Finding Inspiration: Self Scraplift

One day one of my facebook/scrappy friends asked me how I managed to stay inspired. Her question instantly made me think of all the frustrating times when I pushed around elements, cut up papers that ended up going un-used, changed complete concepts, and searched endlessly for ideas. I told her that I wish I stayed inspired but when my mojo is at a low, I usually scraplift myself. I have found that by recreating a new layout from and older one, I can get over my creative hurdle and add a fresh new look to my project.

This layout, State Fair, is my most recently scraplifted project. The great thing about scraplifting is that you can recreate the entire project as is, by treating it like a sketch or simply extracting certain elements.

I love the "grunginess" of State Fair, the title and photo placement, the vertical line of tickets that lead the viewer's eye across the page, the outer mat, and the Hambly transparency (little circles). I took those elements and created This Girl. I maintained the "grunginess", but added some femininity to the page by using neutral kraft and pink elements. As in the first layout, I used luminarte to paint the lip of a cup to stamp circles and added splatters to the background.

I replaced the row of tickets with 2 velvet berry picks in brown from Petaloo's Chantilly collection to anchor the row of mixed blooms in cream and brown. I love these colors because they go really nicely with my skin tone and add a level of maturity to the layout. Placing the flowers in a horizontal line is one of my favorite ways to add flowers to my layouts. Not only is this a great way to mix and match my favorite flowers but it helps maintain space for other elements.

I kept the outer matting, title and photo placement the same and added the same style of transparency, in a coordinating color (this has to be one of my all time fave Hambly transparencies).

Journaling: has become a yogini and a zumba addict; rarely wears one shirt at a time; has nursed 2 babies; loves to smile and make others smile; is a student again; is passionate about scrapbooking and photography; has been with the same man for 17 years; is kind of clumsy; is flirtatious; has developed a new sense of sexy
photos taken 9.9.11
52 Week Project - Week 36/52

I replaced the gears with a layered velvet butterfly and scalloped envelop flaps that I tied with twine for a little extra texture and detail. The flaps actually open; this is also a great way to add hidden journaling to a project.

In the original project, I swiped paint around the edge of the layout. I used that same concept on my journaling strips in the new layout. I haphazardly swiped luminarte along the bottom of each strip and then adhere them to the layout, creating a visual triangle.


I used a couple of directional wooden elements from Pink Paislee to create additional horizontal lines and bring attention to the 2 photos where the subject (in this case, me) looked smaller than in the other 3 photos.

I added a touch of color to the flowers using the paint that was left over on my brush.

I had the concept of This Girl in my head for a while...just not the actual title. I had already created layouts titled I Am..., Many Things To Smile About, 15 Random Facts, 10 Things I Love About Me, Things I Love To Do...etc so I didn't want to revisit those. Then one of my good scrappy friends created a blog post with the title "This Girl", and I decided that it was perfect for my project!!

I hope this post has given you a few ideas for digging in your layout archives and revisiting a project that you loved creating!!

Have a great week!!