Layout help
 

This will be silly since I've been scrapbooking since 1997, but I look at my layouts and then the layouts of everyone else and I always feel inaduquate. So, I'd like your suggestions for layouts in general. I have a lot of templates but would like to do it myself too :)

Oh gosh - I totally feel that way ALL the time! There is crazy talent here, isn't there??

One thing that really helped me was to find my "style". There are lots out there. Because I was a paper scrapper first, I'm drawn to digi layouts that look like them. I also really like the clustered look because I know with paper a clustered page would cost approximately 18 gazillion dollars, and who can afford that?? LOL

So once I figured out my style preference, I found artists who scrapped that way and favorited them, so when they upload new stuff, it alerts me (you can do that in your gallery profile). I also started using templates that looked like that style too, to make it easier. I honest to goodness can NOT come up with a nice layout just out of my head, not even when I paper scrapped... I was a sketch user. Once I had my style picked, my templates picked, my layouts started to look better and better.

Another thing that helps is to working on shadows. That can make a page go from drab to super amazing, you know? It can make everything look super dimensional (you just have to make sure they aren't too big because everything will look like it's floating off the page). There are lots of great shadowing tutorials out there to look to!

One more thing that helps me is to STOP COMPARING. I used to do it all the time. I have to mentally remind myself to stop it... as long as I am happy with my layouts, it makes no difference if they are as good as so-and-so's. No matter how good you get, there will always be someone you feel is better than you... don't stress yourself out by comparing because you could end up getting discouraged! And that's no fun!

First and foremost - create for yourself!! your family will value every single photo and word you take the time to document, so don't stress over comparisons to others. :thumbup:

Having said that - you could try templates if you haven't before! it's a great way to take the pressure off coming up with an eye-pleasing page design. Then you just focus on using your own stuff to "fill it up"! and the stress of where to put all the doo-dads is gone because the template gives you something to work from!

My advice would be to look at layouts you really like and rather than being intimidated by them, try to break down what it is specifically you like about them. Is it the placement of elements? The photos? The colors or titlework? The use of whitespace (or lack of whitespace?)?

Try and see if you can find a specific common thread across multiple layouts you like and then work on incorporating some of those elements into your own pages. Back when I was still trying to find my style, I did this a lot and it really helped.

Great advise from these other ladies. I totally agree that finding your own style is a HUGE part of it. I feel like I've been able to do that a lot better over the last year, and I'm so much happier with my layouts! Sometimes I will still see a layout in a different style by someone else that I think is fantastic, and I'll try to do something similar, and it hardly ever works. Every now and then, I will venture into unfamiliar territory, but I like to stick to what I do best.

I also think that shadows make a really big difference. So, that's something specific that you can try to work on.

But, mostly, enjoy it and be happy that you are preserving memories for your family. That's what it's all about in the end. :)