TN Scrapbooking + How it Freed me to Scrap

I scrapbooked the entire month of December 2020 in a Travelers Notebook (TN). I had never participated in December Daily before and it reminded me how much fun it was to scrapbook. (My DD is documented in a few older posts here) It had been years and years since I’ve been a dedicated scrapbooker (since 2007??). I was surprised to learn that the TN notebook I was using made it less intimidating to get a page done than my old standby size of 12×12.

I wanted to keep going, so I started with January (the current month) and scrapbooked what I was up to. Surprisingly, despite spending most days at home, I filled up a travelers notebook with just Jan & Feb. My notebook was bulging, though. The pages were bending and the staples were popping loose.

I saw other scrapbookers using a ring method to hold their books together, and that seemed like a good, inexpensive idea. I considered ordering a cloth album with page protectors in this size (they are so beautiful), but I knew that would be expensive to maintain, long-term. I would need to order albums constantly to keep up. I was also concerned that the cost of these albums would make me start limiting what photos I would scrapbook to avoid “using up” the album. I wanted to keep the spontaneity of working on whatever I wanted for as many pages as I wanted, and the ring method definitely worked for that.

So, I cut my TN apart, and rearranged the pages in chronological order. When I ran out of January events to scrap, I had started scrapbooking November in the same book. So this way I was able to create more of a timeline.

Above is an example of what I scrapbooked in the middle of the winter when I had “nothing” going on. I had new fuzzy slippers and library books + journaling. There’s always something fun to capture! I love that I gave myself permission to use my cute supplies on such ordinary pictures. It captures how happy I was during that time.

I’m most surprised at how much scrapbooking supplies I burned through. It turns out if you scrapbook a hundred pages, you use up a lot of stuff!! See, I’m not exaggerating, here is a stack of finished albums from several weeks ago (the stack is even bigger now):

I ordered supplies every month. Paper, embellishments, etc. It really was hard to spend actual dollars on my hobby because I started this whole adventure with the right thought that I would use up what I [already] had. And I did use things up quickly. I discovered that with scrapbooking, you do need somewhat of a stash to work with. A floral patterned page will not work for everything. You need a little bit of a slush pile. I’m not comfortable having a giant stash, but I like having some variety and selection. Here’s one of my first orders:

I like how I’m able to use tiny stickers and embellishments on the TN pages, and they don’t seem to get “lost” like they might on a 12×12 page.

I kept scrapbooking and using things up, and I had to restock now and then. Even paper clips. I was scrounging for supplies everywhere! I found these at Staples. I put them on everything!

It’s been fun using so many cute embellishments. I’ve stopped hoarding my pretty things and started using them up because it’s so fun seeing a finished product with my special embellishments. This gold dotted acetate sheet (below) I had been saving for a few years. It looks perfect here. I treat the covers extra special and label them with the year and layer on a few embellishments.

Despite moving from year to year, with the ring connectors, the albums don’t have to be “done.” I have the ability to go back to 2018, or whenever, and add in more things. Each album is a little highlight reel of whatever I wanted to document. I gave myself complete freedom to scrap whatever I wanted. No obligations to scrapbook posed event photos if I didn’t want to. Below is a “currently” page – I scrapbooked a fun day of garage sale-ing. Printables by Kelly Bangs Creative.

After I “finished” the (2) 2014 albums this month, I slowed down. I didn’t have an iPhone in 2013, and I don’t know exactly where all my photos are – even after scavenging my old Dropbox back-up. And, to be honest, I’m not sure how far back I want to keep going. For now, I’m going to focus on my current album, because I neglected that in March while working on other memories. I will also flip through previous albums and add in a few things that I left out the first time. I love having these little books, and I definitely want to keep going forward.

They fit so easily on a small shelf. Definitely less room than my 12×12 albums require. I store them in a little closet, so they are out of the direct light. On Instagram, my scrapbooking posts have not been very popular, but I’ve heard from several people in my DM’s that they were inspired to start scrapbooking – either again or for the first time. Creating for “likes” on the socials is a hard way to stay creative. It’s definitely worth doing what is bringing you the most joy. I’ll continue to share more scrapbook pages here on the blog. <3