I apologize for the delay here but trust me, it was worth it! CHA was full of amazing things and it took 4 days to take it all in. This post is the first of a yet to be determined series about some trends and innovations I discovered at CHA. I think, as a total and complete crafting addict myself, I feel a bit out of the loop when I just see pictures of this or that without any explanation…. I am hoping to remedy this in my own little way.
I spent a lot of time talking with the folks who created and designed the products as well as everyday customers, like ourselves here, about what they thought. The first thing that struck me was the fact that Scrapbooking *is* indeed being redefined. I think Papercrafting with a memory/documentary emphasis would be a better term. The demographic is still holding…us 20-40 somethings drive the industry and folks under 30 tend to not only embrace the digital aspect but, they are more likely to get all those wonderful gadgets and techie type toys as well.
The evolution in the typical “scrapbooker” has taken on a huge number of offshoots that has left the industry scratching it’s head and wondering exactly what to make of it. I will use Prima as a prime example. I stood in the Prima booth, looking over the loverlie flowers and such and met a wonderful gentleman who was just SMITTEN with the mini acrylic binders (I admit it here…. I was too- they were just so cool…..) He had absolutely no interest in scrapping a typical 12 x 12 album page or even using paper- none. He wanted to use paint, scraps of found items, Copic markers, and glitter to create his masterpiece. I asked him about his thoughts on “scrapbooking” and he said that he did not believe that he was a scrapbooker at all and most likely would never be…he was an archivist of the everyday. Fascinating. After meeting this gentleman, I decided that scoping out products would not be my mission, afterall, I had seen many of them already in sneak peeks (or at the Winter CHA show in Anaheim) and the whole “walking the show floor” was in many ways anti-climatic because I knew what to expect…this gentleman and his response on the other hand, were totally unexpected.
So, my question to you is, how do you define Scrapbooking? My guess is that your answer will not be as clear as these little binders….. As a “documentor of memories”, there is so much available to us to creatively express ourselves however, without a clear idea of what it is you would like to accomplish, finding the right materials to tell your story is part of the adventure I suppose.
Are you looking for more Christmas Holiday papers and supplies? Check out these printable designs we found on Etsy and these fun festive Scrapbooking embellishments for Christmas we found.
Check out these other Christmas-themed posts for project ideas and tutorials for Holiday Scrapbooking. Love Christmas as much as we do? Join our Christmas Crafts & DIY Facebook group. or follow our Christmas Pinterest Boards
