Scrapbooking September

I love September. It’s a month that brings a crisp feeling to the morning air signalling that the seasons are changing, the days get shorter and you can enjoy guilt-free comforting food like apple crumble!

With the change of season starting in September, it brings with it a symbolism of change and a new start for me more than any other month. Perhaps it was because a new school or university year began in September, but at this time of year I always have the urge to start a new journey and learn something new. In September I feel the desire to buy fresh stationary supplies, a new pretty notebook and a pen. Last September I took an evening class to learn to knit. I had a huge sense of satisfaction when I got to take notes on the first page of that new notebook for the first time and picked up the basics.  

This week I wrote about my love of photography and posted up two photo collages. I love taking photos and really enjoyed putting together the collages and the short blurb to go with each image. I think the blog post came from my underlying desire to start scrapbooking. For many months I’ve been thinking about dabbling in scrapbooking either with paper or digitally so that I can combine photos, memories and my love of patterned paper and fabric. I’m so inspired by those who craft beautiful scrapbook pages for their albums, keeping a lasting memory of events that have happened, whether they are big events such as a special birthday or small things like going for coffee at a cafe.

I haven’t made any progress to start scrapbooking yet, partly due to the cost of setting up a stash of embellishments, partly because I’m trying to focus my learning on sewing and gardening, but perhaps there is room for one more new thing to try out!  I have some pretty papers, some clear stamps, plenty of photos and a keen desire to go for it and document what I’m doing. I’ve enjoyed making cards for friends and family this year so hopefully I’ll like scrapbooking too.

Something happened on Saturday morning that made me take that leap I’ve needed.  An email newsletter landed in my inbox that I felt I was drawn to read and follow up on. The newsletter was from Shimelle.com and was about her annual class that she runs called Learn Something New Every Day. Shimelle is a highly talented scrapbooker with a fantastic blog that I regularly take a look at and am inspired by. I was drawn to this statement that Shimelle posted on her blog the following:

“Learn Something New is all about being aware of the world around you and taking away one little lesson from that world each day for a month. You can approach it in terms of gratitude. Or patience. Or steps toward a goal. You can then take on the documentation in any style you want: write in a journal. Make a minibook. Write daily blog posts. Take a daily photo”.

It sounds great doesn’t it?...and with that thought I signed up! I’m hoping that by having something to inspire me everyday and to focus on will be the gentle introduction to scrapbooking I need. Take a look at Shimelle.com to find out more about the course.

September is a great month to learn something new, start a new routine and begin a new journey. I’m looking forward to seeing what I learn over the next month of experimenting with paper, using my photos and writing, to hopefully create something by the end of the month. I’ll let you know how I get on!