Method Scrapping – What’s My Motivation?
Actually, I think I should call this tutorial “WHERE is my Motivation??” I’ve really been struggling lately trying to find some inspiration and some enthusiasm for scrapping. Between our move, all the things that moving entails, my dad’s failing health and all the other minutiae of life, it feels like my mojo just got left behind. So I started to think of all the different methods of resurrecting it and thought maybe I should put them all down in a blog post as a way of solidifying them for myself while possibly helping someone else who’s in the doldrums too.
I think the easiest and most obvious mojo-recharger is to do a GingerScraps Challenge or two. What makes them a good jumpstart? Well, they take a lot of the work out of the process. The challenge gives a framework for the layout, whether it’s a beautiful brush, inspiring word art, a terrific (free) template, a beautiful layout to scraplift or cutting out all the hardest part by providing a recipe. But the best part of this is that you’re not limited to only this month’s Challenges! The Challenge forum has 5 months’ worth of them to look at and find inspiration from.
Another way to stir your creative juices is to look at what other people are doing. Pinterest, Instagram and our GingerScraps Gallery are filled with incredible layouts to draw sparks from. A way to refine that even further is to narrow your browsing to a favourite Designer Gallery. There’s where you can see their designs in action and find innovative ways of using them.
That brings me to a motivator that might seem more like a cattle prod… organizing your supplies. Sometimes I get caught up in the acquisition part of it all, adding more and more beautiful kits to my stash without any clear plan for how I’ll use them. And, of course, I forget what I have and go buy more! I had a HUGE downloads folder filled with still-zipped files sitting on my laptop and every time I opened the folder, I had an anxiety attack. So the other day, I took the first step and ran them all through ExtractNow. I have only a handful of really new files that I picked up over the weekend that need extraction; the next step will be to sort through the files and condense them into kit-specific folders. Then I’ll have refreshed my brain and might find my way back to productivity.
A much more fun way to get back in the saddle is to look at all the recent photos on your phone or computer. We take photos so we can remember a special person, event, place or object. Recapturing the moment by looking at the photos can be very stimulating. Over the weekend (Thanksgiving in Canada) I went on a mini wine-tasting tour with my daughter, her husband and sister-in-law. It was so much fun, and so educational. And naturally it spawned a LOT of photos. I know I can scrap them into more than one layout, and right there, I have some motivating ideas. (I also have quite a number of photos of my grandchildren that are crying out for some spotlighting!)
Trying a new technique is another way to stir up some interest. Working through one of my tutorials or watching a YouTube video by someone whose work you admire can be very invigorating. Our own Karen Schulz (formerly Snickerdoodle) has a YouTube channel filled with great ideas. Why not watch one or two of hers?
Project Life offers a good compromise between free-wheeling and quick ages. Katherine Woodin is a prolific Project Life scrapper. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, Project Life is a method of celebrating the everyday activities that we often overlook as food for creativity. And it’s very flexible. You can choose to do a layout a day, keeping track of what happens and how it affects you each day as a form of daily diary. You can do a weekly layout (P52) with just the highlights of the week, or a monthly one (P12). You can use pocket-style pages, or free-form it.
Focusing on a single event or family member (a wedding, a birthday, a new job, a new house, a pet… you get the idea) can be another way to get going again. This one is a bit more of an exercise in self-discipline; making a decision to scrap a layout about fill-in-the-blank and just doing it may break the drought. I think this is where I’ll start. I haven’t changed my Signature in the Forum since MARCH!! And my Facebook header is one I created in July 2019. (It hasn’t been on display all this time, I swear! But it’s due for a refresh.)
Before I post this, I think I should remind all of us that turning a hobby into a chore isn’t a good thing. If you’re in a scrapping funk, especially one that has endured for awhile, it can be extremely daunting to think about picking up the tools and getting back to work. If you’re really not feeling it, don’t push it! Do something else that feeds your soul. It’ll be okay!
