What They Don't Tell You When You Start Scrapbooking

So, I decided to take up scrapbooking/art journaling. I am, by nature, a creative person and I've been putting my creative energies into writing for the last fifteen years. But life has a way of messing with my brain and making me unable to concentrate on writing and I have desperately needed an outlet to help me get back into myself again. I found, by accident, a woman named Catherine Cotes on YouTube (her channel is creationsceecee). She was talking about a wallet in that video, but the rest of her channel is about art. She has a blog as well. This very talented woman got me re-interested in paper crafts and stamping - something I was into in my twenties, so its been a very long while.

And then I came across Kathryn Kreiger (KathrynScraps.com) and Kathy Orta (PaperPhenomenon.com) on YouTube, and they both inspired me and made me feel guilty about all the photos I have in boxes (somewhere) around the house. So I started trying things out and am now in the process of getting a craft room together. The first thing I thought I needed was a work table. But here's the thing that no one mentioned in all of the hundreds of YouTube videos I've been studying. When you do papercrafting, much of the time it's best to be standing up.

I brought in our old, long, foldable worktable that's kept on hand for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I even went out and bought a metal folding table when that one gave me splinters. But every time I go to work in there, I get serious pulled muscles in my neck and shoulders. There's so much turning and twisting and reaching for things, you see.

One of the women I watched was showing her new craft room and mentioned in passing that she finally has a table she can stand at and work comfortably, but she never said why. I found out why the hard way.You cannot sit and papercraft.

Thanks to an accident ten years ago, standing for long periods is not good for me, so I'm looking for a solution - probably something along the line of a bar height table (I'm 5'8") with a stool that I can lean on.

And I also have to get very organised so that I can find -and reach- all of this stuff that I'm spending a fortune on. Papercrafting is fun and creative and wonderful and relaxing, but it's also expensive.

Right now, since I'm just starting out and need, well, everything, I'm going to craft stores and buying what's on sale. But do your research. Some products and manufacturers are better than others and spending a little money on products that don't work as well as they should is just a waste of money in  my opinion. Buy the best you can afford (Michael's 50% sales are fantastic) but make sure you're buying good brands.

Michael's Recollections brand of paper, for example, is inexpensive, as paper goes. It's also very thin and the colours don't hold up well. Other Recollections products are very well made, but I do not like the paper at all. If you plan to paint or stain or embellish your work, I think you'd be happier with another brand. I'm liking DCWV (Die Cuts With a View), MME (My Mind's Eye) and Graphic45 papers so far.

As I get into this, I'll post what I like and don't like - and if you have any tips, I'd love to hear from you.