Scrapbooking Inspiration

Do you ever feel like scrapbooking, but feel stuck creatively?

I love seeing layouts from other scrapbookers online, and I try to bookmark or remember good sites that I can return to when I need scrapbooking inspiration. It can be tedious, however, scrolling through their blogs to find a layout that jogs my brain for the particular photos and concept I'm thinking about. So, I've started keeping a notebook in which to sketch layouts and make notes about pages I should make (or blog posts I should write!) I can even put small embellishments in it as a reminder to use them. For example, I found these tiny ladybug stickers in my stash (which I have had since summer of 2001, I believe) and thought "oh, I should use those on a page commemmorating Kate's time in the Ladybug Room when she moves up!" So, they'll be there as a reminder.

I sketch layouts based on ones that catch my eye. The colors or theme another scrapbooker uses doesn't matter so much to me, but it's mainly the positioning of photos and embellishments--the overall design--that I want to have on file to inspire me later on.

These show placement of papers, photos (rectangles with the X), embellishment (flower/blob shapes), headlines ("WORDS") and journaling (little squiggles). I might make notes beside the sketch about how bold or neutral the papers should be, or what type of concept this layout might be good for (e.g. "large space for journaling, for story or letter")

 

All of us scrapbookers see things we like, but may not be sure how to translate that design into our own work. So, I thought I'd show an example of how I use another layout for inspiration, but make it totally my own.

I saw this pretty layout on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog (she designs the Dear Lizzy line for American Crafts). I was specifically looking for one that used a lot of photos on one page.

 

Then, I drew a sketch to break the layout down into its basic parts--horizontal bar, general arrangement of photos, embellishments, and the headline. (Typically, I wouldn't do a sketch if I was doing my own layout right then, but consider this a "time elapsed" simulation, since a sketch would typically lie in wait for weeks or months until I needed the inspiration.)

While Elizabeth's layout had that nice white background and a patterned bar, the best paper I had in my stash for these photos of Kate (with the odd shade of green in her dress) was this sheet from the Project Life kit. So I reversed things and used a patterned background and solid bar. It worked out well, though, because the flowers on the sheet just became my embellishments, and I was able to use some of the cards from the kit.

When you look at them side by side, you may not see much similarity, but Elizabeth's layout gave me the inspiration and general structure I needed to create a fun and personal layout with ease.

How do you get ideas for scrapbook pages?