A couple of months back Scrap365 asked me to write about my signature style. So I thought about what I liked and I wrote about it and I made a new page:
Before I started I looked up a few quotes on style, just to get me thinking. I didn't use any of them in my piece in the end; but there is some good stuff here: what do you think?
"Style is the mind skating circles around itself as it moves forward." That's from Robert Frost.
"Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma." That's John Fairchild.
"Style is the hallmark of a temperament stamped upon the material at hand." That's the French novelist and essayist Andre Mauris.
"Style is primarily a matter of instinct." Bill Blassand my favourite:
"Style is the perfection of a point of view." Richard Eberhart.
How far do you think you have perfected your point of view? Scrapbooking wise? or any other wise, come to that? Thinking about what you like and what you use (and are they the same?) certainly makes shopping a lot easier. I think this is what I like
white, kraft, cream, pale blue or grey cardstock; seam binding, broderie anglaise, lace and wooden buttons; 50's fabrics, gingham and liberty prints; ledger paper, graph paper, little florals, newsprint, woodgrain and tone-on-tone; peacock blue, celery green, grey and palest yellow...I've pulled it all together as an experiment: to see if having all my favourites in front of me is fun (I'm usually rooting about in bags and drawers) or whether it makes me less inventive.
How about you? Could you make a list? Or how about a few words? Please, think about a few words to describe what you like - because they are going to come in handy for The Great Big Swap of Very Small Things. It's about time we did something creative. More details next time ...
44 comments:
Colour wise I think we have almost an identical style. I also like wood,stone and glass and clear lines .. the wood stone and glass are not necessarily related to scrapping.
As for using what I like, that is quite tricky. In my paper scrapping days I was a big fan of MME, probably because of their consistently lovely colour pallette - I always found their papers challenging to incorporate into my pages.
Digital scrapping has allowed me to express my style far more easily. Its versatility and forgiving nature allows me to experiment far more than paper scrapping ever could. Plus, grid lines and smart guides are my best friends ... what can I say, I like even margins!
I think I like Colour and lots of it! I especially like autumn tones, oranges, reds, browns, greens. I like layering, lots of journaling (my own handwriting), bling. I love script and book pages, but don't use them much.
your teaser is intriguing
I love bright colours and drawn frames and words on flags and tags and arrows
In digi I keep a folder of my favourite bits and often look only there when creating I find it easier to work from a smaller set of possibilites
I've always worried that my "style" is too heavily influenced by the class du jour. But I'm finding out in Cathy's Clean & Simple class that I'm not a big fan of white backgrounds. I prefer the simplicity of a graphic foundation (straight lines, symmetrical placement) but then I like the artsy addition of color, swirls, butterflies, and flowers. My favorite colors to work with are blues and greens, but I am quite capable of allowing the photos and story to dictate the color scheme.
Not to get too deep on you [you know how I can't help it though] but, knowing my own style, in fashion + creativity, is one of the things I like most about getting older!
It's like the longer you're here ... the more your 'you'-ness gets repeated!
Love the sound of the small things swap. [Will that include ourselves?]
x
Intriguing, Sian - a bit of a teaser! I am really not sure about style ... I like to think about becoming more flexible, more open, and doing more experimenting the older I get. I guess the only consistent thing in my likes/dislikes, looking back, is that I find very crowded pieces hard to enjoy - I get a kind of visual indigestion!
Oooh a creative swap yes please. My style I suppose is lots of kraft, pretty papers usually in shades of blue, pink and lemon, butterflies, buttons, sometimes embroidery, circles, punched borders, stamps, distress inking, tags, lots of lovely lettering styles, ribbons, washi tape of course. And sometimes just a bit of everything thrown in for good measure,
Jo xxx
Well, this certainly is a timely post for me to read! My scrappy friend and I have been discussing the concept of 'signature style' for the past month....and I struggle to define mine! Love how you combined your favourites onto one page....brilliant !
A timely post for me too, Sian as this is something I was writing about in my last post. When friends & I work together it is very clear who has made what, but I find my style hard to define. Perhaps this will prompt me to think about it more which would be a good thing. This has also made me think about a follow on post. thank you :)
I still don't think I have a style. But my layouts don't seem finished without buttons and banners so maybe that's something!
Oh you have me guessing! Your LO is beautiful and is so perfectly your style! A few words about my style would be pattern, colour, layering, tags, short titles, doilies, stitching, sewn on buttons, autumn palettes and turquoise.
My scrapping style is mostly simple, emphasis on the photo & using papers more than embellishments. My personal style also lacks many embellishments. I've never been good with accessories.
Your favorite style quote is the one that resonates most with me as well. I did a bit of musing about my style at the end of LOAD in February, and a year or so ago made a list of the supplies I most often used on cards. I think a new list is in order.
Apart from the fact that I love layering [though I don't even always do that]....and enjoy working from sketches....I really have no idea what my style is.
I tend to pick colours to go with my photos....and I think it's more a case of a very few colours I don't really like rather than ones I do.
Oh....and I do use flowers rather too much....but I'm trying to keep that obsession in check!!!
I am not a fan of distressed or grungy looks so that tells me I like things clean and simple. Not a great lover of embellishments although those pages that have them do look great. My style is..........lazy. If I can't reach it from my chair it won't go on the page. Yup that about sums it up
Oh now you have me wondering what's coming soon! My 'style' depends on whose blog I've been admiring recently! I borrow other people's style, try it on, see if it fits and if it does, live with it for a while until something else takes my fancy.
I've done a style inventory of my scrapping style before but never for my art journals or collage. Could be interesting to do!
