My Coping tool: Scrap booking
“Scrapbooks remind us that life has been good.”
Creating a new scrap book each year is like a milestone to me like a “Book of me” published each year. It’s a sort of spontaneous series of celebration of my daily life, taking it high in hard copy. Scrap booking made me realize how rich life is and how blessed I am having special people who completes my story. Each with a special role to play. All the more that to preserve it and document each event is ever worthy.
Each lay-out, in varying themes depending on what my mood is, per month, per week, even on a daily basis describes exactly the uniqueness of each. It’s like putting value to each day, each person inside my inner circle, the people who gives meaning to my life, daily. Even my animals do, my cats, my dog and mom’s lovebirds too. It allowed me to identify who and what counts most. It is primarily my intimate connection with them, even with people I seldom see, they became form part of that specific year as well. Without them? My scrapbook will not be complete.
Scrapbook covers timelines. The moments that took my breath away, how I met someone, how I was reunited with old acquaintances, old teachers, how are they doing at current time. Characters I’ve watched and read. Their immortal influence in my life documented.
True enough, time is the best gift we could always give to a loved one, later in our lives, we no longer regret as to what achievement have we achieved, or material things that we acquired, or how far have we’ve been to. I realized this when I lost my father. I regretted the time I was not able to spend with him. It taught me to treat each day as if it’s my last. With my mother, with my son, with my friends and people who grew close to my heart. As a proof. I record them by scrap booking. I find myself immersed to it clock ticking unnoticed. The more time I spent with them, The more I am happy.
I fashion mine with stickers, embellishments, cut-outs, mostly DIY from old magazines. I am frugal with my accessories. I seldom buy expensive stuff to rev it up. Though I sometimes give in to temptations. At times, I splurge. I once bought a 10$ gilded bookmark abroad with the intention of just placing it in my scrapbook for that particular trip with my soul sis. A few expensive stuff here and there add a special touch. It is also an indication how extra ordinary the event was for me. Even if most days are considered extra-ordinary too. I can tell the difference. Like major events that are set apart.
Normally, you will see similar images in my scrapbooks:
– flowers
– paisley
– butterflies
– stairwells
– lighthouses
– windmills
– hearts and polka dots
– damasks
– jacquards
And they’re almost in purple and pink and teal lately. =) I love smileys too!
Though scrap booking isn’t all about the good times. To document something that isn’t good at all is very challenging for me. I normally end it with something like falling and standing up again and again. Or something like “Hope is eternal” quotes. As it is supposed to be inspiring and more like something that makes us smile. Though life is not at all about smiling. Inevitably, some tears will fall and this is where we are able to treasure the sweetness of joy because we already tasted what bitter is like, we can now tell they’re entirely different.
I don’t usually develop a lot of pictures, just a few from each event. The journal itself will do the storytelling. Like sharing a testimony. And love surely endures. You get to see all the pages have feelings.
The main character of most scrappers I’ve personally known is patience. A friend of mine being so engrossed on her book and didn’t notice that it’s already morning when she finished it. And it’s all worth it. She loved what she did and what important is that she is so happy about it. Been there. Done that. Nothing can compare to the fulfillment of finishing one. It brings smiles to our faces. Each time we leaf the pages, there will always be smiles. I in particular is patient enough to cut out related images, and cut another color to frame it, I cut letters of different fonts just to complete a quote or an adjective or a name. At times I print them, using the font that I want, the color and its’ size too. I sometimes paste a post-it in my own handwriting just to give it a special touch.
I can’t do without Stabilos and colored glues too, glitters, cards and bookmarks. A relative of mine even dedicated a room for her scrapbooking activities alone. All her materials are lying and scattered on the floor and even if it looks crazy, for us scrappers? It meant that we completed another book. And it meant BIG. It meant HAPPINESS. Scrapbook are reminders. It reminds us to build memories, reminds us that we are able to built..to spend our resources wisely and time efficiently with people who makes those time so precious, they are worth documenting.
Literally, these are the “Ties that binds”. Scrapbooking requires and at the same time gives birth to wisdom. That thoughts than gifts counts. And keeping them on file is one tradition I will keep on doing while I can. Besides, it is one of my coping tools as well. At times, stress is at its peak, like yoga or gardening or cooking, the hours I spent cutting and pasting was so relaxing I no longer notice the tick of time and before I knew it, my mind has drifted already and it relaxes me literally.
Nothing can give that sense of peace in me. Each moment captured and preserved in time. Who knows what the next generation might say while browsing at them. I made sure they’re intact for the next generations to see. Besides, I did them not only with pride, but with a great fond for the people coming together in a fancy book created out of love for art and life itself.
On Purple Wings 