After fifteen years, Two Peas in a Bucket closed their online scrapbooking store and message boards yesterday. Two Peas had been the go-to scrapbook shopping and message board site. When doing a search on scrapbooking, it was the first site listed and now it’s gone … or going. The closing had a lot of people reeling as it came with no warning. That morning, the message boards were working but by afternoon were closed to posting. I first heard of the news when a well-known scrapbooker posted it on her Facebook page. I clicked on over to Two Peas and saw their message about the closing. A few hours later, I received the email notice.
I’ll admit that I was surprised by how hard the news hit me. I was saddened by it, and found that it brought my mood down. I had shopped there a few times, did some chatting on the boards, but mostly lurked. It was the inspiration for the message board that was in Designed to Death.
I do a lot of typing for my work, so I mainly read the boards and browsed the gallery, one of my favorite daily activities, to get some ideas for scraplifting. Two Peas had an amazing gallery of layouts and I’ll miss seeing it. A lot of people said it was the online galleries, like Two Peas, that brought about the demise of the majority of scrapbooking magazines.
With the closing of Two Peas, it’s another reminder of how fast things can change in an industry. In the early 1990’s and beginning of the new millennium, scrapbooking was hot. Stores were opening up in cities all over the country. Scrapbooking conventions and retreats were everywhere, and new products and lines were introduced … it seemed … almost monthly. Shopping for scrapbooking goodies was almost as much fun as making the layouts. There were design teams and Hall of Fame spots that scrapbookers coveted to have their names listed on. Some scrapbookers started using the term life artists as a few the art community looked down on scrapbooking as a “mommy hobby”. There are a lot of talented designers in the scrapbooking area of crafts. But slowly, those opportunities faded away as magazines and stores closed.
For many years now, scrapbooking businesses have struggled during the downturn in the economy. Creative Memories, the biggest direct sale scrapbooking company, closed in August 2013. Like with Two Peas, it was something the scrapbooking community debated about happening, but never really thought it would. When household budgets are hit, one of the first areas to get cut are hobby purchases. This closing is another reminder of how things are still tough for a lot of people out there. Two Peas was considered a staple in the scrapbooking world, and to see it gone has shaken a lot of scrapbookers. Many wonder what will happen to our beloved hobby?
I believe scrapbooking will still be around, maybe not as popular for a while … and maybe fewer options on cute paper and embellishments … but it will bounce back one day. There is an ebb and flow with most hobbies and scrapbooking seems to be on the down portion of the roller coaster ride. The hobby will adapt as people’s way of memory keeping changing. Like with the invention of ebooks, there were still readers who prefered print copies. I feel the same will happen with scrapbooking, there will be scrapbookers that prefer “paper” scrapbooking over digital. One will not cancel out the other. It will just change. Just like how letters and phone calls use to be the main method of communication, we now have email and texting.
As long as people still have stories they want to tell, and photographs to share, there will also be scrapbooking.
I will miss Two Peas. I started every morning by drinking a cup of coffee and browsing the boards. I hope the owners and employees of Two Peas in a Bucket are all setting off on a new life-enriching adventure. I will remember Two Peas fondly. 
The Self-Rescue Princess 