Mail Call: Eco Scrapbooking
Dear Chekhov,
My human loves to scrapbook. She loves to make cards. Let’s face it, she loves to consume paper, and other odds and ends with which she makes beautiful crafts. She has looked into digital scrapbooking; it’s neat and she said she’s gonna try it, but I still like biting her paper! Her problem? She’s having a hard time located recycled paper that can be used in scrapbooks or card making that are local. Is my only choice to order her paper off the Internet from across the pond? Thank you,
Ash the cat, and Cookie too!
Remember a time when scrapbooking—as a way of preserving old movie tickets or a striking image from a magazine—was practically synonymous with frugality and environmental friendliness? Then, somewhere in the past few years, like knitting, it became trendy, and a glut of papers, doodads, gadgets, and geegaws emerged like Valkyries swooping down on a blood-soaked battlefield, all eager to accommodate the burgeoning revived interest in the centuries-old craft. All shiny and new, the avalanche of stickers, embellishments, letter transfers, rubber stamps, paper croppers, and shape punchers began to take the “scrap” out of “scrapbook.” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you have self-control, but as someone who has seen his resting spots gradually being annexed by enough skeins of wool to keep Antarctica toasty (before the Witch cried foul and decided to cool her heels), ignoring the Siren call of stash accumulation takes tremendous willpower. What’s an eco-minded scrapbooker to do?
Remember a time when scrapbooking—as a way of preserving old movie tickets or a striking image from a magazine—was practically synonymous with frugality and environmental friendliness? Then, somewhere in the past few years, like knitting, it became trendy, and a glut of papers, doodads, gadgets, and geegaws emerged like Valkyries swooping down on a blood-soaked battlefield, all eager to accommodate the burgeoning revived interest in the centuries-old craft. All shiny and new, the avalanche of stickers, embellishments, letter transfers, rubber stamps, paper croppers, and shape punchers began to take the “scrap” out of “scrapbook.” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you have self-control, but as someone who has seen his resting spots gradually being annexed by enough skeins of wool to keep Antarctica toasty (before the Witch cried foul and decided to ), ignoring the Siren call of stash accumulation takes willpower. What’s an eco-minded scrapbooker to do?Buying only what you’ll use is one obvious tack. Another way to nudge the market in a greener direction is to write to your favorite scrapbook companies and politely (but firmly) ask that they provide more recycled and sustainable alternatives. You’ve already mentioned digital scrapbooking as a forest- and resource-friendly alternative, but if you prefer a more tactile experience, you can also download a line of “scrapbooking kits” called E-cuts and then print your tags and embellishments at home using recycled cover stock, such as from Living Tree Paper, Treecycle, Neenah Paper, or New Leaf.
Handmade specialty recycled paper and greeting-card blanks abound at the California-based Green Field Paper, made from materials as disparate as coffee-bean chaff, junk mail, hemp thread, and even discarded garlic skins.
And if you’re adventurous, why not try your hand at making your own paper, and then dressing up your sheets by embedding pressed flowers and leaves? I bet you crazy cats would have fun with that one.
Scrappily yours,
Chekhov
Have a burning question about health and the environment? Leave a comment or e-mail chehov-at-worstedwitch-dot-com.
The Worsted Witch » Money Quote said,
December 7, 2006 at 10:40 am
[...] Related articles: 1. Mail Call: Eco Scrapbooking 2. It’s Getting Hot in Here: Act Now 3. Simply Green Giving 4. Bring Your Ever-Lovin’ Own 5. Bonfire of the Vanity Fair Green Issue (Chekhov’s Eco Tip) 5. Junk the Junk Mail [...]
The Worsted Witch » said,
January 8, 2007 at 12:44 pm
[...] Someone could really corner the eco-scrapbooking market. I was just browsing for a simple scrapbook album (like Kolo’s) made from recycled material, and perhaps covered in sustainable linen or hemp, but came up absolutely empty. I’ve written to Kolo, but surely there’s a savvy eco-worrier or two among the bookbinders of the world who will step up to the plate. [...]
rani said,
February 13, 2007 at 11:47 am
Fabric scraps, used greeting cards, designs from address labels and magazines all have sections that can potentially be cut and pasted to be used in a scrapbook. Fill an old binder with one-sided (used) paper and use a Wedding issue for an anniversary theme, for example. There are ways to do this without spending any money, while saving paper, and while preventing waste.
The Worsted Witch » Scrapblog said,
April 4, 2007 at 11:48 am
[...] Related article: 1. Mail Call: Eco Scrapbooking [...]
Rhonea said,
August 16, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Thank goodness others feels the way I do! I have three kids soon to be four and am on a limited income. Scrapbooking has turned into a multimillion-dollar business with TV shows, clubs, internet stores and magazines devoted to the cult. All I’m inundated with is materials made from virgin paper and unnatural dyes. What kind of future are we leaving for our kids when we help to deplete our natural resources just to capture memories, in a contrived, costly way? What kind of future are we leaving ourselves? I have also ordered recycled construction paper, acid-free reycled notecards from Greenfield, used old magazine clippings, paperboard from cereal and pasta boxes, fabric from old clothes, old greeting cards, retail tags from new clothes (some of those tags are quite eye-catching), earrings without a mate and my children’s art. The scrapbook I’ve made looks eclectic, natural, vintage — more like the old-fashioned ones and it’s less headache. Goodness, I thought the idea behind scrapbooking was to use old scraps to piece collages together, not make the craft stores rich.
Marsha McGinnis said,
October 19, 2007 at 3:12 am
This was such a great post.
It brought back memories of the first time i heard the term “scrapbooking” in “modern” times. I used to keep a scrapbook years, (many years), ago when I was just a small girl. Then about 20 years ago my neighbor asked if I wanted to come to a scrapbooking “party” she was hosting. I remember at the time thinking that this was the new “craft” on the block. And, having seen “tole painging” reinvent itself a couple of times to survive, and also rubber stamping go from cute card making and then branching out to “art stamping. Well, you get the picture.
I’m thinking that there are those people who own and operate the local scrapbook store who make a modest living. But, the real beneficiaries are the companys whose names we have come to recognize and know by heart. They are reinventing constantly -
I remember that the joke used to be that “if you bought a compute, it would be outdated in 6 months.” Now, that saying could apply to just about every industry that is powered by competition. AND, we the consumer, are brainwashed, (if we aren’t careful), into believing that the only way we can be creative is to have that latest product, which most likely needs to be “fed” with “accessories”. I just bought the new revolution a couple of months ago - for the “convenience” - but, it will be wasted because I realized just how much $$$ I will have to spend on new fonts and the time I will miss creating, just to”revolution” new alphabets ahead of time to have them ready when I need them instead of draging out this new toy I have to stash away in the cupboard, because i don’t have room for it on my scrap table.
This is long winded, but you get the picture. We are powering an entire industry by not going “back to basics.” The CRAFT industry is major, and encompases just about everything we do that can be considered creative or artistic.
Just something to think agout (:-D
Christina said,
October 31, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I am trying to find the actual book that our scraps go into. I cannot seem to find a “green” one. Any help?
The Worsted Witch » Eco Scrapbooking Redux said,
March 22, 2009 at 8:48 pm
[...] time coming, but American scrapbooking companies are finally catching up to the green party bus. Just two years ago, the realm of eco-friendly scrapbooking was a wasteland in terms of commercially available [...]