Back to the basics...that's what this scrap layout was all about. Yesterday was Cathy Zielske's birthday, and some of you scrappers know who she is, and she was definitely instrumental as far as what finally piqued my interest in this hobby/pasttime/outlet (whatever you call scrapbooking from your perspective).A few days ago I took her Clean & Simple-Part 2 book off my shelf and just soaked it all in again. I connect with her 'style' because I share her love of graphic design as well as obsession with fonts and type setting. But I also love her approach to scrapbooking...scrap the "important stuff". I never have gotten into the whole concept of scrapping birthdays and graduations and all that...although I'm happy for you if that's what you do. For me, I would be doing 'endless pages' about those kinds of events...and I just feel like there is so much more to life than that. I mean really, birthdays come once a year...but life happens the other 364 days too. There's a lot to document and record- stuff that may not seem so 'important', but it is.
I learned that when Teagan died. Sure, I had pictures of her birthdays and us at Christmas dressed up for the occasion, but the things I missed most were the interactions we had every single day. I have lots of photos I have yet to scrap about Teagan...I may never scrap them all. But her sudden death made me realize how 'special' the everday moments are with my family and friends. I had 4 birthdays with Teagan, and I have pictures from each of them. I am very happy to have those pictures. But what I really wish that I had was a picture of me giving her a pinky promise. We did it hundreds of times, yet I don't have a single picture to prove it. I would give anything for a picture of her rolling out pie dough with me. Or cutting up colored construction paper. I'd love a picture of her eating a Happy Meal, or hugging my neck so tight- the way she hugged me each night before bed.
I learned my lesson with her...you can never have too many pictures of 'uneventful' moments. The fact is, those seemingly uneventful moments are the ones we forget so easily. We do them over and over from day to day, and yet, they are the treasures we overlook too many times. The ordinary moments are what make up the bulk of our lives. I am doing my best to capture and record these types of memories in picture form and in journals that I keep. Scrapping the less-than-perfect photos is really one of my philosophies when I create pages. I'm more interested in telling and remembering the 'story behind the photo' than getting the perfect photo.
As I paged through Cathy's book and once again felt affirmed in telling a good story, I felt drawn to making a 'clean and simple' layout. It felt good to whip out a layout in under an hour. (For me that's a quick turnaround!) I was inspired to grab a recent 'not-so-perfect' photo; I found a layout in her book that would work well for me to use as the basis for my page (otherwise known as a "scraplift"); and a color combo from a notebook that I just bought got my creative juices flowing. It was that easy. It was fun...and I've now got a snippet of my everyday life saved for my kids to look back on and laugh when they grow up. I just might try to scrap some more of this type of layout. I know KI Memories wouldn't mind if I used up more of their product. As for CZ, well, I figure she wrote the Clean & Simple books not to brag about her stuff, but to inspire others to do what she does. Besides, the old saying goes, "Imitation is the best form of flattery". I think it's especially true in scrapbooking. No wonder my gallery is filling up with different pages and "styles". I love so many different people in this business (Heidi Swapp, kellicrowe, Elsie, Carrie Batt, Amber Skolnick, Jamie Waters, Candice Stringham, Karen Russell, all the girls at Scrap Etc board!!...) that I can go in any number of directions with the way my pages are designed. Maybe one of these days I'll find my own style somewhere. For now, it's just gonna be me with imperfect photos and most often a good story or opinion to share. Basically things I don't want to forget in the ordinary moments of my life.
7 comments:
I know this wasn't the point of your post or your photo (which is so cute), but the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture is that Teagan is missing. Like there is a space where she belongs, and perhaps she IS there in spirit.
hugs,
karen
Cute layout! Love you too, girly. :)
hey there. you sort of got a shout out on my blog today.
http://bigwhitedress.blogspot.com/2007/03/thanks.html
Hello! I just discovered your blog, but I loved your layout in CK. You are very inspiring!
I've just started to try and capture the "everyday" in my photos so that when I scrap them they aren't all about events. Looking back at the books I've done it seems like I've captured the big events and not the small, and we do the same big events every year. I want to remember the little details.
Thanks for the reminder.
Wow, I really like that philosophy...thanks for sharing - I'll have to check out that book. Your pictures are great. I love that they aren't perfect, we've all been there and all know what goes on behind the scenes to make those pictures happen with kids!! The one picture I have of my kids from an expensive professional photographer, my 2 year old daughter had snot running out of her nose from all the crying she had done. Lovely...but real. My husband and I decided to just take our own pictures from then on because we were able to capture more of who they are. Anyway, I didn't mean to write all this on here, but thanks, I am changing my philosophy on how I take pictures.
Sheri
(You don't know me, I found you because of baby Noah. Hope you don't mind.)
I found your blog today through your picture with the camera bag on Donna Downey's blog. I have been looking for fellow Christian scrappy Moms with a blog. I got more than I bargained for as I followed your link about Teagan. Thank you for sharing your pain and your strength. And thank you for reminding me how important the little details of life are. I hugged my little ones a little harder as I prayed with them in bed tonight.
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