real SCRAPbooking

I firmly believe that G-d is interested in every aspect of our lives.... how we raise our children, spend our time, spend our money, etc. Frugality has been important to me for years, but now that I am living in one of the most expensive states in the country, my family has one income and a child, it has become that much more important! In moving into this Brooklyn apartment, we are spending as little as possible to settle in, which actually works out well because we have no extra storage space like we were used to, and we are prodded to utilize everything we brought with us in creative ways in order to gain more space and reduce clutter.

You've heard the saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Well, it's true! Because I am unable to just go out and buy everything that I think we need (shopping is not even easy here, and we shop in New Jersey to save money), I have become more creative in making things (like my daughter's diaper-box-bookcase wrapped in leftover wall border), keeping my toddler occupied (this morning she played with a plastic 'sandbox' full of dry oats from the pantry), and making memories (real SCRAPbooking!)

I have always enjoyed the idea of scrapbooking, but never really followed through with creating actual scrapbooks. Let's be honest, the hobby known as 'scrapbooking' today has become a million dollar industry, and when you go to the scrapbooking section of your local craft store, there are no scraps to be found! Those papers, embellishments, stickers, and scrapbooks are fancy and expensive! So in the interest of frugality, I have begun to make "real SCRAPbooks" for my family..... using magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, wrapping paper, greeting cards, and (surprisingly) paper scraps!! It's fun, frugal, forces you to be creative, and it's also a great way to reuse items that you would otherwise either throw out or allow to clutter your home. It will also be great fun for Elisheva when she is older and can help make her own books (right now she just tries to destroy my work!) and preserve memories of special times in her life. For now, I am using blank board books that I ordered from Oriental Trading Company with intentions of writing some books for my children. They are pretty durable for toddlers. As she gets older, we will graduate to paper books.

Discovering this form of SCRAPbooking has given me so much joy. It's a great way to preserve family memories and keeps me occupied with something creative to do at home. The SCRAPbooks would make great, meaningful gifts, and they allow me to use all of the 'stuff' that I have saved because I knew that I would be able to use it somehow. I find it funny when people tell me how creative I am, because I am merely working with what I already have to stimulate myself, my daughter, and the mind that G-d has given me (and you). I enjoy sharing the simple ways in which G-d blesses me. Allow Him to bless you with simplicity.... because He loves to remind us that money cannot buy happiness, but He provides us with everything we need to be content in Him.