In response to the less is more thread...

[LJSDesigns]

I found that thread very interesting and a bit sad, and I have to ask, why does your hobby have to become less because your kids are growing up?

Sure your kids been the focus of your life and therefore your scrapbooks for a long time, but life changes and rather be sad and do less of something you enjoy, figure out how to change your focus. An empty nest does not mean an empty life. There are still plenty of things to do and to scrap about, like

1. You! Take more photos of what you and your partner are doing. Scrap about your life sans kids so that you can look back on your albums and enjoy those memories as well. If you scrap "your story" more, you get continue enjoying your hobby and memories, as well as creating a keepsake for your kids and future generations to treasure.

I speak from experience here. I grew up back in the day when film and cameras were more of a luxury than an every day convenience, so I have very few photos of my parents. Now that they are both gone, I feel that lack and loss deeply.

Leaving a legacy of scrapbook albums about you and what you did that they were not always there to see, what you enjoyed doing without them, etc will be a lovely gift for them.

2. Nature and the world around you. Mother Nature has given us all plenty of subjects to photograph, so spend some time with her. Take photos of wild life, birds, sunsets, etc and create your own nature album. Include your thoughts about the photos to share more of yourself with others or add quotes and poems to it and create your own coffee table book.

3. Become an art journaler and create pages about your feelings, beliefs, politics, what ever you have an opinion on. Not only is it a great therapy tool, but again, if you bequest them to your family, you will be sharing more of yourself with them.

4. Create a "favorite photos" album for yourself and re-scrap the photos you love in a different way -- one that is not aimed at capturing the moment for your kids, but capturing your own emotions. Why is the photo a favorite? What were your thoughts at the time vrs what your thoughts are now?

5. Acknowledge that scrapping is it's own form of art and be fine creating pretty pages because you want to. Art does not always have to have a purpose. It can exist just because creating it makes you feel good.

Finally, keep growing and learning so you'll be ready to scrap your grandkids when they come along and it's time to capture those memories. LOL

[wendyp]

I agree on all of this!

[HeatherH]

My boys are now 20 and 25 so I do all of the things you listed above plus I would add travel to the list. I have been on several vacations without my boys now and have a ton of photos to scrap from those. Also trips to wineries, breweries, my son just bought his first home so there will be pages about that, I'm sure. Still lots of stuff going on, it's just different stuff!

[wendyp]

Congrats on his first house!!

Yeah different but not less important memories.

Originally Posted by HeatherH

My boys are now 20 and 25 so I do all of the things you listed above plus I would add travel to the list. I have been on several vacations without my boys now and have a ton of photos to scrap from those. Also trips to wineries, breweries, my son just bought his first home so there will be pages about that, I'm sure. Still lots of stuff going on, it's just different stuff!

[JillW]

Love this Lorrie, thanks for posting your thoughts!

I have found that I enjoy scrapping "everyday" moments as well. Things that I just plain want to remember years from now. It's my idea of "journaling" because I am not good about the "real" kind of journaling!

I recently pulled out lots of vintage photos of my great grandparents, grandparents, etc. Rather than keep the photos tucked away in a box on a shelf, I've started scanning them and really enjoy creating layouts with the photos.

Originally Posted by LJSDesigns

I found that thread very interesting and a bit sad, and I have to ask, why does your hobby have to become less because your kids are growing up?

Sure your kids been the focus of your life and therefore your scrapbooks for a long time, but life changes and rather be sad and do less of something you enjoy, figure out how to change your focus. An empty nest does not mean an empty life. There are still plenty of things to do and to scrap about, like

1. You! Take more photos of what you and your partner are doing. Scrap about your life sans kids so that you can look back on your albums and enjoy those memories as well. If you scrap "your story" more, you get continue enjoying your hobby and memories, as well as creating a keepsake for your kids and future generations to treasure.

I speak from experience here. I grew up back in the day when film and cameras were more of a luxury than an every day convenience, so I have very few photos of my parents. Now that they are both gone, I feel that lack and loss deeply.

Leaving a legacy of scrapbook albums about you and what you did that they were not always there to see, what you enjoyed doing without them, etc will be a lovely gift for them.

2. Nature and the world around you. Mother Nature has given us all plenty of subjects to photograph, so spend some time with her. Take photos of wild life, birds, sunsets, etc and create your own nature album. Include your thoughts about the photos to share more of yourself with others or add quotes and poems to it and create your own coffee table book.

