This month, you can get to know the Layout a Week Design team a bit better. We’re all sharing about our personal scrapbook style. Defining your own style can be tricky. I have been a memory keeper since 2001 and in that time, my own personal style has evolved quite bit. Though I gave up long ago on applying a distinct label to my scrapbooking style, I have observed and taken notes about my process. Knowing how I work makes me more efficient and also enables me to be a smarter shopper. I would guess that you would desire to do the same. Who wouldn’t want to make their craft dollars stretch a bit and work more efficiently?

I have compiled a list of scrapbook inspiration resources to help guide you in regard to your personal scrapbook style. Each of them represents a stepping stone I took along the way as I developed my own personal style. As you read through each point, keep in mind that the key to understanding your scrapbook style is a simple matter of observation. It’s wonderful to sit down and just create something, but being able to step outside the process to observe it will help you grow.

1. Learn From Other Memory Keepers

I followed the blogs of scrapbookers whom I admired for a long time( I still do). Some layouts I scraplifted which means I made my own version of their page using my photos, supplies and stories. This method is similar to using a sketch which also has its merits. Some blogs offered tutorials which I also tried. In essence, to learn you must do. Making pages is the only way you can figure out if a style or technique works for you. Keep the aspects of the layout you like, toss what doesn’t work and move on.

Design teams can be a wonderful place to start if you are in need of fresh scrapbook inspiration. Many teams are composed of a variety of scrapbook styles which will enable you to take a look at a wide sampling of work. Layout a Week’s design team is a great place to start, especially since we’re all sharing a bit about our own scrapbook styles right now:

Nancy Nally talks about her vintage, clean and simple scrapbook pages in this article.

Nicole Mantooth gives us a glimpse of her personal scrapbookstyle here.

I shared 8 things about my own scrapbook style in this post.

Magda Cortez shared insight into her personal style.

As a subscriber of the Cocoa Daisy kits, I love to watch how their team creates with the products they get each month. Kit clubs design galleries can be a great inspiration even if you aren’t a subscriber. Many have monthly guests which gives you the opportunity to find new memory keepers and new inspiration. If you do check out their design team gallery, I highly suggest looking at the work of Doris Sander( who I love to recommend because she is a good friend of mine as well as an awesome scrapbooker).

Get It Scrapped also has a wonderfully diverse design team. There is a nice sized gallery to check out as well which makes it easy for you to find someone to be inspired by.

You Tube is a wonderful resource. You can get a peek into someone’s scrapbook room and watch them as they work. When is comes to process videos, there are two types to explore. Narrative videos( like this one) help explain tips and techniques. Watch me scrap style videos( like this one) usually contain no narrative. Sometimes, it’s beneficial to just sit and watch someone work rather than listen to them talk. The added benefit to a watch me scrap style video is that they are often shorter than one that is narrated( perfect if you are short on time).

2. Take a Class

After awhile, scraplifting and sketches weren’t enough to satisfy me. I needed to know why a page design worked well. I wanted to tell more in depth stories. If you feel the same longing, then it’s likely that you might be ready to take a class. Get It Scrapped provided the right environment for me to learn. Its membership program allows you to work at your own pace while providing you the opportunity to interact with a community for positive feedback. In regard to scrapbook style, the following modules come to mind: the Story Style Look Book and Process play. Both are part of the membership which includes a large library of learning modules. I am a member of the Get It Scrapped Design team and also an affiliate(I have been a subscribing member of the Masterful Scrapbook Design classes since they were first offered many years ago- long before I joined their team). Being a member of Get It Scrapped played a fundamental role in the development of my personal scrapbook style.Click here to view more details about the membership program.

If you aren’t ready for a class membership, the Get It Scrapped Blog offers a selection of informative articles. In regard specifically to scrapbook style, you might find the following articles to be helpful:

Scrapbook style- Reflective Story Aproach

Artsy Story Style approach to scrapbooking

3. Try a Layout a Day Challenges

The decisions you make in selecting supplies and how you place them on the page often reflect your personal style. Generally, you don’t really think about those decisions if you have a lot of time to sit down and create. Your focus is aimed on the products and the placement rather than on why you do the things you do. A layout a day challenge can give you the opportunity to examine your process. It’s very likely that, over the course of the 30 days, your creative time won’t always be plentiful. Time constraints can actually force you to see what basic components you absolutely must have to build each scrapbook layout. Do you prefer 1 photo or 3? Does every page need a title? Are wet mediums a favorite element of is it patterned paper that is a must? What is your current go to design? Are your layouts blocky or are you always using a shelf to support your photos? These are just a few examples of the things you can discover during a month long scrapbook challenge.

There are a couple of ways to go about doing a layout a day style challenge. You can choose a blog such as Layout a Week, go through their archives and try one challenge each day. A few years ago,I joined Scraphappy and I participate in Lain Ehmann’s Layout a Day challenges several times a year. Lain provides the prompts for each day and I create a layout. Sometimes the prompts are design centered and sometimes they focus on the story. the LOAD or Layout a Day challenges occur several times a year. The next one will be a private challenge for just the scraphappy family during October.

When it comes to defining your personal style, the best advice I can give you is to just relax about it. You don’t need to define it with a word or phrase. All you really need to define your style is to understand your creative process. An awareness of how you work will help in the layout of your creative space and how you organize your supplies. Being familiar with your process can also help determine which supplies you should buy and which you should avoid. Ultimately, this awareness of your process will lead you to become more efficient which means more layouts in albums.