Scariest Things for Scrapbookers: Part Boo!

Happy Halloween! Oct. 31 is the one day of the year we get to spend celebrating all things spooky and scary, like monsters, ghosts, ghouls, bad luck and things that go bump in the night. However, scrapbookers have their own set of fears and phobias. Last year, we posted some of the Scariest Things for Scrapbookers, and this year, we’re adding a few more spine-tingling trepidations to that list!

DIEHARD SCRAPBOOKERS BEWARE: You may want to read this one with the lights on…

• 

It all begins with a seemingly-innocent, typical day of crafting. In fact, if anything, today has been above-average: You created tons of layouts, tried out new ideas and are filled with the satisfaction that one can only get from a long, productive day in a craft room. And this final layout of the day? The one that you’re working on now? It’s your best one yet! Everything’s arranged on the page and it’s time to slap on some adhesive and finish it up.

You reach for your Tape Runner in the same absentminded way you’ve done all day. You lift up your photo, flip it around, press the mouth of the Tape Runner down and drag. You expect to be greeted with those tiny, familiar adhesive bubbles and the sweet sound of tape being ripped from its backing, but instead, you hear and see nothing. Just like that, all the positivity and happiness you were filled with turns to instant dread. Your Tape Runner has run out and you know in your soul that you don’t have any Refills.

It’s time to enter emergency mode. You hastily yet gently lift up your layout from the bottom as if it were a wounded bird. “Everyone out of my way! I love this layout too much to let it go!” Now is not a time for politeness — it’s a time for action. Nothing on the layout is taped down, so one shove or misstep can ruin the entire thing! Thankfully, you are no novice and can navigate your way through this tragedy. You have a safe space in your home where you know the layout won’t get budged or be disturbed. You set it down safely out of the reach of pets, children and husbands and head straight to your CM site to order more Refills. Crisis averted… until next time.

• 

Here you are, scrolling through Facebook like you do regularly. You see photos of babies, scan rants from people you went to high school with and memes that make you chuckle. Suddenly, you get a notification that makes you sit up straight — a scrapbooking friend near you has created an event and you’ve been invited!

Adrenaline shoots through your system like a thousand cups of coffee. Your mind begins to race as you imagine the all the layouts and laughs you’ll have at the event. You head over to your calendar to mark off the dates of the event — you can’t have anything interfering with your schedule! But when you get there, you realize something truly bone-chilling…

Other obligations aren’t going to get in the way of the event because other obligations are already on the calendar for that weekend!

Impossible! This can’t be right! You sprint back to your computer and visit the Find a Creative Memories Event Near Me page to see if maybe, just maybe, your friend got the date wrong. Alas, the date is correct. Your scrapbooking friends will be meeting up and crafting the weekend away while you’ll be driving to a small town you’ve never heard of to celebrate the gender reveal party for a distant cousin you haven’t spoken to in years.

You’ve been defeated. As much as you’d like to, you can’t break your plans and have to sit this event out. You head back to the Facebook event page, move your cursor to the RSVP section and click “Maybe.” (Hey, you never know what could happen!)

• 

There’s no denying it: We live in a society run by technology. Each of us relies on it in so many different ways, and while scrapbooking remains a pretty tried-and-true traditional activity, we’d be lying if we said we haven’t incorporated technological advancements into our memory-keeping process. In most instances, technology (like digital cameras) has made things quicker, easier and just plain better.

But what happens when technology fights back? When, for no apparent reason, the universe decides you’ve had it too good for too long? When technology thinks you’ve gotten a bit too comfortable and serves you up a steaming piece of humble pie.

What happens is an absolute mystery in the most frustrating way possible. You insert your memory card into your computer and are greeted with an error message. Just like that, your photos are gone. What happened? There’s no physical damage to the card and it’s only been in your camera or computer. How could this happen? Okay sure, you removed the memory card once or twice without pressing the “Eject” button, but honestly, doesn’t everyone do that??

The worst part is that unless you or someone you know is a technical wiz, the mystery will likely never be solved. We use and rely on technology but we certainly haven’t mastered it. While malfunctions can be few and far between, when they do happen, it causes a frustration and helplessness like no other. And makes you think twice about backing up your hard drive…

We don’t know if there’s such a thing as a perfect day for scrapbooking but today is as good a day as any. You are loaded up on supplies (including Tape Runner Refills), your schedule is wide open and your photos are imported and printed correctly. There’s nothing left to do but crop and crop and crop some more!

You look down at the paper, photos and supplies, and to your shock and horror, nothing happens. You’re stuck staring at a blank page and no ideas come to you. What gives? Where are the great ideas?

Determined to get something done, you start putting pieces of paper in different places but it still looks wrong. Nothing seems right, and just when your frustration peaks, you look at the clock and see you’ve been sitting there for an hour and haven’t done a thing! At this rate, you’re about to waste an entire day of crafting because you can’t think of any ideas!

Desperately, you sprint into the bathroom and lock the door behind you. What’s wrong? Why aren’t any thoughts coming to me? Where did my creativity go? You turn on the sink and splash some cold water on your face, but when you look up, you come eye-to-eye with your enemy.

It’s you.

The creativity didn’t go anywhere and the imagination is still in there. You’re just in your own head! This happens not only with scrapbookers, but also creative people in general. Creative block is a real thing, and if you let it get you down, then it only gets worse.

How do you fix it? By facing it head-on. Go back into that craft room, sit down and just do something. Whatever comes to mind first, put that on the page. Motivation doesn’t inspire action, action inspires more action. There’s no need to overthink it — your layouts are going to be great because you made them.

Also, if you do want inspiration, feel free to check out our blog, Instagram or Pinterest.

We hope we didn’t scare you too much with this list of scrapbooking fears! What are some other nightmares we left off this list? Let us know in the comments below!