Simple Solutions for Avoiding Scrappers Block
by: Dawn Stegall

Have you ever sat staring at a pile of photos and scrapbooking supplies and wondered what now? If so, you could be suffering from scrapper’s block. I have put together some simple solutions for avoiding scrapper’s block.

One cause of scrapper’s block is too many photos. You are feeling overwhelmed because you have a stack of photos, you are so far behind you just don’t know where to start. One way to overcome this, is to sort through your photos. Divide them into events, people, themes or however you like to scrap. Store in a photo safe box in their divided sections. Now concentrate on one set of photos. From this set, choose the ones you want to work with first. Whether you want to highlight one or work with several. Don’t worry about the stack you have stored away. Concentrate on the ones right in front of you and start chipping away at this one event. If you tend to use the same papers and embellishments for each event then you are ahead of the game. Finish your first layout from your selected photos and quickly move on to the next while the supplies are already out and ready to use.

Another form of scrapper’s block comes from poor quality photos. You have some photos that are out of focus, too far away, over/under developed or perhaps a busy background. However, you want to scrap them because it is all you have of that event/memory and you want to remember it. Stop complaining about the poor quality photo! Remember why you are scrapping to begin with. Do you scrap to showcase your professional photography skills? (if so, you are on your own here) Highlight the journaling and really tell the story there. You can also crop the photo and make the best use of it you can. Perhaps play around with the photo in your photo editing program, crop and enlarge and concentrate on a facial feature. Try sepia tones or black and white, you never know what might happen to that otherwise “bad” photo.

Ok, so now you have great photos but the wrong supplies. The colors and styles of paper you have on hand are just not right. Well, you can take your photos with you to the scrapbook store and buy what you need, shop online in the comfort of your home, or how about creating it. Do you have some old outdated paper lying around? Try sanding it down, then rub an ink pad over it and give it a new look. You now have a new distressed look, the color you need and some new supplies on hand. You can also try painting brads, label holders and other embellishments to get the color you need. Cover slide mounts, mini frames, chipboard with patterned paper to coordinate with your layout and supplies on hand. These are just a few ideas, get creative! Of course you can always set the photos aside until you have the funds needed to go shopping.

Try something new. Try a new technique, buy some new supplies, just play for awhile with no real “end” in mind. Use it on a small project such as a card. Get out the “cobwebs” and get the creativity flowing, then perhaps you will be inspired and ready to scrap.

Do you become intimidated by browsing through online galleries or flipping through magazines by the gorgeous talent out there? Don’t let this block you! First of all, it is your scrapbook. Express yourself, your style, your family-that is what needs to be remembered. Besides who says you can’t scraplift? If you see a layout you really like, scraplift it! It may not be exact anyway if you don’t have the exact supplies, but it will get you started on something you like. Just don’t use the layout in a contest. And I would suggest giving credit where credit is due if posting in a public venue.

Perfectionism. Do you get caught up in creating the perfect layout? You want your layout to look like you spent hours on it, perfecting it, the colors blend, the design flows. But it doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember your why. Why do you scrapbook? Focus on that. We can easily get caught up in the “perfect layout” and forget why we scrapbook to begin with. Remember your whys. By remembering why you scrapbook the problem with scrapper’s block will vanish and your new layout is now perfect. Enjoy preserving your memories!

About The Author
Need more answers to your scrapbooking questions? Dawn Stegall provides 102 of them at http://www.102ScrapbookingIdeas.com.