The Manly Side of Scrapbooking

Beer, Bikes, Babes And A Short History Lesson

The Manly Side of Scrapbooking

Yes!  Of course there is a manly side.  Some of the first scrap bookers to make scrapbooking history were men and not just any kind of man either.  Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson and Rutherford B. Hayes are a few names to drop.  Early scrappers would paste clippings, drawings and diary entries in their scrapbooks.  Come on!  If guys like these would scrap why would any of today’s men even have to think twice?  You can't use the old, "I don't have any time" excuse either.  These famous males were surely pressed for time, too!

Read the excerpt from PBS below, to learn about Mark Twain’s contribution to scrapbooking.

“Mark Twain was a lifelong creator and keeper of scrapbooks. He took them with him everywhere and filled them with souvenirs, pictures, and articles about his books and performances. But in time, he grew tired of the lost glue, rock-hard paste, and the swearing that resulted from the standard scrapbook process. So, he came up with the idea of printing thin strips of glue on the pages to make updates neat and easy to do. In 1872, he patented his “self-pasting” scrapbook, and by 1901, at least 57 different types of his albums were available. It would be his only invention that ever made money.”

For those who were not wealthy enough to buy paper, they simply pasted over old books.  (I do that, too! It will be in an upcoming blog about custom made books.  Look for it!)  Although, that doesn't seem to be the case in the beautiful example given above.

In a Good Housekeeping article, I read how staying connected to your past can increase your present happiness.  This does come as hind sight bias.  Duh!  Who ever regrets maintaining great friendships?  I couldn’t agree more with Gretchen’s statement,  “That’s why photographs, scrapbooks, souvenirs, home movies, and other memory prompts are so precious and so worth the effort, despite our time-crunched days.” 

I keep thinking, “Oh yes!  I will remember this moment forever.”  Yeah, right!  I can’t remember what I ate for dinner 2 days ago.  I am always very pleased when I come across a picture that I’ve completely forgotten about and the entire scene gets played in my head like a movie.  I couldn’t do that without the pictures there to help me.  Don’t forget to put names and dates with your pictures because you WILL forget.  I can’t think how many times I patted myself on the back for writing  dates and names on the back of an old picture because I forgot one or the other or even both!

There are several articles about scrapbooking history that you can find on-line, but I would rather live the experience and make history myself through my own scrapbooks.  The people who appreciate and perhaps even those few who do not, will look through their custom made books, made with so much love and thought and appreciate them twice as much 10 or 20 years down the road.  The rush of memories that will come and the ensuing smiles to follow will melt their hearts again and again.  That is the power of scrapbooking.

Whether man or woman, traditional or digital, scrapbooking is not only an awesome hobby to engage in, unwind and enjoy, but the pleasure you will spread to those whom you endow with your special gift will keep the happiness going for years to come.  I look over my own scrapbooks all of the time and I never tire of them.  Even some of the first ones I made which were not nearly matched to the standards of my present day projects, are just as enjoyable to peruse.  

With all of the different styles, techniques and options, scrapbooking is for everyone.  Spending time behind the computer to do a digital scrapbook, might be just what one needs to relax and let the stress melt away.  All of your materials are literally right there at your finger tips.  If you like getting down and dirty with your projects, then go traditional.  The market is enormous, your finished projects are very rewarding, if you are giving it as a gift, you can bet it will be greatly appreciated and the memories that will come flooding back will make you glad you did it.  There are just so many advantages to scrapbooking that you may as well get started today!


(Pictures are all from Google image search.)