Oft times when we read about others' projects, we find ourselves riddled with guilt, overwhelmed by options, or just plain ole scared away. But this week, with Karen's gentle style and nurturing way, I have found myself wanting to try, to succeed; wanting to join in and check things out. Have you felt it, too?
Karen mentioned yesterday that she has a new class at Big Picture Classes.
Don't you think it would be amazing to have Karen's inspirational tone to lead and guide and teach you? Listen to her journey in creating this class:
If you look at the bios of any of the Write. Click. Scrapbook. collective, you'll see that one of the questions we all answer is:
Though I began scrapbooking in YYYY, I don’t think I found my groove until YYYY.
Where YYYY is a year.
I remember the day write.click.scrapbook started. I remember going through everyone's bios and looking at their answers. And I remember this sentence sticking out to me because I had no answer.
I hadn't found my groove.
I didn't even think I ever would.
At the time, I struggled to find my authentic way of creating pages. When someone looked at my pages, they could clearly see that I had a simple style. I focused on the photos and the words. They might have defined me as “simple scrapper” and moved on.
The thing is, something was missing from my pages.
When I looked at the layouts I created over a year, I couldn’t see enough of a consistency. Sometimes I loved my pages and other times I hated them. Sometimes the process of creating was a torture and other times fun. The pages felt irregular. I couldn’t look at twelve consecutive layouts I made and see a common thread. And, most important, they didn’t feel authentic to me.
I could see that my journaling had a clear voice. But my layouts, my designs, my pages didn’t have one.
During May 2010, just for fun, I decided to do a layout a day. I then created a page every single day for the next 31 days. About halfway through the process, I realized I’d finally found my design voice.
I’d found my WAY of scrapbooking.
When I look back to the pages I created I can see clear threads. I can see repeated patterns, ideas, even composition. I’d finally found my groove. Come into my own. Whatever you want to call it.
This turned out to be an incredible blessing on several levels.
Time: I now had a clear idea of what types of products I used on my pages. I surrounded myself with those, made sure I always had some in stock, and this inspired me and made my scrapping quicker and more fun.
Money: Since I now had a solid understanding of what I used and what I didn’t, I stopped buying products I didn’t use and bought more of what I did. This meant that I used what I bought and didn’t end up accumulating stuff that was never going to end up on my pages.
Joy: Most significantly, I really enjoyed the process of creating layouts and loved every single one of my pages. Sure, I loved some more than others but each of them felt authentic to me. They were a piece of me.
I created my own creative toolset. Things I love to use. Techniques I try again and again. Colors I adore. Photos that inspire me. I even started hand-journaling: something I would have never done in a million years.
After this journey, my scrapbooking changed permanently. Not only did I get more opportunities to design for amazing manufacturers, I began to truly enjoy the process of preserving our memories. My albums felt more true to me. I felt like now that my photos, my words, and my design each had pieces of me in it, I was truly leaving pieces of me to my kids. If all this sounds a bit cheesy and over the top, I swear to you it’s exactly how I felt. And still feel.
There’s truly nothing comparable to feeling like what you’re creating is authentic to you. Your voice.
Your way.
So if you're like me and in search of your authentic way of scrapbooking, I hope you will join me in this workshop. I will do everything in my power to help make the same magic I experienced happen to you. Digital or paper, it doesn't matter. This is about finding your unique design voice.
I hope you will join me and I look forward to seeing you in class.
PS: International and US residents welcome. Feel free to comment even if you've already registered, BPC will gladly refund your class if you are the recipient of the giveaway.
Interested? We thought so. If you would like to be considered for this giveaway, please leave a comment sharing something you know about your style. It can be about your pages, if you have defined that for yourself, or just about your general style. There are no right answers, just a thinking starting spot. Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm EST and then one lucky number will drawn and posted at random tomorrow. Please remember to check back as it is your responsibility to claim your lucky number before midnight Saturday!
