Scrap Happy: Use My Supplies (File Under Boost Energy)

Each Monday, I discuss my Scrap Happy project based on Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun.

No More Pattern Paper!
If you’re anything like me, you probably have more supplies than you know what to do with. This fact, however, does not prevent you from buying more supplies. When I worked at my local scrapbook store regularly, at one point my New Year’s Resolution was to not buy anymore pattern paper. I was pretty successful with this and today I am much more selective about the pattern paper I do purchase.

Buying Supplies to Meet a Quota
I was also a direct seller for about a year-and-a-half. I bought supplies for myself to meet my quota because I had few customers. I ended up with product that I normally would not have bought, such as 6×6 paper albums. I usually do not make this type of album. I prefer 12×12 albums. I save mini-books for very specific projects: Cows Atlanta, Chihuly at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the destruction from the tornado that hit Atlanta in 2008 (I lived in Atlanta for six years), and so on. In other words, I save mini-books for very focused topics where I have a couple dozen photographs.

Using My Mini-Books
I have been listening to The Paperclipping Roundtable podcasts for the last few weeks and earlier this year they discussed when they use mini-books. I finally got it. I finally understand why you might use mini-books for other topics beyond the narrowly focused topics I have used in the past.

My Mini-Book
One of my daughter’s favorite activities this year was going to the park. On several occasions, I took photographs of her at the park. I decided that those photos would go in a mini-book. I decided on this topic because:
1. I had a couple dozen photos from my daughter at the park (enough for several scrapbook pages).
2. I want to have a basket full of mini-books that my daughter can reach into and look at easily.
3. I want to boost my energy by using my supplies. The paper album I selected for my photos does not perfectly coordinate color-wise but the energy it gives off, does match the energy in the photos.

Here’s the cover of what I made:


Use Your Supplies!
Using your supplies can mean a lot of different things. I am glad that I made this mini-book. I am happy to use my supplies and I can’t wait to select photographs for my next mini-book (I have several of these paper albums).

What supplies are sitting in your stash that you aren’t using? Please comment below.

Related Posts:

• Scrap Happy: A Happiness Project
• Scrap Happy: Boost Energy
• Scrap Happy: Back Up Digital Photos (File Under Boost Energy)

Scrap Happy: Back Up Digital Scrapbook Supplies (File Under Boost Energy)