An American Hobby

I love scrapbooking....gosh I sound so 'Amrican'....but I do. It is one of those hobbies that really allows me to use my creativity (the little I have) and it is one heck of a stress reliever. I got into it after seeing my american sister-in-law's creations and now I totally love it.

There is a huge industry of scrapooking out there that I just wasn't aware of and familiar about until I came to the US. All the popular crafts stores have aisles and aisles of scrapbooking materials, paraphranelia that of course make you want to take it up immediately with their beautiful designs, colors and textures. Even the paper, the basic material of this craft comes in splendid colors and patterns. A mere look at them and your imagination can run amok with ideas.

I started scrapbooking after D's first birthday and since then have created two books, one for him and one for A, after she arrived. I only scrapbook birthdays and may be a few other special occasions, depending on my mood and motivation. It is just my third year but every time I open the books, I can't help but revel in the beautiful memories each page holds taking me down memory lane, making me realize how fast my childen are growing, giving me yet another opportunity to relive the celebrations we have had, those special days made even more with fun, family and friends. I also hope that these books will eventually turn into valuable keepsakes for both of them, will help them see how much thought, love and time went into creating them.

I never really had a hobby growing up. My life revolved around sports (if you want to call that a hobby) with really no time and energy left for anything else. Hence I am totally enjoying this new found love, this new experience of creating pages and pages of memorabilia. I tell ya, I am completely hooked!