The Scrapbook Site Design Team Blog

In Full Colour

Did you know that color can affect and influence moods and emotions? This can be extremely useful in scrapbooking, since use of the right color, and shade of that color can complement the mood of the photos you are using, and the emotion the page conveys.

According to the color psychology here are some moods associated with different colours

Red

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love.

Blue
Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms

 

Green

Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is a calming, refreshing color.

Yellow

Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter

You can take this even further and combine colours to create the right atmosphere. Take a look at this site for some examples of colour combinations for energizing, exciting, feminine, masculine and youthful combinations, among others.

And if you want to play some more check out the Color Combo Challenge Blog! Every Week Janet and the team challenge you to use a new color combo on a scrapbook layout. Have fun!

Francine

Let the Spring Clean Begin!

With spring comes a desire to shed the layers of winter dust and find the bright shine of Spring underneath.  I've begun that journey through the house and most particularly my crafty area.  It's easy to do this because I love my craft area.  It's my haven, my spot where I'm creative and comfortable and totally in my element.

I share my room with my youngest son's toys.  I did that on purpose so we could be together where we're really comfortable.  He can entertain himself with his plethora of goodies and so can I!   The thing is, just like his toys, my supplies can get really messy.  I mean REALLY messy.  Hey, creativity is not a clean and pristine place.  It's a place where small bits of paper gets left behind, paint splatters and tools and embellishments get tossed about.  My creative process starts out very organized but the end result is hardly that.

To combat the mess, I do take a bit of time each week to tidy my space.  Each Spring and Fall, I take a lot of time and go through my room and do much more than tidy.  I purge and either RAK or sell those things I've not used and won't.  I make sure things are still organized and functioning well.  What isn't functioning well, I change it. 

For instance... last year I was not really utilizing my stamps.  I have a lot of stamps for a scrapper.  They were being stored in my closet an on wire shelves that tended to get overlooked.  In truth, they were sadly under used.  A closet can be used for a lot of things, but things tend to be hidden away in there.  I decided to change it up and put things I'll use often and frequently in the closet.  My theory was that if I had my lesser used materials in plain view, I'd actually use them. They were now where I could be inspired by them more often.   I also decided to better organize my stamps.  I found beautiful decorative suit cases in which to store them on my shelves where they called out to me. They are arranged by categories and the containers are so lovely I can't help but enjoy looking in them for all my fun stamps.  My theory has worked.  I've used my stamps on far more layouts and cards in the past month than I did in the past year.   

Why not take a peek into your scraproom and your organization methods and decide to clean, purge and get ready for Spring!  You know you need the room.  After all, the new CHA products are filling the A Walk Down Memorty Lane shelves and you'll be wanting to get all the goodies for yourself.  You'll need to make room!  Take some time to organize, purge, RAK, PIF and sell, but don't forget to place your orders first.  You'll have plenty of inspiration to get busy and work hard getting your room ready for the product that will be arriving in no time at your front door!

(And to help spark some more inspiration to your organizing efforts, check out the "Scrap Space" gallery at The Scrapbook Site!)

Overcoming Scrapper's Block:

One question, I hear asked quite often is:  "What do you do when you lose your scrapping mojo?"  Since we are all individuals with unique personalities, the way we deal with lack of inspiration is a varied as we are.  We all have to figure out what works best for us.  I can, however, tell you what works for me!

Don't stress over it!  -  This is my number one rule.  I find that if I allow myself to worry and become frustrated about losing my muse, it makes it worse!  However, If I will just relax and have faith that it will return, it will actually come back much quicker than if I cave in to worry.

Do something else! - I do other things that are non-scrap related.  Sometimes, my creativity simply needs a break.  I will clean house, run errands, bake a cake, go for a walk, play with the kids, etc.  I make it a point to enjoy myself!  I don't allow myself to even think about scrapping!  After a while, I feel refreshed and that creative itch always returns before long!

