Scraplifting Yourself: Vol. 3

Scrapbooking is a great way to determine how many different ways you can adhere paper to paper. But face it, there are only so many ways you can cut and layer paper. When your creativity stalls, one of the best things to do is browse through one of your scrapbooks, pick a layout and scraplift yourself. We all have layouts that are our favorites, so why not duplicate them? With different papers and photos, the layout will take on a life of its own.

Some of the layouts that I'm particularly fond of may be done many times over. Whether it's an entire page design or a single technique, I often scraplift myself. After all, if an idea works once, it's likely that it can work again and again and again.

Note that the two layouts, "Youngs" and "Cousins," are identical in page design. The pages start with a background patterned paper, to which a single piece of patterned paper has been added along with a coordinating strip of solid cardstock. Photos are matted on cardstock and a few embellishments complete the projects.

On the next two layouts, however, only a single design element was copied. The tags at the top of "Summer Fun" were inspired by tags on another layout I did earlier called "Love." The tags are clustered in groups of three and are similar in both placement and design.

One of my favorite designs for vertical photos can be seen on "1^st Day." This same page design was recently described in an article called "Step-by-Step: Cheer." Stamped flourishes and a single torn strip of patterned paper come together to make a simple but noteworthy layout. Once you give yourself permission to scraplift yourself, you're certain to find it a useful technique.

Detailed supply lists used for the layouts featured in this article can be found in the artist's gallery. Most items are available in the Scrapjazz Megastore or at Scrapbook.com.