Love Intentional Living? Why You Should Try Scrapbooking

I know a lot of people who are not interested in scrapbooking.

Typically, they say they don’t have time, it’s too expensive, or they just don’t like it. Some people hesitate to cut up their photos, and others think traditional scrapbooking layouts look tacky or disorganized.

I totally get it!

I stopped scrapbooking for a long time for many of these same reasons. However, since the pandemic began, I’ve become really involved in scrapbooking.

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I was bored during quarantine and I wanted to find a time-consuming hobby that I could do at home. I also wanted to document this unusual time in all of our lives – I think it’ll be interesting to look back on my 2020 scrapbooks years from now…when things will be more “normal”.

Anyway, I’ve found that in addition to being fun, scrapbooking is a great hobby for those of us who are passionate about intentional living.

Here are seven reasons why you should give scrapbooking a try!

Time to Reflect

John Dewey once said, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” In our “go go go” culture, we’re often over scheduled and overwhelmed. We rarely take the time to reflect on our lives.

It’s hard to live intentionally when we never stop to think about why we’re doing what we’re doing. Instead, we just live on default mode and we do what we think we’re “supposed” to do. Scrapbooking gives us time to reflect and consider whether or not the lives we’re living actually align with our values.

Gratitude + Joy

It’s well known that focusing on what we’re grateful for can make us happier. Many life coaches, therapists, and psychologists recommend doing things like keeping a gratitude journal or engaging in the “three good things” exercise on a regular basis.

Scrapbooking is another way to train your brain to focus on what you’re thankful for (rather than focusing on the negative aspects of life). I’ve found that scrapbooking about the small things that bring me joy makes me appreciate things that I would typically overlook.

I’ll experience these same emotions every time I pull a scrapbook off the shelf to look at it again…even years later. Psychologists have actually found that when we think about a past experience, we experience the same emotions we felt at the time that it happened.

Mindful Photography

Thanks to digital cameras and smart phones, it’s easy to snap a million photos without really being intentional at all. Scrapbooking forces you to be more mindful about the photos you take and it can even make you a better photographer.

Rather than just clicking away randomly, you’ll find yourself asking questions like, what story am I trying to tell with this photo? How can I portray the same old things that I often photograph in a new and different way?

Memories Fade

Sadly, our memories are notoriously inaccurate and we forget many of the details of our experiences. Our ability to remember also worsens as we age – an estimated 10% of people above the age of 60 live with dementia.

Scrapbooking allows me to see photos and details that I experienced but may not remember entirely. I’m thankful when I look back at these photos and can jog my memory about things I would’ve otherwise forgotten.

Choose Your Style

Some may think that scrapbooking looks cheesy, messy, or old-fashioned… and it often does! That being said, you can scrapbook in whatever style you choose and there are a plenty of options that are organized and modern looking.

I prefer “pocket pages” for scrapbooking rather than the more traditional method of simply gluing photos and stickers to construction style paper.

With pocket pages, you insert photos, journaling cards, and other items into these pockets. It really simplifies the process and it produces an organized, clean look.

Looking for inspiration?

Check out my favorite scrapbooking projects and blogs:

Project Life with Becky Higgins
Ali Edwards (Week in the Life, Day in the Life, December Daily, One Little Word, and many more awesome projects)
Messy Box with A Beautiful Mess

You get to choose your style AND you also get to choose how much money you want to spend. It’s true that scrapbooking can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t need to be if you’re willing to keep it simple.

Grow In Your Faith

What does scrapbooking have to do with spirituality? There are many scrapbookers who are using their projects as a tool for spiritual growth. The term “faithbooking” has been coined to describe this phenomenon.

Scrapbooks often include journaling cards and rather than simply recording details of vacations or other events that occurred, you could also write about your thoughts, feelings, reflections, prayers, and much more.

Also, certain projects can be used to help prompt (and focus) your faith-based journaling. Ali Edwards’ “One Little Word” project is one awesome example. OLW requires participants to choose one word to focus on for an entire year. This word helps guide their photography, journaling, and scrapbooking.

While One Little Word is not specifically limited to topics of faith, you could choose a word that’s related to your spiritual growth, such as “grace”, “compassion”, “truth”, or “surrender”.

It’s Fun!

Scrapbooking is so much fun! If you love photography, writing, or intentional living, it might be the perfect hobby for you.

It’ll give you a chance to reflect, grow, be creative, and live intentionally.

I’ll end this post with a couple of quotes from two awesome scrapbookers!

“Scrapbooking helps me to make sense of my life.” – Ali Edwards

“Cultivate a good life and record it.” – Becky Higgins