The Sunday Scaries are only scary when you think ahead to Monday. I’ve always had the Sunday Scaries, but at the start of freshman year, one of my best friends and I started a tradition called Smoothie Sundays to combat this feeling. Amidst a quiet campus, Tabitha and I got drinks from Tropical Smoothie on Thayer Street. We walked around, caught up on our weeks, and savored the silence of Brown at rest. When the weather got cold, we moved our tradition inside, renamed it Scrumptious Sundays, and ate at Meeting Street Cafe. 

This year, we wanted to add something extra to our tradition. Unbeknownst to me and Tabitha, we’d both been scrapbooking random things we collected throughout our days. We’d pick up business cards and stickers and takeout menus and everything in between, separately pursuing the same thing: a productive hobby that allowed us creativity and peace. Scrumptious Sundays became Scrumptious + Scrapbook Sundays. Now, our tradition is to cook pancakes (cinnamon and chocolate chip respectively) and scrapbook together as we eat.

Scrapbooking is a physical collage of memories or thoughts—there is no right or wrong way to do it. However, here are some tips and tricks I’ve found helpful:

1. Collect resources

Turns out that everything works in a scrapbook. We cut up the free magazines from the Starbucks on Thayer, pick up business cards, find pamphlets, and use stickers to our hearts’ content. Whatever the object may be, if it has two dimensions, it can be scrapbooked.

2. Work with color

I’ve found that my most aesthetic spreads are ones working entirely with one color or a color scheme. So neutrals are of great value because they work on every page. It works out well, then, that black and white text is the easiest to find.

3. Glue or tape pages together

If you do any writing with pens or markers, it will inevitably bleed through and render the page behind it ruined. I use an adhesive tape roller to tape pages together so I never have to worry about disrupting the art.

4. Layer!!

There is a huge difference when you layer elements of your page. Looking for solid colors in magazines to use as simple backgrounds helps fill the space without making your art feel busy. 

5. Have a scrap bag

Whenever Tabitha and I scrapbook, there is always a sprawl of supplies all over the table. To help maintain some level of control over the chaos, we have a designated scrap bag where all the slips of paper and garbage go straight away. It makes cleanup easier—after all, a relaxing activity should never conclude with a dreaded task.

Sundays are scary only when you allow them to be. If you incorporate something peaceful, reflective, and creative into your routine, you’ll find the Scaries are completely erased. Perhaps it’s a Scrapbook Sunday. Perhaps it’s a Scrumptious Sunday. Or perhaps it’s some other combination of things you love that can make your Sundays just as lovely.