Piling On The Product In Scrapbooking

Stands back in amazement: some scrapbooking! Actually it's a page I made for Get It Scrapped before I went away, but the gap between prep and post has given me a bit of time to think about the whole subject of product.

It's not a word I like, whether we're talking about hairspray or hundreds of gloriously coloured buttons. Where's the magic? Because what product means in scrapbooking terms is the glittery magpie bits I love. 

I've always put together albums and taken pictures and written stories, but honestly? I don't think I would ever have come to scrapbooking if it hadn't offered me cutting up paper and ruffling ribbons and glueing on sequins and looking for the next colour combination.

But of course that brings me to my Big Scrapbooking Dilemma. You'll have heard me talk about it before: how to fit it all on the page. Because, truthfully, even though I'll stick stuff down til the cows come home (and it's not that long ago that I did), the pages I thrill to are the ones with a bit of breathing space, somewhere for the eye to rest, room to relax while I read. Kind of like enjoying a slice of cake without thinking all the icing is going to make me feel sick. I don't need a thick layer of icing.

Mmm...it's good, though, a bit of something extra and - see, I'm back where I started. I bought some October Afternoon at the beginning of the summer - the Public Library collection I've been waiting for - I wanted to use every last scrap all at once. It's so perfect I hardly knew where to start. The (Not So) Small One took a look: 

That Boy Scout she said He's all Moonrise Kingdom. And she was right. That would be my page, about a movie with so many gorgeously quirky colours and references that I'd need an embellishment for every one.

But BUT before I did anything, before I committed any product stuff to the page, I worked out my journaling and decided how much room I needed to save. Only then did I let myself glue. And as I stuck it all down I thought of other ways I could pile on the bits and still have room for the story.
Maybe....

• Using a black and white photo so it isn't competing with embellishment choices. That way you can use any colour combination you fancy
• Making the photo REALLY big, to cover half of the page, then journaling on the white space in the picture leaving me half a page to pile on as much extra as I like
• Adding a "foil" such a piece of old book paper to ground everything and give the eye something bigger to rest on in the midst of the details
• Make a piled on page, yes, but balance it in my album with a layout all in one colour on the other side of the spread

What do you think? How much do you use? You'll find lots of other ideas at Get It Scrapped'd article How To Pile New And Trendy Products On Scrapbook Pages And Still Tell A Story

Before I go today I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who left a message of support for Granny G and the family over the past couple of days. We're very lucky to have you.