Invest in Scrapbooking

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.

Last week, I kicked off my new monthly blog hop tied to The Happiness Project. If you would like participate in next month’s hop, email me and I’ll get you the details. The week before that I began talking about Buying Some Happiness. Buying Some Happiness isn’t just about splurging, but also about investing, donating, and saving.

Today, let’s consider buying needful things—or investing.

Investing gets to the heart of minimalist scrapbooking. When I think of minimalist scrapbooking, I focus on using the supplies I already have and buying supplies I actually need to complete a project (e.g., adhesive). I would also add spending money on quality over quantity when purchasing scrapbook supplies (and other things in your life).

My weakness has always been pattern paper. I do really well not buying pattern paper for a while, but then then start buying it again. The problem is that I don’t use a lot of pattern paper when I am actually scrapbooking, so to buy more is usually a waste. If you have seen any layouts that I’ve posted lately and have scrapbooked for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed some pretty old pattern paper in the mix. This makes me happy. I’m happy to use the stuff I already have. I do miss buying the pretty pattern paper and I know I would eventually use it, but I want to focus on using what I have for a while first. I am getting a great deal of satisfaction out of using what I have and thinking more about the scrapbooking purchases I am making. For instance, I do think that I would use a book binding machine often enough to justify the expense. Right now, I am in the research phase of deciding which machine is right for me. I want to make sure I am getting something easy to use, is affordable, and won’t break on me.

Overall, for me investing (or buying needful things) boils down to:

• Buying less pattern paper (and supplies overall)
• Using my supplies before buying more
• Focusing on quality over quantity

I do have to say that limiting my scrapbooking purchases has made me happy. I am scrapbooking more. I am challenged to focus on coming up with a creative solution using what I have. I am not bogged down with figuring out where put the new bag of scrapbook supplies so that I can actually scrapbook. Now, I am buying some supplies. I spent a whopping $8 at my local scrapbook store last week. I have never left that store spending less than $30. Is this bad for my local scrapbook store? I don’t think so because I am using my supplies, which means, that I will need more supplies at some point. The alternative is buying and not using, which could drive some people from the hobby.

When you think of buying needful things as it relates to scrapbooking, what do you focus on? Comment below or join the conversation on facebook or twitter.
If you want to read more about The Happiness Project or my Scrap Happy Project, check out the other posts in the Scrap Happy series.
Are you doing a happiness project? Are you doing a scrap happy project? What’s stopping you? Join me today!

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Stephanie