Too much of a good thing?

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I did something this week that I hadn’t done in a very, very long time – I logged on to a scrapbooking website and bought something! Not only have I not purchased anything from a scrapbook shop (online) in a good long time, I hadn’t even gone on to any sites just to browse. I just didn’t feel the need to!


What prompted this purchase was also real need – I am going to a scrapbooking retreat this weekend and I was nearly out of adhesive so I had to order some online. Sure, while I was there I had a little look at the shop but ended up buying some more, practical, things like post extenders (which I also need) and a cardstock pack for a specific project I’ll be working on.


It’s been about two years since I decided to stop buying scrapbooking stuff ‘just because it’s there’ and focused more on using what I have. It was a little hard at first (although I have always struggled to spend hundreds in stash at one time) but now it’s become second nature, so much that I don’t even visit scrapbooking sites anymore. I am also very lucky that at our monthly all-day crop we have a lovely shop so I can always browse there – even though I rarely buy anything.


Once I was in the shop site and found my adhesive, I thought I’d have a little look around to see what was new and pretty, what would catch my eye, what would make a nice, indulgent treat. I found nothing. It’s not the shop’s fault because they have fantastic selection (and shipped my order really, really quickly so I had it in time for the weekend) so it must be me. Lots of things looked very pretty but not my style or too messy or too expensive or too fiddly or just too weird. Who comes up with these things? Are they designed to look pretty in the package so that you buy them, but then unusable?


I’ve said this before – scrapbooking is more about commerce and marketing these days and some of the ranges available are just gorgeous to look at but not really practical or usable or fit in with my personal style. I guess my style is now not fashionable and I must work around with what’s available.

Besides, I don’t actually NEED all that stuff! I shop once a year, stocking up on patterned paper and a few embellishments and then spend the rest of the year trying to use it up. It works for me, for my economy and for my sanity – I would go crazy trying to store all that stuff in the very limited space I have!


I still very, very much enjoy scrapbooking (as long as I’m not in the photos these days, ugh) and am really looking forward to the weekend when I can scrap to my heart’s content, chat with my friends, enjoy some lovely meals and some ME time (including a nice brisk walk in my new running skirt) and hopefully come back with a couple of finished projects. I have enough stuff to more than cover my needs for the weekend so I don’t need to buy anything else!

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