what ever happened to scrapbooking?

a chicago recap

I’m back from Chicago! And today’s newsletter is a low-key photo recap + a lil haul. 🫖

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AN ASIDE: Early 2000s scrapbooking – a lost art

Ok, what ever happened to scrapbooking???

Perhaps it’s my fear of memory loss, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve been thinking a lot more about how I should be archiving memories + moments. Instagram is cool, but there’s something anxiety-inducing about solely relying on the technology to store and contextualize life’s most precious moments. I’m determined to bring scrapbooking back in a cool + fun way – more on this soon.

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Scrapbooking was such a core part of my childhood in part due to the fact that there were at least ten Creative Memories reps that commandeered every suburban neighborhood in my small Alabama town. These ‘advisors’ recruited our moms to purchase way more scrapbooking supplies than one person could ever need. And yes it still exists!!

the way this photo transports me back to my childhood

This early 2000’s MLM was incredibly pervasive in my town. So much so that local churches were literally hosting Friday night scrapbooking parties??

Many of which I attended as a child. I mean, think about it: a room filled with neon-colored paper, stickers, markers, glue dots + variety snack packs?? A millennial kid’s dream. A dream totally uninterrupted by the financial intimidation no doubt being wielded against our mothers to spend all of their paychecks on yet another custom hole punch set and gratuitous Back to School Bundle that will never be used.

the rounded corner tool was such a slay // source: the internet

I remember my parent’s buying my sister and me a Mickey Mouse themed scrapbook for Christmas specifically to archive our first and only Disney World trip. In 2005, this was all very exhilarating. Despite the MLM ick of it all, I do have really fond memories of scrapbooking with friends and appreciate the intentional ritual of honoring milestones + experiences in a very tangible way.

Ugh, I miss it.

I’m going to hangout with my family in Jacksonville this week, so maybe I’ll dig up some old scrapbooks for Operation: Make Scrapbooking Great Again inspiration. 👀