How to get back into scrapping?

It sounds like you have been busy doing lots of other things! We can only fit so much in each day.

The thing that worked for me in 2016, after a couple years of scrapping almost nothing, was designate one day Scrapping Day. I think it also helped being part of an awesome digiscrap forum and being determined to complete all the monthly challenges.

 

I felt like this for the first 6-8 months of the pandemic...but then I just started slowly thinking about what makes me happy...which lead to scrapping and even appreciating the little things every day. =) Sometimes, there's just a little thing that can spark your mojo =) I hope you find it

 

I'm sorry I have no suggestions. It's hard when you can't go to your usual favorite places to get your pictures. At one point a few months ago I had no new pictures to scrap.

 

I took a five year break - Eek! And looking back at the big empty hole in my scrapbooks makes me sad because even if I go back, I have forgotten so many details and what people said, etc.

Ask yourself why you scrapbook. I want to leave something behind for my grandsons so that they will know without a doubt that I loved them. The books I make for them say “I love you, I adore you, I think you are the greatest “. That is why I came back to scrapbooking.

Then set a small goal. Don’t overwhelm yourself with books that HAVE to be done. Just scrap and when you get enough pages, print it.

Challenges help me. They focus my page if nothing seems to be flowing for me.

Throw away the idea that every page has to be spotlight perfect. My grandsons won’t care if I got 0 likes or 100 likes. If their picture is on the page, they will like it and they will see my love for them.

I challenge you to do a page entitled “Why I Scrap”. When you’ve listed the reasons, you might just feel a little mojo sneak back in.

Good luck. Like I said, I took a five year break, but here I am scrapping like a workhorse!

 

I think many of us are in the same boat. What helped me was to change my schedule. I now scrap mostly in the morning and spend dinner and evening time with hubs and youngest daughter who permanently moved home at the beginning of COVID. This is the opposite of what I used to do and I find the early morning scrapping time is nice b/c I can sit with my coffee, scrap and take breaks to get outside with the dog and/or camera.

 

Doing challenges is my best advice. There are so many great ones here. Good luck! I'm just the opposite - scrapping has been my salvation.

 

if you haven't printed anything in a while (like me the other week), looking thru my own pages (and some albums off the photobook shelf) gave me a bit more motivation but i got in the habit (without noticing it ) of 'doom scrolling', i think it's called, since last Nov when the fires started here of going thru news feeds and air quality and various apps and it zapped the energy and a lot of time from me for quite a few months this last year. I found when i was actively doing less of that, i had more mojo and time but i get how you're feeling.
My suggestion/ question for you specifically Jan would be 'Do you have any Disney pics you could pull out to start with?', maybe you can get 'in the zone' again with them?

 

Here are things that help me:

Looking at old scrapbooks.
Looking at galleries.
Shopping for digi kits.
Make a scrapbook album for someone (holidays are the perfect time).
Remember why you do it.
Set aside a time only for scrapbooking.

 

I've had plenty of short term scrapping slumps, but I've also had 2 that lasted longer. The first one was after my second child was born. Looking back, it was probably a lack of mental energy--maybe that's what you're dealing with now? I also sew and crochet, and for me those are more physical/mechanical hobbies. Once I've made the one-time decisions about pattern and yarn or fabric, those projects occupy my hands for weeks while my brain focuses on an audiobook or tv show. Scrapping demands more from me in terms of creativity and decision making, so it's a lot harder for me to do it when I'm drained or stressed.

During my first long slump, I stopped scrapping and mostly sewed for about 6 months. Then there came a time when I wanted to be scrapping again but struggled every time I sat down at the computer. I decided that my main motivation right then was to get the memories captured on paper for my family to see, not to create artistic pages I loved. So I essentially set up a scrap schedule for myself. Every night at X time I'd sit down and work on a page, and after a day or two of working on it I'd declare it done without worrying if I liked it. As long as it had the photos and journaling, I would call it good enough and move on to the next page. I had to do that for about 3 months before it slowly started to click again. Within another 3 months I truly loved scrapping again and could make creative pages rather than "get it done" pages.

My second long slump had a totally different solution. I think I'd gotten a little bored with scrapping the same old, same old. I was way behind and feeling overwhelmed, so I just didn't want to deal with any of it. I finally took a total break from scrapping our "regular" lives and worked only on a Disney album for about 4 months. Those pages were so much fun to do that it got me out of the slump.

