Friend Friday!

Our Week 2 installment of Friend Friday features Lindsy. We met while attending the same church back in Grand Rapids. I'm thankful that our families have stayed in touch even after moves on both parts, even if we don't see them as often as before. Lindsy knits but it is scrapbooking that I asked her to write about because it's something she does very well. I have a hard time scrapbooking, I must admit. Lindsy also was the one to start "pestering" (or persisitently suggesting) me about using cloth diapers. After hearing from a few other people about them as well, I caved in and am now so glad I did! I admire Lindsy and hope you enjoy her as well!

I am a SAHM of three *very* active little boys ~ they are my main reason and passion behind my scrapbooking *ahem* obsession....errrr...hobby :o) I have been scrapbooking for many years though (well, maybe *many* was a stretch ~ I'm not THAT old), my mom made scrapbooks for my sister and me ~ and we loved to look through them when we were little. Once I was in high school I started my own scrapbooks (someone had to photograph the cat and rat dissections in Biology right?!?), of course I wasn't scrapping in the right way then, so unfortunately those scrapbooks won't last very long ~ however when my oldest son, Griffin, was born I learned how to scrapbook correctly (with acid-free and lignin-free products) and from there it has just grown. For Christmas I make 12x12 calendars for my parents, my sister and my in-laws, I have scrapbooked a couple of my friends' and roommate's weddings (and I am currently working on my sister's wedding scrapbook). I love to scrapbook and I don't understand how people can say that they aren't "creative" enough to scrapbook ~ believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it! When it comes to being artistic, my sister definitely received the lion's share in our family :o)
I really enjoy being able to make scrapbooks and calendars for people ~ I think the full effect of just how important pictures are to me was when my grandpa passed away in November 2006. It was so comforting to be able to pull out lay-outs that I had made of him and my oldest two boys (my youngest son wasn't born until after Grandpa passed) and now this past August we lost another grandparent (PawPaw ~ I am making a memory album for Nana ~ it is full of lay-outs of Nana and PawPaw when they were younger as well as their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) and my great grandmother passed away recently. It is so nice to be able to open a scrapbook and see pictures of them and to be able to share stories about them with my boys.
So needless to say one of my pet peeves is boxes and boxes of pictures just sitting ~ what good are pictures in boxes?!? :o) They need to be preserved and their stories told.
Every few months a friend and I get together and do a 24-hour scrapbooking marathon. I absolutely love it! We sleep for about 5 hours (at most) and just talk and scrapbook away ~ without kids, without husbands, without distractions ~ it is great!
I've started to make cards now so I can use up all of the scraps I save ~ I have a hard time throwing away patterned paper and cardstock, so I've been saving it in folders. But now the folders are full so I figured it was time to start using the scraps instead of collecting them :o) Some of my *lucky* family members will be getting handmade cards for their birthdays ~ but I won't say who!

Scrappy Giraffe Designs - Lindsy's scrapbooking website