Fill your creative tank!  - When you create, you are expending energy.  I think of my car.  I fill it with gas, so it will get me from place to place.  If I allow my gas tank to run dry, I won't get very far and will make myself and husband (because he has to come pick me up) very grumpy, in the process.  The same concept applies to creativity.  If I allow my creative tank to become empty, I don't get very far.  I also get frustrated and grumpy if I try to force it.  So I have learned, I need to always remember to re-fuel.  Some of the ways I fill my tank are: reading a good book, visiting design websites, viewing other people's artwork and layouts, observing nature, listening to music, watching an inpiring movie, etc.  The important thing here is I take the pressure off myself to create. If I will simply allow myself to be filled with the creative fuel of inspiration, I generally find myself speeding down that creative path once again! 

If you are, in fact, experiencing scrappers block, I hope I have provided a little encouragement and given you some ideas.  I will leave you with a few non-scrap related websites that inspire and provide me with a little creative fuel.  Enjoy!

• http://www.thescrapbooksite.com/gallery/
• http://www.designspongeonline.com/
• http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/
• http://www.aisling.net/blog.htm
• http://www.cottagechicstore.com/

Until next time....

Happy Scrapping,

Kelly Shults

Today's Creative Blog

One of our new members over at the Message Board yesterday had a link to her blog, so, being the avid blog reader I am, I decided to take a gander.

She had a link to this cool blog called Today's Creative Blog.  I just loved it and went blog hopping to so many cool places from this one place!

So, if you have some time to kill, are looking for some inspiration, or just want to see some beautiful pictures, check out Today's Creative Blog!  They offer some home decorating ideas, card making ideas, scrapbooking ideas and so much more!

CHA Pictures

We have started posting CHA pictures over at the A Walk Down Memory Lane blog.  You should check them out every day as we will show off some of the new items that we have on order, as well as being able to see some of the new things that will be making an appearance in future kits!

We have ordered from Basic Grey, Bo Bunny, Fancy Pants, October Afternoon, Tinkering Ink, Luxe Designs, Chatterbox and many of your favorite companies!  We've also ordered from some new companies such as Pink Paislee and Core-dination cardstocks.  Many of these new companies were shipping as soon as the show was over, so we expect to see some new goodies in the store soon!

You'll also want to check back here tomorrow as we have a huge announcement that we will be posting!

Fonts at TSS!

I am a font addict!  I think I have more fonts loaded on my computer than I will ever use.  The good thing is they are free and I can always delete them if I decide I am not going to use a certain font.

Have you checked out the FREE FONTS located in the {All Things Scrapbooking} area on The Scrapbook Site’s Message Board?  Each week a new font is loaded for you to play with!

http://www.thescrapbooksite.com/forums/index.php?showforum=40

What are your favorite fonts?  Script, Journaling, Handwriting, Fancy, Kids….you are sure to find what you are looking for at TSS!  Go load a couple on your computer today and see if they inspire you to create!

One Day Left

Just one day left til Valentine's Day 2008!

Perhaps you have some last minute cards or gifts you need to make for Valentine's Day.  Or maybe you're already anticipating the great layouts you can create with tomorrow's pictures.  Whatever the case, I've got two lovely links for you to follow. 

By typing in the word 'heart' as a search in our store, I came up with 55 items.  (And remember, all those products are on sale right now!)

Then, if you visit our inspiring TSS gallery, 553 projects appear when you search using the word 'heart.' 

That's a lot of heart-felt inpsiration!  Enjoy the links, and enjoy creating for the ones you love!

Looking for some inspiration?

We were chatting on the Message Board about some great places on the web for inspiration.  Here is one of the great blogs we've found!

COLORSTORY - This blog is a new site combining a color combination, sketch and some sort of inspirational picture.  This is such a cool concept!  I plan on playing along with them because I'm loving the first challenge over there!  The first color combination has some pinks, browns with a splash of green.  While meandering around the store today, I found a few products that would work GREAt with this color combination!  Check out these papers for the colors!

Doodlebug Love Spell has beautiful browns and pinks!
3 Bugs in a Rug has 2 collections, Coco and Groovy that combine pinks, browns, and green!
What about Basic Grey's Infuse collection?

Do you have some favorite inspirational websites or blogs?  Please leave a comment below with a link to your favorite inspirational hang-out!