Rinda
Very interesting. I'm not sure on my style, I seem to flit from one thing to another and couldn't really say what would be on my list of "go to" stash :)
That does sound intriguing :) Love the quotations you've shared, and the layout of course - and I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that you've got me thinking :)
oooh another great Sian post I have no idea what my scrappy style is at all!! Looking forward to hearing more about the great swop of small things xxx
another gorgeous layout Sian - all the small elements are lovely. I don't know about style just go with what i like at the time x
I love the quotes you have shared! I am intrigued by the swap idea and will have to sit down with a piece of paper to try to (re)define my style... my DT bio says "graphic and clean with a preference for bight colors"...it's been written so long ago I probably need to make revisions! :)
I read the first paragraph of your post and then stopped for a moment to write down a thumbnail sketch of MY view of your style: retro with funk and lots of style!
Reading on, I'll claim the Mauris quote as the one I think best describes your creative style--you do manage to put your unique stamp on almost everything you do.
As for me and my creative style, I'll beg off and say that it's still a work in progress.
I like white and kraft cardstock and a layer or two :0)
Not sure I have a specific style but am very excited to see what you have planned.
you have an understated style that packs a punch! that's what I would say. :-)
I have been absent for several weeks now and have no excuse. but I always enjoy catching up with your blog.
a swap, that sound like fun.
style related, i like paper the most, colors, lots of thickers, gold, black, squares. hum that's hard not sure what my style really is
I'd be up to a swap :D
I've been thinking since first reading your post about my so called style.
TBH I am usually guided by the photo/story particularly when it comes to the colours I use...
but some things cross over from my real life to my pages including sewing, blues& greens, layers, book paper, nik naks/ embellishments...
but I'm open to try new things too ;)
I love the first part of the first quote! My style has yet to reveal itself to me but now I will look through my paper scrapbooks to see if it might! Oh and I can never resist the chance to make a list. thanks
Your style is very distinctive and lovely.
I don't have a particular style, per se, but I do prefer simple pages, with clean lines and a pop of colour. Busy and "cluttered" pages are a no-no.
Your style is retro chic, since you're asking ...
hmm style, you have got me thinking! I guess crafts wise I am drawn to pops of colour like teal, mustard yellow and coral paired with creams, kraft and grey. i like a good polka dot and a stripe too oh and some floral as well! I also like the combination of very graphic fonts with handwriting!
Excited to hear more about the swap.
At the start of the year I wrote a list of goals ... Life ones as well as scrapping. Anyway, one of those was to find my scrapping style - lets just say, I'm still looking :)
I really love this page, it's so delicate and pretty.
In terms of style...I think I'm a bit of a mixed bag. I like little details, muted shades with a few pops of colour, handwriting and lots of layers!
That quote is my favourite too. I tried to define my style last year and (with a bit of help from Jemma) came up with: strong colour combinations, strong clear photos, interesting embellishments, layers. Those things are still true but it has still evolved and my pages look different to the way they did then.
Intrigued by this swap........
I don't really have a style when it comes to scrapbooking, but I know what I like. A lot of things on your list would be on mine too. The swap sounds intriguing. Look forward to hearing more about it.
I like colour and pattern. And I like the relaxation that paper crafting produces :-) Otherwise that is just too difficult a question for this moment, but I do like some of your quotes.
Ooh! Now I like a lot of different things! But I especially like the vintage look, be it muted and Victorian or bright patterned seventies flowers. I like textures including ribbons, lace and buttons. I like 50s clothes and hair styles appealing and particularly like gingham, patterns, red, turquoise and pink. See, said I liked a lot of different stuff:). I'm not scrapbooking at the moment but I'm still making cards, sewing and crocheting:)
Lovely page - I adore your style. As far as my own goes, I would say colorful, for sure - but beyond that, I am very much subject to whim.
Lovely page, lovely girl! I like teals, and warm greens and yellows, buttons and wood veneer embellishments. It'll be a sad day when wood veneer is no longer trendy and not available anymore.
I like lots of the things you have listed, but I guess something I really like are splashes of ink or spray on the white spaces of a layout and speaking of white space - I love it. I find my style changes too depending on what I am creating, but I still love all the little bits I can add to a layout to make it me such as stitching, circles - I add them to almost every layout these days - half hiding behind an edge of paper, and stamping. I do not do well with large patterns whether it be flowers of doilies, also I'm not particularly fond of diagonal stripes.
I tend to use colours to go with the photos, but my 'go to' base colour is always kraft - love patterned papers - dots and stripes, chevrons, but not keen on huge patterns unless I can cut them out. Always have gems on my pages and they nearly always have washi tape and bakers twine on them now. Trying to use up my button stash, so they appear more often now. Love butterflies and punched borders. Not sure if I really have a style, except that I always layer things and always journal.
I'm not really sure what my style is but I'd guess probably clean and simple as the years go on. I do though know I love blues and yellows and have started using kraft or beige a lot. But really I think I go according to what the pictures are. One thing I know I don't use though is pink, I have no idea why but I just don't use it. :)
I've only just seen this!!! I like your style but I also like using found objects, keys and handmade tags on my LO's. I also like using inks, paint and stamping techniques. Oh and I love dragonflies!!
Hi Sian ~ I just realized I never commented on this post - thought I'd throw my bit in about what my "style" is - if you can call it a "style!" haha.
I tend to stick with bright colors - happy springtime things. I love turtles (obviously), butterflies, hearts and flowers...stamps with letters, textured cardstock, buttons...gosh...I really love it all!
I like fresh colours, pastel or bright, not grungy colours very much. I like white and kraft. I like type, chipboard, ink and stamps, not really buttons or ribbon. I like butterflies and stars :)
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