...because we all have our motley moments!


Tuesday, February 2, 2010

What a great gift!

Last weekend I decided it was time to organize all of our printed photos. Yikes. It seems like I find a new "1-Hour Photo" envelope in every box of stuff and on every shelf. I don't want to even think about all of the digital pictures that are waiting to be appreciated, either. In some ways it's fun to take a walk down memory lane, to see how we've changed. I can't seem to get over, however, how overwhelming the task at hand is.

I am not a scrapbooker. In fact, any attempts I have made to scrapbook have been horrible. The pages never look like the ones I see in magazines, and it's just too frustrating to even try anymore. I like the look of scrapbooks, and I'm very impressed with people who are able to do it, like to do it, and are actually good at it. I've settled for just putting photos into albums--you know, the ones with sleeves for the pics and then a little place on the side where I can write something if I want? The problem I'm facing now as I sift through piles of negatives and 4x6's is that I apparently haven't even felt like doing that. Again, yikes.

As I surveyed the contents of one Rubbermaid bin this weekend, I did find something interesting. When our son was born, one of my husband's friends actually made a ready-to-fill scrapbook for us. It's a little square one, and the pages have themes like "first bath" and "first food" (as in baby food). Now, I will admit that as of today there are still no pictures in it, but when I saw it I had this resurgence of hope that maybe I could actually put together a scrapbook to document those first months of the little guy's life. (Did I mention that I'm so non-gifted with this kind of thing that we don't even have a baby book prepared for him? Yeah. It's pretty bad around here.)

So, given all of the beautiful gifts we were given to celebrate our new arrival, I have to say that I may be most appreciative of that little book. It has given me something that I could never do myself, and it will keep a record of our memories for years to come.

If you are reading this and you are a gifted scrapbooker, the next time you need a gift for a baby shower and you know the Mom-to-be isn't necessarily gifted in the art, she might really be grateful for one, too. Here's to the scrapbookers of the world and for all that you do! ;)

11 comments:

Bryssy said...

Rachel, I am SO not a scrapbooker, either. In fact, THE Princess recently found her baby book and asked me why there were all these blank pages. Ummm, I did stick stuff into the binding, doesn't that count?

A couple years ago I went to a "scrapbook" baby shower for a girl that I work with. It was actually pretty fun. We all got supplies and an assignment (I believe mine was "coming home from the hospital") for a page theme. I was pretty nervous but it ended up being fun and in the end she had what you have - a scrapbook ready for pictures.

Now, I am pretty sure that the hostess and the lucky mama are both very SERIOUS scrap-bookers, so they had a lot of the stuff they needed on hand - but it was still expensive, I am sure. And trying to make a "good" page was fairly stressful for me.

And, you know, it can like take over your life. There are serious scrapping women who have whole rooms in their homes devoted to this. I am like you, however, I don't even have much luck at printing and putting the pictures in the sleeves...how do you fix that?

Donna said...

I'm the type that feels taking the pictures and downloading them onto the computer are the only steps required to document family life. I tried scrapbooking and I think I'm too mired down by my perfectionism to actually enjoy the process OR the final outcome. KID 1 has the beginning of a scrapbook that I made for his first year of holidays. NOthing in between each holiday and no Christmas...I ran out of steam after the Halloween page.
I got an entire trip to Silver Bay into an album from summer 2006. I was so proud of myself for getting it all printed out and slid into the sleeves in some semblance of order. Then the album pages began separating from the binding.
Lesson learned: invest in those high-quality pocket pages that fit in the beautiful Hallmark binder-style albums. The albums are expensive, but they also expand so you can keep adding more pages. KID 2's baby album was so easy to slip together. So far the pictures go all the way to the few days after we brought her home from the hospital. Pretty good, huh?

Liz said...

One of my friends is really into scrapbooking, so when Ethan was born she made a book for me. She even put all the pictures in for me - she just gave me a list of what she needed. Once Micah was born, though, she and I had lost touch, so I have nothing for him except tons of digital images on the computer.

Lindsay said...

I scrapbooked before kids. I have at least one scrapbook from highschool on up to 2002. I have Avery's first 2 years of life in a scrapbook, and Sage's first year. And then I stopped. I just don't have the time. I would like to do it again some day, so I am just keeping the pictures on the computer in organized files so that someday when I have time I can just print off what I need and make an album. Sadly Capri just has one of those "fill out" books with a few pictures thrown in. Not a "real" scrapbook like the older two girls.

Rachel said...

A scrapbook baby shower is a great idea, Bryssy. Sounds a lot better than typical shower games! lol

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with issues on this topic. At least maybe our kids won't be jealous of each other's baby books!

I'm thinking that I may start making photo books with our yet-to-be-printed pictures. It seems easy, and there's no gluing involved. I made one as a gift for someone once and it turned out really cute. Anybody have luck with those?

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

I have made some "mama-brag" books for friends who were having babies (ready made scrapbooks... just add pics...) But now that I have a baby those days are over... give me a regular photo album and I call it good. I am proud if I get the picture printed and not just on my blog!

Karly said...

Ahhh, the "photo problem". I feel like such a slacker!! I really want to have all of our photos in photo albums. I keep thinking maybe when all my kids are in school. But somehow I am pretty sure I am not going to have more time than I do now.

Rachel, I have done a photo book through Photoworks and another through Shutterfly. They turned out great! I would love to do a Family Yearbook--one photo book with the highlights from the year. Like my last post-a girl can dream, right? I would definitely recommend the photobook route for photos that you have not yet printed out.

Good luck on your big project!!

Maria said...

Wow! I was just looking at MY photo bin and thinking, "Self. You really need to organize this mess!". It is so overwhelming. Just like the rest of us, I have printed photos in piles and tons of photos on the computer. I pray that we never have a fire or that my computer packs up. I'll just be left with the photos on my Iphone. By the way, does anyone know how to get those pics on the Iphone printed straight from the phone to Walmart?????

Liz said...

No idea how to do that with the iPhone, Maria, but please let me suggest you get an external drive for those pics on your computer! It's a relatively inexpensive way to make sure they're secure.

Rachel said...

We finally got an external hard drive, Liz, and it is so nice to know that our documents and pictures are safe. I think Karly's post a few weeks ago was what really prompted us to do it. We bought what is basically a giant jump drive. The software is already there, and it guides you through the entire backup process. It's also a nice shade of blue, which is easy to spot on a messy desk! ;)

Karly, thanks for the insight on photo books--a family yearbook is a great idea!

Pam said...

I have made photo books from CVS when they were free, and I really liked them. I made a Disney one and one of our year in Florida. They hold several pictures on each page with a pretty background. Since I am still working on Alex's life book, now 4 years later, I have given up on the dream of Scrapbooking for right now.