Why (and How) I'm Still Scrapbooking in 2025
What does scrapbooking even look like these days?
Bad news: there’s still no one-sentence definition that captures what scrapbooking really is, even in 2025. Actually, let’s go with especially in 2025.
Good news: I’ve been doing this for 20+ years, and I’ve made peace with that. Scrapbooking is flexible. It’s personal. It changes with you. And honestly? That’s what makes it magic.
This is the first in a two-part series breaking down what scrapbooking looks like for me right now—and what it can look like for you, too. Whether you’re new to this or getting re-inspired, I hope this gives you the encouragement to make it work for your real life.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this email:
Why I keep scrapbooking after 20+ years
How I scrapbook right now (tools, rituals, and real-life mess)
What feminist scrapbooking means to me
A reminder that your story matters—and your way of telling it does too
Scrapbooking, for me, is about saving the stuff I don’t want to forget—and getting to play with pretty paper while I do it. It’s photos I printed at home, scraps I made on my gel plate, words I wrote by hand (or with letter stickers), and whatever bits felt worth saving that day. Some weeks, that’s a bunch of Currently Lists and food pics. Other times, it’s a deep dive into something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
It helps me see what my life actually looks like—not the to-do list version, but the real version. The one where I’m curled up on the couch watching The Venture Bros for the fourteenth time, or cooking with whatever we got at the CSA this week, or making another scrapbook page about how my garden is amazing, and Michigan summers are incredible.
I don’t scrapbook because something is “important.” I scrapbook because it’s mine. Because I want a record of what it’s like to live inside my life, right now.
And honestly? It just feels good to make stuff with my hands. ✂️📓🧠
Why I Scrapbook in 2025
Capturing Right-Now Life
I’m all about the everyday stuff—Currently Lists, what we’re eating, what’s getting us through the week. I’m always going to love making pages with pretty pictures, especially when the light is good and I’m taking more photos. But more and more, I’m drawn to the little things I’d forget if I didn’t write them down.
Making Sense of My Story
Scrapbooking helps me process what’s actually happening in my life. It gives me a place to sort out how I’m feeling, what I’ve been watching, what stuck with me, what I need to let go of. There are so many stories I would never say out loud—but they deserve space. My pages make room for them.
The Joy of Tactile Constraints
I love making stuff with my hands. Cutting something up and gluing it back together in a new way just feels good. There’s no undo button. You’ve got to be okay with messing things up, trying weird stuff, and letting the process surprise you. It’s a different kind of creativity—and it’s way more satisfying than anything on a screen.
A Feminist Act of Self-Care
Telling my story is an act of kindness to myself. Even when I’m documenting the hard stuff, the routine, the sick days—I still have to be gentle. I don’t make pages where I’m mean to myself. I don’t believe in “not good enough” when it comes to your own story. Scrapbooking reminds me that I matter, right now, exactly as I am.
Legacy & Time Capsules
I think a lot about what sticks around. So much of our lives live on hard drives and in apps that won’t last. But a scrapbook? That’s a real, physical thing someone can hold in their hands. No one’s going to dig through 20,000 photos in your cloud storage. But they might flip through your book and say, “I’m so glad she made this.”
How I Scrapbook in 2025
Most of my photos get printed at home on my (very old now) Canon Pro-100. I’ve got stacks of older prints too, plus 20+ years of scrapbook supplies I’ve collected (yes, including a single sheet of uncut John McCain patterned paper). These days, I’m super into making my own patterned paper with gel plates and acrylic paint, and I keep coming back to the artists and brands I love—Ali Edwards, Brandi Kincaid, and whoever’s making cool, weird stuff that makes me want to grab my scissors ✂️.
I do most of my scrapbooking in the afternoon, usually solo, with headphones on. If I’m journaling, it’s instrumental music so I don’t accidentally write down song lyrics instead of my thoughts (ask me how many times that’s happened). Sometimes I plan a page in advance, and sometimes I just sit down and see what happens.
Almost everything I’m making right now goes into 6×8 albums with six-ring binders. That size feels easy, doable, and fun. If a story feels too small for a full layout, I might start it in my Daily Pages notebook and test it out there first. But I’ll still break out the big albums—12×12 or pocket pages—when the (bigger) story calls for it.
My journaling style is a mix. Some pages just need a sentence or two. Others get longer typed-up stories that I print and turn into sticker strips (like I did for my Scotland album). Sometimes I write by hand. Sometimes I stamp or collage the words. It depends on the vibe.
I use what I have. I’m big on reusing scraps, thrifted paper, and found stuff. I’ll make a page with a cereal box if it looks good. Once a project is done, I love sharing it—on Instagram, here in my newsletter, during Flipthrough Live on Substack, and over in the Awesome Ladies Project classroom. But I don’t share everything. Some pages are just for me—and that’s enough.
