Scrapbooking - not going digital - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Ann-Hank · RV-Dreams Family Member

Scrapbooking - not going digital

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've been scrapbooking for 15+ years now and it's my creative outlet. I really had resigned myself to digital scrapbooking for FT RV'ing, but am having lots of second thoughts on that. I will continue to work full time and since I work on the computer all day, really could not bring myself to transfer my hobby to the computer, it just felt too much like work.

So, I'm planning to bring my Cricket, some basic tools and a limited amount of paper and just scrapbook the pages as we go along. DH is totally supportive of this since it's my one big hobby. He also loves the fact that when we suddenly realize we're needing to get a Birthday or other type of card out in the mail, I can just crank one out on my Cricket and have fun doing it!! Saves us a trip to the store to pick out a card. Once a year we'll be back in our "home" area where we'll have a storage room for the memorabilia we can't get rid of and I figure I'll just deposit any finished books or pages at that time.

Has anyone else done this? Any advice?

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Ann!! Shared this with Dale, we remember passing you on I-5 as we were all headed north from Harrisburg, maybe next time our paths cross we can share hobby stories, DRV stories, travel stories, etc !!!

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

My DW has just gotten into scrapbooking and I was surprised at how much stuff she has accumulated. We've gotten a couple of Tool Rolling Carts to keep her dies, paper and other stuff. She has a cricket and some machines from Ellison. Most of it fits in the floor of the 5th wheel when we travel. I wonder if that was the cause of the spring breaking on the last trip.....

She takes over the dining/desk area to setup to scrapbook. So we end up eating on TV trays or out doors.

It sure would be a lot easier and take less space if she had gotten into digital.

-- Edited by The Bear II on Wednesday 9th of January 2013 10:49:03 AM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ann-Hank wrote:
Hi Ruth, This is all new to us also, I am/was a quilted! I have 3 plus sewing machines left, and not sure I can part with any of them. I had 7!! ( Bernina 180 embroidery, my Moms Singer feather weight, and a surger) Yesterday we did our first purge and shipped off over 100lbs of quilts and tools to the kids. I still have 2 tottes full of fabric ...I see the next purge cocoming.
I feel it's important to remember This is our home and life!! We have to have our hobbies and oucoming.
Ann

Ann,

Check out the link below to see what we did for Jo's interest with "sewing." For the most part, Jo only has one machine and taking an idea from another forum member (Jerry and Carol - Waggintailrv), we built a sewing cabinet for her in the back of the trailer.

Hey, It's Just Life

Now, it won't help you with your situation of multiple machines, but one reason we bought the Mobile Suites 38TKSB3 was because with the desk angling off from the entertainment center and to the peninsula counter, Jo could use the sewing cabinet, the dinette, and the desk/entertainment area for her work. Who knows when she will decide she needs a serger again.

Terry

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bear - LOL, yes, I know it takes up less room to do the digital scrapbooking, but it's not nearly as much fun or personally satisfying IMO! Can you elaborate on the Tool Rolling carts? Where do you store them?

Terry - the desk will be my full time work space, however, I envision using it as my scrapbook space on the weekends. Just need to figure out how to rearrange and store everything as I try to multi task.

Ann-Hank · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry, I really like Jo's sewing cabinet. I'm not to crazy about the love seat in here, but the girls have decided it's their big dog bed. Will have to see how we adjust to our space, right now we're just trying to find a home for everything. The shed is almost cleaned out, just pictures to get scanned and shipped to the kids and my fabric. Hoping to be on the road by the end of the month.

Ann

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ann,

Heh, do you mean kind of like these? (We replaced our original recliners with this La-Z-Boy Reclinaway love seat.)

Lady is the black dog and TJ is the brown one, both being Miniature Pinchers.

In that blog post, the images show a "Euro-chair" with ottoman. Well, that is gone and has been replaced with a small single recliner. Which, judging by recent comments by Jo, may get replaced with a "home-made" chair with sizable storage in the base for fabric or whatever.

Who knows what that will look like? I have learned to not question her in her ideas for new projects.

Terry

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

LOL Terry!!
Who knows what that will look like? I have learned to not question her in her ideas for new projects.

How many years of marriage did that take????

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

NWescapee wrote:
LOL Terry!!
Who knows what that will look like? I have learned to not question her in her ideas for new projects.