I hope you're able to find something that works for you, too!

 

I was in your shoes. Family got bigger, life got in the way and it was hard to find the time and when I did, to get back into it.

The only suggestion I have is to start small. I made a few one-page photo collages for myself and hubby to bring to decorate the office, then a couple of shadow boxes for the home, started making my own birthday cards, etc and little by little it started coming back. I'm still not where I was at my scrapping peak (after baby #1) but it slowly comes back.

If you have a friend nearby that you can scrap together with (well once all this COVID business is over with I suppose) that helps too.

Hope this helps and please don't give up!

 

I find that "shopping" (browsing) through my supplies and photos reminds me of things I wanted to say or use. I wouldn't worry about your gift books yet. Do an AJ page and say something, or take a template and a kit that you love and see what you can create. The idea is to have fun. Try a new technique like @FarrahJobling lesson-on-everything-about-page-design-leap-november-2020 Don't worry about tracking supplies or posting. The idea is to rediscover the joy of scrapbooking.

 

For me I was really inspired after 9 months of no scrapping with last months challenges - I managed 6/7, was hoping to make it two months in a row but life and a couple of unwanted guests has probably put an end to getting 6 done again.

 

For me the best way to get inspired to scrap is to get organized. Sometimes looking through my pictures and making a list of the pages I want to make helps. Then I create a folder for each page and copy only the best pictures in there. Then I’ll go to the store or my stash and pick out kits that I want to use. Usually by the time Ive sorted for an hour or so, there’s one page or kit that has gotten me excited to scrap again. If I feel that pull, I’ll go wit it and scrap that page.

The projects I “have” to do are the best way to kill my desire to scrap usually. Pick something you WANT to do. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, not a chore.

 

I feel like it's normal to feel mojo-less because scrapping is usually a time-consuming activity. Subconsciously, we use a lot of 'brain power' as well to make decisions on what kits to use, which photos to scrap, what kind of page design, what other elements that we need to put to complete the page, what to journal, etc.. so naturally, if our life is already busy with other commitments, it's easy for scrapping to fall onto the backseat. At least that's how it is for me.

To get back my mojo, it often involves a combination of factors.. for example, early this year, my siblings commented on how they miss seeing new scrapbook pages from me.. I used to make project life books for my family but stopped around 2016-2019 because of other commitments. I didn't realize that my family enjoy those books so much. So it means a lot to me and felt motivating when they said it. So I started gathering photos for the next book, although i haven't started scrapping for that book yet.

To get myself going, right now I'm doing personal projects, like my honeymoon photobook. I also join challenges here to have some fun. I love receiving coupons,hehe. It makes this hobby feels rewarding instead of feeling like a chore.

So yeah, that's what works for me right now. Hopefully you'll find what works for you!

 

Oh, another thing is I also listen to scrapbooking podcasts and watch on YouTube. It helps to make me feel like I belong to some community and that I'm not scrapping alone (nobody in my local social circle are scrapbookers, so it can feel lonely at times to do this alone).

 

How about trying to put the pressure of these must do projects to one side a little and try to start out doing it just for you. Maybe new supplies, or like someone else suggested, browsing your stash, a little shopping spree inside your own stash. Bookmark your faves or things you haven’t used and find a subject or memory to scrap that makes you smile. A little re organisation and spruce up of my creative space always helps my mojo and so does the right music.
I hope you find your mojo back again

 

I m pretty sure we have all been in that situation.... I know I have been feeling this way. When I get that way I will spend some time on Pinterest and get inspiration there. Pick a favorite photo, even if you have already created a layout with it, let it inspire you to make something new.

 

I'm guilty of waiting for the perfect opportunity.

The thing that worked for me most recently is my friend and I have been crafting over Google Duo together. We used to meet in a city that was about an hour's drive for each of us -- we live two hours away from each other -- and would spend the day hitting all the craft stores (and Target!) Now we connect over our phones/tablets and she works on some paper project and I scrapbook. We've met twice and I've scrapped about four layouts each time! I haven't been scrapping in between times, but I'm happy to get that much done. (Still waiting for the perfect home set up. LOL But that's a longish story.)