolis just to go to a convention and to meet other “dMariers”. I enjoyed the convention but the real thrill was meeting my on-line friends. Marty, Scissors, Paper, Rockester, Joyce, Lois (another very dear friend), and so many others but I won’t name them all. As I am typing this I am looking at my Mpls. Scrapbook and remembering what great fun it was. One night was spent just sitting around the hotel room and looking at each other’s albums. Since then I have met so many more people like Scrapnut (yet another dear friend), Pammie, BettyB and of course DianeS.

So, how did scrapbooking change my life? It brought me out of my shell. A normally reserved person, when it comes to scrapbooking I become a very social gal. Scrapbooking has given me friendship in a way I never thought possible. With two disabled kids it is not like I can go coffee at other people’s houses. With a diet pepsi in one hand and the mouse in the other I can chat up a storm at chatland. Two other qualities have come out in me. One is believing in myself and the other is having pride in my accomplishments. I have no idea what I would be doing if I didn’t have scrapbooking. What do non-scrapbookers do anyway?

All I know is I love scrapbooking. I mean I LOVE scrapbooking. I have the scrapbook shirts and even have a window decal that says so =0) I love what I can do with pictures and that I can include the story. My family love that I scrapbook too. My sons love to pull out ‘their’ scrapbooks and look at the events that happened to them. My brothers love the scrapbook calendar that they get every year. Isn’t a scrapbook calendar a much nicer way to send pictures. I think of all the pictures my parents have of their other grandkids, how they are all stuffed in a box. Well, almost all. I did take a whole bunch and made a gift album for my mother. See, I just love to scrapbook. It makes me feel so good about myself. It also has us going out and doing things we normally wouldn’t do because it would make a good layout.

The only thing I wish is that I could have had my grandparents and great grandparents scrapbooking. There are so many heritage pictures that no longer have a story. They are just strangers who happen to be related to me. I am trying to get what stories are left put down so that the next generation will have them to tell the generation after them. That is the essence of scrapbooking.

Yes, the reason we scrapbook is to preserve those memories. Let me tell you though, I am having a wonderful time doing it. It has engulfed my life, enriched my life, and tells of my life. If it doesn’t start with an ‘s’ and end in ‘crapbook’ I am not interested.

Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: The Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Scrapbooking, by Mary Ann D (mad4scrappin)