INSPIRATION HITS WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

January 6, 2021

One of my goals since moving in our new house was to go back through my older photo albums and scrapbooks not only to enjoy them again, but also to see if I might be able to do some editing. Of course, then 2020 came along and all I could think about was survival, right?

So here we are in a fresh new year and I’m getting started on that project. As a coach in Stacy Julian’s Photo Freedom class, I will be doing some deep work with my photos this year, which makes this album project perfectly timed.

While I am a pretty prolific scrapbooker/memory keeper, I don't consider myself an artist by any means. I try not to scroll too much social media because it gives me comparison anxiety and paralysis creatively. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing beautiful layouts and new processes, but if I want to get something done, I simply need to dive in and start playing. Easier said than done.

I randomly grabbed a book from my shelf and started turning the pages and was instantly transported back in time. Trips with my teenage daughter and priceless moments and stories of when I liked to think I was a ‘cool mom’, traveling to ThesCon with a truckload of teens and being called Momma White. That kinda made me feel old; still, I loved it all the same. Then I came across this spread:

Not only did I still love it, I felt a tad proud of it! I looked more closely and noticed all the details, the paint, the stamps, the hand drawn doodles, the spray ink. I was taken back to not only the time when my daughter decided prom would be more fun with friends than with her boyfriend at the time (it was), but also to the time when I really enjoyed scrapbooking and intentionally set aside time to do it. I have made some remarkably lovely pages and told some meaningful stories that would have been forgotten had I not taken the time to document them.

Some pages were pretty, some were simple, some were funny, some were sad. Some focused on the photos, like the prom pages, but many focused on journaling, even hidden journaling for the tougher times. But our story was THERE. All the parts and pieces that make up a life. Our life.

I also realized I had forgotten how therapeutic scrapbooking and memory keeping is and can be. After seeing several pages, I felt a surge of happiness and an instant desire to get out my paints and play. I CAN do this. And I will intentionally schedule the time to do this.

If you’re lacking in inspiration, maybe you only need to look as far as something you’ve completed in the past. You may realize that YOU, your stories, your photos, your life - are all the inspiration you need.

Let me know what inspires you in the comments or DM me on Instagram @photoburrito.