Oh Happy Day. I found a coupon with my Big Picture account and signed up for Karen Grunberg's new class "Finding Your Way" at a bargain price. Because I do think I need help deciding which way to go with my scrapbooking.
Sometimes I think I have a style, sometimes I don't. I know I go through phases - painting on pages, sewing on pages, even
knitting on pages. This year I've been trying hard to get the
story on the page. And although I still think that's really,
really important, I'm starting to realise that I'm missing some of the little details. I do so love the details. The bits which are fun to add, the bits which support the theme and let your personality leap off the layout.
I pulled out a favourite:
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| A page about a trip I made to an exhibition on the work of designer Vivienne Westwood |
so I could remind myself of these details
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| Worlds End. Vivienne's shop. |
and these
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| If it's punk, it needs a padlock, yes? |
I did it for a challenge at
Copy+Paste (in 2009! wow!) about "Flawed Works Of Art". Which is kind of a good theme to come back to when you are looking back at what you've made in the past and planning what you might make in the future.
What about you? Do you have a style, do you think? Do you like to repeat favourite tricks or learn something new every time? What about that comfort zone? Are you in it, out of it, looking for it? Or laeving it behind? I'm still deciding..
29 comments:
I would hate it if you could look at a gallery of layouts and instantly recognise my "style" - I think it's best when a scrapbook layout evolves from whatever it is that you want to express. My memories are disjointed and I'm certainly not scrapbooking in chronological order so I'm happy that my albums are a jumble of clean and graphic, bright and cheery, grungy and cluttered ... just like me :D
Ooops - sorry - that was rude! I meant to say that the page you've shared is weirdly wonderful - love the tiny details and to me they're the little secrets that you'll be sharing with yourself (and others on the same wavelength) - fabulous!
i feel exactly the same Sian, no i don't think i have a style, i go with whatever feels right at the time. its good to learn something new but i find i end up repeating things i like. After i've created a layout sometimes i love it sometimes I don't!!
I love all the detail too, especailly on your layout xx Good luck with your new class, you'll have to let us know how you get on :)
Seriously 2009! Was it that long ago?
Have I got a style? I really don't know but like you I do go through little phases, stitching, buttons, painting......I suppose my photo will always influence my colour choices either picking up a colour or trying to reflect the mood of the photo or like your recent layout looking to the colours of the era.
Whatever style you have or haven't got I always admire your layouts. Enjoy your class :)
I like the use of Webster's for a Vivienne Westwood page. I too am still trying to find my style - but at the same time I like to think that it's not something I'll ever fully arrive at, because that indicates a certain inflexibility in the end. As with everything else, do what you feel is best for you. Let it be an organic process, go with the flow, you know?
LOAD has helped start me on the right path, but I've got a long way to go before I really identify if I have a style, let alone what it is!
love your layout!
I absolutely adore looking at pages like yours that have layer upon layer of amazing little details. And I'm quite impressed by the creativity of those who can pull it off. I don't seem to have the knack for that. My "style" is decidedly minimal embellishment. But beyond that - anything goes!
i absolutely love this page - very rich and so much fun for the eye! i do get in a rut sometimes and just have to let it run its course.
I think my style must be the Can't-be-a*sed-school of scrapping because while I like colour and some embellishment I tend to like a lot of journalling and use hidden journalling a lot too. Perhaps it's more that I need to get the family stories into print so that my three children and eleven grandhildren and 1 great grandchild can know about their family.
I love that layout Sian. I'm like you, I vary from shabby chic to graphic. I think it depends on the subject. Photo's of Rob tend to be bold patterns and colours, clean lines. But I also like to play with ribbons, sprays and buttons. I just like trying new things.
I wrote a post about this a while back... about not really having a recognizable style. I struggled with that for a while... and you know what? I like being a mish-mash of "styles". I find something I like in someone else's layouts and I use that for a while... then I hit on something else...it's always a work of heart and that's all that matters to me. Your layout above is fabulous... the layering thing and the white space thing is one thing I struggle with and want to "master" some day. But I'm sure then I'll move on to something else... :)
Oh Sian, I did it too - signed up for Karen's workshop I mean. I'll be making a confession post later today since I blew my goal of not purchasing any new classes for a while. I really enjoyed her free class and I'm now at a point where I want to look at what I'm enjoying the most about my layouts. "See" you in class.
Just checked out the knitted banner and wow.... soooo creative!!! Style is a hard thing to pin down. I go through phases of favourite things to do. I just said to my sister yesterday that I have to stop tying strings around brads and putting buttons on my seal shaped round ounch! I seem to be doing it in every LO!! ;) I guess I have my basic style. I know I don't care for a lot of bling and Prima flowers. I love to hand stitch. I used to always use a fall palette of colour but lately it is all about blue! I guess it is good that we can change up the style a bit so it keeps things fresh. It challenges us to come out of the comfort zone. Loving this LO you shared. The layering and detail is amazing!! :)
Style? Oh how I wish I had a style! I love to see how the fashions and trends of scrapbooking go and dip in and out at whim.
