Stash Stretching

[littlekiwi]

How do you keep your layouts fresh and exciting when you aren't able to buy any new goodies?

For a number of reasons I haven't been able to buy anything new here since January 2023 and most likely won't for a bit longer (unfortunately it won't change in time for NSD coming up). I feel like especially over the past two years, my style has changed a fair bit so what I have doesn't really spark creativity as much as it used to.

[Brendazzle]

Up until the past few months, I basically never got anything unless it was free. That meant that I got very, very familiar with any and all freebies. My stash is organized by designer and then kit so I can open a folder and see what I have from a person. Mixing supplies from the same person means that the style is similar and things look cohesive. A lot of designers have their preferred colors so everything plays really nice together, even when it wasn't designed together.

With the exception of the template, everything in this page was from a freebie
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/722/FDD---Magical-Starlight---River-Rose-freebie-trio-copy.jpg (https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=777838)

On this one, everything including the template is a freebie
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/714/15---Parallel-Bars-copy.jpg (https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=759605)


I've found the sometimes challenges help me too. Right now, one of the challenges for Scrapper's Portfolio is to let a site make you a color palette and then only use things in those colors. Having to "shop the stash" by color makes me look at things in a whole new light (pun intended). Over the summer, I made a page where everything had to be pink.
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=765253

I also recolor elements sometimes to make them match better. A quick skim of my gallery didn't show me anything super obvious but I am constantly recoloring things. For example, only some kits from Studio Liv have ricrac but all of her templates do. I use my eyedropper to select a color from the kit I'm using, clip a solid color layer over the ricrac I borrowed from another kit, set it to Color blending mode, and sometimes that's all I have to do. (I can find more in-depth recoloring tutorials if you want me too.)

I also sometimes clip papers to layers in templates, especially greenery/foliage or star shapes.

[JillW]

I sometimes use more than 1 kit when creating a page - perhaps you can mix and match what you have to stretch your stash!
Sending hugs!!

[tjscraps]

Template wise have you checked out Angie's blog posts for 1 template # ways? That might spark some creativity. Also just looking at kits in different ways - off-theme and just look at the colours instead.

[TraceyM]

I love pouring through ideas on Pinterest. If you go to mine you will see folders under all sorts of categories. It's a great way to spur on ideas.
https://www.pinterest.com/mybetrside/

[jacinda]

Sometimes, to stretch a stash try using only SOME of the colours in a kit instead of all of them. Once the page is put together it looks like a completely different kit.

e.g. from this kit I just wanted the whites and greens

https://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/images/P/kcbsbasic_ntsinhaleexhalebreathe01.jpg

to create this page:

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/516/24-07-10-Exhale-700b.jpg

With this kit I just used the blues, greens and neutrals:

https://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/images/P/kcbakp_rollcall_preview.jpg

to create this page:

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/516/24-05-10-Love-these-moments-700b.jpg

[littlekiwi]

Thanks everyone. I guess my major gripe is I feel like everything I have is "old" and maybe not to my taste now if that makes sense. I know I can recolor and stretch my stash that way but I think its more that everything I have feels quite theme based which maybe isn't quite what I would use now

[Kiana]

Grab all the freebies you can and play along with every month's challenges, plus special events for the chance to win Gift Certs. This can at least allow you to grab some newer goodies until you can buy them more.

[KristinCB]

Thanks everyone. I guess my major gripe is I feel like everything I have is "old" and maybe not to my taste now if that makes sense. I know I can recolor and stretch my stash that way but I think its more that everything I have feels quite theme based which maybe isn't quite what I would use now

I admittedly don't really scrapbook anymore so take my idea with a grain of salt. but IF i were going to scrap and want to freshen things up another idea would be scrapping with your stuff in a new way to freshen things up. I've always though that the size of travellers notebook pages are unique and fun so that could be an idea as well. Changing up the size or layout format might inspire you to use goodie in different ways :)

[aussiegirl]

Totally understand the frustration (on a very tight budget right now getting ready for a big trip). Others have given you some great ideas. Make sure you check out the freebies in the shop (a sample from a bunch of different designers, I have even combined a few of these freebies to create my own style page).

I organize by theme rather than designer. One way to be inspired is by looking back through your photos that still need to be scrapped or by looking back through your kits too. See if there is one that may you downloaded by never scrapped with (happens to me all the time). See if either of these inspire you.
Try rotating or flipping templates to get a brand new "look" to them (to help freshen up templates you feel you are reusing a bunch). I am a scrap photos first type person. But may you are a kit first person. Pick what works for you and get excited to scrap a new page! Maybe you don't post that first layout. Throw whatever you want on the page, don't keep track of credits unless you KNOW you are going to post it. Scrap that one for yourself only. Don't try to impress anyone else, but you! Save it, and then see if it has inspired you to try something new again! This time, do keep track of your credits, but don't be afraid to mix and match!

I feel the worst thing we can do as scrappers, is to stop scrapping! Use what you have, change it up a little, look back through photos and/ or supplies...but keep scrapping!

[littlekiwi]

I feel the worst thing we can do as scrappers, is to stop scrapping! Use what you have, change it up a little, look back through photos and/ or supplies...but keep scrapping!

I'm certainly not stopping scrapping, infact quite the opposite, its more to do with lack of new SSD stash than lack of scrapping stash overall

[EvelynD2]

I have gotten some beautiful collab collections from challenges that SSD has, such as their birthday and Christmas collabs. If you do the required layouts and/or challenges, you receive pieces to the collection so when you are done you have a great collection.