I am a clean and simple scrapper. It discourages me when all the current designers are only doing very elaborate pages. I like new ideas too, but lots of stuff on a page just isn't me.

Even when I check the gallery for "clean and simple" style, there are lots of elaborate pages. I feel like there is no use in posting my pages because they are not the style that is popular right now.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Don't be discouraged... Every style has something beautiful to show. I just looked at your gallery and your lo's are beautiful!!!

Sometimes I wish I could do the really fancy lo's, but it's not me either. It is fun to try though...

i've noticed a lot of LOs on this site are more elaborate than magazines and blogs. even though i love this site, i get my 'clean and simple' inspiration from other sources.

I don't want to post mine either because mine aren't anywhere near as elaborate as most of these. Maybe there could be a section of "simply perfect" layouts or something where we could post ours and not be intimidated by the others.

Check out the Echo Park Blog. They're hosting a blog hop and the designers really have a great take on clean and simple.

It's a good thing Beethoven wasn't intimidated by Mozart. That was just the opposite, though. Mozart was the definition of Classical Era music. Beethoven began his career with that style and then brought us into the Romantic Era.

This is a very dramatic analogy. Those guys were art music. This is scrapbooking. Post your work!

Oh please don't feel like that! We all develop our own styles. When I try doing those elaborate pages, I feel my photos get lost in all the hoopla. That doesn't mean I don't love looking at them, nor do I feel it diminishes my more simple style either. It simply means someone has perfected a style different than mine.

I agree with Runzalot81-"post your work!
I love to look at & get inspiration from all types of work!
Clean, cluttered, dark, bright, detailed, overdetailed (lol) all of it!
I think I can take something away from every layout I look at!
Even if a layout has a lot on it, underlying all that 'stuff' is still often a great design, fantastic layers, great stitching & good color blocking.. you just have to look closer for it! You can see by my fav's that I love all types. The photo & backstory is what makes a good lo.. not the flower count!

I've also peeked into your gallery. I'd say you ARE the inspiration for clean and simple -- excellent pages! Please post more!

I love your LOs!!!!

I do understand what you are saying. I am a multi-pic scrapper and like to try new techniques. I admire the LOs in the gallery and enjoy viewing them all. I haven't mastered the art of a lot of stuff on the page (besides a lot of pictures) and have determined it's not really my style. However, I have pulled bits and pieces of a lot of different styles into my LOs like distressing, layering, inking, blinging, etc.

We are always too hard on ourselves. Do what works for you and try not to compare to everything else you see here. Your LOs are beauiful so don't discouraged. Don't worry about what is popular right now - post away!

Scrapbooking would be really boring if everyone pages look the same.... don't worry about what everyone else is doing and let's not forget the reasons WHY we scrapbook. It's not a competition; it's about leaving a legacy for future generations.

Gotta say that we gals are our harshest critics. Whether it is our weight, our crafts or our lives - we are constantly comparing ourselves to some ideal that is fabricated by media/marketing. We need to embrace who we are and love ourselves. PERIOD! Your work is lovely and the people that matter most - your family - are proud of your talent. They are the ones that matter most. Not strangers on a forum. Off my soapbox now!!

Do it for yourself because is a way of life that you enjoy as much as the ones that truly love you!! Anyone else, here or any other forum, as a good New Yorker would say: "Fugeddaboutit! ("forget about it")"

I agree with everyone else. I am one of those people who likes to make embellie-happy pages, with tons of stuff on them. However, I love clean and simple. In fact, I think it's an art form in and of itself. Those of us who do the pages with lots of embellishment often have a difficult time doing CAS. I know that I do. It's a challenge for me and I love seeing the inspiration of people who can do it! Post away!

When I read this post, my first thought was, right on ladies, great advice from all, and was proud of the way the other posters propped you and your work up...women can sometimes be very harsh on each other. I also feel sometimes that I am so new to this art n my work is not as good as what I see elsewhere. Then, I looked at part of your gallery, n WOW!!! Your work IS beautiful, great use of color n space, with plenty on the page to look at and admire. Now I feel like I myself am doing okay work, to! (Although I do realize, ultimately, I do this for me and i'm the only one who has to likeit!!)

I never use the "styles" tags in the Gallery because I don't think any of them really "fit" what I do. When you think about it, there are as many styles out there as there are scrapbookers -- everyone has their own taste and preferences. What's "clean and simple" to one person might be extremely elaborate to someone else. So don't get hung up on the semantics. If you create something you love and you want to share it, post away! Chances are it will inspire someone in some way -- even if they don't comment.

Your style is what I want to become. I have a clean and simple look but I in no way have your ability to combine colour and patterns. I totally love your layouts. Please post more cause I want to copy your style someday. Love love love it.

I joined a clean and simple challenge once and it was a train wreck. My pages were hideous.

Designers do elaborate pages/projects because they are trying to sell/promote their products.

Most designers do whatever floats their boat. If they wanna pile it on, then that's their style. If it's clean, then that's their style.

I am a clean and simple scrapper too. If it has a diecut - that's a lot for me. I focus on the journaling and the photos.

If everyone one of us who scraps clean and simple quit posting, where would we go to see layouts that inspire us?

I post mine proudly and I know that mine aren't artsy like others in the gallery.

To be completely honest, most of the layouts in the gallery intimidate me.

There are some beautiful layouts there but very few are my style which is clean and simple. And that is okay.

If anyone who things there work is too clean and simple to post, please think about posting them. For other clean and simple scrappers - that is what we want to see! Those are the ones that inspire me the most!

Thank you for all the nice comments! I would love to see more "clean and simple" inspiration both here and from more designers.