How did you evolve as a scrapper?

I'm thinking this is a question we could all learn from. I've noticed there are lots of scrappers who've been doing this quite a while.

What type of answer I'm looking for is how did your style evolve? What did you notice and change? What was the most recent change? FOr example, in the last few months i've started really matting and noticing mattting. Now, in the past few weeks, I've noticed that my titles could be better. Still looking into that. So i'm wondering, what's next for me?

I realize there isn't just one way to scrapbook so I'm thinking we can all learn which things are important to each other also (like all the sudden i *must* mat, weird!)

Thanks.

Good Question!

I know that after a couple of years in scrapbooking, I've evolved in a couple different ways...

- Color - I'm much more conscious about matching colors with elements in the photo, using mostly subtle tones. I rarely ever use brights or neons anymore, unless the photos scream for it.

- Photos - I always take time for the better shots now, and make sure that I take more shots of the people in my life rather than the scenery. Scenery shots are nice once in a while, but pose a friend or family member in front of the scenery, and you have an even better story to tell!

- Cropping - it's been a long, long time since I cut a photo with a pair of decorative scissors! I'll cut the matting, but not the photo now.

- Shopping - the first year of scrapbooking, I had to have EVERYTHING on the market, whether I tried it or not. I felt like I had to build up an inventory of supplies! Consequently, I have a lot of stickers, templates, scissors, and printed paper that I'll never use! I spend my money more wisely now- on products that I've researched first!

Add in more thoughtful journaling, simpler pages, less stickers, and more time out for crops with friends and that's how I've evolved with this hobby!

That's a really neat question! I hope some of the other girls here answer, because I'm sure there'd be some more interesting answers than mine, LOL!

I've been scrapping for a bit over three years, and my style has evolved all that time. I keep improving, which makes me feel good (though I had nowhere to go but up from my early efforts, LOL.)

Some of the big steps for me were:

Color. In my defense, I didn't have access to lots of great colors of cardstock at first, but still! I feel like I've really learned how to enhance a photo with color--I feel like that's my strongest SB skill.

Titles. I remember looking at Becky Higgins' layouts in CK several years ago and getting hit like a thunderbolt--"Hmm, she uses titles on all her layouts! And it looks GOOD! Maybe I should do that!" LOL! Now titles are one of my favorite ways to enhance a layout.

Lately, I feel like I'm not evolving fast enough--scrapbooking has made such gigantic creative leaps in the last year or so, I'm finding it hard to keep up. The CK Vacation Memories book and the June CK in particular made my head spin! It's good to be challenged, though, and I feel like I've really come into my own as a scrapbooker in the last year or so as well...I know my style and I'm pretty happy with it.

Journaling is still something I feel I need to work on. How to make my writing sound like "ME" and not like all the journaling I read in the mags. I'd also like to go a teeny bit more complex in my layouts...seems like I'm always looking at very sophisticated layouts and cursing my brain for not being able to think of that stuff, LOL. Small details really do make for a wonderful page.

Thanks for the thought-provoking question!

------------------
Janelle :-)

In some ways I feel I've gone backwards! I am doing much simpler, cleaner pages these days and trying to focus on the journaling. That said, I also try out new techniques and have lots of fun doing so.

I sat in a "Simple Scrapbooks" workshop and changed my attitude. I like getting lots of pages done and they still look great (humble ain't i?).

I'm a newbie and have enjoyed reading so many wonderful ideas.

First let me welcome you irishgoose, you are really going to love this message board. It is a lot of fun.
I feel that I have evolved tremendously these last few years.
My style has changed in many diffrent ways. I realize that I really focus now on choosing only the pictures that tell a story. My layouts are much simpler and I am always trying to learn new techniques to make my albums more intresting.
I definitley mat my photos whith colors that go with the photos.It really gives the layout a much more finished and profesional look.
I now do more journaling which is really important so that future generations can identify the people and understand what was going on.
I think that what I have learned the most with the years is going shopping for scrapbooking supplies. I really try to go to the scrapbook store with an idea of what I need for a certain project and buy onl what I need.

Is this a loaded question or what?