3. Become an art journaler and create pages about your feelings, beliefs, politics, what ever you have an opinion on. Not only is it a great therapy tool, but again, if you bequest them to your family, you will be sharing more of yourself with them.

4. Create a "favorite photos" album for yourself and re-scrap the photos you love in a different way -- one that is not aimed at capturing the moment for your kids, but capturing your own emotions. Why is the photo a favorite? What were your thoughts at the time vrs what your thoughts are now?

5. Acknowledge that scrapping is it's own form of art and be fine creating pretty pages because you want to. Art does not always have to have a purpose. It can exist just because creating it makes you feel good.

Finally, keep growing and learning so you'll be ready to scrap your grandkids when they come along and it's time to capture those memories. LOL

[JoCee]

I absolutely agree with you Lorie. my kids are 25 and 22, doesn't stop me from scrapping what they/we get up to. We love to travel, so I do more of those and ...life.. so yeah, our hobby certainly does NOT have to slow down just because our kids get bigger and life changes.

[HavaDrPepper]

Very well said Lorrie!

I have had to follow many of these suggestions since I don't have any children (or nieces/nephews) of my own. Although I do have a cousin that shares photos of their very active grandchildren on FB. I've downloaded them and have done lots of pages for them even using their descriptions for many of the pages. But I'm noticing that the photos are slowing down since the kids are in 9th and 7th grades. They are still active in many activities but not as many photos are getting uploaded!

Also, like you I don't have as many photos from my childhood that kids today have although I do have more than a lot of people since I was an only child. I've made it a point to scan/scrap as many of them as I can. In doing that I have found photos of the building of the house I live in along with many photos over the years of various changes (such as landscaping or adding a closed in patio etc). I now have an album devoted exclusively to this house and I am documenting any changes I have made in the last 30 years since it was turned over to me by my parents.

There is always something to scrap whether it be photos of nature or happenings around my small town (have an album devoted it as well).

[Kimberly27]

I agree. I am super behind on scrapping my kids but I take a lot of nature photos/trip photos as well as scrapping my books. I don't think I will ever run out of things to scrap. The photos are less and less for sure on day to day but trips have tripled as both boys have cameras, oldest has a dslr and hubby takes more photos.

[norton94]

I totally agree! I also have old photos to scrap from when they were younger that I still need to go back to. Heritage pages and my own old photos. All about me - now and before. Interviewing older relatives before it's too late to ask. Just because they are grown doesn't mean I stopped scrapping about them, but I get that it slows dramatically. Other themes besides my kids... travels, pets, recipes, home decor (and dream decorations).

[nietis]

I love that list, Lorie! I so agree with what you said!

[nesser1981]

I want to say, I hope I never implied that the hobby is becoming less because the kids the kids are growing up.

I think there are certain things that don't excite me about the layouts, like they aren't making cute faces while they're decorating the tree or carving their pumpkins, those pages that I feel like are a given every year.

I think that's where I'm trying to "trim the fat" so to speak so that I am still enjoying what I'm scrapping. When we go on vacation, I want wait to scrap those photos or do something different, but it's the things we do exactly the same year after year, the traditions that honestly I could just use the same layouts and swap the photos that I'm getting bored with. I don't know if I need 50 pages in December every year anymore.

I also have an All about me album that I add pages to often of random things just for me, and that might be interesting to the kids one day. .

[Tree City]

Vanessa, I get why you posted your thread. You want to keep the fun. That makes sense!

My own kids are growing up and soon will leave the nest. Like, less than 2 years from now. Anyway, I know what you mean about the repetitive aspect of scrapping, and I have also wondered how to overcome it. Maybe it's akin to a knitter who knits sweaters over and over for 20 years and wants a change (I haaaaate knitting lol). Anyway, my point is that we, as scrappers, don't want to get into a rut. We want to enjoy our hobby. Sometimes that means making changes.

But frankly, changing our style won't help if we don't like the new style. Changing what we scrap about won't change anything, either. We just have to figure out what works for us, right now, for the photos we have, right now.

I hope everyone who reads this continues to find joy in our hobby.

[LJSDesigns]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

I want to say, I hope I never implied that the hobby is becoming less because the kids the kids are growing up.

I think there are certain things that don't excite me about the layouts, like they aren't making cute faces while they're decorating the tree or carving their pumpkins, those pages that I feel like are a given every year.

I think that's where I'm trying to "trim the fat" so to speak so that I am still enjoying what I'm scrapping. When we go on vacation, I want wait to scrap those photos or do something different, but it's the things we do exactly the same year after year, the traditions that honestly I could just use the same layouts and swap the photos that I'm getting bored with. I don't know if I need 50 pages in December every year anymore.

