I've recently bought eleven scrapbooking books. I am a big book person and it only made sense that I would buy books when I decided to seriously get into this hobby.

At the time, I didn't know that Cathy Zielske's fantastic Clean and Simple Scrapbooking - The Sequel was exactly what I was looking for. I bought the sequel cause I was sure I had the first one. It turns out I didn't. I had Scrapbooking Made Easy, but not Cathy's first book. I loved this book so much that I am now considering going back and buying the first one.

So why did I like it so much?

Cathy's book is exactly why I scrapbook. It's all about the stories to tell. The essence of the people, of the memories, of the times. The pictures and the story are the most important part of the experience. The paper, the embellishments; those are there to serve the story better. To draw attention to the photos in the right way, etc. Not that the embellishments are not important or fun, but just that having the newest and prettiest isn't the only way.

I love her honesty. Her ability to put her feelings and thoughts into words so well and her very clean, crisp designs that look easy to duplicate but really aren't. If you're into plain and simple looks like I am and want to work on finding the story behind the photos, this is a fantastic book to use to help yourself get there.