In an earlier article I touched on there being no rules in scrapbooking. I suppose that isn’t exactly true, because there are certainly some thing you should or shouldn’t do. However, it depends on what your reasoning is behind the creation of that layout.
You might make layouts because it is an awesome outlet for your creativity. You might like the ability to express yourself through art, and maybe photography and the freedom to do what you want on your layouts leaves you feeling exuberant. Theres is nothing like the feeling of a masterpiece complete when we have finished a layout or design on our own. The possibilities are endless and your creativity should thrive using whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want on a scrapbooking layout. This is where there are no rules, no boundaries, no ideas of how your artwork should or shouldn’t be.
Maybe you make layouts because you want to preserve your memories for generations to come. This is where there might be a few rules to follow. You need to keep in mind that if you are hoping for longevity of your photographs, scrapbooking layouts and albums, using only acid free products is recommended. Products designed for scrapbookers are usually a must when this is your goal.
But does this mean that you cannot possibly be creative and use other items in your album? Absolutely not. You should always feel free to stretch the rules, bend them a bit or why not completely break them. Feel free to think outside the box. Design a layout completely around some embellishments that you love. Forget the photo’s. Add too many photos, do whatever creative thing comes to mind. Paint on your layouts, use clay, crayons, metal not made for scrapbooking, whatever your creative mind can think up.
Do research if you are the later type of scrapbooker though. You might wish to create an album solely for your art pieces, so the photographs you are wanting to preserve are not damaged. It doesn’t matter really how you do it, but its no fun when you don’t bend or break those rules occasionally.
Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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Using Embellishments That Go With Your Theme