Scrapbooking is a versatile hobby combining different artistic elements. Scrapbookers hold onto memories through the art of cutting and gluing, and, as a result, they get handmade, physical momentos of their favorite things. Four University of Missouri first-year students shared their unique takes on the craft.
Alexis Anderson grew up with a mom who took scrapbooking seriously. She visited conventions for the craft annually and made a book for Anderson and each of her siblings every year of their lives. Once Anderson left for college, it was up to her to keep the tradition going. Fortunately, she already had a firm foundation in knowledge of all things art, and a deeply cemented love for creativity. For Anderson, the activity is about relaxation and documentation, along with being a fun creative outlet. While scrapbooking for many must include an actual book, Anderson views it in a broader lens.
“I consider a vision board to be part of scrapbooking, because that’s what you want for the year to come, right?” Anderson said. “Any way that you’re getting a little excerpt about an experience you’ve had, or how your day went, that’s my general definition of scrapbooking, but I feel that scrapbooking is so personal. It’s such an individual thing.”
Anderson takes a maximalist but intentional approach to collaging. Her crafts usually include compiling a Vogue magazine, other random scraps, scissors and a glue stick. Then, she gets started.
“I usually have a formula,” Anderson said. “I have a big cut out, usually, something to kind of draw your eye, and then I start with big pieces.”
As long as the result represents her current creative mindset, Anderson is happy with the project.
“It’’s a manifestation of who I am in the moment,” Anderson said. “The collaging and the doodling and all that kind of stuff are bits and pieces of me, and what’s inspiring me right now.”
Similarly, Selena Pham has always been interested in arts and crafts. After seeing inspiration for scrapbooking on social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, she found a love for scrapbooking. Social media has played a big influence on the rise of scrapbooking over the past few years, with creators across all platforms sharing tips, tricks and inspiration for the art.
“I like in the spring and summer, to go out and find flowers and bring them back to press myself and use them for scrapbooking,” Pham said.
Shopping for materials and looking for inspiration can be difficult, especially when just beginning the scrapbooking process. She said Amazon and AliExpress are great places to find materials for a cheap but reasonable price while still getting good quality supplies. From organizing her designs to finding the special elements for her pages, the whole process is relaxing and enjoyable for Pham.
Creating one’s scrapbook is often rooted in what is important to them, and memories and other aspects can be incorporated. Whether each page has its own idea or the whole book follows the same theme, all that matters is that the creator is happy with it.
“Each page is just its own thing and I take a look at all the scrapbooking materials I have and just group them together,” Pham said.
Scrapbooking is an easy and expressive crafting experience that anyone can get started in. With a wide range of places to get supplies and inspiration, there is something for everyone. Scrapbooking adds creative freedom to capturing memories while creating a unique page.
Tips from the writers:
Living in a few different states and countries with drastically different cuisines, cultures and communities, it has always been important for me to document every moment through scrapbooks. In the scrapbook documenting the four years I lived in Bangladesh, I have candy wrappers, restaurant receipts and festival flyers that one can only find in that country. My scrapbooks from living in Texas, and now Missouri, have similar elements.
In the past three years, I’ve begun to combine elements of scrapbooking with journaling components. I love to journal consistently, but scrapbooking was a once-a-month endeavor for me. I found that I lost track of a lot of things I wanted to include in my scrapbook. By combining both documentation styles, I’m able to have all my momentos in one place. This also puts less pressure to achieve perfection.
Scrapbooking, at its core, is combining creativity and documentation to create something meaningful. For me, it is incredibly rewarding to have a visual testimony of all the little, but great, moments of my life. Getting to listen to music and spend an hour surrounded by my crafts is just an enjoyable added plus.
-Ishrat Madiha
From a young age, I have been obsessed with collecting stickers and pictures as well as cut outs from magazines and books. However, it was not until a few years ago I started a scrapbook with a few friends. We would get together a few times a week and have a craft night. This is when I started to get serious about scrapbooking.
Since then, I have been printing pictures and adding them to pages in my scrapbook, which I have painted and decorated myself to better capture my personality. Some of my favorite places to shop for supplies are Hobby Lobby and Michaels. While their supplies cost a little more, I enjoy using them. However, if I am shopping on a budget, Walmart, Amazon and Dollar Tree have some good options.
While I do take some inspiration from online — using reference pictures to help determine themes of a page or a layout style — I do not let it determine if my pages are aesthetically pleasing or not. I make my scrapbook for myself and myself only, and that is part of the reason I like it so much.
-Liv Martin
Edited by Molly Levine | mlevine@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Stella Spragg and Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com