How many years of marriage did that take????

As of last Christmas Day (December 25), 44 glorious years.

If we ever get the chance, I have ALL KINDS of stories to tell around a campfire, starting with the time she threw a knife.

Terry

bigredoes · RV-Dreams Family Member

NWEsc....my wife is also a cricut user (two machines) and a Stamping Up something or other.....we travel with more stuff than should be legal....but if it keeps her happy.....

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

It's good to hear that there are other scrapbookers out there. My wife enjoys scrapbooking and it is a great hobby for a fulltimer. She has amassed a lot of tools and techniques but hasn't done much with it since we moved to California. She is looking forward to having the free time to get more active with it again. We only have one cricut and I would certainly like to find a modification so you didn't have to buy all the cartridges for it!

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

MarkS - does your wife have the Gypsy attachment for the Cricut cartridges? With that she can download cartridges and load the images all on one device which means you don't have to carry all the cartridges around with you. I've found it's great for planning and reducing the amount of space my catridges can take up.

Sheryl E · RV-Dreams Community Member

Two purges to date. I loaded up all my stuff in the areas allotted me, and I admit, I'm taking less clothes to fit in my stash. Who needs clothes? Everything fit in beautifully, including my Epson for printing custom picture sizes. So much so, I dug out my Cricut and wedged it into an open space behind the linens. We're packing a craft table in the basement, and I'll get that out when we settle in for a while or rain is predicted. I have one rolling drawer set from Ikea with my primary tools in it. Everything else is stored in baskets. My current craft room is nearly half the size of our DP, so we'll see how I adjust.

I did find that careful packing fit a lot more in a much smaller space.

Craft on!

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sheryl - I had totally forgotten about this thread from 2.5 years ago. Happy to report back that I have adjusted to crafting on the road in a much smaller space. Given that my old craft space was a large table in our basement family room with storage bins under the table and a large set of shelves behind the table, it has been an adjustment. I use a portable table 4x2 foot table in the bedroom as my workspace and use the bed to lay out all my supplies, tools, sort pictures, etc. So, it's not something I can do on a whim or when I have a spare 20 minutes, takes 20 minutes just to set up and another 20 to pack it all away when I'm done, but it's still a wonderful creative outlet for me.

I find my scrapbooking to be a bit more simplistic than before, but yes, I am still scrapbooking and making cards. It's a great diversion for rainy days or days when it's too cold to go play outside, however, we have a lot less of those than we did while living in Western WA, so I do find that I'm usually running 9-12 months behind, but oh well, it's a hobby, doesn't have to be "caught up" like my job.

Our first summer back in our old "home base" as we shrunk the storage room with another massive purge, I felt very few regrets over anything we were getting rid of or anything we had left behind. The only emotional moment I had in the storage room was seeing some of my old scrapbook tools that I just don't have room to bring along and feeling a little sad, and also missing some of the scrapbooking conventions, classes, rubber stamping classes, etc. I would go to with a very good friend, or just the lazy Saturday afternoons when we would get together for a 6 hour marathon scrapbooking session and then get the husbands to join us for dinner.

Julie and Ray · RV-Dreams Family Member

Do you do anything special as far as storing your rubber stamps? They don't like very cold or very hot temperatures. Do you keep them inside the Heated/AC'd rig or just avoid temperature extremes all-together?

Thanks,
Julie & Ray

Sheryl E · RV-Dreams Community Member

Mine are in the living area of the rig. Actually all my stash is in the living area. DH has the basement for his woodworking and our sporting equipment. I've only taken my unmounteds to decrease the needed space.

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

My rubber stamps got left behind in our storage room, just not enough room to bring ALL of them along plus the other supplies needed. I've been using my Cricuit extensively.

Julie and Ray · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks to both of you for your replies. They help! Julie has an enormous (well, enormous to me, "not enough" to her) collection of rubber stamps and paring them down may be some of the most difficult decisions of our move to full-timing. Thanks again!!

cowolter · RV-Dreams Community Member

Old topic but of current interest.
I have wanna make my own album also. Being all 'digital' I considered doing it on my iPad digital planner . Something like a scrapbook All About Me - with weekly videos, lists of things, what I think, and such.

-- Edited by cowolter on Sunday 3rd of October 2021 01:53:54 AM