Scrapbook meltdown rant

I thought somehow the artsy crafty me was going to bust loose. I spent hundreds of dollars and bought stamps of all kinds, tons of pretty paper, glue, glitter, markers, cutters.... Every page I've started I've hated. Is it possible there's really IS a wrong way to scrapbook. I'm not giving up nut I'm burning out!

If I were you I'd start with a sketch.

Also, play with all of your new goodies with some scratch paper until the juices start flowing. (I always play with new stuff before actually incorporating it into my work.)

Don't give up, your inner scrapbook goddess will come out to dance before you know it.

Have you checked any of the youtubes, looked through the gallery for inspiration, or attended a crop?

I've been doing this for a few years now, and I'm just now at a ratio of about 1:9 layouts I hate vs. the ones I love. I'm self-taught honestly, just spending alot of time faving artists I like in particular, and playing endlessly without glueing anything down.

Give it time and have fun with it.

My inner sb goddess. I can't wait to meet her.

Ok, now I don't feel so bad that I took apart six layouts AFTER I posted them on here for a redo! I'm happier now.

Look at the gallery for ideas for layouts but how to put the colors and design together. Maybe take a picture and think about the journaling for now. Maybe something in the journaling will give you ideas on the embellishments, design, etc. Take a class, if you can afford it. Go to You Tube and study technique there. Don't give up. Just keep going. Sometimes a mistake turns out to be something wonderful. You're stuck and you need a break from this right now.

It's true what the other girls said. And we are usually more skeptical about our own work than about someone else's work. Don't be so hard on yourself Work with your supplies and ideas will start coming to you, try the ideas and see what happens. Try what Raquel said and move stuff around on the page without gluing until you like it.
And with the stamps, I like to stamp on a separate piece of card stock or paper then color it and cut it out and put that on my pages after all the work is done, and I can place it anywhere on the page, but it keeps me from stamping an image in the wrong spot and having to either cover it or start over with a new page.
I bet your inner sb goddess is in there, you just have to allow her to come out and help you

I can spend days moving around a layout...then...changing the paper...I am never satisfied....but..then...I remember my new mantra..."JUST GLUE IT!" I even made a sign for my scraproom that says it...Now if I could only follow my own advice! Ha ha!

You are your own worst critic. Remember this. I am harder on my own work than anyone else. I can spend days, even a week or more getting one layout right. And in the end, I may not be happy with it. However, I learn from what I didn't like, and try again. I am a big fan of sketches, like someone else said, they are great if you don't have any juices flowing right away. You'd be surprised how fast they will come once you get going. I also keep an idea journal where I keep clippings, sketches, color combos, quotes and images that inspire me or that I would like to try. Honestly, when it comes to art, which face it, that is what this is... well, there really isn't a right or wrong in my opinion. Your opinion is what matters most, so when you find techniques and ideas you like, stick with them until you find more! Good luck!

Thank you all so much for the dust-off... I'm back in the saddle.

• Lunie2nz Said:

Good!!! That's what I want to hear!!! You will be fine! Remember...you are an artist!!!

yup, when I'm blocked I go for scketches, copy one or two before you know it you'll be off in your own direction.

it's ok. you are ok. sorry you had to freak out. i did that last january when i thought i was scrapping the wrong pics. but i realized it's my books,my pages and i'm better now.

do you have any temporary adhesive? that helps me. if i have a few pp and cs picked out i'll mat the pics and then move them and the ribbon, etc, around until everything else is just right. then i permanently adhere them.

good luck.

I tend to like my layouts better if I put them away and don't look at them for a bit. I also found I like my layouts better if I start with A sketch. There are some great sketches in the gallery here. Good luck.

I'm going through a rough patch too. You are not alone. I am just riding it through, hoping that it ends soon.

Thanks for the advice ladies.

You are DEFINITELY not alone. I've been scrapping for years, have been on 4 Design Teams, and I *still* hate some of the layouts I make! Fortunately, the more you scrap, the more you'll learn about how to make the kinds of pages you love. I agree with other suggestions to start with a sketch or a total scraplift of a page you love.

Good luck!

Cindy

I have had many of those days where I've spent hours working on something only to tear it out and start all over. Very frustrating. I've found that looking at others work and going to local crops (where I can try out new things and ask questions) has been a great help. Also, when things are not going great with one thing (like layouts) I will find another project (like cards or bookmarkers) to work on. Hang in there girl!

I am often dissatisfied with my LOs. There will just be something that I'm unhappy with, that I can't put my finger on...like some others here, I spend hours re-positioning, changing paper colors, embellishments, etc. Very frustrating, but very satisfying when I get it "right."

Get a simple layout you really like and scraplift it. Copy it with your own papers. Attend a few classes, online or at your LSS. These help teach the basics and get your juices flowing.

Thinking of it as "art" is too stressful for me...I just try to remember that this is just a hobby and that if it's not perfect, it doesn't matter!

I'm documenting my life and my family for ME, not for anyone's approval. Sometimes I get really discouraged when I look through the gallery on here and I'm like "why don't my pages look anything like that???" but the ladies on here are very supportive of the "no wrong way to scrap" mantra.

As a last resort if I REALLY hate something I made, I can always just reprint the pics and make a totally new layout. I haven't actually done this before, but knowing that I CAN makes me feel much better about "just gluing it."

I think we all go through that!!! Many times I feel blocked and usually work on something else then it returns - good luck!