Hello and happy Nat’l Scrapbooking Day! Megan here. It’s an absolute pleasure being here, celebrating with you today. To kick this day o’ awesome off, I want to ask you a question.
What is at the heart of your art?
In other words, why is it you do the things you do? Is it because you’re your family’s historian, and therefore you feel obligated to document your comings and goings? Is it because you’re seeking a creative outlet and found paper to be a nice fit?
When thinking about how to best get today’s festivities underway, I started thinking about this question for myself. Why do I love scrapbooking? What is it I want to celebrate?
Sure, I love the pretty paper, the trends, and the techniques. If you follow my Monday with Megan posts, you know that to be very true. I’m 100% motivated to create by product lines that inspire me. I’m 100% interested in learning as much as I can about this hobby of ours as I do my best to enhance and grow my scrapping. I’m 100% excited to play and be creative.
But these aren’t the reasons I LOVE scrapbooking. They’re the awesome side effects, sure, but they’re not what got me hooked. You know what did? Seeing my first finished page. Well, my first grown-up finished page, that is. (I’ve been scrapping since I was just a kiddo, as this collage illustrates.
Fast forward to my adult days, when I made this scrapbook page.
I adore this layout. As soon as I completed it, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Sure, the design is nothing spectacular. The products are cute enough, but it’s not like they’re flashing neon signs or little dancing unicorns popping off the page. They’re just your basics. So what’s with my crush?
It’s the story — the heart of my art — that had me hooked.
At the time I created this layout, I was missing my grandma something fierce. I would hold onto her apron and just breathe it in. (It still smells like her, which I love.) So I decided to document that feeling. That longing. When I was through with the page, I felt a sense of healing. I felt like it was okay to start letting her go, because I will never have to let go of my memories of her. I had my scrapbook to keep them in tact, long after I’m gone and my own grandchildren are clinging to my scrap aprons.
The idea that our stories are being told and live on through our albums is a beautiful thing. A powerful thing. Something to celebrate. This, for me, is what Nat’l Scrapbooking Day is all about!
As you go about your festivities today, I encourage you to pause for a moment and think about what it is you love about scrapbooking. What is at the heart of your art? If you feel like opening up and sharing, I’d love to read your story in the comments of this post. Or you can just keep that feeling inside and enjoy the feeling that comes from reconnecting with that initial motivator that brought you and your scrapbooking to where you are today.
Time to Create
I thought today would be a prime time to tell the story of your art in a layout about YOU. A novel concept, I know. Scrapbooking about yourself when there’s an entire family of people ahead of you in line? Yes! Absolutely! You’re just as special as they are, and I promise you they will want pages about you in their albums more than pages about themselves. If I had scrapbook pages to cling to instead of my grandma’s tattered apron, I’d know so much more about her. About the woman she was before my mama was even a glimmer in her pretty eye. What a gift that would be! So, if for no other reason, do this for the ones you love and stretch yourself to make a YOU page, describing the heart of your art—the reasons you love being the brilliant story teller you are. The reason you fell in love with scrapbooking.
Submit Your Story
Scrapbook & Cards Today would love to see your Heart of the Art pages if you have time to create them sometime this weekend. Simply submit your page to [email protected] between now and Sunday, May 4 at 9:00 PM (eastern) and we’ll select a few to feature here on the blog as part of my Monday with Megan post. (Please include a link to your blog or gallery if you have one. Thanks!)
The Heart of My Art
I always enjoy seeing your work, and sharing it is the cherry on top, so I hope you’ll submit. In the meantime, I thought I’d share my own page with you here. You can find pictures detailing how it all came together on my blog (I’m not typically a mixed media gal, so this was a fun challenge for me), as well as a little giveaway in honor of Nat’l Scrapbooking Day. Hooray!I
What’s Up!
Now, onto what you can expect throughout the day as we celebrate Nat’l Scrapbooking Day.
- Hourly Giveaways! Yes, you read that right; there are prizes every single hour to be had, so check back often.
- Hourly Posts! The talented SCT design team along with some guests will be here all day, rotating through with unique scrapbook-related posts. Woot!
This is our day, scrapbookers! Let’s enjoy it. (Card makers, we’ll be sure to celebrate that wonderful hobby come World Card Making Day in Oct. In the meantime, maybe you’ll be inspired to give scrapbooking a try today. Seems like a prime time to start to me.)
So, enjoy YOUR day, my friends. And, please, take a moment to reflect on what’s at the heart of your art. I think you’ll find a new sense of devotion and inspiration as you do.
In the spirit of celebrating the heart of our art, I took to my Facebook page to ask my friends what it is they love about scrapbooking and what got them started. I’ll leave you with a few of their comments.
Cheers!
NSD Kickoff Giveaway!
Webster’s Pages brand new line Party Time! is perfect for documenting every celebration!! Whether it’s a birthday, a reunion, {or interNational Scrapbook Day!!} document all of your special party days with this fun new collection!
To add to this fabulous prize, our friends at Lawn Fawn have these ah-mazing stamp and die sets to giveaway to a lucky SCT reader today!
Happy Trails stamps http://www.lawnfawn.com/products/happy-trails
Happy Trails Lawn Cuts dies http://www.lawnfawn.com/products/happy-trails-lawn-cuts
Let's Roll stamps http://www.lawnfawn.com/products/lets-roll
Let's Roll Lawn Cuts dies http://www.lawnfawn.com/products/lets-roll-lawn-cuts
No doubt you will have fun with Lawn Fawn's stamps and coordinating dies! Create your own smiley sushi with Let's Roll and get trendy with Happy Trails' camper! Glamper anyone?
