Scrapbooking Articles

Stepping out of your comfort zone

Even those of us who don’t know much about art could probably instantly identify a painting by, say, Picasso or Monet. Personal style is a great thing to develop as an artist — and as a scrapper too. Developing that style, though, comes from branching out and exploring practices that aren’t always comfortable. Trying something new can also be a great way to freshen up your work when you start to feel like you’re scrapping the same layout over and over. Take a look at these projects by Danielle Quarmby as she scraps away from her own beaten path and takes the road less travelled.

Every now and then I feel like my scrapbooking style has become stale and I need to motivate my creativity. When this happens, I always look at my work and analyse where my comfort zone lies. By identifying the ‘safe’ techniques and styles I use, I can make a conscious effort to try something different.

Stepping outside your creative comfort zone can bring a fresh edge to your style and inject your scrapping with some funky new techniques. If you ever feel that ‘scrapping block’ coming on, make a departure from your usual ways and see where it takes you.

Technique

I rarely use detailed hand stitching on my layouts; a few chunky cross-stitches is about as far as I ever get! It’s partly because I’m a lazy scrapper, but it’s also because I’ve just never done it before and it is not in my toolbox of skills, so to speak. To give it a go, I thought I would create a layout that features plenty of decorative hand stitching.

By the same token, if you are a scrapper who loves hand stitching, try stepping outside your comfort zone by attempting some haphazard machine stitching — or doodling and painting

Eclectic
By Danielle Quarmby 
Materials
Paper: Creative Imaginations, Wild Asparagus, Handworks flocked papers
Other: Rouge de Garance rub-ons, American Crafts alphabet stickers, Petaloo flower, Heidi Swapp flower, Making Memories alphabet stickers, pen, paint, thread scrapbooking

Product

It is very easy to become complacent about your stash of scrapping product. Using your favourite ranges in similar ways over and over is an easy habit to pick up. Next time you reach for an embellishment, try using it in new and unusual ways — perhaps a way completely different to what it is intended for. Even try looking around the house, the supermarket or an office supplies store for interesting items. Recently, I found a scrap paper doily at my mum’s house and dared myself to see what I could do with it. Try challenging yourself to see how creatively you can use a random everyday item.

Style
By Danielle Quarmby
Materials
Paper: BasicGrey, My Mind’s Eye, KI Memories
Other: Petaloo flower, Heidi Swapp flower, Prima flower, Scenic Route Paper Company chipboard alphabet, Making Memories trims, paper doily, ribbons, button, paint, staples, pen

Colour

Colour choice is a great thing to consider when trying new ideas. Flick through your albums and projects — what are the colours you use the most? Are there any colours that rarely or never appear? I noticed plenty of blues and greens on my pages, but very little yellow. As a result, I decided to base a layout on yellow cardstock. For a real challenge, try choosing a colour you don’t often use, and rather than just adding a taste of it, use that shade as the entire background for a project.

Pathless woods
By Danielle Quarmby
Materials
Cardstock: KI Memories
Paper: Making Memories Kraft, Creative Imaginations Narratives, BAM POP
Other: Doodlebug Paper Frills, Vintage Book Paper, Miscellaneous Ribbon, My Mind’s Eye frame, Heidi Swapp plastic alphabet, pen
 scrapbooking

Scrapbooking Format

Have a look at the format you are used to working in. Are you a 12in x 12in scrapper, or is the A4 size your favourite? Perhaps you rarely work off the page, or maybe a smaller layout would be something new. Personally, I am most comfortable with flat layouts — normally 12in x 12in and occasionally 20.3cm x 28cm (8!/2in x11in). To try something unfamiliar, I decided to make a round minialbum. Format is a great place to challenge yourself as there are so many possibilities to choose from.

Bec & Joel mini album
By Danielle Quarmby
Materials
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: BasicGrey, My Mind’s Eye
Other: KI Memories gel shapes, Scenic Route Paper Company chipboard alphabet, Doodlebug alphabet stickers, Urban Lily rub-ons, Heidi Swapp flower, acetate, thread

Photos

At the end of the day, your projects and pages are all about your photos and your memories, and compromising this aspect might seem difficult. Perhaps, though, a particular style of photo features on most of your layouts — a face shot, for instance, or mostly black and whites. If you usually tend to choose a single large photo, try scrapping a number of smaller prints instead. Conversely, if you are a multiple-photo scrapbooker, challenge yourself to focus on a single image. For myself, I decided to create a layout with no people shots or portraits allowed. If you are feeling really brave, try scrapbooking without using any photos at all!

Beautiful specific details
By Danielle Quarmby
Materials
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Tinkering Ink
Other: Heidi Swapp mask, Heidi Swapp photo corners, Zina Wright journalling stamp, Urban Lily rub-ons, Making Memories alphabet stickers, trim.