It’s summer vacation. The days are longer and our “to-do” list is happily shorter than the school year. And you would think I would have so much more time to scrap at this time of year- but I’m going to let you in on a secret: I have actually scrapped less during the summer than during the “crazy busy” times of the year.  And here’s the ugly part: Lately, I just haven’t been able to get the scrap-happy motor running.

• Tune out.  It’s not a good idea for me to look at galleries immediately before I scrap. For me, comparison is the thief of creativity.  Pinning and “liking” layouts in galleries is a terrific thing- it get me seeing things in a new way- and is definitely inspirational- I just cant do it right before I scrap. Unless I am following a specific technique that I’m unfamiliar with- like using gelatos or die cutting a specific way. But that’s not creative as much as technical.
• Focus on the stories you want to tell as opposed to the ones you should tell. When I tried to get motivated this weekend, I had yet to do the previous month’s Project Life spread. It was a scrapping “to-do”.  But considering I was in such a funk- the last thing I wanted to do was something I had to do. I’m a scrapping bad-girl-rebel I guess! Instead, I looked through my photos for the this month found one photo that I really wanted to tell a story about.  I decided I was just going to do that. Tell a story about this one photo. That made me happy- and started my engines.
• Settle for a less than best layout.  I often fall into the trap of wanting to make the very best page possible. I can easily get lost in looking for the perfect papers and very best elements and choosing a perfect font… and there are so many choices… and then as I go through all my stash I start feeling guilty about all my stash…and  then I’m bummed and just don’t feel the love anymore.
• That’s not fun. So, I really try and limit my choices. I will pull out one of my current monthly kits, or just speed choose a few papers and ellies and commit to using them.  When I say “speed choose” I mean I will look at the photos, consider the story and choose paper colors or designs that work with that- and here’s the trick- stick with my first choice. No second guessing. This should not take more than 10 minutes. I will tell myself- yes- there may be a better way to pull this layout together- but I don’t need to make my pages the best. I just need to be happy making them- and the quality will come from that.
• Organize supplies by color. It’s a tip that I’ve really dedicated myself to this year- and I love the outcome. I organize my papers and journal cards by color.  It makes it so much easier to pull things together- because no matter what, you will always want your colors to coordinate. If you start with organizing supplies by color- you automatically narrow your choices.

• While papers and journal cards are organized by color, I don’t use that for my elements.  I use little boxes and lids to organize my ellies by type.  I found I will most often look for a certain type of ellie: a  label, or heart or star- and having them all in one place makes it easier to find.

  Start scrapbooking by not scrapbooking. Ok- this is really going to let you see what a stubborn chick I can be. But sometimes, when I can’t get up the drive to scrap- I go into my supplies and tidy them up. Organize, weed out things I don’t like, dust off a few things. And there’s one rule: no matter what- I am not allowed to scrap. I don’t know why- but after organizing my stuff- and rediscovering my stash- I really want to scrap. And being forbidden to (how funny is that!) just makes me scrap more… most times, I’ll be a bad girl and just do it!

• Make a few mini kits with your stash.  While I’m going through my stash and tidying things up- sometimes Ill find some products that go together with a theme that I didn’t know I had. I’ll find a few ice cream themed items, or moon themed items, or good morning themed items- and it surprised me I have so many of one theme.  So, Ill collect them all together and place them in a 12×12 sleeve so I have a mini kit ready to go.  If I have stamps that go along with this theme, I will stamp a piece of paper with them and slip that paper in with the mini kit. Then, I wont forget to consider the stamp when making my layout.
• Scrapbook without doing a single layout.  Sometimes, when I just cant get the drive up to scrap, taking a few baby steps towards an actual layout helps kick-start things, For instance, organizing my supplies, going through and editing my photo stream, tagging photos I’d like to work with, and going through galleries and pins.  Yes- I said before that that can be counter productive- but that’s only when I do it as I sit down to scrap.  When I know I have no intention of scrapping on a certain day- it’s a good thing for me to watch some process videos or comb through pin boards and galleries.