Scrappers block?

What do you do when you're fresh out of ideas? I'm hoping to compile a list of ideas for a future blog article.

Do you take a break? Think outside the box for ideas? Challenge yourself to try something new?

I usually flip through a scrapbook magazine when I'm feeling unmotivated. I'm curious what everyone else does.

I look at the gallery, check out sketches, or look through magazines and my idea book. The idea book is just a binder of LOs that are inspiring to me that I've put together from various sources.

I find that sometimes it helps me to go to a crop, too. That sort of forces me to create, by the very nature of being at one! I also get to check out other people's stuff and talk to them about their crafting, which can sometimes kick my mojo into gear.

A few things I do:

* Keep an inspiration journal. In it, sketch layouts, paste clippings from magazines (such as home decor) of patterns you like. Write journaling and future layout ideas. Be inspired by home decor and art. Sometimes the layout of a room or a painting can be a jumping-off point for designing a layout. Patterns of fabrics, furniture, etc., can inspire you to mix similar patterns in your patterned paper. This journal can be a godsend when you're in a block. You can refer back to it and find lots of inspiring ideas. Put everything in there that inspires you, scrap-related or not.

* Scraplift an ad! Take a product ad from any magazine and see if it inspires a layout.

* Browse online galleries, blogs, etc. and be inspired by all the talent out there!

* Shop for a couple new pieces of paper or a fun pack of embellishments. Sometimes just a couple new things will perk up your existing "stash" and make you see older things in new, fresh ways.

* Stop and walk away. Come back to a layout after you've slept or done another task. During this "away" time, your mind keeps working on that layout and usually when you come back to it, things flow!

These are just a few things that help me! Hope this helps you!

I totally agree with Ami. I keep a little notebook with me everywhere I go so that I can write down ideas that inspire me. I also love to browse online galleries and blogs. I get a lot of inspiration from looking at my favorite artist's work. Getting a few new supplies also helps me. I bring them home and drag out all my old supplies and pick things that go well together and then I walk away and think about it for a while. When I come back I usually have an idea or two to mess around with.

• Ami G Said:

I do that too!

i look online for a new technique! it could be paper folding, emobossing or a new type of stamping. I try to use my new technique in my layout

Here are some of things that help me.
1. Shop for more scrapcrap
2. Look in magazines or on line for ideas. I like to look at the favorites layouts of my favorite artists here at SB.
3. Shop for more scrapcrap
4. Do a small 8x8 layout...I get overwhelmed with the large layouts sometimes and the scrap part of my brain shuts down...a couple fast and easy small layouts sometimes get the juices flowing.
5. Shop for more scrapcrap.
6. Look through and organize my stuff because sometimes I find stuff I forgot I had and it feels like I got something new and that inspires me or if not then go out and...
7. Shop for more scrapcrap.
8. Still no mojo?....then I put it all away for awhile cuz maybe I just genuinely do not want to scrap.
Sometimes you just need a break.

I know I am guilty of searching for an event for my hubby and I to go to so I can take pictures and plan a page!

• melissa*l Said:

i'm not married, but i totally do that too. i always try to find events or places to drag people to so i can take pictures to scrap. i think it annoys most people, but i do it anyway.

I usually go back through stacks of photographs that maybe I passed over before. I'm very moody, so the thing that jars my 'creativity' bug to life could be color, a product, or even a conversation I had with a friend! In short, there is no simple answer!!

• Ami G Said:

I am a big fan of stop and walk away. Sometimes if I force myself to get the creative juices flowing, it frustrates me more than anything. Sometimes it's a matter of doing another task and going back an hour later. Other times it is for a day or two and then suddenly it just comes to me. Oh and of course I love to come to sb.com and see what the other talented people have been doing!

Too funny!!!!I plan to carry a book with me but I always forget My hubby is sick of me taking pics. of him all the time (but he is my only family member who lives in this island with me. Taking a lil break is a good thing.

• dollscrap Said:

This is really weird. My original post at the top of this thread has a product reference that I did not put there.

Is this something new that SB.com is doing? I don't post here often enough to notice new features. I'm not sure I like them including advertising in individual posts.

All of the above! Plus, I live near an Archivers and a couple other LSS. I can almost always find a weekend class to attend at one of them. Learning a new technique, or even getting someone else's "take" on an old technique is inspiring.

• beccaboo3 Said:

lol i do the same thing. and i am guilty of shoving the camera in my childrens hands as they leave for an event. just tonight my DS and DD went roller skating with a few friends. they both have cell phones with cameras and i was shouting after them "take lotsa pics". i am also guilty of bribing them to take pics. 50 cents for each usable pic. that way i am sure to get lots!!!

When a scrapper friend and I started "dressing" so we wouldn't clash with the layouts we had planned for the pictures we were taking on an outing I knew we were over the edge!

• beccaboo3 Said:

• DaisyButton Said:

Can I mark this comment as a Favorite?

Usually interuption is THE MOST huge problem for me. So I tell those in the house "I need X amount of un-interupted time to accomplish something" and when I put it correctly I get the time ... sometimes. I give rewards when I get my project finished without interuption. Amazing how going to clean up messes or make someone a snack, or needing to search for someone's 'lost' item can take away from creativity!
But for me just laying out what I need to get done like a page or card aand looking it over can get me motivated.