The thing about scrapbooking

When I first started, I have absolutely no clue how to go about it.

There are really a lot of paper, embellishments, hardware to buy. I would go to the store and just "jaw drop" and not know what to get.

I thought about the photos I want to scrap and tried to buy the paper and stuff that I think would go along. Sometimes, it did; sometimes  it didn't. In the end, I had to make a few trips and almost am randomly buying stuff. All these embellishments, ribbons, paper don't come cheap. I started to collect but I still wasn't getting anywhere.

My good friend was kind enough to come by and lend me some of her beautiful paper punches and to offer precious advice is terms of layout and I managed to finish these 12x12 after 3 afternoons each, spread over a couple of weeks, with lots of thinking in between.

not very efficient if you ask me.

I then decided, that part of being creative was to make use of EXISTING materials, instead of keep having to buy.

I still do buy, of course I have to. I need to replenish and I need to build a stash. But most of the time now, before I make a purchase, esp high value items, I ask myself how versatile it is and how many projects I can possibly do with them.

eg, I buy paper punches with classic designs that won't go out of time or be used for once before I get bored of the design.

I also recently bought a kit from Websterspages in their Nov warehouse sale.The box only cost USD20 and shipping it here probably cost me more. But they had collections of printed lightweight paper which helps tremendously in laying-out, and it also had a lot of ribbons. I looked at some of them and wondered how and when will I use those. They were bright, gaudy coloured, stuff that I would probably not buy. However, I'm pretty proud to say that I have used them in a lot of my recent projects.

Whenever I need some embellishments, ribbons or touch up, I would go dig that Webster box and lo! and behold! I would be sure to find something I could use. Mind you, I didn't choose any of the items in the box.

I'm pretty proud and happy with myself.

In conclusion, I would continue to buy 'generic' stuff and probably even invest in 1 or 2 subscription kits to establish a supply of papers and other paraphernalia that I can use.

Disclaimer: Buy only if you are actively scrapping. otherwise, the stash would simple be wasted. I have started from 2 boxes to almost a cupboard full :) But I really do love scrapping.