What if you could make 20 wishes? In Debbie Macomber’s 2009 feel-good novel Twenty Wishes, widow and bookstore owner Anne-Marie starts a new challenge that will change her friends and her own life.

This challenge requires each of the fabulous ladies in the friend group to ditch their routine and do something they’ve been putting off or been afraid of doing.

Whether it’s getting the pricey red cowboy boots, finally learning how to knit, dancing barefoot in the rain, or finally falling in love again, those 20 wishes represent a deep desire hidden within each of the women.

One of the most important yet overlooked aspects of this novel was Anne Marie’s habit of scrapbooking for all of these 20 wishes she came up with.

In this article, I will explain why scrapbooking is a good idea and provide instructions on how to get started.

Isn’t scrapbooking outdated?

I mean, yes. But so is rollerblading, yet if more people did it, they would be happier.

The idea that your scrapbook could become a safe space to focus on what makes you happy, without any sort of external judgment or peer pressure, can’t become outdated.

Scrapbooking is actually a whole book of you and who you can become. It’s one of the cheapest methods to be able to set some straightforward goals you will stick to, without having to see a personal coach.

One of the advantages of scrapbooking over, let’s say, making mood boards on an app is that you can’t simply delete the page or the board. You get to see the objective you set every time you physically open your scrapbook.

With 80-85% of the population in England being visual learners, according to Essex University research, it would make sense to choose a scrapbook to remind yourself of your choices, goals, and aspirations without falling into the trap of social media (which constantly switches its values depending on trends.)

One of my 20 wishes was to become a qualified counselor. Being able to revisit a page showcasing that desire to study some more, learn a new skill, and build up on my empathy and listening skills has been crucial. As we speak, I am finishing the first part of my training.

The scrapbook gave me the guts to not listen to those telling me that I have enough degrees. It reminded me that I chose to set down this specific goal on my page rather than any other wish.

Scrapbooking also reduces the chance of giving up. In Debbie Macomber’s novel, Anne Marie decides to add volunteering to her wishes. Having it in her scrapbook added to her determination to go through with the project of volunteering, even when it initially didn’t go to plan.

It also helps if you believe in “manifestation.” – This term refers to the practice of bringing something into your life thanks to the power of belief. Its Google searches went up by 600% during the pandemic.

If you believe that your mind can make your dreams, come true, scrapbooking is an efficient way of practicing your beliefs.

How to scrapbook?

Scrapbooking should be fun and nearly effortless but it does take a bit of preparation.

1- Get yourself a notebook you will love. Ideally one where you can easily turn the page – so perhaps a spiral notebook. Make sure you adore the front cover to up the excitement of owning and using your scrapbook.

2. Time to hit the shops or dive into your old art supplies! You need some fun stationary to ensure the activity is aesthetically pleasing. In some of my old items, I found metallic gouache paints and paint brushes, fruit-scented highlighters, and coffee-themes pens. I then purchased some fun capybara-shaped sticky notes, magazines to cut out inspiration, illustrated tapes, cartoon mini post-its, and pastry-shaped ink stamps, and then I pressed some flowers between my book so that they would be flat and ready to stick!

3. Find what you want to represent and plan it out. One of my wishes was to create an indoor garden.

I looked on Pinterest for some inspiration, and I wrote my wish down in fuchsia pink marker and drew a cute little wooden shelf. I then used the aforementioned metallic gouache to draw a tiny watering can; my dried plants and flowers were then glued on my hand-drawn pots (ornate with small strawberries I cut out from a cooking magazine!)

Needless to say – I crossed out that wish (figuratively speaking), as my father gifted me a little wooden shelf that fitted the bill!

My scrapbook will always keep a memory of my achievement!

4- Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in your wish.

When I wrote down my wish about learning how to cook Italian food, I drew a little coffee cup where I dabbed a drop of my actual coffee!

To embody my wish, I decided to wear romantic summer dresses inspired by old Italian movies, to do curls inspired by Monica Bellucci, to learn a few words of the language for fun, to eat out at a trattoria…

All these micro-steps help set the mood of achieving the goal and my scrapbook’s visual elements helped a lot!

Truly, a scrapbook opened the gate to a bit more positivity in my life. Nothing beats cynicism like hope, and there is no hope greater than a woman making a wish.

My little scrapbooking activity helped me focus on the smaller things and taught me to smell the roses a little bit more often.

If you’re crafty but don’t feel like a fully-fledged artist (Now that’s a wish!), consider scrapbooking.

If you’re looking for something that will help your inner child come out and to have a bit of fun every day, you should definitely pick it up.

Life is too short not to try new things and explore all our wishes.

This was written by our contributing writer, Suzanne Latre.