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Unfreeze Your Creativity Block
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What does it mean to scraplift?
It basically means copying others' completed layouts in whole or in part. You might look at layouts in books, on the websites or at your friends' scrapbooks, and decide to copy the whole "look" of it, part of the design, element or aspect of another layout for your own pages.
And you know what? It's perfectly alright to scraplift for your own personal use, for your family and for your friends to enjoy in your scrapbook albums. That's how beginners or advanced scrapbookers learn. By adopting design elements and ideas that you like and incorporating them into your own creations.
Usually, the original scrapbookers would be flattered to know that their layouts are wonderful enough for others to copy. Please understand that I'm talking about scraplifting for own personal use here. I'm not referring to scraplifting and submitting layouts to magazines for publication or contest purposes.
Sometimes, you're in a creative block and it's a great time to scraplift to lift you out of your block. These are times where you just want to follow along and scraplift another scrapbooker's whole layout, that's fine.
Because it's very likely that while the overall look is similar, ultimately you'll be using different photos, colored cardstocks, patterned papers and supplies so you'll be creating something has its own flavor. It's never going to be a 100% replica, but something very close or something rather different from the original layout.
Other times, you might just want to scraplift part of the design. Then more often than not, the results you get will be very different from the other scrapbooker's layout you're scraplifting from.
There'll even be times when you might create variations on the scraplifted layouts to fit your page theme. It's like mix and match using others' and your own ideas.
I have a confession. I scraplift big time, but usually there's some slight variations. Scraplifting let me try out various ideas by looking and copying others' pages for ideas. And I must say that the results are almost always pleasing to me.
In fact, I would go further to say that those layouts that I scraplifted are usually better-looking than those that I attempted on my own. Told you that I'm not very creative. ;)
But one of the reasons that scraplifted layouts mostly look good because I chose to scraplift published layouts from magazines or books. If a layout was selected to be published, there's usually something good about it and something to learn from. :)
But I must also point out that the more I scraplift, the more I learn and the better I scrapbook over time. I think it's probably because I've been attempting various styles and ideas, and my memory bank has been collecting many good design tips. So yes, occasionally I would create some satisfying layouts on my own.
Still I enjoy scraplifting a lot as it's time-saving and I don't have to reinvent the wheel. That's why scrapbooking magazines, books and resources are must-haves to help scrapbookers learn.
Below are several layouts that I've scraplifted from different issues of my favorite scrapbooking magazine, Creating Keepsakes. There's also layouts inspired by the Australian scrapbooking magazine, Scrapbooking Memories. When I did these layouts, I didn't keep records of the exact borrowed issue and page of the layouts that I've scraplifted. If you can recognize them, please let me know as I'd love to give proper credits to the original scrapbookers.
As a beginner scrapbooker, you don't have to struggle on your own to come up with original ideas. You can always learn by studying others' layouts and scraplift those ideas that caught your eye! What a big time-saver too!
Welcome to the new world of wonderful scraplifting for your own personal use!
My Scraplifts
Rebekka Erickson, Scrapbooking Memories
Mellette Berowski, Creating Keepsakes
Creating Keepsakes
Creating Keepsakes
Creating Keepsakes
Ngaire Bartlam, Scrapbooking Memories
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