That page is so lovely and so Vivienne Westwood. And even if it was done in 2009, it hasn't dated at all. I love all the little bits and pieces on it especially the tiny padlock and the peacock in the corner.
I think a style is something developed over time. You can never really be the 'finished article' when it comes to scrapping. I tried for about a year to emulate other styles and failed miserably. I became so fed up that my LOs were not as good as some I had seen that I left scrapping for about a year. Once I gained in confidence that my 'style' was okay and I learned what I liked and didn't by looking at 1000s of layouts in magazines and on line I was on my way.
I see different techniques for using paper/fabric, etc on line mostly and then am influenced by that. I have had a look back through my layouts on my blog and think that while some are similar (I like a lot of white space), some are wildly different, although I do tend to veer towards pink and green and grey and pink ALOT!
I know I tend to have a cardmaking style....but not really sure if I have a scrapbook one. I do know I find minimilism impossible [even as I admire it on other people's pages].....and I certainly love adding all the 'fun' bits....maybe love it too much!!
And I definately love your LO today.
Sian I can't tell you how much I love this post - I'm going through a crisis in my scrapping at the moment, in the fact I hate everything I do! So I'm trying to find a "style" and I'm in awe of you and this stunning, stunning layout - it's got so much life and texture in it. I wish I could achieve something like this.
Oooh so many questions!!! Let me see?...My scrapping style is quite eclectic...I don't think I have a 'signature' style though & I'm quite happy with that...I like variety!!
I love your Viv Westwood LO...timeless!! Enjoy the class! :)
Like most people who have posted - I would hate for people to look at one of my los and say - "I can tell that's Karen's". They may recognise the people in the photos as relating to me but I hope not the style. My pages evolve and change with my moods. I think you have great style and flair and a fantastic eye for what looks good together - so who needs a recognisable style, certainly not you.
Okay, I'm going to go against the crowd here and say I would love my layouts to be recognized as being me. I don't think that is as much about style as it is about being authentic, as Karen says. So glad we're taking her class together, I think it will be fantastic.
In my early scrapping days, the first couple of months, I used to worry about trying all sorts of techniques and keeping up with what was current, now I have to say I am firmly in a comfort zone, which I love! That is not to say I don't enjoy a challenge, I have just found a way to scrap that is meaningful to me and enjoyable at the same time. I find it impossible to scrap without some sort of story - doesn't have to be an epic, a joke will do, but there has to be a story, otherwise I don't know what I am doing!
I don't have style not in real life or in scrapping I fear!! I only started scrapbooking last year and that was after spending about 2 years reading and researching it. I think I was a bit pur off by all the 'perfect LOs'out there and was sure I would never manage one. I haven't scrapped for months as begun to feel a bit nervous about it all again. I was seriously considering taking Karens class as embracing imperfection was just what I needed!! Will be interested to hear what you think as I might join late! Or shall I just join?? Decisions decisions!! Will have to check my BPC account in case I have a discount sat there too that would make up my mind LOL!
PS forgot to say your page is fantastic love all the little details that at first you don't notice visually very striking xxx
Oh I love how Vivienne's hair colour stands out on this page, I was drawn to her immediately when looking at this layout(gorgeous). I don't know if I have a style, I think it is always evolving based on what interests me... I have the $10 coupon too and thought of taking Karen's class... hmmmm... (seriously, someone ought to give me an intervention and send me off to rehab if I sign up for one more class !!$#)
This is a very striking page! Would I know it was yours from the style? I guess the thing I associate with your lovely pages is your ability to layer so effectively, and use lots of interesting materials. Do I have a style? Probably, though it's not consciously sought - I just grew that way. Hopefully you will keep growing your own shape too, as it emerges ...
I also like the way you effortlessly layer so well, it's something I'd love to be able to do but for me it doesn't turn out right. The colours in your Lo are rich & so 'jewel like'. Yes, I have a style, where usually less is more but I do try to add a few 'oddments' now & again. I've just bought my first set of Perfect Pearls & hope to experiment but I think I'll always return to my simple comfort zone.
I love the different elements on your page, having several areas it makes you really study the details. Not sure what my style is really, it has certainly changed over the years that I have been scrapping. If I see a new technique or style I often want to have a go but I think I probably go back to the same techniques that I'm comfortable with in the end.
I'm another fan of your embellishments and I think you definitely have perfected a style that I recognize as Sian! I signed up for Karen's course at the last moment (wish I'd found a coupon!). I'm going to be recovering from some surgery shortly and am hoping it will reignite my interest in scrapping while I'm at home. I think my style has remained pretty constant over time--linear, pretty clean, classic colors, a few embellishments. I have a couple of layouts where I layered embellishments and felt it worked well, but that's a struggle for me.
The layout looks great. As for me I most definitely do not have a style so I'm taking Karen's class too.
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