And What About Feminist Scrapbooking?
I started using the term feminist scrapbooking in college. I was trying to make sense of how documenting my life with photos, words, and pretty paper could be such a powerful thing—while also bumping up against all these rules about what “counts” as a real scrapbook.
At the time, the scrapbooking world was very much centered around the idea that you scrapbooked your kids, your family vacations, your holidays. And if you weren’t a straight married mom with two kids and a husband who was the breadwinner, you didn’t really belong. I was in my dorm room with my printed selfies and journal entries and TV show quotes thinking, “Okay but…my life matters too.”
So I made my own space. And then I built a whole community around it.
Feminist scrapbooking means your story is worth telling—no matter what your life looks like. You don’t need a spouse or kids or a house or even a pet to have stories that deserve to be documented. You don’t need a reason or a milestone or a permission slip. You’re allowed to take up space on the page just because you’re here, living through this weird, beautiful, messy world.
It’s an act of self-care. Of resistance. Of choosing to say: I matter. Even on the hard days. Even when I’m stuck on the couch with a headache. Even when the only thing I did was scroll my phone and heat up leftovers. I still exist. I still have a perspective. That’s worth recording.
Feminist scrapbooking celebrates diversity, intersectionality, and the voices that haven’t always been centered in this craft. We learn so much when we see how different women and nonbinary folks document their stories. What we value. What we remember. What we hold onto. There’s no single definition of womanhood or creativity or storytelling—and that’s exactly the point. We’re building a bigger, more inclusive scrapbook together.
For me, it’s photos, words, creative supplies, and the bits of life—told through my lens as a chronically ill, feminist, deeply nerdy, sticker-loving, Jersey Girl, Midwestern woman. My pages are filled with reflections, routines, pop culture, and the things that are shaping my right-now life. I don’t scrapbook to prove anything. I scrapbook to feel grounded in who I am and to leave behind a record of what it felt like to live this life in this time.
Imagine if you had scrapbooks like this from your mom. Or your grandma. Or your best friend from college.
What would you learn? What would you treasure?
What do you wish you could go back and ask them?
You get to give that to future-you. You get to give that to the people who love you.
Feminist scrapbooking means telling your story your way—loudly, softly, angrily, joyfully, imperfectly, honestly.
You are the narrator.
You are the historian.
You are the artist.
And you don’t need anyone’s approval to begin.
Weekly Resource List:
What is Scrapbooking (10-minute read): Everything you need to know about Scrapbooking.
rukristin’s Creative Challenges (link resource): Last year’s National Scrapbooking Day celebration—challenges, articles, and more.
Why Do I Scrapbook (2-minute read): A short note on why I scrapbook; from 2023.
CAF EP 10: Why We Scrapbook (67-minute listen): Amanda and I chat all about why scrapbooking is a part of our creative lives.
Discover Your Feminist Voice Through Scrapbooking (5-minute read): Thoughts on how scrapbooking helps us to be the best versions of our feminist selves.
Scrapbooking isn’t going anywhere
As long as we’ve got stories to tell and pictures to print (or glue, or tape, or stitch), this craft will keep evolving with us. And that’s what makes it so good.
It’s not about doing it the “right” way. It’s about finding your way—what feels good in your hands, what feels true in your heart. Maybe that’s a 6×8 album. Maybe it’s a tiny zine made out of a paper bag. Maybe it’s just one photo, one sticker, and a few words scribbled before bed.
If you’ve made it this far, you probably already feel that spark. You’re not here by accident. You’re curious, and you care about your story. That’s enough.
You don’t have to wait until you have more time, more supplies, more life milestones. You’re allowed to start with exactly what you have, right now.
Your story matters. Your life is worth documenting.
Let’s make something beautiful with it. ✂️✨📆
Here’s what we covered today:
Why I keep scrapbooking after 20+ years
How scrapbooking fits into my real life right now
What feminist scrapbooking means to me
Why your story matters (no matter what your life looks like)
Action step: Take 5 minutes to jot down a few things you’d include in a scrapbook about this week. A photo, a feeling, a moment worth remembering.
That’s all it takes to start telling your story. 💕
Hit reply and let me know how you’re scrapbooking in 2025.
Talk to you next week!
xoxo,
Kristin
P.S. If you’re enjoying these newsletters, please consider sharing this edition with a friend who might need a little creative boost today.
And if you’re new—or just checking back in, here are 3 ways I can help you scrapbook your stories:
Upgrade your Substack subscription and join me on the first Saturday of the month for our live masterclasses, a new topic each month on building and sustaining your creative habit. See the full archive here.
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Thank you for sharing these details & ideas. Makes it much clearer. I’m excited to get going!
Such a great read. So many gems for my quote book.