Monday Giveaway : Studio Calico

Wow. I would say that I am surprised at how long that I had to scroll down, but that wouldn't be true. I know that you are wildly popular, and any contest you have draws quite a crowd. :-)
I guess I've been memory keeping for years and years -- far earlier than I began scrapbooking in earnest. But lately, I just have been able to scrapbook much. There always seems to be something else that needs my attention. (And it doesn't help that I am a painstakingly slow scrapper.)
Currently my favorite method of memory keeping is digital photography. Quite honestly, it was my first method, too. Thanks to my camera phone, I always have at least one camera with me, and have been prone to take pictures of my commute, my feet, and other equally "everyday" things. Even if these pictures never get blogged or scrapped, just seeing them in my library oftens sparks something special about that day. Eventually, I hope to have stories that go with many of them, but even if I don't the trigger is powerful to have.

The best part of memory keeping for me now is living and jotting notes in my daily calendar, all the good, bad, silly, fun, bits of life, but mostly the little things that wouldn't be remembered unless I made note of it. The photos help, but it's mostly the stories I'm recording that will help bring the pictures to life.

My favorite thing about memory keeping is recording sll the fun things my daughters do. The best part is when they are older, they will have my scrapbook to look thru and all the memories will come back to them..

I think the thing I love the most right now is that there is a new openness to memory keeping that wasn't there when I first started. I recently found a large stash of old CK magazines including the first issue. I love that we now keep track of the more minute things like new diets, or favorite songs on our ipods, favorite TV shows or even new shoes as it seems that our records will be so much more well rounded and interesting to the future readers.

The best part of memory keeping is how it keeps me connected emotionally to the things that really matter in life. Sometimes the stress of working full time and raising 2 kids takes a toll. But when I sit down and look at photos and journal my thoughts, I remember what's truly important.

I love that I am never done. Sure, it feels great to finish a page or a project, and it's satisfying in that sense. But I love that there are always more memories to make, and more things to scrapbook about. This hobby grows and matures with you, and in that way, it stays fresh and exciting. I've never stuck with a hobby this long, and I doubt I ever will...

I have a one year old little boy. I don't want to miss a thing about all his changes during this first year.
Misty

My favorite is looking at the pictures and how it feels to relive the moments captured in them.

I memory keep for all the above mentioned reasons but mostly because I don't want the stories to be lost forever.
I am a geriatric nurse who everyday cares for people who can't remember their own life stories. That makes me so sad. I look at their old photos and I wish that many of my patients could tell me their favorite childhood memory, what it was like to live through war or raising their family. So many stories, lost.

My favorite thing about memory keeping at the moment is recording struggles. My spouse and I are going through some difficult times and I find it's important to scrap the bad as well as the good.

My favourite thing about memory keeping is that it gives my sons a sense of family, of belonging to a group of people with ties to the past and the future and each other.

My favourite thing about memory keeping is that it gives my sons a sense of family, of belonging to a group of people with ties to the past and the future and each other.

Hey Ali,
Currently I love memory keeping because it's a way for me to leave my legacy. I recently saw the quote "Your Life is Your Message" ~Ghandi, and it reminded me that I need to spread my "message" in any way that I can... whether it be in memories through written word, pictures, etc.
We all have a message, and memory keeping is a way to leave it as a legacy.
:)
Anne

Hi Ali,
I just love looking at where we were and where we are currently. I have scrapped for almost 10 years, we have recently moved and looking back at my albums it makes me smile to see how much my style has changed and how happy I am that I scrapped about things that were so everyday, we normally would have forgotten about and now I can always look at this things.
Thanks and have a great night!
De Anne

Ali, It is 10:15 Monday night and you already have over 1700 comments! Are we CRAZY? No! We just LOVE what we do! I love memory-keeping because 1) art makes me happy, 2) it is the perfect blend of my hobby with my husband's hobby (he is a professional photographer/ I am the scrapbooker), 3)there are no rules (who wants to live by rules?), 4) I have the freedom to scrap backwards and forwards or in the moment, 5)my family loves what I make them and I can create meaningful gifts for the friends & family that I love. One of my many priceless moments was when I asked my son (in his 3rd year of college) if I should stop adding pages to his college scrapbook-- was it silly? Should I focus on other things? He smiled and said, "Mom, I love what you do for me! Don't stop." Priceless! Thanks, Ali, for being REAL. Sherri R. :)

my favorite thing to do at the moment is to write in my travel journal every night. currently, my family is in the process of moving from ohio to vancouver,bc,and we are taking the month of july to get there. we are stopping to visit some family along the way as well as traveling as a family one last time as our oldest will be leaving home soon. when we stop to see family, i ask them to add a few words about our visit as well as my 4 children. i know it will be great to look back through it years from now and read everyone's reactions to different cities along the way as well as the way we related to one another and the relationships we developed as a result of living in tight quarters for a month.

My favorite part is sharing the stories with my son. He looks forward each night to looking at old photo albums I put together when I was a teenager and hearing all about the people and events. Oh how I wish I had "journaled" then!!

My favorite part is sharing the stories with my son. He looks forward each night to looking at old photo albums I put together when I was a teenager and hearing all about the people and events. Oh how I wish I had "journaled" then!!

I have a 4 year old son and a 1 year old daughter and my son loves looking at the albums I have made for him. We look at him at the age my daughter is now, and he loves seeing what he was doing at her age. And I get a chance to sit back and think about how far he has come (he was born at 29 weeks). Plus I'm inspired to work on her album.

The escape it provides for me and being able to recall moments as if they were happening all over again.

So many things to love about both memory keeping and that kit! I think right now, my very favorite thing about memory keeping is watching my family enjoy reliving the memories. My 1 1/2 year old son sat for 20 minutes today looking at a scrapbook and grunting at the pictures happily.

My favorite thing about memory keeping is documenting my children's lives. I want them to know how much they are loved and hope that one day they will enjoy remembering what they were doing at specific ages.

My favorite thing about memory keeping is the rush of emotions that come back when you look at photos/layouts/albums :) It's like living it all over again :)

I love scrapbooking for the creative outlet it gives me. I find such joy in looking at pictures and making the story of the picture come alive. It makes me really happy when my kids want to make something special for someone too!

My favorite part of the memory keeping process right now is being able to take pretty good pictures and then be able to turn them into a piece of art through scrapping! This has really helped me this summer recuperate from a particularly stressful school year!