A love letter to Two Peas in a Bucket

Last week, scrapbookers received some very sad news. Two Peas in a Bucket, an online scrapbooking store, will be closing their doors. To me, the news was unexpected and made me so sad. I know it may sound a bit silly being so down about a shop closing but Two Peas is so much more than just a scrapbooking store.

I started scrapbooking in high school many, many years ago. My cousin was a Creative Memories consultant and I learned to scrapbook from her. Over the years, my scrapbooking style remained the same. I didn't know any other way of scrapping other than the Creative Memories way. Which wasn't a bad thing at all. I love those scrapbooks. But it was a very specific way to scrapbook. After graduating from college, I poked around the internet for scrapping inspiration but nothing really caught my eye so I went back into my bubble and kept on scrapping the only way I knew how. I didn't see the internet as a good source of scrapping inspiration because I just couldn't find anything that really called out to me

One day, in 2012-ish, I stumbled upon Two Peas in a Bucket. I don't remember how I found it but the moment I entered the site, I knew it was the place for me. I had found my scrappy home. So many pretty products! Endless videos! The Garden Girls! The Garden Girls completely changed how I scrapbook. I was learning about techniques, patterned papers, paint and mist, design principles... so much to learn!! The Garden Girls all have different styles but they all called out to me. Two Peas had a great eye and brought the very best talent out there together in their Garden Girls team. And all that top notch inspiration was free and open to all. It boggled my mind. I wasn't very active in the gallery because I'm pretty shy about my scrapping but I did post a few things here and there and the support and feedback I received from fellow peas made my heart swell. I don't have any friends who scrapbook and I've never socialized in scrappy ways (never even been to a scrap) so to have that kind of interaction was so meaningful to me. I participated in the NSD and CHA celebrations which was so much fun I couldn't believe I had been missing out for so many years. Until Two Peas, scrapbooking had been a very solitary and private hobby. Two Peas really opened up the world of scrapbooking to me.

I loved shopping there not only because they had such a wonderfully curated shop but because I loved knowing that I was supporting this amazing company. For two years, I purchased nearly all my scrapbooking supplies from Two Peas because it was a way for me to support them and thank them for all the free videos, workshops, forums, everything. On top of all that, their customer service was so great I often wished I could hug someone through a support ticket. Really, this company makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I can't imagine how difficult this must be for the owners and staff of Two Peas and the Garden Girls. I doubt they'll ever read this but I just wanted to say thank you. I love to scrapbook and Two Peas has had such a huge influence on me. It breathed new life into my scrapbooks and introduced me to some amazing scrappers. It really opened my eyes and has completely changed scrapbooking for me. The day of the announcement, I filled my bucket with a few things I didn't really need and made my last purchase just for the sake of making one last purchase at Two Peas.

Thank you Two Peas... I'll miss you!