Each Wednesday, I usually write a post from my dissertation.
Most respondents could only identify rules of scrapbooking when pressed. I asked my respondents what they would tell a new scrapbooker. In addition to the previously discussed rules (#1, #2, #3, and #4), respondents mention scrapbookers should:
- Spell correctly
- At the very least caption photographs
- Not worry about straight lines
- Decide how much time and money they want to devote to it because it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the options
- Realize it doesn’t take a lot of creativity
- Learn the basics before you get started (like anything new)
- Not set your cup of coffee on your crop table (it could spill)
- Know that you can’t make a mistake
- Know there is emotion involved
Scrapbookers and industry workers may deemphasize rules, yet, most have suggestions to offer new scrapbookers. Some strictly adhere to rules imposed by the industry or themselves while most break the rules at least some of the time—buying supplies they will never use or including non-archival items on a scrapbook page. To further understand what rules scrapbookers might use in their scrapbooks, I asked my respondents to share with me examples of atypical and typical scrapbook pages they have completed, which I will begin discussing in a couple of weeks.
Are there any rules or guidelines that haven’t come up yet that you think scrapbookers should follow?
Stephanie Medley-Rath is a sociologist and scrapbooker who studies scrapbooking and memory keeping. Scrapworthy Lives is a blog focused on her sociological analysis of scrapbooking, with a sprinkling of posts about Stephanie's own scrapbooking projects.