How to enter each hour's prize:
Please leave a comment below by midnight on May 14th. We will spend a great deal of time with our random integer program and randomly choose one lucky winner for each hour on May 15th. All winner's names will be posted on Saturday, May 17th. Good luck friends!
If you have Facebook, please visit our hourly sponsor's facebook page and give them a really, really big "SCT THANK YOU!" for their amazing giveaways. They love hearing from YOU!
Facebook links:
Join us next hour where Kimber McGray takes a sketch and changes it up! Jillibean and Hampton Art will be joining her with some great prizes too.
~ Catherine
Be sure to enter our NSD Facebook contest for another chance to win? Enter HERE!
Amazing giveaway, I order both Websters Pages and Lawn Fawn!
Posted by: Shawn Wenrich | May 03, 2014 at 08:01 AM
Happy NSD everyone! Thanks for the chance to win!
Posted by: Jenn Scrapbena | May 03, 2014 at 08:05 AM
lovely giveaway, I love Webster Pagesand Lawn Fawn! thank you so much
Posted by: jò | May 03, 2014 at 08:06 AM
Happy NSD! I love that we have our very own holiday, don't you? :)
Posted by: Linda Auclair | May 03, 2014 at 08:07 AM
thank you so much for sharing what is at the true heart of why you scrapbook! so wonderful to read!
the 'let's roll' stamp set and die have long been on my wish list! they are so cute! :) of course anything by Webster's Pages is a real treat indeed!
Posted by: Jennifer Scull | May 03, 2014 at 08:07 AM
Great giveaways! I love everything Lawn Fawn and WP is just so beautiful.
Posted by: Penny Douphinett | May 03, 2014 at 08:08 AM
What a great way to kick off NSD! I still remember my first scrap page. It was of my partners first ever fathers day and I think it is still one of my favourite pages ever!
Posted by: Nicole McNamara | May 03, 2014 at 08:09 AM
Great giveaway. Happy NSD SCT!!
Posted by: Joanne Tackaberry | May 03, 2014 at 08:09 AM
Happy NSD to you all. The heart of my art is the love of preserving those ordinary, everyday moments that might otherwise get passed over or not documented. It's the little things!
Posted by: Marcie Sharp | May 03, 2014 at 08:10 AM
What a fun giveaway! Happy scrappin today!
Posted by: Laurel Eichten | May 03, 2014 at 08:12 AM
Awesome reasons to scrapbook! I do it because I want my kids to learn about their cultures, ancestors and family history. Thank you to the awesome sponsors & SCT for the chance to win.
Posted by: Jennyfer L | May 03, 2014 at 08:12 AM
Thanks for the chance to win!!! I wish to everyone a wonderfull national scrapbook day!!!
Posted by: Karine G | May 03, 2014 at 08:12 AM
Wow!!!
Posted by: Kathy Hering | May 03, 2014 at 08:14 AM
Thanks for the giveaways! These look look like such fun sets!
Posted by: Kristal Bell | May 03, 2014 at 08:14 AM
Happy NSD! excited to start the day! thanks for the chance!
Posted by: Martine Labelle | May 03, 2014 at 08:15 AM
Happy NSB Day!!
Posted by: Amanda Outland | May 03, 2014 at 08:16 AM
Yay! Love Lawn Fawn! Great way to start a dreary NSD in NC!
Posted by: Laurel Mitchell | May 03, 2014 at 08:16 AM
Happy NSD everyone! I'm sure we're going to have a great day. Thanks for the chance to win some awesome prizes. We have a camper so this would be a great prize to win!
Posted by: missgailly | May 03, 2014 at 08:17 AM
I craft out of a spirit of giving! It makes me happy and others happy! Thanks for the fun giveaway!
Posted by: Amy C. | May 03, 2014 at 08:17 AM
WHOOP WHOOP!! HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!! I LOVE all of the AWESOME Chances to win!! THANKS SO MUCH and I hope you all have a FABULOUS WEEEKEND!! =)
Posted by: Larissa Heskett =) | May 03, 2014 at 08:19 AM
Happy NSD!!! I scrapbook to capture those special moments in my boys lives. So that when they are older they could look back and remember those fun times! Great giveaway, thanks for the chance to win!!
Posted by: Melonie colon | May 03, 2014 at 08:21 AM
What a great giveaway! So excited for NSD!
Posted by: Miriam Prantner | May 03, 2014 at 08:22 AM
Happy National Scrapbooking Day!! I Love your first giveaway...two of my Favorite Brands...and best of all I don't already own either!!
Posted by: Gayle M | May 03, 2014 at 08:22 AM
I scrapbook because I want to leave my story for my family. I wasn't a very happy child and Scrapbooking was the first creative skill I was ever good at. Scrapbooking has been a healing activity for me and a great source of sharing myself and my life with those I love. My family loves to see my pages and to read my journaling in which they star and it makes me happy when they do! Happy NSD. To all :)
Posted by: J platt | May 03, 2014 at 08:23 AM
Been excited about NSD for a while & SO excited it finally here. Thanks for the chance to win!
Posted by: Sandy D | May 03, 2014 at 08:27 AM