« Back to Done, Finally (March 2011)
Almost Four | Amy Sorensen
12x12 | materials patterned paper (blue stripes: Pebbles Inc; yellow polka dot: American Crafts; blue polka dot: Echo Park; green floral: Bo Bunny; notebook: My Mind’s Eye) + banner and title stickers (My Mind’s Eye) + brads (Bo Bunny) + notebook paper stamp (Cornish Heritage Farms) + ink (Close to my Heart) + twine
A Note from Amy
When I switched from a film camera to a digital one, my scrapbooking process changed immensely. (I imagine this is true for most people who’ve been scrapping since before the digital age.) I used to scrap in a very strict chronological order, but now I just work on whatever topic or photo is inspiring to me. I had a small pile of the last of my organized pre-digital photos that’s been hanging around, waiting for me to get to them. (Not, however, the last of all my film photos—just the ones I had organized.) I’ve moved them through three different scrapbook room set ups and one remodel; the kid in question is now thirteen and almost needs to shave.
The question, of course, is why wait so long? I think it’s because of how much I have changed since I took these pictures. I was in a much different emotional place then (in both negative and positive ways) and, as time went on, it felt less and less authentic to visit the past instead of documenting life right now. What made it finally click is looking at some older albums—the ones these photos would fit into, chronologically. I remembered that there was a gap in the stories, and things I still needed to write down. This month’s gallery was just the shove I needed—I ended up making five other layouts and depleting that lingering stack of photos.
This process has reinforced something else for me: the concept of writing journaling even if you’re not scrapping the photos. Although these pictures are nearly a decade old, I still knew what I felt and wanted to say about them because I had written the journaling back when I took them. I just opened the word processing file, edited it a bit, and voila! Nothing lost!
March Fun Fact
I don’t measure the first day of spring by the calendar, but by the day my daffodils bloom. Since I have the only southern exposure in my neighborhood, my daffodils are a spring harbinger for my neighbors, too. Nothing says “winter’s over” better than cheery yellow daffodils!