
It's that time of year: right now, the three scrapbook stores closest to me seem to get in some new line of supplies weekly. It's absolutely thrilling to stop by and see new items. My love of making layouts grows with each glimpse of never-before-seen paper, ribbon, stickers, and alphabets. (You know I have a hard time resisting the alphabets!) The appeal of the new: It's something that most scrappers succumb to. In the face of fresh supplies, our affection for what we already own (that we previously loved just as much) diminishes. Of course, I do buy
some of the new lines—but only what I know I will use. I manage this by way of a recent epiphany.
Scrapbooking isn't my only craft; I'm also a quilter. And my scrapping epiphany actually comes from quilting and from reading quilting blogs. Quilters are just as interested in new fabrics as we scrappers are in new supplies, but they're far less likely to only use new stuff. They mix in their old fabrics in with the new; they save nearly every scrap to work in to some other quilt. A fabric isn't just used once—you'll find it popping up here and there in many different quilts.
Maybe this is because fabric is expensive—at least $10 a yard for the good stuff. You don't want to waste any. But if you do the math, fabric, by the inch, costs about the same as patterned paper. (One yard of fabric is equivalent to about 12 pieces of 12x12 patterned paper; if you pay .80 cents per patterned paper, you're spending $9.60 on a "yard" of paper.) Or maybe it's because you tend to purchase bigger pieces of fabric. But really I think it's simply a different way of looking at supplies. Quilters see their stash as a resource, the place they "shop" from first. The colors and patterns, no matter their age, are simply a medium used to create texture and shape. New stuff is worked in with old stuff to make something that's both useful and beautiful.
I think we scrappers tend to look at our stash as collections. This makes it harder to use our stuff because using it feels like deconstructing the collection. So, instead of shopping our stash, we buy new stuff—and then add it right into the collection. It's a tough cycle to break! When the new stuff comes out each six months or so, your "old" new stuff—what you bought a season before—loses some of its appeal. There in the scrapbook store (or looking at images online), it's easy to become swept up in the "I must have this NEW thing" reaction and to buy only because it is new, not because it will be useful for you. Plus, dare I say this: there's something about using the new stuff that helps you feel like you're in the club, the one that's also using everything new.
The only way to overcome that reaction is this way: use your stuff. I know...I might just be repeating myself. Haven't I been saying that all week? Yes! But something magical happens when you deconstruct your stash. You find yourself making things you love with supplies you love. You come to understand which products work within your design approach and which ones don't, which helps you resist the lure of the new. When you're consistently using your stash, the temptation to buy only what is new clears away. You can see your purchasing options in a simple light: I know I will use this, I know I won't use this.
You might even find there's a powerful little thrill in saying no to something new. You can acknowledge the beauty of something while still knowing it won't work for you—but only if you know what works for you! The rest of today's post will focus on the skill of knowing what to say no to, and what to say yes to.
Creative Energy
Pull out the same older album you browsed through yesterday, when you were looking for trends. Today, don't simply look at it—read it. Give yourself some time, maybe a half hour or 45 minutes, and read as much of your journaling as you can. Think about the stories you've put down, stories that now are much less likely to be lost. Laugh over the little things you might have forgotten if you hadn't written about them. Savor the details that have changed in your life. Remember how it used to be?
Next, pick one of your least-favorite layouts in this album. If you were given the assignment to redo this layout, what would you change? What products would you use? What extra details would you add to the journaling? How would the layout redo change the memory you preserved?
Close the album. Put it back on the shelf. Now, ask yourself: what is more vivid, the stories and the photos, or the products you used? For me, there is nearly always a positive memory attached to the making of a layout. It's a sort of memory layer: the memory of the layout's creation on top of the memory itself. But what makes me the most happy is knowing that the stories themselves are preserved, paired with pictures that help illustrate the experience.
When you look at your albums in this light, the products you use start to lose their importance. You begin to realize that there are a million different ways you could make a layout with the same pictures—but only one memory you are preserving. The products can enhance (or even detract from) the photos, but they can't change the memory itself. That is what endures.
An even more powerful exercise, if you can manage it, is to find someone who
doesn't scrapbook to look at one of your albums, and then get her to talk about her reaction. This person could be the subject of your album, or someone else. Anyone who has an interest in your life. You'll notice that her reaction is different than a scrapbooker's would be. As a non-scrapbooker, this person will notice the stories and the photos first, the products second. I realized how profound our written stories are one day when my dad, who has Alzheimer's, spent an afternoon reading my albums. (You can read more about that day
here if you're interested.) He was an artistic person, but he never once commented on any embellishment or title treatment or anything else scrap-related. Instead, it was the stories that mattered to him.
Your stories are the things that matter, too.
