Growing Up Green

Today's blog title is also the title of a layout that I recently created, which was picked up by Memory Makers for their "one world" theme reader gallery for next March/April. I cannot share the layout here, of course, but in addition to having lots of green - the layout is digital, which is very "tree friendly". I have only recently begun scrapping digitally, having dabbled mostly as a hybrid scrapper since I began scrapping. I love the feel of paper and getting messy with paint, so I know that I will always be traditional at heart.

With a previous career in graphic arts I used to work closely with the paper companies. The company I worked for really hopped on the bandwagon of using recycled papers and soy based inks in their marketing materials - this became really big in the 1990s. When I began scrapbooking I wondered if product manufacturers used post-consumer waste in their paper products as well. It is not a topic I see widely advertrised in the creative arts magazines, yet I admit I would be influenced by claims of recycled paper use by a manufacturer in their consumer product. I hopped over to Paper Trunk's blog today and learned from Carrie that their products are made from recycled paper. Have you felt Paper Trunk cardstock? It has a wonderful texture and is a dream to work with. If you have qualms about using recycled paper on your pages please don't! In fact, it was Carrie's post that made me realize I missed out on a chance to blog "green" yesterday.

Our son, now 10, is very much concerned for the environment. His biggest pet peeve is global warming, and he is angered that 1000s of penguin chicks are dying in Antarctica because the ice they are being reared on is falling into the ocean, before they are ready to fledge, due to global warming. He is concernd about recycling, and habitat destruction for human living and work spaces. Our son inspired my "Growing up Green" layout, which includes photos of our family out on a nature hike, bird watching, and taking note of God's creation. God called us to be stewards of the earth, but unless our kids grow up to love nature and the environment, they really won't hold it much regard. It is up to us to instill that love by teaching our children to "grow up green".

My family knows that I consider EVERYTHING before it goes into the trash. It is amazing how many odd things can work to your creative advantage as a scrapbooking tool, or as a page embellishment. Kyle often brings me things, figuring I can use them on my pages. I still remember the handful of tiny tiny rocks he brought me. Sure enough those little rocks did end up on a slide frame for a layout, and the page was actually one of my first published pages in Creating Keepsakes.

In the spirit of "reuse" vs. throw away, I want to share a layout that is the result of a challenge at BusyBee Scrapbooking this week - to scrap a not-so-ordinary item on a layout. This excludes items like bread bag tags, paper clips and such that are wonderful to use on pages, but to challenge the artist to think a bit more outside the box. I had a couple of ideas on this, one of which I decided might not be a good idea. But, last night as I was rummaging through my "catch all" drawers of all things that might possibly be scrapable, I came across a foam disk from a CD spool. Originally I planned to use the foam wheel as a paint stamp, however, I was working on a summer layout of Abby in her floating turtle. I decided the foam disc had a great likeness to a floatation device, and reused it as a center for a flower. Pretty cool, eh? So, I enourage you...always look twice, maybe 3X at something before it goes into the trash - it could be your next great embellishment.


One more tip on creating green... if you are like me, using your computer for journaling, use scrap paper to print out your test prints. My husband and I have bought one ream of paper in the past three years. Rarely do we need a clean sheet of paper for anything, other than an official contract or such. Both of us bring paper home from work that would otherwise go into the recycle bin. It doesn't hurt our printer to run paper through that has been printed on one side. We print all our e-mails, my CG layout sketches, and more on recycled/used paper. To go one step further, I will use a sheet printed on both sides as a "plate" to mix my arcrylic paints on. It makes for easy clean up!

So, although I may be a bit late climbing aboaard the blogger "green" post day, I want to thank Carrie for bringing it to my attention. I really do encourage you, as an artist, to be mindful of creation itself, and what you might do to help care for the one earth we have been given. Think outside the box, as Holly encouraged at BusyBee, and look for items in your home that can add dimension and fun to your pages.