Mahwish Ahmed Irvine California
Mahwish Ahmed is an energetic person who loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, and read books. Raised on the east coast, she grew up in a close knit family with loving parents and a sister. She attended high school and college locally and then relocated within the east coast due to job opportunities. She currently lives on the west coast in Orange County, Irvine and enjoys having access to beaches, hiking trails and great tourist locations. She has devoted her time to many non-profit organizations tailored towards improving education. She loves giving back to the society by either volunteering or mentoring young professionals. She is passionate about impacting others and making a positive difference in society.
What is your hobby?
I enjoy traveling. And while traveling, I collect train tickets, brochures from a place I visited, tickets to the shows I’ve attended, pictures of trees, dry leaves from a trees, menus of the restaurant I’ve visited during my trip, receipts of bills, and other memorable items. After the trip, I make individual scrap books with the memorable items I collected.
How did you get started with this hobby? What inspired you?
Growing up, during family vacations, we traveled across the United States. One of the years after college, I was looking through the pictures of the vacations remembering the locations we visited and who was on those trips. I could not remember what the weather was like, or what restaurants we dined at, or the names of the parks we visited, or how much a burger cost during that time. I felt that the memories were not complete. So, I decided to capture the little details in a scrap book by collecting receipts, brochures, park tickets, writing or taking pictures of the weather app to capture what the weather was like, show or park tickets and how much it cost, etc. Anything memorable to capture so that when I look back, I not only have pictures but additional memories to relive those moments.
Tell us what you love about it.
What I love is that when I am making the scrap book for each trip, I relive the moments from the trip and sometimes I discover details I may have not noticed during the trip.
And when I look back to the scrapbooks, I remember most of the memories from that trip like the temperature, the weather and the food we ate. Also, the scrapbooks help me capture a moment in time which our family’s future generations can use to find out details about the time. Hopefully, it gives some perspective on how much things cost and how people traveled and vacationed.
Are there any groups you’re a part of or events that you attend related to your hobby?
No, I am not part of any groups or events that I attend. I do look at the internet websites on google and collect ideas on scrap paper and layouts.
Have you had to invest in equipment and if so, please share some of the things you’ve bought.
This hobby doesn’t require special equipment or investing in high tech equipment. In the age of technology, it requires you to go back to scrap book paper, colorful pens, glue, and your creativity. I do get my ideas on the internet.
Where do you buy most of your supplies?
I buy scrapbook, scrapbook paper, pens, and other supplies from amazon, etsy, scrapbook.com store, Papyrus, Hallmark, and other office supplies stores. They are relatively inexpensive but putting together the scrapbook is a lot of fun and a great pastime.
Are there any good books for beginners?
This hobby can be adopted by anyone at any time and you don’t need any books or investment in expensive equipment. Also, if you have time constraints you can suspend the hobby and you won’t feel guilty about the investments or expensive purchase you would have made.
The best part about this hobby is that you can create any type of scrapbook you want. You can purchase a scrapbook or take a notebook and create your scrapbook/ memory book. You can go all out or be simple. It is all up to you and your imagination.
If you need any ideas, the internet is a great resource. Ideas can be found on google, Pinterest, etsy shop, scrapbook travel websites.
How has this changed your life?
Anytime I am having a bad day or missing family or bored, I pull out a scrapbook from one of my previous trips and it makes me happy. Or if I have family or friends visiting especially during holidays, we look at the scrapbooks and relive the memories or conversations we had during the trip. It helps you to bond with your loved ones even more.
Additionally, putting together the scrapbook is a great distraction after a long day at work or over the weekend.
What advice do you have for others starting out with this hobby?
I would say that it doesn’t matter how creative or simple you want your scrapbooks to be, as long as you are having fun putting it together that is all that matters. You can do this together as a family or all on your own. There is no secret recipe on how to create a travel scrapbook. All that is needed is your imagination, time and determination.
Are there any other hobbies you have?
Creating travel scrapbook is time-consuming. I do not have any other hobbies at this time. Maybe in the future, I will think about taking up photography.