It's all about INSPIRATION

Hiya, it's Brook with our weekly dose of "Behind the Scenes".

Here's where I give you a little peek into how I create. Today I'd like to share how I find my inspiration for my layouts and photography. It's always important to me to have a constant stream of inspiration, otherwise I get scrapper's block. Big time. So, here's my 3 favorite sources of creative juice:

1. Clothing!!! Oh, my kiddos clothes are so adorable. They're colorful and they have such fun patterns and cutesy characters on them. I also get some inspiration from my own clothes & bags. The lace trims and trendy colors are such a source of ideas. Look at the hottest scrapbooking products. Look at the trendy clothes. It's all connected. Owls here, owls there. Also, because we're wearing clothes in the photos I take (thank God! LOL.), using them as a source of inspiration is a no-brainer. Here's a couple yummy photos to hopefully inspire you:


Can't you just see these cute Gymboree clothes inspiring a scrapbook page?

PS: A tip for using clothes as inspiration: Don't always be concerned about everyone in all your photos being matchy-matchy! The more color, the better. Also, don't think that your papers & embellies have to perfectly match the colors of the clothing in the photos. Using a photo with colors that complement (but not match) will help the subject pop off the page. For example, if the photo is of your daughter in a yellow dress, try using shades of purple in the layout! The same goes with green/red, and orange/blue. I'll go into color combinations in more detail in a future post...

2. Art!!!! Are you an art enthusiast? If so, you will find loads of inspiration looking at contemporary and postmodern art. A walk through the local art galleries or to an art festival is a fun way to catch the creative bug. I happen to love painting! I am a color junkie. Take this painting by Vincent Van Gogh...

I can totally tell that he would have made a GREAT scrapbooker. Can you just see those stars cut from Bazzil and the haze around them from a twist of yellow tulle stapled on? Maybe some stickles here or there? A Sassafras feltie thrown in there for good luck??? Also, just a quick spin through Etsy will bring up dozens of "pearls"... a treasure-trove of inspiration to right click and save away in that folder labeled "AWESOME STUFF: INSPO".

3. Music! Oh man, music can be such a rich source of ideas, emotions, memories... you name it. Music is the bomb-diggity of inspiration. The kind of inspiration that comes from within. Have you ever walked through a Disney theme park? Ever notice the music that's playing wherever you go? It's music that keeps our internal dialogue going and our thoughts become alive. My imagination kicks in when I'm listening to a song with lyrics or a sound that touches me. Or I'm remembering the last time I heard that song... when I was a kid... when I rode the school bus to school in the front seat right by the sweet bus driver (Mrs. Brown) and it came on the radio... when she turned the volume louder and started singing it in her rich vibratto... and when I got hit by a spit ball on the back of my neck right as the chorus started. Ah, music. Pure inspiration. Here's one of my all-time most inspirational songs:

"Together" by William Shatner on YouTube.

For the rest of my life, whenever I hear this song I will think of my oldest child, Benjamin, when he was just beginning to dance. Every time he heard this song he would dance. Mmmm... beautiful memories. Memories that deserve a place in one of my scrapbooks.


Which reminds me... remember last week when I mentioned Journaling Prompts? Don't forget your journaling. Don't forget to scrap the Misc. Memories that don't have a photo to match!

Happy Wednesday!!!

PSS: Check it out, Mosh Posh and our September kit layouts were featured on the Sassafras Lass Blog:Sassafras Blog. How cool is that?