Finding Inspiration: The Art of Scrapbooking Your Everyday Life

As women, we often wear many hats and find ourselves engrossed in documenting our family’s significant milestones – birthdays, weddings, and graduations. Yet, somehow, the snapshots of our own lives, the ones filled with simple joys, challenges, and small discoveries, get left out of the story. In this blog post, let’s go on a journey to rediscover the art of scrapbooking from the perspective that it’s time we started capturing those everyday moments.

We’ve all been there. Our family’s big moments are meticulously archived, capturing the smiles, the tears, and the laughter. But what about our own everyday stories? The daily rituals, like that first sip of morning coffee; the rare moments of peace and quiet; the challenges we overcome, and the unexpected, sometimes amusing, encounters with the world – these are the building blocks of our personal stories. They make us who we are, beyond our roles as mothers, daughters, and caregivers.

Yet, all too often we let these moments slip through the cracks. But why?  Why not acknowledge the beauty and power of these everyday experiences? After all, they shape who we are, how we think, and how we behave.  Isn’t it time we celebrate our own achievements — whether they are small or monumental? Life isn’t always about the giant steps we take.  It’s more of a step-by-step, day-by-day thing, right? Scrapbooking these everyday moments reminds us that we are more than just the “roles” we fill and allows us to:

• Celebrate the Ordinary: Scrapbooking helps us find beauty and significance in the every day, from our morning coffee ritual to the laughing we share with friends over silly stuff.
• Express Our Unique Selves: Through scrapbooking, we have a canvas to express our individuality, our personal style, and the things that make us …  well us.
• Create a Visual Timeline: Our scrapbooks become a visual timeline of our lives, offering a unique perspective on our journey through the world in which we live.
• Connect Across Generations: By preserving everyday stories, we’re giving our families and future generations insights into the lives we lead our passions, and our personal points of view.
• Nurture Our Creativity: And last, but not least, we already know that scrapbooking is a creative outlet that allows us to express ourselves, experiment with design, and explore our artistic side.

Examples of Everyday Things to Scrapbook

Now, let’s dive into just a few examples of everyday life moments and experiences that you can scrapbook. 

1. Morning Routines: Capture the serenity (or chaos!) of your morning rituals, celebrating the small moments that set the tone for your day.

2. Personal Passions: Dedicate pages to your personal passions and hobbies that bring you joy and fulfillment beyond your roles.

This page, using A Perfect Day, documents both of these items at once! Drinking my morning coffee and flipping through my favorite art magazine while sitting on my back patio is my idea of the best morning ever! Arting with a friend (even if its over video chat) and ending my day with a martini — gosh that’s a perfect day for me!

3. Outdoor Adventures: Document your walks, hikes, or bike rides in nature, showcasing your connection with the world around you.

Kythe documented the gorgeous flowers she encountered on her walk using Field Notes and Jana snapped these beautiful butterflies and scrapped them using Artful Memories Today.

4 . Me-Time Moments: Set aside pages in your scrapbook to celebrate the “me-time” moments that recharge your spirit. This could be a cozy evening with a favorite book, a relaxing bath, or a yoga session in your living room. Document these moments that allow you to unwind and reconnect with yourself, highlighting the value of self-care and personal reflection. Faerywings, Rollinchen, and Jana all took the time to do that using the Pause-ability collection.

5 . Pet-Inspired Reflections: Include pages in your scrapbook dedicated to the lessons and joy your pets have brought into your life. Write about the unconditional love, patience, and companionship they’ve shown you, and how they’ve taught you to appreciate the simple joys in life. These reflections will serve as heartfelt reminders of the profound connection between humans and animals.

Incorporating your pets and other animals into your scrapbook adds a layer of warmth and affection to your personal narrative. These pages will not only showcase the special bond you share with your animal companions but also serve as a testament to the love and happiness they bring into your everyday life.

Jana used Artful Memories Today for her page about her daughter’s cutie-pie Lucca and Anke did a wonderful job of masking her photo of Saint — her beloved pooch with the silliest of expressions! She used the Summer-ish collection for her page.