Do you have the craft gene?

I always wanted to be crafty.  Growing up, I really enjoyed arts and crafts, but I was not the creative type.  I could follow a pattern or design that I discovered somewhere, but was never much of a "free-hander" as far as art went.  I did a couple counted cross stiches - you know, where you have a pattern and sew X's in various colors on top of it (like paint by number... I can do those too).

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Some people, like my grandmother, sew much more complex designs without a pattern!

Probably the most creative I got were lanyards:

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And home-made bell bottoms... Groovy baby!  *I definitely had shoes like that too*

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Now that I'm older, nothing has changed (you know, except the whole bell bottom thing).  But what I've realized is that while I may not be a "from-scratch" artist, I still enjoy putting things together in a fun and creative way to make something new.  It's like cooking - I don't make each individual ingredient, but can combine bought items to make a delicious dish.  Or putting an outfit together - bell bottoms were as far as I got in clothes-making, but I like to think I can combine various articles of clothing into a fun and unique outfit.


During our trip to Hawaii, I found myself quickly losing track of all the sites we had seen and meals we had eaten.  I decided that I wanted to put together a photo book/journal of our trip.  My initial thought of a notebook with written descriptions and a picture here or there turned into a full-blown scrapbook.  I bought a photo album in Hawaii and when I got home, I went to town.

Tiki photo album

Less than a week after our trip, Brendan and I were going to be on the East Coast visiting with both sets of my grandparents, my parents, his brother and his parents over the course of a week and a half.  I really jumped in with both feet on the scrapbook so that I could show them all what we had done on our trip.  After 3 trips to CVS to develop pictures, 3 trips to Michael's for craft supplies, and at least 30 hours of work, it was finished.

Sure, I didn't draw anything by hand or design the book itself, but I am super proud of the final product!  It is completely personalized with pictures, written accounts, postcards picked up along the way, restaurant menus, and stickers (you can buy a sticker for ANYTHING!).  I picked out the colors and patterns used in the book and somehow finished with the last day of our trip on the last page of the book.  I learned a lot in the process and certain aspects at the end of the book reflect that.  I am excited to put together another scrapbook (and experience whatever it is that I deem "scrapbook worthy"!).

Have you ever created a scrapbook?  Any little secrets or insights to share?