by Marlene Gundlach

Created on: April 28, 2008

I will admit that I began scrapbooking because I loved all of the fun stickers, papers, and tools I found at our small, local scrapbook store. My sister-in-law had started this new hobby and took me shopping with her one afternoon. I was working full-time at the time and thought, "I don't have time for something like this." But, I soon got sucked in and took up the hobby as well. It started out as a way to document my then 2-year old son's life. It was the perfect reason to purchase lots of cute stickers, beautiful shades of paper, and fun decorative pictures. I had more reason than ever to take rolls and rolls of film of each and every cute thing JC did. (Yes, I am that oldI said rolls of film!) As the years went by, I accumulated enough scrapbooking materials to fill two cabinets, 4 drawers, and a rolling storage unit.

As I grew older and those around me did as well, I saw scrapbooking as a way to connect with the past. One Christmas, I made reprints of a bunch of old family photos and put them into small scrapbooks for my family. I did not use stickers or pretty papers, but just one simple photo per page with a date and list of who was in the photo. The response I got was overwhelming. Everyone was thrilled with the pictures and it was the focus of the remainder of our Christmas Eve together.

I have since made books for my great-uncle after his 80th birthday celebration; collecting photos from everyone in attendance. It was then put out a few years later at his funeral, allowing everyone to relive the celebration and remember happier times. I make them for my mother-in-law every time we take a family vacation together, since my father-in-law rarely gets his photos from the computer to the store for printing. When my family members unwrap their scrapbooks, I love seeing the look on their faces as they turn each page and relive the memories within. My mother-in-law leaves out all of the scrapbooks that I make her for everyone to enjoy, and that makes the memories last even longer every time they are shared with others.

I have managed to pass my love of scrapbooking on to my two boys. Although my preteen has waned in his interest, my 7-year old just went with me today to the scrapbook store to pick out some paper and stickers for his next creation. When he first started, I liked that he was getting practice with his writing skills as he wrote about the pictures he choose. He scrapbooks out of order; going through my left over pictures to pick out the ones that interest him the most. He journals and puts his spin on what was happening when the photo was taken. Every time I get out my photos and supplies, he digs into his special box of materials to get to work on his book. I love that I have passed this hobby on to him, and hope it sticks with him well into the future. Maybe some day he will make me a book for a special anniversary or birthday!

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