The "A.B." in ABCreations stands for Anmarie Bowden, that's me! My favorite ice cream is Mississippi Mud from Baskin Robbins, altho I'm partial to Oreos crumbled on top of Vanilla Bean ice cream too! I was born on Super Bowl Sunday. I have been digiscraping since 2000. I live in beautiful sunny California. I am married to my soul mate and we have two gorgeous children. My favorite saying is, “If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!”
When I first started scrapbooking, I focused on the big events: birthdays, holidays, yearly traditions, etc. As I’ve grown as a storyteller, I’ve realized the importance of creating a more complete picture of our lives. Not just the big things, but the little everyday moments, the day to day activities or meals, and even some of the tough times.
Let's face it, sometimes life gives us lemons and we are just plain tired of lemonade. Thankfully scrapping is such good therapy! It can be difficult to find the right words for an event that's frustrating or angering. But scrapping a page and getting that journaling down can not only help you deal with how you are feeling, but also show your family, friends, and future generations that your life wasn't perfect, that no one's is, and how you dealt with it.
I struggled for a long time with potty training my kiddos. The messes were disastrous. My days were spent cleaning every surface of my home; washing every piece of clothing for them, me, and the beds; and scrubbing every crevice of my children. I read every book and website and never found the answer. I felt like I never had a break, that there was no end in sight, and that I might completely loose my sanity before they ever figured it out.
Because it was all-consuming, it found its way into my scrapbooking. Scrapping the tough times is just as important as scrapping the happy times because they are a part of your life, they are honest, true, and real. They show that life isn't always sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows; and that you are a real, complex, fully-formed person who has lived through hard things and not only survived, but thrived.
The birthdays and holidays are important, but so are the layouts about saying goodbye to a favorite pet, chemo treatments, and documenting a divorce. Every moment is worth remembering because each moment helped make you who you are. Your scrapbook will be a real representation, a complete portrait, of you and your life. Messy, hard, yet beautiful.
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