Now that is some good reading.

I spent the large portion of my day yesterday reading Stacy Julian's new book The Big Picture. Let me just say that I love her even more now than I did before. Her way of thinking about scrapping makes me want to be a "scrapping evangelist" and spread the word!!! There are so many great quotes in this book that I'm thinking about framing several to put in my scrap area. If you have a chance to pick up this book, do it! I took her class at CKU and this book is exactly what I hoped for - her class in a book. A lot of it is word for word what she said there that I frantically tried to scribble down! It is so awesome to have it in black and white in front of me with her layouts as an added plus!

I think Stacy's main message is inspiring us to scrap our MEMORIES vs. just our PICTURES. I am so inspired right now! I have so many ideas for pages that I need to write them down. It's not about keeping up with the trends and always doing something that's never been done before. It's about the message in my pages and the memories behind them. I needed to hear that. I get too caught up in trying to be as creative and talented as my uber-creative friends and I miss the point of why I scrap! I scrap because I love it and because I want to make a record of all that is good about my life.

I'll leave you today with my favorite quote from the entire book...

I think scrapbooking is a way to live with passion. It's about being present in your life. It's about recognizing a fleeting moment as memorable before it passes and it's about the ability you have to say, 'I was here, I lived and breathed and played in the sand. I learned and loved. I laughed and cried and I danced to disco in my kitchen.'"