compare and contrast

I have two hobbies: scrapbooking and sewing. (Actually, I have lots of random little hobbies, but those are the two which consume the most money and space in my house. So, they are the ones my husband tends to notice.)

I've been scrapping for over six years - since I was a newlywed and I made an album of our wedding and honeymoon pictures. (coughStickerSneezecough) I never sewed anything until last summer, when I made the Hammer Pants for Matt. Scrapping actually led to sewing, in fact, because when I got published in 'Simple Scrapbooks' I used the check to buy my sewing machine. I thought hey, I could try machine stitching on my pages, and it kind of evolved from there.

Scrapbooking is cheaper, at least per project. I could make five or ten layouts for what it would cost for one dress (even when the fabric is $2 a yard). On the other hand, I've got waaay more money invested into scrapbooking stuff than fabric and patterns. Heck, my machine was only $40 - I think I've spent that much on rub-ons alone. Sewing is more public: I can make a dress and wear it to church or the grocery store, rather than create a page which will mostly sit unseen in an album on a shelf somewhere.

I'm at a much higher competency level for scrapbooking than for sewing. I know how to set an eyelet, but not a zipper. I don't have a clue how to re-size a pattern, but I can easily look at a 12x12 layout and adapt it for my 8.5x11 pages. Also, I think scrapping is easier, because everything is glued down and it doesn't really have to fit. Sewing involves notches and gathers and (so I'm told, I've certainly never done any) crazy things like darts, pleats, and princess seams.

I can do a couple of layouts in an afternoon, whereas a sewing project takes me the better part of a week (more, if there is bias tape involved). It's hard to say which will have more longevity. Theoretically, my scrapbook albums will last forever, but not if I keep letting my kids look at them. Clothes will go out of style, but they will eventually come back into style so I plan on keeping everything. Except maybe for Matt's pants.

So, which one do I love the most? I'll have to take the diplomatic route (I am after all the mother of two children) and say both. I love them the same, but different. I'm just glad to have so many things I enjoy doing.

(I just want to add that while I was writing this post, Porter was rubbing peanut butter into his hair. Thank goodness for that foaming baby shampoo.)

(That's foaming shampoo for babies, not shampoo for foaming babies.)