If you're having trouble beginning a particular layout, consider looking at scrapbook examples to jump start your creative process.
Finding Scrapbook Examples
As scrapbooking continues to grow in popularity, hobbyists of all ages and experience levels have found new ways to share their layouts. You can find scrapbook examples showcasing a variety of themes in online layout galleries, scrapbook magazines, and scrapbook idea books.
Online Layout Galleries
When you're on a tight budget, the easiest way to find scrapbook examples is to browse through an online layout gallery. There are many different scrapbooking websites available that offer visitors a chance to post their layouts. In most cases, you can search the gallery by product, theme, or technique in order to find samples that best match your own project.
Popular scrapbooking online layout galleries include:
Scrapbook Magazines
When you subscribe to a scrapbook magazine, you'll have new example layouts delivered directly to your door. Many crafters also find that scrapbook magazines are a more convenient source of inspiration, since they tend to be better organized and feature only the work of very experienced crafters.Popular scrapbook magazines include:
Scrapbook Idea Books
Scrapbook idea books provide a chance for you to explore a particular area of scrapbooking in more detail. If you're interested in specific techniques, styles, or themes, a good idea book can be a valuable source of inspiration.A few books to consider:
Scraplifting
Scraplifting is a term scrapbookers sometimes use to refer to the act of copying design ideas from an example layout to create your own project. Scraplifting may include:
- Having the same basic sketch for the placement of photos and embellishments in a layout
- Using the designer's photography composition ideas
- Adapting a particular journaling idea to suit the theme of your page
- Using the same product combinations
- Copying the wording for a title
Scraplifting is a widely used practice among both beginning and experienced crafters. It's convenient and a great way to save time while still creating an attractive layout. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of directly scraplifting a layout, however, there are many ways to personalize a sample page to better express your own style. For example:
- Use different products
- Change the color scheme
- Change the size of the photos
- Rotate or flip the design
- Use different techniques, such as swapping letter stickers for a rubber stamped title
- Combine separate elements from two or more layouts
Generally, a layout is only considered to be a direct scraplift if you've made no alterations other than substituting your own photos and journaling. If you've changed 1/3 or more of a layout's design, it is considered to be your own original work.
Crediting Your Source
Although many scrapbookers are flattered when you love their work enough to use it as inspiration for your own layouts, it's important to properly credit your sources when posting in an online gallery, entering a contest, or submitting a layout for possible publication in a book or magazine. For this reason, you may want to keep a special notebook or a computer spreadsheet for documenting the original creator of any layouts you've used as the basis of your own work. Even if you've made significant changes to a layout, crediting your source of inspiration is still a gracious and complimentary gesture.
