Is it too early for a confession? I realize this is only post #2 of the Travelcraft Journal project, and we’re still getting to know each other. But let’s build this thing on honesty.
Before anyone gets the idea that I’m some sort of crafting goddess (you were thinking that, right? anyone? Bueller?), I should set the record straight on something. I’ve never finished an entire scrapbook or travel journal. Photos stuck into album sleeves, sure. But that’s it.
Yep. I know. Shocking.
I’ve done scrapbooky things – made pages, sketched layouts, obsessively kept ticket stubs and other bits and pieces that should totally go into a scrapbook. But completing an entire book? That hasn’t happened. (Yet.)
One thing that’s gotten me closer, though, is not waiting until I’m back from a trip to start scrapbooking. I take along some cardstock, nice pens, and a glue stick or double-sided tape, and get a jump start on journaling and putting those little bits and pieces together, while we’re still on the road.
Now, I’ve seen Smash books and other scrapbooks you fill in as you go. Love the idea, but – maybe it’s the designer in me (or the perfectionist) – I’m really into picking out paper colors that match my day, choosing the format, and all that good stuff. (That design control freakiness probably doesn’t help with the whole not-getting-the-scrapbook-done thing either.)
I thought this was an original idea until I checked with Google.
Me: Best idea evar! Scrapbooking As You Go! Bet I’m the first person this has ever occurred to, right?!
Google: Nope. There are 5 people doing exactly that on Page One alone. Plus 30,096 other things that are vaguely related that you should definitely know about.
Me: Oh. I guess I’m not as original as I thought. I should still totally buy the domain name for scrapbookasyougo.com, though, right?
Namecheap: Absolutely.
Ok, that just got real geeky real fast. Anyway. Even though other people did independently come up with the idea, I still embraced it. In fact, the whole concept of Scrapbooking As You Go was a big part of last year’s craft blog idea. I was planning to launch it right before our Epic California Roadtrip, and document the process of scrapbooking about the trip during the trip. (Uber meta.)
While I did scrapbook during (and after) the trip, I still haven’t gotten the whole thing finished. And I only published one post on the craft blog.
But I held onto the question of how to bring what you enjoy doing into your busy life, and that’s a big part of this project.
Now I just need to finish a scrapbook. Maybe I should just start making them smaller.