{scraps of jacki's life}: Scrapbooking Trends

Friday, 11 January 2008

Scrapbooking Trends

Blessed are the children of scrapbookers, for they shall inherit the scrapbooks. ~Author Unknown

i am no expert. but i do read all the magazines i sell, local and international. and i read up to 10 blogs regularly. and i visit the websites of the bigger brand names of scrapping supplies. so, i thought i would tell you what the scrapping trends are, according to me.

bling is still in. glitter, metallic, jewels, pearl, shine. you name it, it is in. enjoy it and have fun with it now, 'cause bling never stays in for ever.
buttons are big. all sorts of buttons, all over. so dig out grandma's button tin, and play! there are buttons for sale, but the old, vintage ones are better. you can mix and match, they don't all have to look the same.
paint, drawing, doodling. take out your old art kit, and play. discover your inner artist, and let her out.
journaling. this will always be in, so stop groaning, and just do it! south africans tend to finish a page and then look for a place to journal, but you should plan a space for it from the start. whether it be long stories and letters, or short notes with just the facts, typed on the computer or (ideally) handwritten, journaling will always be important! for some people, their scrap albums are actually a cross between a photo album and a diary - a photo journal. if you hate your handwriting, improve it or build a bridge and get over it, the best thing you can give your loved ones is a illustrated storybook of their lives. lets make more journaling one of our commitments for 2008.
leaving photos un-mounted. i still battle with this one. when i page through magazines, i miss the mounts behind the photos. i think this gives photos more definition, and makes them stand out. but, we could go towards narrower mounts, and only one. also, i don't seem to see much inking anymore. i think the point here is to do more pages in less time. so cutting down on the amount of work per page, means i can do more, more often.
less is more. fewer photos per page, often only one. fewer embellishments. less fussy. i think this also relates to the time-saving issue.
ribbons and flowers are still in, thank goodness. i don't know how i'll scrap without them. the same with chipboard alphabets, although the letters are smaller. the titles are also smaller, more integrated in the layout.
paper with scollops, jagged edges, holed edges, etc. they add interest, without adding effort. you could use your punches and scissors, i suppose, to create the same effect.
generic pattern paper. theme based paper is soooo last season, doll. i still get lots of girls who want tooth fairy or potty training paper, and if i do have it, they don't like the colour, and do i have it in purple? the problem is that you cannot satisfy everybody in this regard. so they gave up trying. while there is still a lot of themed paper out there, the trend seems to be that you use dots, stripes, distressed, generic paper, and make it fit your photos. and since the layering of different pattern papers is the trend, it doesn't really matter anyway.
less structure, less formal, less symmetrical, less measuring, fewer rules. more free expression. it is your page. YOU do what YOU want. i saw at the convention that south african girls still want to know exactly how wide, and exactly how far from the left, and now i made a mistake, i did it 2,5cm instead of 2cm. the american teachers tried to tell everybody that it does not matter, you do it your way, but this still leaves many of us feeling insecure, as though our own taste and style somehow is not good enough. relax, and do it the way YOU like it! you are the one who has to look at it. it has to reflect YOU.

i'm not one of those people who believes that if it is from america, or overseas, it must be better. i don't believe in following trends too closely. i just like to know the rules and the fashions, and then chose to do what i like. and there are a lot of great south african products out there, use them!

do you agree or disagree? have you noticed anything else? let me know!

love, jacki

SCRAPPIN TIMES

Posted at 11:13 AM in Scrapbooking | Permalink

Comments

Blessed are the children of scrapbookers, for they shall inherit the scrapbooks. ~Author Unknown

bling is still in. glitter, metallic, jewels, pearl, shine. you name it, it is in. enjoy it and have fun with it now, 'cause bling never stays in for ever.
buttons are big. all sorts of buttons, all over. so dig out grandma's button tin, and play! there are buttons for sale, but the old, vintage ones are better. you can mix and match, they don't all have to look the same.
paint, drawing, doodling. take out your old art kit, and play. discover your inner artist, and let her out.
journaling. this will always be in, so stop groaning, and just do it! south africans tend to finish a page and then look for a place to journal, but you should plan a space for it from the start. whether it be long stories and letters, or short notes with just the facts, typed on the computer or (ideally) handwritten, journaling will always be important! for some people, their scrap albums are actually a cross between a photo album and a diary - a photo journal. if you hate your handwriting, improve it or build a bridge and get over it, the best thing you can give your loved ones is a illustrated storybook of their lives. lets make more journaling one of our commitments for 2008.
leaving photos un-mounted. i still battle with this one. when i page through magazines, i miss the mounts behind the photos. i think this gives photos more definition, and makes them stand out. but, we could go towards narrower mounts, and only one. also, i don't seem to see much inking anymore. i think the point here is to do more pages in less time. so cutting down on the amount of work per page, means i can do more, more often.
less is more. fewer photos per page, often only one. fewer embellishments. less fussy. i think this also relates to the time-saving issue.
ribbons and flowers are still in, thank goodness. i don't know how i'll scrap without them. the same with chipboard alphabets, although the letters are smaller. the titles are also smaller, more integrated in the layout.
paper with scollops, jagged edges, holed edges, etc. they add interest, without adding effort. you could use your punches and scissors, i suppose, to create the same effect.
generic pattern paper. theme based paper is soooo last season, doll. i still get lots of girls who want tooth fairy or potty training paper, and if i do have it, they don't like the colour, and do i have it in purple? the problem is that you cannot satisfy everybody in this regard. so they gave up trying. while there is still a lot of themed paper out there, the trend seems to be that you use dots, stripes, distressed, generic paper, and make it fit your photos. and since the layering of different pattern papers is the trend, it doesn't really matter anyway.
less structure, less formal, less symmetrical, less measuring, fewer rules. more free expression. it is your page. YOU do what YOU want. i saw at the convention that south african girls still want to know exactly how wide, and exactly how far from the left, and now i made a mistake, i did it 2,5cm instead of 2cm. the american teachers tried to tell everybody that it does not matter, you do it your way, but this still leaves many of us feeling insecure, as though our own taste and style somehow is not good enough. relax, and do it the way YOU like it! you are the one who has to look at it. it has to reflect YOU.