The Reason Why

In 1996, I was invited to a friends house on evening to learn about a new hobby that was sweeping the world: Scrapbooking, of course! From that minute I was hooked and over the past 15 years I have seen so many new trends, purchased some truly wonderful products and met the most amazing people. I have created lots of pages that I adore and a few (ha ha) that I wish I'd done differently, but the one thing that hasn't changed in all that time is the main reason WHY I scrapbook.

In recent years, I have found my desire to become a cutting edge (pardon the pun!) scrapbooker, using the most current products, teaching and inspiring others. I have even been fortunate (and blessed) to become a DESIGNER for Two Scrapbook Friends my local scrapbook store, a fabulous sketch site called My Sketch World and most recently, an inspiration blog, called Practical Scrappers. While all this challenges me and inspires me to be better and grow as a scrapbooker, the main reason I scrapbook is to preserve memories for my family and create ART of which I am proud.

In that vein, I created this layout using SEI's Corrine line. I really liked the idea of a centrally located photos and the papers really allowed me to highlight the melon and blue in the photos. The background papers are machine stitched to the kraft base.  I have inked the edges and added some rub ons (Daisy Bucket) along the right side in the exact melon shade.

Finally once I added the pictures I fussy cut the Flowers from patterned paper and popped them up on the edge of the chipboard trim (MME). I added the diecuts, also from Corrine and some taupe ribbon from Stampin Up! The added touch of the scalloped border punch and butterflies are all from Martha Stewart.

The title (in American Craft Thickers) came to me while listening to my Scrappy Playlist on my iTouch. The song The Reason Why (hee hee) by Little Big Town got me thinking about what I do and why I do it with such passion. So, if you're feeling a creative slump or feeling the pressures to produce the perfect page, just remember your REASON WHY. I hope that it helps you get back to the beginning of your creative journey, where the passion and excitement for this wonderful craft set you on the journey you are on today.

More than ever: keep doing what you love to do! (and remember why you do it!)