What are your methods of breaking a slump?
holy cow! you’ve been inside my mind! it’s true .. i’ve collected some great kits these past few months, and i just don’t have ANY motivation! i definitely try to do the challenges (at least some) every month and that does help for sure but my scrappin mojo seems to have gotten COVID. life changes and just the world at this point in time seemed to have sapped my inspiration. but there you go .. a reason to scrap. isn’t that why we scrap? to preserve our precious memories and moments in time?
thanks for posting this! already feeling just a SPARK (and that’s all you need to start a fire!)
Love your post. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Scrapping is my escape from all those other things that need to be done!! I’ve been in this house 44 years, hubby passed 4 years ago and I’m dealing with his typewriter collection and things related–old office supplies, old books, etc., as well as just clearing out my stuff that hasn’t been used in forever. And now getting out my holiday decorating tubs–another thing that needs to be pared down. It sounds like you have a lot going on. Take care. A layout a day, or at least start one and if it takes a week to complete, well, you’re just taking time to perfect it!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Scrapping is my escape from all those other things I need to do! I’ve been in this house for 44 years–lots of accumulation, lots need to be purged. Hubby passed 4 years ago and now I’m dealing with his typewriter collection–we figured he had close to 1000 typewriters, old adding machines, steno machines, and Braille writers. And old office supplies. And old books, typewriter related or not. I do have help sorting the typewriters and getting some sold. That’s been easier parting with his stuff in the shop. It’s my stiff that I need to pare down. And now getting out my tubs of holiday decorations–more stuff to get rid of there too. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. 1 layout a week–get started, perfect it a few elements at a time, enjoy all the beautiful parts of the kit!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Scrapping is my escape from all those other things I need to do! I’ve been in this house for 44 years–lots of accumulation, lots need to be purged. Hubby passed 4 years ago and now I’m dealing with his typewriter collection–we figured he had close to 1000 typewriters, old adding machines, steno machines, and Braille writers. And old office supplies. And old books, typewriter related or not. I do have help sorting the typewriters and getting some sold. That’s been easier parting with his stuff in the shop. It’s my stiff that I need to pare down. And now getting out my tubs of holiday decorations–more stuff to get rid of there too. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. 1 layout a week–get started, perfect it a few elements at a time, enjoy all the beautiful parts of the kit!
THANKS for these words of encouragement!! I appreciate that you occasionally cover other things besides those program and technical issues that make us better scrapbookers. Here’s one I struggle with that I’ve put out there on Facebook, but have yet to get a response with advice… though I have gotten messages from others wanting to know if I received any feedback I could share.
Over the years, I have accumulated quite a stash of templates–multiple hundreds, in fact. BUT, I’m embarrassed to say that even while I have been stashing templates, I have always created my own pages from scratch. I finally got smart and recently started using mostly templates and find I am saving lots of time creating pages.
I have a GREAT system for organizing my various kits, BUT I’m just at a loss as to how to organize templates to find what I need when I need it. Template titles sometimes give you a clue (such as Two-Pager or Lotsa photos), but most often they don’t (ct2017 challenge template, March 2016 template) so I find I spend as much or more time looking through templates to find the right one and then make the page as I would if I just started from scratch and made it myself! I would L O V E, Love, love some input and suggestions for organizing templates!!
Deb, I actually responded to your request for tips on organizing and finding templates a few weeks ago with a tutorial you can find here: https://gingerscraps.net/gsblog/2020/09/tutorial-tuesday-windows-3/
Ooh, I think your hubby’s typewriter collection and the stories behind them would make an amazing book! I hope you have photos. You could use heritage kits to scrap pages about the really special stories. And that gives me a glimmer of inspiration about my great-grandmother’s china… Thanks!
I KNEW I wasn’t alone! I’m bubbling up with ideas now, and all it took was to admit I had a problem. I think tonight, while I’m listening to VP Biden’s town hall on ABC (I know I’m not a voter but the outcome of this election does have an impact on Canadians) might be a good time to start getting back to work.