As you all know, this month is all about change – moving forward, trying something new. For most of us, change is a double edged sword – we like the idea but do we REALLY like it?!!!! It depends…you may say. And yes, you are right!!! We are sometimes so set in our little ways (without even realising it) that it is difficult to change.
And that extends to all forms of creativity.So, how do the creative people stay creative? – this is what I find myself asking all the time. When we face a block how do we get unstuck? In our scrapping community,a number of ideas and tips have been shared in the past: scrap-lifting, getting inspiration from Pintrest, building mood boards, looking to other forms of media etc.
I want to talk about something similar today- your style. Each one of us has a scrapping style we are comfortable with and turn to again and again. We may challenge ourselves to try something new from time to time but like a homing pigeon we return to that one style – our comfort zone! I am no different. I am a cautiously-messy scrapper!!!(yeah I just coined that!) but the one style I adore is double page spreads. If I have good pictures I love to put them big, really big!!! and spread them across the canvas.
So I challenged myself to try something new. Something that I wasn’t comfortable with and the answer came quickly – Art Journalling!!! Don’t get me wrong. I love the artful masterpieces I see in the gallery and constantly gasp at the deep thoughts behind them. But to actually try it?… welll…that takes a bit of courage. LOL! I had to push myself.
And taking small steps along the way helped. I want to share the results of my experiment with you here. Tell me what you think!!!
My first example is a split layout with the left part a bit AJ style but I stuck with the clean cut lines for the rest of the layout.What I like about this is that the first photo sets the scene for my layout and gives it that dreamy quality and the rest leaves it free for me to put my photos and do the embellishing (cautious – remember!!!). Best of both worlds, would you say?
Emboldened by this little detour of an adventure I tried Pocket Art Journalling. A term that I have been hearing quite often recently. So what is it really? As I understand it, it is confining the AJ to just a pocket or a few (depends on you entirely!) within a traditional pocket page. And I liked the idea enough to try it! So have a look. I have used a regular kit and regular papers and elements but for that one pocket of messy creativity!
So that’s it really. I am not sure, objectively, how these have turned out. You can tell me of course! But I feel a little happy and invigorated by having tried it – the process of it all. That is the most important thing about making effort – it always makes you feel good no matter what the results. Hopefully, this will inspire you to take that step outside your zone and scrap something in a new, different style. I can’t wait to see your daring adventures!!!
About the author: Shivani Sohal is a donner of many alter-egos. A finance professional by day in busy London, she morphs into a seemingly normal mum of two in the evenings and weekends. She is constantly found with her fingers in too many pies and juggling the metaphorical balls. That is living on the edge for her; aided by the two ankle biters and a darling hubby who define the warm and mushy for her. She is ferociously dedicated to memory keeping – almost immune to any nay-sayers (or equally disruptive crying children or annoying house fires!!!);keeping her head down and forging ahead at all times.