Call me crazy

[Keitha]

...In the beginning the purpose of the PSL was to get folks
to put photos on all those ALSB pages that they put together
and stored in their scrap rooms without photos. Some
ladies had and probably still have boxes of them
without photos...

Never having subscribed I have to say I'm fascinated by this discussion; scrapping really was crazy in its heyday - and maybe still is in some circles. Elizabeth's comment makes me wonder: which do you think is worse (better/more sad/whatever) - having a bunch of ALSB pages put together with no photos, or having a bunch of kits that have never been touched?

[ScrappinJen]

I like having the ALSBs waiting because there are times when I don't have the creative mojo to create. So I can just find photos to match up with ALSBs. I'll be doing that a lot in the future weeks.

[pamcook]

...In the beginning the purpose of the PSL was to get folks
to put photos on all those ALSB pages that they put together
and stored in their scrap rooms without photos. Some
ladies had and probably still have boxes of them
without photos...

Never having subscribed I have to say I'm fascinated by this discussion; scrapping really was crazy in its heyday - and maybe still is in some circles. Elizabeth's comment makes me wonder: which do you think is worse (better/more sad/whatever) - having a bunch of ALSB pages put together with no photos, or having a bunch of kits that have never been touched?

Hmmm...I suppose it all depends. I know some people have pages ready for photos and they actually do put photos on them eventually. In my opinion, better is always using your supplies - no matter which system you use. It's sad when people store away supplies thinking that product is "too nice (good, special)" to be used. Why buy it?

[paddlegal]

Even though I haven't scrapped in ages I do still have a small supply of ALSB pages waiting for photos. Yeah, no excuse not to be scrapping. But in my scrapping days I loved having those pages made. In my early days of being a "Sr Kit" member ( and later Hearty Appetite + Card Kit), I would immediately upon receiving my wonderful pizza box make up all the ALSB pages. I had a great system for prepping it and would then over the next day or two make my pages and even add photos at times. Over time I fell behind and just had way too much paper and doodads. But it sure was fun.

[Debbie J]

I only have a hand full of those ALSB pages left hanging on. Most of them are Christmas and I haven't scrapped Christmas for 2015 so I might be able to get rid of a few more. I will be glad when they are gone.

[Monica]

I actually have a large tub full of ALSB... which I have used and used, and added to again. Made albums full of scrapped photos for my MIL, did albums for my sister of various exchange students, I've donated albums full of ALSB pages to the Rett Syndrome foundation in SoCal for their annual picnic and auction... you get the idea. Not to mention using them in my albums too. I find that, when I have a lot of photos for en event, the ALSB pages are great for that. And I truly don't mind the look of them. I add and remove elements as I see fit, and it works for me. I'm a lot slower scrapping without a plan in mind. The structure of ALSB is what really got me going with scrapping. As has been said before, different strokes for different folks. The world would be dull if we all scrapped the same way.

As for the PSL, let's just say that four years of doing my best to help my team, and never once being on a team that won at all... I was more pissed than anything else. I'm all for healthy competition, but I have work and a life outside scrapping. And I'm competitive enough to want to have been on a winning team at least once. So I decided it was better for my mental health not to sign up ever again.

[nancine]

I was on the Orange team - it's kind of what got me into scrapping. I had been getting just Club Stamp.
But I loved all our team members (and that first year all the heavy duty competition stuff hadn't kicked in) - met so many of you then.
Gosh, Ry was a tiny baby wasn't she?!

[tlscrap]

The scrapbooking teams were tame compared to the cardmaking teams. Lol...vicious!!!

[pbp908]

I dunno, some of the scrapping teams were nuts. I ended up doing nothing but dig for a few years, and then I did it my way, not the CS way. I altered the fool out of those files.

I've given albums as gifts several times using ALSB pages. There's only a few left and I'll be glad when they're gone. Maybe I should challenge myself to use the darned things. What the heck - anything that gets me using "stuff" is a good thing.

BTW, DH gave me some more cubes for V'Day. Looks like I'm not through with the rearranging in here yet. It's really been kind of fun going through everything and deciding what I can live without.

[Monica]

Hey Jen.... I've been wanting to say this since you started the thread.... You're crazy, girl!

I've actually been doing a smattering of scrapbooking this week. I printed off a pile of photos from when my NZ friend was here in December, sorted them, then went shopping through my stash of winter and Christmas papers. It feels really good to use the papers I loved and hoarded. I still love them, but now I can love them with memories of her visit scrapped on top. I'll want to go back and do some serious journaling at some point, but for now I'm letting the photos do the talking. I did tuck a hidden journaling card in between layers of the first page, and I'm trying to remember to date each page somewhere.

[nchoney]

I had finally joined my first PSL the las year that CS actually hosted it. I did a ton of layouts - about 300 pages. Non were ALSB but they were all fairly generic photos so I was power scrapping for sure. The push helped me scrap lots of photos about what went on during Hurricane Irene and then someone posted a comment asking if I would scrap something else less depressing. That wasn't a comment I expected and I think that started me re-evaluating my loyalty to the whole CS group. I had been way behind on scrapping and had (still have) dozens of untouched kits. So I finally unsubscribed. One of my new goals is to start using those kits!!

[pamcook]

It's funny how we have to revisit our CS experiences - even after all this time.

Nancy - I had forgotten you were on our team! Was Lucy on our team? I think I did maybe two more PSLs before unsubscribing. One year our team won and we got the Great Outdoors remix as a prize. That's about the extent of my PSL memories.

Remember when there was a yahoo group for CS members? There was a woman (she lived in CA) who would make nice comments about every single layout posted. They were constructive and well-thought out. Someone actually complained about that! She dropped out soon after. I always thought that someday I'd see her name pop up on another forum somewhere. Her name was unusual so I'd recognize it.

So thankful the mean girls leave us alone! So thankful the attitude here is that we want to see supplies from all companies you use. We aren't going to judge you for how often (or rarely) you create art. We're not going to complain about how many projects you post (the more the better!), or tell you to change your style of artwork.

[nancine]

I agree with all your comments Pam!

Yes, Lucy was on our team. I just saw her last week - and Jen gets to see her on Saturday. I think she's what keeps our little "Westies" group together!

I wonder who it was who commented in the Yahoo group?
I mostly was in the Stamp group and by the time I really got into scrapping they switched forums.

Debi - that is so RUDE of someone to say what you should and should not scrap and/or share.

[mpizzazz]

Yes, absolutely, I remember the woman who commented on every layout. When I joined the Yahoo group and read her comments, I thought she worked for CS and that was what they did for everyone. I can't remember her name. Lucy will know. I think she knew her personally and even after the woman left CS.

[EDelValle]

Pam, I was thinking about the California lady
just the other day, there were times when her
page reviews were a liitle less than kind, she was
on the Yahoo group before I started and I remember
being afraid to post anything that might not please
her. LOL