My scrapping has evolved quite a bit. When I first started scrapbooking I bought and used any and everything! My pages were often cluttered and lack a sense of style.

Today my scrapping is very clean. I don't use the million decorative scissors that I have! I don't use stickers. I keep my embellishments simple and focused. Another thing that I do is MAT (or is it MATTE??) my pictures. I'm famous for double and even triple matting a picture!

Another way I've evolved is by taking better pictures. I think that my photography skills have improved a great deal since I started actively scrapbooking.

------------------
Ü Samara Ü

• 25 pages in January
  
• 16 pages in February
  
• 15 pages in March
  
• 17 pages in April
  
• 73 pages in 2001
  

Good question!
My answer is long!

I saw my first issue of Creating Keepsakes in the bookstore I used to work at in 1996. I was engaged at the time and thought scrapbooking and preserving my photos safely looked like a great thing to do with my upcoming wedding photos. I was going to have a formal album, but also wanted a nice way to display the photos from my bridal shower, candids from the reception, and our honeymoon. I started purchasing packs of paper, stickers, and an inexpensive album whenever Michaels had a coupon. I just kept collecting supplies and never really did anything with them.

I starting stamping in the late 80's but never really understood what I was doing, or why the ink I was using smeared all the time. After learning more about different types of inks and stamping, I decided stamping most of my pages was a way to make my pages more personalized and I thought looked more elegant than using stickers to decorate all of my pages. Some of my first pages use stickers, but now I stamp on almost all of my pages instead. I still have a lot of stickers I like, but can't bring myself to put them on my pages. I started using stamps for the fact I could use them over and over, but make them look different by using them as either background papers or borders, or stamping them in colors to match my photos more than I could with stickers. I got sick of hunting for the perfect stickers for every page. I like using coordinated cardstocks, inks, and papers, because I never have to run around matching things up. So my style now can't really be called simple, but I like to say polished and coordinated. Using coordinated supplies makes it easy to put together a layout quickly, but also adds the color and designs that I love to see on my pages. I also rarely crop my photos anymore, or at least very little. You won't find a heart shaped or star shaped photo in any of my recent albums. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but I like to keep my photos square, rectangle, or oval shaped.

------------------
Bonnie Moe
Independent Close to My Heart® Consultant
Rochester, MN
http://members.aol.com/ctmhbonnie/index.html

You've given me some things to think about. Each of us is a different personality, and our scrapbook pages should reflect that. I love detail on each page, so it takes me longer to do a page than most people. I love die cuts, stamping, stickers, colored paper...the works. I've evolved in a few ways:
1. I am now adding journal strips on each
page so that the people IN the pictures
can also journal their memories and
impressions related to that picture. This
gives a different point of view, preserves
their handwriting, and makes it even more
personal.
2. I'm saving more keepsakes like ticket
stubs, concert programs, travel
brochures, receipts, etc. which will be
interesting 50 years from now.
3. I also make fewer pictures of scenery
unless it is very unusual, and then try
to have a person in the photo.
4. I almost always double mat, and am very
conscious of matching my paper to the
colors in the pictures.
5. I am very particular about the background
in a photo now, and usually take close-ups
rather than from a distance.
6. I am very interested in learning more
about available scrapbook programs so I
utilize my computer more for layouts and
clip art, but I don't want to ever have a
computer-generated scrapbook. I like the
"hands-on" look of a finished page.

What a great question -- it really makes one think. I too have to agree that I've "evolved" to a simpler style.

Although I still am a sticker fanatic, I use fewer and my pages are much less cluttered.

I did very little journalling until recently, and now find that journalling in my books has become quite important. I want my future grandchildren to understand and know me and how I felt about their mothers and their grandfather.

I also find that I seldom use bright colors any more, but work more with the ivories, charcoals, and creams; I use pastels and earth tones too. Occasionally I do have a series of pictures that absolutely demands an in-your-face color, but I prefer the "softer" tones.

I guess if I had to sum it up my pages have more elegance and sophitication (that sounds awfully "snooty" doesn't it"? )than when I first began.

