I decided to interview Tammy of Your Memory Connection because she is consistently posting articles about how to use your stash, which is something I am working on as part of my quest to limit my scrapbooking purchases. With out further ado, here is our interview:

How did you become a scrapbooker? Do you do mainly traditional (paper) scrapbooking or do you do any digital scrapbooking, too?

In 1999, I was visiting a good friend and she showed me this new “scrapbook” she was working on. She combined her photos with memorabilia and commentary all on one page. I’d always been a keeper of movie tickets, concert reviews from the newspaper, theme park maps, post cards, etc… and they were wasting away in static cling albums. I’ve always been a picture taker and I had a ton of photo albums to prove it. I’ve always written in private journals too. All the elements were there but it never occurred to me to put it all together until I saw what my friend was creating.

When I returned home, it didn’t take me long to head to Michaels where I loaded up on scrapbook albums, page protectors, paper, scissors, pens, etc… I also discovered Creating Keepsakes magazine, got a subscription and that’s how I learned to scrapbook.

I am primarily a traditional paper scrapbooker. I do use digital elements that I print and add to my layouts, but I do not do any digital scrapbooking. I love to look at other’s digital creations, but I have no desire to scrapbook on the computer. I want to play with paper!

On your About page, you write, “Your Memory Connection will help you sort through all that scrapbooking goodness to find strategies and a process that works for you.” How do you sort through all the scrapbooking goodness? Do you have any suggestions for brand new scrapbookers venturing online for scrapbooking information?

I see a ton of blogs where people share pretty pages and all the new products they buy but I don’t see many sharing practical strategies on how to get things done and how to do things differently. Sometimes I just have something fun to share, but most of the time, my posts and articles take one of the many scrapbooking tasks and show that there are a variety of ways to do something and it’s OK to change things up.

I’m not really about ground breaking ideas – I’m more about reminding people of things they might have forgotten about. Sometimes it’s just reminding people about supplies in your stash, or reminding people of ways to scrapbook stories when we don’t have a photo, or reminding people that it’s OK to scrapbook photos just for fun. I like to show a bunch of different ways to do something so that people can sort through the ideas and find one that works for them.

For beginners out there searching for information I would say take it slowly. Because there is so much out there to learn, it’s going to take time. What is it about scrapbooking that interests you? Is it preserving photos? Is it writing stories? Take that idea and find information and ideas about that. Pick up a scrapbooking magazine or two and when you see something you like, go research that technique or look for YouTube videos to teach you how to do it. It’s better to find information on something specific rather than just the broad, general idea of “scrapbooking.”

I really enjoyed your recent post on using chipboard. I have a plastic shoebox full of chipboard but I rarely use it because I usually do something like glitter it or paint it. If I don’t feel like making such a mess or waiting for it to dry (which is most of the time), I just skip it. I’m so glad you posted a page with naked chipboard! I am so going to do that the next time I want to use chipboard. How do you decide what item from your stash you are going to use in a bunch of different ways to give readers ideas as to how to use their own stash? Do you select the item and then make the layouts?

Typically I just look around my scrapbook room at all the products I’ve amassed and until I find something I haven’t used in a long time. I might see something in a magazine that triggers an idea (like rubons!) but mostly I just go through my stuff until I find something I want to use.

I’ll then brainstorm, come up with ideas, and then I’ll create new projects. If I have an older project that can illustrate an idea I’ll use it, but I do prefer to create at least 1 or 2 new projects for each Use Your Stash article. Because that’s the point – actually using it! It’s also important to me to show ways other people use it so I’ll link to or show public gallery layouts that I’ve found. I really want to get people to think about what they already have and how they can put it to use. One idea won’t work for everyone but with five ideas, someone is going to be inspired by something.

Use your Stash is the main reason I wanted to showcase you on my site. I am definitely in this mode in my scrapbooking life and am highlighting my goal of using my stash and limiting my scrapbooking purchases in my Minimalist Scrapbooking series. My goal is twofold: use my supplies and save money. Why did you decide to start this series?

Use Your Stash came about because I have a room full of products that I’ve collected over the past 10 years that I usually forget to use. It was a solution to one of my own problems – getting more older product off the shelf and onto a layout. Most of what I see in the magazines and what the popular scrapbook designers are doing is focused on new product. New is great, new is inspiring, but that does not help me use up stuff I already have. I have older stuff in my stash, chances are others do too and could use ideas.

When I come up with ways to combine the new stuff with the stuff I’ve had forever, it helps minimize the guilt. I hate feeling guilty about buying new products, but like most scrapbookers, I buy much faster than I consume. I do buy LESS now, because I most likely have something in my stash that is going to work just as well as something new I might buy. Plus, there are so many products and techniques now that can help us alter products or repurpose them.

Back in the olden days (you know, like 7-10 years ago), you had to go to your local scrapbook store to get the best supplies. You had to go there for most of your scrapbooking education. Today, you can get it online. I think the newer problem scrapbookers face is buying a bunch of online classes and memberships and then not using them. What advice would you give scrapbookers to select which classes and memberships to purchase and which to ignore? (You don’t have to say, buy this or don’t buy that one…I’m just wondering about your process).

Honestly, I think that’s something that we develop over time. Even though access and exposure to the information is instant, it takes time to figure out you like and what you don’t like. I would encourage beginners to take different classes because you don’t know what you are going to enjoy until you give it a try. But don’t do everything at once. If you are taking an art journaling class, don’t take an intense photography class at the same time.

My advice to new scrapbookers is to buy products based on specific layouts and projects you want to create – especially when it comes to seasonal products. Just because Halloween is going to come along next year does not mean that huge pack of Halloween paper will get used next year. Only buy enough to complete the one or two layouts you have in mind.

The worst mistake a new scrapbooker can make is to go into a scrapbook store or a craft store and buy a cartful of random products. It takes time to develop your own style. If you have a local scrapbook store nearby, you can give products and techniques a try in the store before you buy anything. If you don’t have a store nearby but you want to try a new technique, buy only one of what you need. Don’t pick up 7 bottles of glimmer mist just to find out you don’t like how the paper curls up when it gets wet. Just buy one bottle and try it out on different things. If you like it and find you use it, then you can start your collection.

Thank you, Tammy for being interviewed!

What did you think of our interview? Should I interview more scrappy people? Comment below or join the conversation on facebook or twitter.

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Stephanie