Scrapbooking Your Way Out of a Muddle

A thing of the past for many, scrapbooking in the old-fashioned way is becoming a lost art. Magazine cutouts have been replaced with digital images, which Pinterest makes incredibly easy to pin and store away for future reference. As convenient as that may be, the world’s largest digital scrapbook leaves something out, at least for the non-millennial brain that is so used to paperbacks and hardcopies, and wants to touch, feel, and collect “real” paper, “real” magazines and “real” books. (Yes, I’m a dinosaur 🙂 ) As much as I love pinning away (and I really, really do!) I can’t help thinking that there’s also a sense of impermanence, that “out of sight, out of mind” feeling with Pinterest. 

A couple of years ago, at a local thrift shop, I came across two large scrapbooks on garden design and decoration. The folders are huge and the images (cutouts from magazines that are sadly long gone) date back to as early as 1997. I cannot begin to imagine the time and effort that went into these collections and to find them discarded made me sad (partly because I am sure they were not discarded by their maker), but also touched and wanting to save them and give these images new life and purpose. 

Maybe it is silly getting emotional over someone else’s scrapbooks, but they also inspired me to start scrapbooking ideas for my own projects and home.  No matter what the digital age has brought, I still like having albums filled to the brim with rooms I love and handwritten notes on the side for details to notice, record and remember. They help me out of decorating muddles, more often than not. And who knows, maybe one day someone will want to save them too, and find in them inspiration and beauty just like I have found in these two scrapbooks, made by a kindred spirit. 

What about you? Do you still scrapbook, cut-and-paste style? Let us all know in the comments below! Wishing you a great weekend! 

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16 Comments

  1. Sharon
    May 21, 2021 / 7:12 am

    Eva, thank you for rescuing these scrapbooks filled with pictures/ideas/dreams. Someone somewhere is happy that her scrapbooks were saved by another dear heart, another dreamer.

  2. Janet
    May 21, 2021 / 7:12 am

    I have a three-ring binder of magazine images that inspired me…it was a relaxing hobby in times of stress. Maybe I need to start that again–but the magazines can be expensive and storing the binder(s) takes up physical space. You’re right about Pinterest; I have a lot of lovely photos stored that I never look at. I just forget they’re there.

  3. ellen
    May 21, 2021 / 7:16 am

    I also have 2 huge three ring binders full of magazine and newspaper articles about gardening and decorating. Some date back to the 1980’s House Beautiful magazines when chintz was so popular. I still love each and every room! I am old school, too. There is nothing like real paper and real books. I also have all the Victoria magazines from day one, some Mary Engelbriet, Romantic Homes and Country Gardens. I refer to them occasionally to remind me what I truly love. Sometimes I can get side tracked, but I always go back to the Romantic classics. My beloved binders will probably end up in some thrift shop someday, but that’s ok. I know there are people like you who might be thrilled by them!

    • Janet
      May 21, 2021 / 7:29 am

      It really is great to see what you loved, still love, and how your tastes have evolved. I still reference my grandmother’s house all the time, even though my own house is in a different style.

      • Kathy Menold
        May 21, 2021 / 1:11 pm

        I still tear out pictures on decorating ideas, recipes and gardening tips and photos from magazines and save them in a folder. Even though I now get most of my magazines on line I still buy some special ones and get a few by mail. Someday my children will toss out my scrapbooks and notebooks and I hope someone like you finds them and enjoys them.

  4. Diana Bier
    May 21, 2021 / 9:56 am

    Great post, Eva. I also have a few binders with magazine photos of rooms and gardens that I love. I have them preserved in plastic sleeves and go through them from time to time. As I still receive some magazines in the mail, there are some pages that I like to keep and add to my collection, but not as many as in the past when I would receive at least 5 magazines monthly!

  5. May 21, 2021 / 11:03 am

    What a treasure trove! I remember some of those articles. I do still keep some paper clippings, and during the pandemic, I transferred some to a hardbound blank book that I found at a craft store. They’re nice enough looking that I can put them on the shelves with my design books, which means that I refer to them more often. Great post, Eva!

  6. Mary Fran
    May 22, 2021 / 4:28 am

    I too have a some folders filled with wonderful inspiration from magazines long gone. I enjoy looking through them for inspiration and am amazed that, while my tastes have evolved, the very core of what I love remains the same. I do pin to Pinterest, but agree, out of sight out of mind but I am able to find and pin ideas that typically aren’t as common in print publications. I no longer subscribe to print publications since none seem mesh with my style, but I do miss pouring over the glossy pages.

  7. Linda
    May 22, 2021 / 1:53 pm

    I’m with you – I still have folders and folders filled with images clipped from magazines — and I go back to them every now and then to see how much my tastes haven’t really changed all that much. I still like what I always liked, only a little less cluttered than that 80’s and 90’s look. And I agree with earlier commenters here to this post that current magazines just don’t do it for me — only rarely will I come across a home that I LOVE. I understand that the magazines need to stay current, grow their demographic, etc., but I’ve found more on your posts! Thanks for all you do to continue to inspire us!

  8. Karen B.
    May 22, 2021 / 4:51 pm

    I have saved images from decor magazines since forever and I still refer to them for inspiration and ideas. I do feel a little sad that you found someone’s hard work in a thrift shop. I guess that could happen to any of us. Still, I’m glad you saved the book.
    xo,
    Karen

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      May 26, 2021 / 6:45 am

      Thanks so much, Karen! I’m happy to have found them… xo, Eva

  9. Caroline
    May 23, 2021 / 9:23 am

    It’s interesting that finding these at a thrift shop made you feel sad; my reaction was — that’s so nice that someone didn’t just toss them out, but took them to a thrift shop and the thrift shop accepted them. And these look like they could have been done by you — very New England. Obviously a kindred spirit!

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      May 26, 2021 / 6:44 am

      Thanks so much, Caroline! I was lucky to have found them! xo, Eva

  10. Terry
    May 24, 2021 / 11:09 am

    What an interesting post.
    I have several large binders of scrapbooks that I began in 1973. Home and kitchen, sewing and gardening ideas. This was an era when we decorated with Martex sheets. Back then, magazines were expensive on a student’s wages, and although I didn’t have the money to decorate a tiny apartment the way I wanted, those magazine clippings allowed me to dream and plan and save. The articles informed my taste about quality. Those magazines were my design bibles.

    It’s a bit sad to think of the scrapbooks being discarded because each one tells the story of that person’s hopes and dreams for a more beautiful life and home.

    • Eva Contreras
      Author
      May 26, 2021 / 6:43 am

      So well said, Terry! It’s bittersweet but I feel lucky to have stumbled upon them… xo, Eva

  11. Carolyn
    May 31, 2021 / 9:18 am

    Love this post! I have been saving magazine decorating and gardening articles since the late 70’s, and have a two drawer file cabinet full, plus part of another! I definitely have a preference for paper. I have purged some of the files, especially when we moved seven years ago, but I still refer to them. It is very interesting to see how my tastes have been fairly consistent through the various iterations of trends through the decades. I have always loved older homes and antiques, with a preference for a slightly more rustic/country look, especially English and European cottages. I, too, kept my older copies of Victoria magazine. I still prefer print magazines to digital, and though I now have lots of photos saved in One Note on my computer (I look at Pinterest, but don’t save things there), I still like paper photos best. I buy British decorating magazines because I prefer the style and they are not so trendy or new and perfect looking as many American magazine features are. I can totally relate to the lady who made this lovely scrapbook. I suppose my children will throw it out after I’m gone, and though I don’t anticipate ever having another house to decorate, and all of the clippings no longer relate to the style of house I have now, I still find joy in them.