Climbing Out of a Scrapbook Rut

Anyone who has ever scrapped for any length of time has probably been in a rut at some point or another. It is when you suddenly realize that all of your scrapbook’s layouts are starting to look the same. Maybe all of your titles run in an identical way across the page, or you use the same fonts over an over, possibly even using the same template or sketch repeatedly. You might even find yourself shopping for the same embellishments time after time, which in turn, gives each scrapbook layout such a similar look and feel, that the individual style that could be coming through in each layout is lost amidst the sameness of your supplies.

Individual pieces of your repetition might even be a change from everyone else’s norm, but for you, it has become somewhat of a signature. This would be okay, except you have five or six signature pieces and you use each one over and over, resulting in pages that resemble each other just a bit too much.

Now is as good a time as any to crawl, climb, and leap your way out of that rut you have fallen into. Start by thinking how you normally scrap, and then switch it up.

Organize the space that you scrap for the last time, which is until the next time you feel the need to make some changes. Seriously, scrapbooking in an organized space is a great way to be able to see what supplies you all have. When this happens, you are more likely to use more of your materials than the same stuff repeatedly.

If you enjoy attending crops and that is where you work on most of your layouts, consider staying in and tapping into some solitude, to find some inner inspiration that scrapping alone can bring. If you are a solitary scrap booker by nature, then sign up for a crop or two. The noise, camaraderie, and assortment and array of different supplies might be just the push you need to get moving in some different directions.

Find a different outlet for your scrapbook supplies other than your normal choice. If you have a favorite local scrapbook store, do not abandon it, but try to mix it up by shopping online or one town over for some new motivation.

Buy something you would not normally buy. If you never use stamps or include embossing on your layouts, try them. If you never include journaling, now is as good a time as any to give it a shot. Search for ways that you can spice up or give a different look to your scrapping than what others would normally associate with your layouts when they see them.

Put away your scrapbook supplies and pull out some scrapbook magazines. Take the time to read them, poring over the layouts inside of them. Scraplifting a design or two that are as different from what you would consider your style as you can find can be just the step you need to get your creativity flowing on a new level.

Being in a scrapbook rut is never fun, but once you start climbing out you are sure to remember what was so intriguing about scrapbooking in the first place.