[This message has been edited by Doris Reffner (edited 05-17-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Doris Reffner (edited 05-17-2001).]

Wow!! What a great question! It really makes you think. I think the easiest way to explain how I've evolved over my two years of scrapping is to seperate my making scrapbooks and taking pictures to show my progression. I started with the pictures I'd already taken and started to simplify my pages by not cluttering them with whatever I could cram on them. I also started matting pictures and using the matting to bring out the pictures and by starting to make better use of colors. I also began using titles on pages that were (for lack of a better way to explain it) just nicer looking.

Now that I've got my pages coming together the way I like (for now) I've not been doing much evolving as far as making my books, but I've discovered the the photos I take enhance my pages much more than any embellishments I can add. I've really been making a conscience effort every time I pick up my camera to tell as much of the story with the pictures and to get the angles and shots you only see in photography books. Sometimes it takes a whole roll of film to get that perfect shot, but when you get those pictures back, it's worth it. I also take pictures with the specific intent of putting them in my scrapbooks, so I try to visualize how I want to make the page, as I'm taking the pictures, so I almost never (almost) do a page thinking I wish I had gotten this picture to complete the whole theme.

I can't wait to see what other ways I'll evolve and how my layout looks will change with every new thing I try. It'd be fun to post this question in about 6 months to see if we think we've gone on to another level.

I have to agree...Great Question!

I guess the point that I'm at with scrapping now is that I finally feel like I'm settled in to my "style". I know what I like, and I know what I don't like. This helps soooo much. I still find that I want to try new techniques quite often, bet even with the new techniques the finished result is definitely my style. I really enjoy my pages now and they're a lot easier to get done. When I first started scrapping, I tried every new technique, tool, and idea I saw in a mag. Now I know what will work with my style and what won't and it is just so nice. I feel much more relaxed about my scrapping then I did when I first started. I was pretty overwhelmed at first, overwhelmed but also excited to really get my feet wet on this new hobby I'd discovered. Well, my feet are more than soaking wet now, and my friend would tell you that I've even gone off the deep end. I just love scrapping, I love the enjoyment that I receive by the process, the finished product, and sharing it with my family. Now what I find myself doing is perfecting, or at least getting better, at the skills and techniques I've already tried and have found have worked.

Thanks again for such a great question!

------------------
TracyN in Idaho

[This message has been edited by TracyN (edited 05-19-2001).]

Thanks! This really got me thinking!

Hmm...I've only been doing this for about a year, so I don't know how much time I've really had to evolve. . .

One thing I do a lot is take pictures with a layout in mind. Sometimes I even have a specific paper in mind. As a result, my pictures have become SOOOO much better. I don't end up with as much waste, and my technique has gotten to the point that I feel I could possibly win an award with some of my photos. (Not bragging, I promise.)

At first, I really didn't know what I was doing, so my layouts were often copies of ones I saw in magazines and idea books. Lately, though, I've started being more original, and the results have been pretty good. I've always been a creative person, but I just had to get over that initial fear that I would mess up.

One important thing I have learned is not to try to scrap when I'm not "in the groove." The pages are awful, and I shouldn't even waste my time.

At first, I leaned towards neutrals, greens and reds. Now, I'm getting braver and trying different color combinations.

I'm also starting to journal more than I did at first. I wish I could lettering better. My handwriting is pretty good, but I can't do fancy lettering to save my life!

Anyway, neat question........

You've really made me think. I've been scrapping for almost a year now. I think my pages are much more mature. They don't look like I just slapped a couple of photos on a piece of paper.
Instead of saying what I'm doing now, let's see what I don't do now.
I don't just do holiday pages. I have Disneyland and the zoo.
I don't put pictures from different years on the same page. For example, one of my first pages had pics from 4 different Halloween's on it, and there was nothing tying them together.
I don't not have a title.
I don't use patterned pages as much.

What do I want to do in the future?
Mat photos.
Have better titles.
Get better journaling for my pages as a kid.
Have better "tools".

------------------
Meggie:
A person who always strives to do her best-

Meggie, setting goals seems like such a good idea. Why didn't I think of that? Thanks.