Scrapropos

People often ask where I get my inspiration. The answers are too numerous to write about in one column, so I’ll focus on one today: magazine ads.

I have a stack of magazine ads that I’ve torn out; they’re hanging on my magnet board waiting for the right pictures.

Different aspects of the ads draw me in and make me think it would work in my scrapbooks. Sometimes it’s the layout of the ad, sometimes it’s the colors, and sometimes it’s the words. For instance, I had an ad on my board for a really long time that featured the word “spunk” and its definition. I just liked the page and figured I could someday use it somehow for my 15-year old. Sure enough, one day I was looking at it and I thought, “Her school picture!”. The colors were perfect. I used part of the actual ad in my layout.

One of the ads on my board features a paragraph titled “Lessons from the porch swing”. It was sent to me by a friend in California (hi Martha!) who knows that I have a Porch Swing album rolling around in my head. I’ll use that paragraph when I finally get to that album!

Once you start looking at ads with a scrapbooker’s eye, you’ll realize that before long, it becomes a habit. You’ll actually start noticing the layouts and colors in the ad before you notice the merchandise! Look at ads with these things in mind:

1. Layout. How could you incorporate your own photos into this layout? Is it doable? Does the layout have something interesting about it? What is your eye first drawn to?

2. Color. Sometimes, even if the layout isn’t interesting, the color combinations might be. The first time I scrapped browns and reds together, it was a direct result of seeing those colors in an ad and LOVING the look. Sure enough, soon those colors were everywhere. Ads are often on the cutting edge of new trends.

3. Words. Spunk. Porch Swings. You never know what you’ll come across when skimming through a magazine! I always keep a blank journal (a Moleskine) in my purse. When I’m in doctor’s offices, or sitting in the carpool lane, or lounging at Barnes and Noble, I’m always able to jot down title ideas and journaling prompts that I get from magazines. It never fails - if I think I’ll remember it when I get home, I won’t. Write it down! Magazines are full of punny titles and plays on words that work great as page titles in your albums.

Finally…. two layouts I’ve done using ads as inspiration. Try it! It’s fun, it’s easy, and it justifies your need to buy that cool magazine you look at every time you’re in line at the grocery store.