For many of us, our styles change the longer we are memory keepers. There are many factors as to why there is change. Perhaps, it’s an improvement of your skills.Or it may be due to your use of products. We all enjoy trends and sometimes, we scrap right along with them. While trends and products can be used with classic design principles to stand the test of time, there are some that we will look back upon and wonder what we were thinking. Recently, this happened to me. Not with my layouts, but rather with my collection of inspiration.
Before I was using Pinterest, I would save images of layouts in a file folder on my PC. This had an added benefit for me. I lived in an area in which internet outages were frequent. With the folder on my lap top, I could scrap away whether I had an internet connection or not. At the time I did this, I would save images with little thought. I was able to recognize most of my favorite designer’s work at just a glance. I wasn’t worried about forgetting who they were when it came to giving credit for a scraplift. Some of the pages I saved were photos from manufacturer’s samples. I don’t know who created the page, but I could recognize the supplies on sight.Unfortunately, saving without thinking meant that I had very little information in the metadata.
Fast forward to present day. As I was going through and purging unnecessary files,I came across my old inspiration folder. I thought I had hit the jackpot, but I was wrong. As I looked through the images, I realized that many of the layouts that had once appealed to me no longer did. My product preferences have changed and some of the pages were heavily designed with the product of that time frame. In some cases, I recognized the work of a designer. Some are still favorites of mine. In other cases, I no longer had a clue as to who had made the layout. I decided to sort through the pages, deleting layouts that no longer appealed to me.
I was left with a very small folder of images. Many of which were based on some of my current favorite go to designs. I decided it was high time to actually use something from that folder. One last hurrah before I deleted it once and for all.
Bedtime Sillies by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey;Letters: October Afternoon; Transparency: We R Memory Keepers; Stamps: Cocoa Daisy; Rub-ons: Crate Paper; Buttons: Maya Road; Enamel: Freckled Fawn; Markers: Tim Holtz; Linking up with the Paper Issues Hip to Be Square Challenge
I was drawn to a classic grid design. This particular layout used transparency squares within the grid. Each square was filled with buttons and die cuts. It just so happened that I had a large transparency sheet that I had not yet decided what to do with. Armed with my inspiration, I set to work. My layout isn’t an exact copy , but it does hold some of the original bones from that page. I am sad that I can not credit the person who made the original page, well over 6 years ago. To the anonymous lady with the cool transparency grid layout- Thank you for the idea!
Meanwhile, I am now careful of two things, both on my PC and in my creative space. Though tempting, I have come to realize that many of the layouts in older magazines don’t always appeal to me now. It’s best that I donate them or pass them on to someone who can and will use them. It’s great to pin tons of pages to Pinterest, but really, it does me no good if I don’t use some of their inspiration on my own page. It’s also really important for me to insure I have pinned from a good source so that I can give credit where it’s due.
Inspiration doesn’t necessarily have an expiration date, but it is important to remember that we should use it as soon as we can. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we no longer will see it in the same light. I don’t want to put undue pressure on any of you to use your inspiration photos right now this very instant. What I do want you to do is to consider reaching for it a little more often, lest you forget it was there in the first place.
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With Pinterest, I try to at least write WHAT detail or thing about a layout inspired me to pin it, because I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to figure it out later. I used to save a lot of my old scrapping magazines, but have donated them for just the same reason– my style has changed. I like your quote about inspiration pieces and exp. dating– they may not have a true ‘expiration’ date, but they sure can go ‘off’ a bit when they’ve sat around too long, lol!
Great post. I see things that interest me or techniques I want to learn then I get overwhelmed. And this layout is awesome. I am grid challenged and this is so inspiring. See there I go again. I just love the colors and how cohesive it is. Love it. Michelle t
I used to be pretty grid challenged. I definitely need a little help with inspiration when it comes to grids. Mostly, I have issues with really straight and perfect grids. Wonky ones mask my inability to ever keep things straight on my page.