I also have an All about me album that I add pages to often of random things just for me, and that might be interesting to the kids one day. .

Sorry if I read more into your post than you intended, Vanessa. I get being bored by the same photos year after year, but if you are bored by the photos, I have to ask if you are bored by the events themselves? I am all for family traditions, but I believe "adjusting them to fit the changes in your family keeps them fun for all.

Christmas is a great example. As my son got older, we changed up what we do for the holidays. We went to fewer gifts for each other, 4 a piece, and started doing more community service. All kinds of new photo ops there.

We also stopped opening presents in the morning, no one likes getting up that early these days, and now have a Christmas brunch where we open the small gifts we got each other.

Our favorite addition is a party where we all wrap our "community" gifts together and eat the Christmas cookies we still bake. We have the best time doing that.

Like I said, traditions are great, but once they become rote, I feel like it is time to change it up. We no longer have turkey at Thanksgiving these days cause no one really ate it anyway. LOL

[nesser1981]

I think I still enjoy the traditions, I just don't feel like I need to document them in the same way and maybe that's because they kids are old enough to actually remember them now too.

Except, I do hate carving pumpkins and coloring eggs. LOL! But DH really handles the pumpkins, and Harper is the only one still hanging on with coloring eggs, but the eggs has gone to a one photo in the monthly review.

Just list Easter has gone from page and pages of layouts to a 2 page spread that includes baskets, dinner and the egg hunt.

Originally Posted by LJSDesigns

Sorry if I read more into your post than you intended, Vanessa. I get being bored by the same photos year after year, but if you are bored by the photos, I have to ask if you are bored by the events themselves? I am all for family traditions, but I believe "adjusting them to fit the changes in your family keeps them fun for all.

Christmas is a great example. As my son got older, we changed up what we do for the holidays. We went to fewer gifts for each other, 4 a piece, and started doing more community service. All kinds of new photo ops there.

We also stopped opening presents in the morning, no one likes getting up that early these days, and now have a Christmas brunch where we open the small gifts we got each other.

Our favorite addition is a party where we all wrap our "community" gifts together and eat the Christmas cookies we still bake. We have the best time doing that.

Like I said, traditions are great, but once they become rote, I feel like it is time to change it up. We no longer have turkey at Thanksgiving these days cause no one really ate it anyway. LOL

[nesser1981]

You know another big problem I have and I'm sure I'm not the only one, is, I want to use all the kits! So if I scale down the amount of pages I do, how do I use all the pretty things! LOL! It's all just something I'm really thinking about as our daughter is heading off to college, first one to leave home, things will shift this year, so I know my scrapping will too.

[LJSDesigns]

I think Erica has a great concept, where she creates simple pages to capture all the moments and then creates more artistic pages for her random albums. In my opinon the yearly albums are about memory keeping and the random albums fill her creative needs. By using this method, she is gettting the best of both worlds.

[EmStafrace]

You are so right Lorie. Whats that Proverb... ‘When a person dies a library burns down’
It’s so true. We should scrap more about our lives, our ups and downs and maybe share more of our thoughts and feelings on things.

It's this kind of insight we often wished we had. How many of us has wished at some point that we could have another day with that special someone that has passed, we all want that golden chalice of one more conversation.

[erica zane]

Originally Posted by LJSDesigns

I think Erica has a great concept, where she creates simple pages to capture all the moments and then creates more artistic pages for her random albums. In my opinon the yearly albums are about memory keeping and the random albums fill her creative needs. By using this method, she is gettting the best of both worlds.

I started out doing the simple versions because those yearly books go to grandparents so I wanted the photos big and sparse, easy to read text. But I prefer looking through my random books so much more & making the random pages here and there and not worrying about being chronological is SO much easier & freeing!

[wendyp]

I stopped doing year books a few years ago and only scrap randomly. But I do put the layouts in multiple albums sometimes. Because I make albums for each kid separate I include the layout where multiple kids are init each for their own album. The reason I do this is because when they leave the house they can all het their own books with them. And I save all albums online in case I need to re-print the books in case of fire or anything else.

[bcgal00]

Interesting topic. I don’t have a lot of recent family photos anymore as Bailey was the main focus of my photography. Since losing her a year ago I stopped taking as many photos but then started focusing more on my nature and architecture photos. I walked away from here earlier this year as I needed time to adjust to my changing lifestyle but I am lately feeling the urge to scrap more for myself and like Em said, do more pages about feelings and thoughts.