What in the World is Scrapbook?

When I started this scrapbook thing, my family had no idea what it is, or what is the point of it. All they can see and understand is that I spend a lot of money on this hobby, and I shut myself in my room every weekend and make a mess in the room. 

That was before I started posting my layouts on social media and constantly hiding my finished layouts underneath a whole bunch of patterned papers. I think one of my sister actually googled what scrapbook is, so she is the only one (at first) who understands what I do and did not ask any question. Then my sister in law started asking questions, and she is quite amazed because she loves handmade stuffs. That is when I decided to let them know what it is all about by posting some of my finished layouts on Facebook. Of course, they have no reason to object whatever hobby I have, just that maybe I have to constantly lie about the amount of money I spend on it. *guilty*

Then, I have friends that asked the same question. Scrapbook, what is scrapbook? 

I remember I came across an explanation on the net made by a fellow scrapbooker, she said she would explain it as 'it's just like blogging, you take pictures and write stories about it and post it online. Instead of posting it on a blog, scrapbooker print out the pictures, write down the stories and decorate them on a 12x12 canvas'. I think that is the closest that one can explain what scrapbook is. 

However, my family does not blog, and only a handful of my friends do, so I would explain it using social media, like Facebook or Instagram. For example, you are at some place or event, and you take a picture, put some caption or write a short paragraph about the picture, and you post it on social media. Or for those who knows what a photobook is, I would use that analogy. However, I would add that instead of using the fixed format of a social media news feed or photobook, I prefer to decorate the pages my own way. 

By the end of the day, the purpose of them posting on a blog or any social media and us, scrapbookers making a layout, is the same. We are preserving memories, we are sharing stories. The difference will be that a layout or a scrapbook album can be passed down, while a blog or social media will only exist as long as the platform exists.

And to me, the most beautiful thing about scrapbook is that, instead of giving someone a gift, I am giving them a memory to be kept, forever. This, is what scrapbook is all about.