I Am Blairstreetgirl and I Am A Scrapaholic....

Ask a man if his wife scrapbooks. Most likely if he's going to answer in the affirmative, the word "addict" will be somewhere in his response.

So, why is this hobby of ours so addictive? I have a few thoughts on why I can't go a day without engaging in some scrappin activity.

My first project was a recipe book for my daughter's bridal shower. I asked people at work to contribute a favorite recipe, along with some thoughts and well-wishes, to be included in a recipe book of easy, home-made favorites. It was in this frame of mind that I visited my first (and probably still my favorite) scrapbook store. I've always had an artistic side, and I think that, at least initially, scrapbooking provided me an outlet for that talent. It also constituted a series of short projects where I could get immediate gratification (patience is not always one of my strong suits). Some people will scrapbook anything and everything - they are creative outlet junkies. I've seen some amazing layouts dedicated to things I would never think to scrapbook (I recently scrapbooked my own anger after seeing another layout dealing with a similar issue).

Scrapbooking also allows me to take care of my "shopping addiction." Let's face it, there is always some cute bling, or a different pattern of paper out there. And, at under $1.00 a page or just a couple of bucks for some embellies, it seems cheap (until you go to the checkout!).

Like getting packages in the mail? There have to be a gazillion kit clubs and other sites out there that can keep your postman in a job for the next 20 years.

But most of all, I think I'm addicted to the memories scrapbooking invokes. Old pictures or old documents lead you to memories and thoughts long abandoned. Your children, now adults and about to be married, once slept in your much younger arms. Remembering the first time you made a recipe - did you burn it? Forget your husband was allergic to one of the ingredients?

Scrapbooking is a way to put the movies we store in our minds on replay. It's a way to preserve a life or a love long past. It's a legacy to your children and your grandchildren.

It's true; I have more scrapbook paper, books, embellishments and equipment than I'll ever use. But someday when my time is over, my daughter and my granddaughter will take all my supplies and use them to record their own memories - some with me in them and some I'll never know.

It's not the worst thing I could be addicted to, I guess! So I will proudly proclaim myself a scrapaholic. I could start a 12-step program or a support group for my problem, but I have a feeling we'd all just wind up at A.C. Moore, baskets hanging off our arms, drooling over the embellishments and fighting over the last piece of Cosmo Cricket paper, debit cards in hand...