Using the end of a kit

I love kits--I've bought and subscribed to many kits for about 7 years, and I now happily design for Scrapbook Circle. Recently I got a kit I didn't really like from Studio Calico, where I still subscribe. When I first start using a kit, I find it easy to make it fit my style, no matter what products are there. I thought I would share the last few pages I made with this kit I didn't care for to show how I made them fit my style, regardless of product.

Here is the first of the last pages I made with this kit.

They are doing a lot of construction at my school to prepare for new enrollment. I took a picture of my old office being dismantled and scrapped about my feelings about the change. Here's what I did that fit my style:

1. I used an 8x12 photo of the office and scrapped on it.
2. I used strips of patterned paper.
3. I clustered the journaling and embellishments
4. I sewed.
5. I added sprinkles of sequins (this is a new thing for me).

The next page I actually got inspiration from while I was sorting leftover wood veneer letters. I was searching for ready-made words I could use as titles, and I found a COMPLETE set of numbers, 1-10. That inspired this page about my odd habits:

In addition to the style elements above, here's what I did to make this me:

1. I cut pieces into circles.
2. I stamped.
3. I used strong lines. 

The next page is also a list. A few months ago I blogged about my loathe list at Write Click Scrapbook. Since this kit included a set of numbered labels, I used them as a base for the page:

Some more things that are me:

1. White space.
2. Mixed font title.
3. Multiple patterned papers (look in the wood veneer photo block).

Finally, a page using some double photos my mom gave me. I have already scrapped the event, so I scrapped out love of art, taking inspiration from the title of a Facebook page.

Nothing really new in this page from what I added before. Just me keeping true to being me. :-)

Thank you for letting me share how I use products I'm not so keen on to make pages that are still true to me. I hope it inspires you to figure out what you love to do when you scrapbook so that you can make pages that you love, no matter what you use.

Style and voice

I am an English teacher. Part of my job is to teach writing. A couple words float around with writing that also apply to scrapbooking: style and voice.

They are sometimes used interchangeably, but I think they're different. Style to me is decorative; we each have our own style of dress, of manner, of decoration. That's what style is in a nutshell: decoration, ornamentation, organization. I think style's connection to scrapbooking is obvious.

Voice is personal, a little more who we are at our core. Voice shows up in writing by the way the writing sounds, and that's how it shows up in scrapbooking. Some people are funny, some are concise, some are warm, some are sentimental, and so on. I work hard to cultivate voice with my students, encouraging them to play around with writing techniques to figure out what works for them. Voice cannot be forced, nor can style. They can only be cultivated and discovered. Discovering "Who am I?" regarding style and voice is just as much a question of "Who am I?" as a person.

Regardless of how the two things are different, we each have our own style and voice. Adopting someone else's style can help you discover your own; someone else's style won't fit. And voice...trying to sound like someone else while writing doesn't work either, though it will help reveal to you what your voice is like!

So taking LOAD in May, which focused on style, what did I learn about myself? Not sure this was learned so much as affirmed.

1. I like white space and asymmetry, as in this page:


2. I like to overlap the photo with different words or accents:


3. Journaling strips work consistently for me, more than one big journaling block:

4. Me = stitching.


5. This next page shows what I don't like: separation of page elements. I like things tightly grouped together. For example, with this page I wish I'd journaled and put the title right next to the photo block:


6. I like lines, like in this LO. And one of my favorite kinds of patterned paper? Striped.


7. I like to cluster accents together around the page. I vaguely remember reading the eye sees these groups as a single object.


8. I like mixing fonts for titles, like here:


So that's my style, if you will. Overall tidy and structured, but layered and interesting to look at.
My voice? I think as a writer I am concise and humorous.