Smart Shopping
This week, if you've done all the creative energy exercises, you've gone a long way towards understanding what you really do use on your layouts. Take that knowledge with you when you shop for scrapping supplies. Ask yourself: am I drawn to this because it is pretty, because it is new and interesting, because I recognize it as something I will use? Sometimes the answer to all of those questions is affirmative and I count that as an emphatic yes! I can buy this!
When I am faced with all that new product, I try to focus my questions even more:
- What do I already own that's similar? Is this different enough to justify the purchase?
- Is this similar to something else I've already used often on a layout? Does that similarity mean I'm more likely to use this new thing (because it's worked for me in the past) orless (because it feels repetitive)?
- Does this fit into the reality of my scrapbooking or the image of what scrappers are supposed to use? This question helps you think about why you want to buy this new product. As an example: I am consistently drawn to chipboard letters when I'm looking at new stuff. But when I'm actually scrapbooking, I tend to get frustrated by chipboard. Inevitably it doesn't stick (if self-adhesive) or the process of altering it is too time consuming. I know that most scrappers love chipboard. I love it too, in theory; I love it on other people's pages. But in the reality of my layouts, I don't use it that often.
- How will this product help me to tell a story? I find that last question to be the most clarifying. It lets me see the new products in a different light. Maybe a saying on a sticker reminds me of a story I haven't told yet, or of an experience I'd like to write more about. Sometimes color can evoke memories, or textures. Sometimes it is a shape—a leaf can remind me of how summer feels, even in the middle of winter, and spark the desire to scrap a summery story.
Organizing
On my scrapbooking desk, I keep two baskets. One holds the tools I use on nearly every single layout: adhesive, small scissors, big scissors, my favorite snap-off knife, and black pens in various thicknesses. The other holds my most recent purchases. I keep all my new stuff right where I can see it because it makes me more likely to use it. I want to use my new stuff quickly not by virtue of its newness or because I want to belong to the club. Instead, it's so I don't add the new products to my collection. If I try to implement the new—by working it in with the older stuff—right away, it doesn't get collected. It gets used.
Once I've used the new stuff in that basket at least once, then I sort what's left (the sheet of stickers missing a few letters, the rest of the brads, some scraps of patterned paper and half a yard of ribbon) into the appropriate drawer or box. This has an added bonus: it lets everything mingle together. Once I've tossed a handful of, say, paper flowers into my flower drawer, I forget who made it and when I bought it. Instead, when I open that drawer, I just see a resource: a bunch of flowers.
Use your Stuff Tip
When I do take the time to alter chipboard, I always love the results. Here are some of my most-used tips:
- If I'm altering with patterned paper, I nearly always paint the vertical edge first, with acrylic paint. Some of the paint will, of course, slop over onto the top of the letter or shape. Before the paint dries, I place the patterned paper right on top of the paint, then smooth it down. As it dries, the paint adheres the paper just as well as any glue, and I can skip the gluing step altogether.
- If the chipboard shape I'm using is self-adhesive and reversible, I alter the back side. This doesn't work, of course, for many letters (like F, G, L, and R), but it will work for some (like T, A, and V), and most shapes can be altered this way. I peel the backing off and then start sticking stuff down right on top of the adhesive, which is easier to work with than wet glue. Then I just glue the piece down on my layout.
- If you are in desperate need of two chipboard shapes, but you only have one, try peeling that one piece into two. Most chipboards are thick enough that they can take this abuse! The resulting two pieces might need some sanding or paint to look presentable again (make sure to peel carefully!), but you've solved your desperate plight.
- Although it seems like it would be too thick, chipboard can be sewn. Use a denim needle and a wide stitch length; sew slowly so your needle doesn't break. You also might have to adjust the tension, too. It looks nice when you're finished though!
Use Your Stuff Daily Challenge: Mix old and new
Working with whatever type of product or medium you want, incorporate at least one botanical shape (flower, leaf, grass, tree, etc), one narrow rectangle, and one curvy shape (paisley, fleur-de-lis, swirl, wave, etc). Try for a mix of old and new supplies.
Celeste made this layout using the suggestions in the challenge:
I love this layout—the colors, the products, and, mostly, the journaling. I think the products do exactly what products should: they draw your eye to the photo and create a mood that enhances the story.
Here's mine:
(Did you see that!? I used some chipboard!) Here is what I mean about mixing old and new. The yellow patterned paper (from Echo Park's For the Record line) is a new one I bought just a couple of days ago; the brown pattern is about a year old, the big flowers are somewhere in between, and I've had some of the small flowers for years. But when I opened up my flower drawer, I didn't look for new. I looked for what worked with the layout I had in mind.
Now that my week is over, I'm really, really hoping some of the tips and exercises I've shared will inspire you to use your stuff, too! 