Long ago, the scrapbook store was irresistible to me. I would go in there looking to spend money.
Why the Scrapbook Store Appealed to Me
It seemed like a place that would have art supplies (although marked up supplies) and it did, but not exactly. Mostly stamps, inkpads and stickers and printed papers. Some pens, but more bits and bobs for adding to scrapbook pages. Since I have enjoyed sticking in odd items in my sketchbooks, I found a lot of the scrapbooking trinkets attractive. I love rubber stamps too and I could see myself with a collection of stamp pads. I am always in the mood for another pen and I ended up with quite a collection of stickers .
One Question Cured My Desire to Spend
The scrapbook store seems like a place for rich ladies with open calendars. At the time, I owned a house that needed much repair. I was using my house repair money at the scrapbook store. After spending a small fortune, during many lunch hours I realized that the people that should be buying rubber stamps and stickers are the people who lack drawing skills.
So I asked myself what was I doing in there spending on the artwork of others when I could make a stamp with my own art? I agreed with myself and I was cured. It has been over 10 years since I have been in a scrapbook store.
Since then I have found collage and scrapbooking opportunities for free in all the ephemera that flows through my life for free everyday. This includes fruit stickers but there is a wide range of throw away items that are shiny, colorful, sometimes metallic and always free.
- fruit stickers
- fortunes from cookies
- postage stamps
- the insides of envelopes
- ticket stubs
- candy/gum wrappers
- receipts
- leaves
- pressed flowers
- tags from teabags
- lottery tickets
- letters
- paper money
- menus
- maps
- magazine clippings
- comic strips
- wrapping paper from gifts received
- sheet music
Stickers seem to be all the rage and I see other artists making and selling them all the time. I should design a sticker of my own. And a rubber stamp too.
About the Drawing
This drawing with the lady and her afro is another cover-up. I don’t recall what was underneath, but I pasted some envelopes and fruit stickers on top of it. Her face is 100% from my imagination. It turns out I enjoy drawing afros. Three years ago I posted it to Instagram in a nearly finished state, and it stayed at that stage until the other day. I added the number five and the small red flower and she is done.
The drawing below is one of several types of value exercises that I enjoy doing when ideas are difficult. It also includes some fruit stickers.
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I appreciate this entry – i recently started getting into scrapbooking because i have a lot of photos, cards, and momentos that I’ve stashed over the years and want to clean it up, essentially.
I’ve been watching these scrapbookers on Youtube and saw these stockpiles of store-bought scrapbooking materials and although they’re beautiful… it essentially kills the history of scrapbooking.
Historically it was a way to save little momentos from your life. The collection amassed organically. But, true to form, capitalism came in and found a way to comodify it until the soul was removed from the entire project.
I’ll still ocassionally buy stickers when I see a set that I really really love – which is what I did before anyway.
But all the other fancy decor and stuff.. .i’ll let them find their way to me on their own. Via
gift-wrapping from gifts received from friends and loved ones.
From old clothes that are too worn through to keep, but I want to remember.
From tickets to various movies, shows, parks, etc that I go to…
Old-fashioned scrapbooking needs to come back.
kills the history of scrapbooking AND the pocketbook! agree! thank you for your comment which is exactly how i think; the personal ephemera of your life is the REAL (free!) stuff that goes into your journal/scrapbook/sketchbook and if you purchase color coordinated mass-manufactured printed stickers and doo-dads you now have double the trinkets to use. all the time the free stuff is still coming in. on top of it all, (he who buys what he does not need steals from himself) your scrapbook is less personal and more “store bought”. appreciate you varnam! (i too have a love of stickers)