Some people look at scrapbooking and think it's just a simple hobby. These are people who have never done a scrapbook page in their life. Others look at scrapbooking and see so much more than a hobby. If you're into crafts and even if you're not, then scrapbooking is something that you should check out and here are a few of my personal favorite reasons why.

Stress

Believe it or not, scrapbooking is a huge stress reliever. It helps ease your mind when you have problems that you keep thinking about. When you scrapbook, you forget all the things that are going on around you and focus only on your page. It's actually like you get lost in your work and have tunnel vision. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing when you're stressed out and don't want to think about all the things that stressed you out in the first place.

Time Out

Another reason why you should scrapbook is because it gives you time out with the girls. Once you start scrapbooking you will find there are plenty of women who get together at certain places and scrapbook together. You will end up with an entire day planned and if you're lucky, you will find a weekend event. It's a great way to step out of your life and into something that's both stress free and fun. These events always have good food as well. So you end up with good friends, scrapbooking and good food. What more could you ask for?

Preserve Memories

If you love taking pictures, then you should want to preserve your pictures the best way you can. Throwing them in a plastic tote is not showcasing your precious memories. Take pride in your work and showcase them. I haven't found anyone who doesn't like receiving a homemade scrapbook for the holidays. They make great presents for any time of the year and it shows the gift receiver that you actually took the time to make them something that's special to their heart and yours. It also shows you didn't run into a store, grab the first thing you saw and threw it in a fancy gift bag to call it a present. Preserving your memories is something everyone should want to do. If you use the correct scrapbooking tapes and papers then you are actually making your photos last a lifetime, so they can be passed down from generation to generation. Think acid free and you're well onto the road of preserving memories.

Moving On

If you have a death in your family and you're finding that it's hard to let go, make a scrapbook. You will be surprised that scrapbooking often promotes healing. It actually helps you focus on all your good memories instead of all the sadness and sorrow you feel. When my grandfather was sick in a hospital, everyone wondered how I held up so well. I spent 15 hours a day at the hospital and then I came home and scrap booked a page or two. This helped with the healing process. Instead of remembering him sick in the hospital bed, I went through all of our happy memories. He passed away about two weeks after that, and while I was sad, it didn't last long. Yes I miss him a lot, but instead of focusing on them weeks in the hospital, I look back at my scrapbook and the several other ones that I made for family members. We forget all the bad we went through for them two weeks, and remember his life the way it was before he was sick. My scrapbook's provided healing for me and a lot of my family members.

Written by BRANDI THORNSBERRY
Yahoo Contributor Network