If you’re a mom, prepare to nod: kiddos require tons of time. Seriously! This was not in any of the books I diligently read to prepare for the birth of my first (he came nearly six weeks early, on May 19, 2005) or reviewed before the coming of my second (she came two weeks early, on October 17, 2008). I’ve always been a multi-tasker. What woman isn’t? But motherhood is the Platinum Level of Multi-tasking. As I write this, my sixteen-month-old daughter has climbed up on the couch beside me and is repeating her favorite word, “Mama-Mama-Mama,” as she lays against my side and pokes my computer screen. My son is about six feet in front of me, happily ensconced in his Star Wars Wii game. I love these kiddos more than I ever thought I was capable of loving someone…but they come with a tradeoff.

Before my son was born, I was a diligent scrapbooker. Though I sometimes wondered what I should scrap (all the moms at those crops had so many pictures!), I brought pictures of the latest sports event/wine-tasting/parade/trip my sweetie and I had engaged in and wrote long narratives of the fun we’d had along the way. The entire story of our relationship up to our wedding is contained in a beautiful scrapbook with a glittery cover spelling out, “The Story of Us.” Our wedding day is cropped, matted, and embellished in materials certain not to waste away before I draw my last breath. Even the first six months of my son’s life are captured in full-color and the occasional artsy black and white.

Yet life kept getting more and more full as we went along. I opened a business. We bought a new-to-us house that, after over 100 years on the earth, needed lots of renovation. We purchased over seven acres of land before thinking about how long it would take to mow all that grass. I founded a women’s ministry at our new church, wrote five novels, got my Master’s Degree, and decided it was time to have another child. She got our old bedroom while we renovated the upstairs into a master suite.

Thereby demolishing my scrapbooking space.

I told myself it was only for a short while. Soon, we’d finish out the attic or add on another room and I would have room to crop, adhere, and embellish to my heart’s content. No worries. I didn’t have time to scrap right then anyway.

At my daughter’s first birthday party, I decided I’d waited long enough to have a craft space again. I began exploring the house, looking at each room with a new eye, attempting to ferret out somewhere that could hold my papers, glues, buttons, ribbons, and cutters. Our new master bedroom has two lovely alcoves, neither of which were truly in use. A ha! I’d found my space.

It took two more months before I cobbled together enough time to get my crafts organized. By then, I’d also delved into sewing and quilting. The first projects involved needle and thread – Christmas gifts of napkins and placemats. I cast a longing look toward my paper tower, promising myself I would get back to scrapping soon.

Three weeks ago, the day finally came. I eagerly trotted up the stairs and entered my craft nook. I spent ten long minutes opening drawers, boxes, and containers to re-familiarize myself with the materials on hand. I spent another fifteen minutes looking through idea books. And then, I admitted I was stuck.

How does one get back into scrapbooking when so much time has expired? The creative drive didn’t disappear, but the skills grew rusty. I decided that, for once in my life, I’d start small. Since this is the antithesis of my accustomed approach to life, I spent another ten minutes figuring out what “start small” means.

Then, I grabbed a chipboard notebook, covered the outside of it in a patterned paper I’ve loved for several years, and grabbed the boxes of embellishments. It took half an hour, but I ended up with a simple yet creative notebook within which I now keep all my lists. (I’m a list junkie, so this thing has actual use in my life.)

As I happily walked back downstairs, handy dandy new notebook in hand, my husband asked, “Well, how’d craft time go?”

I held up the notebook. “Over an hour and this is all I have to show for it, but it’s a start.”

He shook his head and smiled. “Gotta start somewhere, right?”

Right.

--> Have you been out of scrapbooking for a while? Do you find it hard to put everything else on hold so you can scrap? What other crafts have been added to this part of your life? Has that impacted your scrapping time? How do you feel about that?