Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be JPEGs

Stacy Julian founder of Big Picture Scrapbooking was our keynote speaker at Close To My Heart convention last week.  Her presentation made a big impact on me.  As an independent consultant for Close To My Heart, I hear a lot of people say they don't have time for scrapbooking.  Stacy invited us to ask ourselves how much crafting, cardmaking, or scrapbooking is enough for you? (Everyone will have a different answer).  We take waaaaay more pictures than back in the day with the long skinny 110 camera loaded with 12 or 24 exposures of film.  Remember those?  We had to be really picky about when to snap the shutter because there were only a few exposures and it cost a fortune to get them developed, right? 

Nowadays we have the freedom of snapping as many pictures as we want with digital cameras, and we process just the right amount of photos once they've been photoshopped.  Too many of us keep all those photos pent up on our USB or hard drive.  Remember the commercial with the boy jumping in the pool saying "mom, I'm over here on the memory card."  Guilty as charged.  I have about 2 years worth of photos camping out on my hard drive waiting for TIME to preserve them and the memories they represent.  Thinking about it leads me from guilt to overwhelmed to the-heck-with-it. Have you experienced that?  GET OVER IT.  You decide how to honor your memories. Remember: it's about the memories not the pictures.  Phew! that was soooo freeing for me.  I don't have to put every picture of my kids coloring Easter eggs for the past 8 years in the album.  But I do want the memory of how Collin pouts when his egg doesn't turn out right, or how that blue oil cloth is in every year's Easter pictures.

Now when I take pictures I look for shots that will tell the story, not the one's that will make it into photography magazine.  Thank you Stacy for giving me that freedom.

A couple other tips from Stacy.  Put your camera down.  Sometimes we're so caught up in getting all the pictures that we're not present for the story.  Have you struggled with journaling?  Maybe this tip will help.  Leave your camera at home and focus on your emotions.  You don't have to scrapbook in chronological order. Just go pick a photo or an event and get started.

The story you're most qualified to tell is your own.  If you don't do it who will.  You have exactly enough time to scrapbook.  Open yourself up to ideas and memories that come to you.  Simply get started.  Contact me to join a monthly papercrafting club where you have scheduled time to make 2 two-page layouts in one session. email EzScrapbooks at cox dot com.

Have a memorable day,

Sheila