Everyday Inspirations

I recently asked a group of scrapbookers where they go to find inspiration for their scrapbook pages. Their answers not only surprised me, but inspired me to start looking around more often at the world around me. There are page design ideas everywhere!

Where to find your inspiration:

Advertisements - Magazine, Newspaper, Billboards, Television, and Brochures - "I use my husband's Sporting News. Their stuff has to be visually pleasing for a man to notice." - Burnt_Cookies

print ad for Pratt Homes	layout by Teresa Davidson

Art - Paintings, sculptures, and other pieces of art can be great inspiration for scrapbook pages. You can replicate various styles of art by imitating color combinations, shapes, and textures.

Clothing - "I look at something that someone else is wearing and think, "That looks really nice! I would never have thought of putting those colors together! I am going to have to try that a scrapbook page!'" - jodster70

Packaging - Product packaging is a great place to look for design ideas. Just as in advertisements, often quite a bit of study and professional graphic design has gone into creating the perfect packaging for a product. The professionals have done the hard work of coming up with a great design for you! "I often go down the shampoo isle at Wal-Mart, and actually look at the typeface and designs on the bottles. These are great ideas to apply for title blocks and color schemes on my pages." - Amy jo

Greeting Cards - The geometric shapes and innovative lettering on greeting cards can provide fantastic inspiration for layouts and page embellishments.

Home Décor - rugs, picture frames, towels, curtains - "I get ideas for colors and backgrounds from catalogs. I recently got a linens catalog that had great ideas on their comforters!" - RunswithTile

"I have taken a lot of decorating principles with me to scrapping like composition, color- schemes, scale, and different styles." - scrapmom5

In-Store Displays - "I get a lot of inspiration from in-store displays, especially Target. I think the way they merchandise the product is a lot like lo composition--has to be eye catching!" -- lucylsmom

Nature - "I get a lot of inspiration from nature in the colors of nature, the way a fence is broke and the way a bird is sitting on it, our horses and their colors, the seasons, sunrises, the way a tree bends, and how a flower head rests against another." -- cindyloumn

print ad for Clarion Hills	layout by Sherry Cartwright

Signs - "I have lately taken an interest in signs. Lots of doctor's offices, clinics, and buildings where there are a lot of business will often make a really eye catching sign to stand out." -- vtpuggirl

Web Sites - Web site designs offer great ideas for color combinations, title ideas and graphics for your pages.

A special thanks to the following members of Scrapjazz.com who provided fantastic tips for finding inspiration in these unusual places:

Amy jo, Burnt_Cookies, Libby in AR, sherlonkahkai, cjscrapper42, amanda's mom, Loriannmomof3, Lovefam98, jodster70, RunsWithTile, cindyloumn, scrappinlikemad, CrazyJulz, scrappinlikemad, scrapmom5, lucylsmom, vtpuggirl, Sizemore, illuzionz4U, skigirl, Tabatha42183, JENNY B, and Rhonda14.