What is OUT of style?

What did we ever do before PVR? Oh, that's right we missed shows with bad theme music. Oh, those were the days, which I think is the theme song from a `70's show!?!?

Robert

We either got up and moved around during intro's and commercials or we sat there and watched them. The commercial skip button is our new friend.

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this thread with interest because I am new to scrapbooking and the opinions of "seasoned" scrapbookers are always valuable. Anyway, here my contribution:

Magazines - I live in the UK where we have really only three scrapbooking magazines at the moment but I think they are all excellent (they seem to be starting and folding fast because they are not very profitable). I have also just subscribed to Creating Keepsakes and my husband also brought me some US magazines. I must say there is one big difference in the magazine content: the CK magazine contains a lot of - quite small - layouts for inspiration but little "how-to" articles while in the UK magazines there are quite in-depth articles on techniques and larger layout photos with notes on achieving them (but overall fewer layouts in a magazine).

Current layout trends - I also notice that a lot of layouts these days are just one photo portrait-type, moment-in-time layouts with a short title and little journaling, the photo framed with various co-ordinated papers and flowers. To me, those kind of layouts are just large decorative cards - I think journaling is very important. (Saying that, I am not always that good at journaling and I prefer to keep it hidden if there is a lot of it - so yes, my layouts are just large decorative cards at first sight...) I also have a CK issue with Hall of Fame winners for (I think) last year. One thing that strikes me about all these layouts - they were all so similar and they looked more like pages from a lifestyle magazine, with straight lines and computer-generated columns of text and little textures or 3D embellishments. I think this very "graphic" look (though clean and quick & easy to achieve) might be going out of fashion a little, and that's why things more "organic" things like handwritten journaling and doodling are coming in - as a complete opposite to the almost impersonal computer journaling! To me scrapbooking is not flat, straight and computer-generated - I just like collage-style pages with flowing shapes, textures, ribbons, fabric, 3D embellishments - so that I can look as well as "feel" the page. (Well, as I said, I am new to scrapbooking so this might change in time.)

Another thing that I find quite bizarre at the moment is that almost all layouts in magazines seem to include flowers - even ones with rough boys playing sports! Yes, OK, my layouts contain flowers too and one of my personal challenges is create a layout with no flowers!

Decorative scissors and cutting out of photos - well, I cannot imagine cutting my photos into various shapes (I hope that will not come back in fashion). I have recently discovered a scrapbook use for those deckle-edged scissors: I have been scanning and printing a lot of old photos from 1920s-1050s and they have that beautiful edge - so I cut the edge of the scanned photo too.

Klara

Hello Robert & everyone,

My background is also desktop publishing (though only for about 5 years) and two good rules from graphic design which I think are useful in scrapbooking are:

1. Don't mix too many fonts/text styles and sizes on a page - as a general rule 2-3 types are good
2. Don't be afraid of white/empty space - otherwise the page would be too busy.

I think good design in not necessarily "less is more" but things need to complement each other instead of detract from each other. My family always find it funny when I search for "that perfect little embellishment" which will complete a page...

Klara

I've given the daycare almost all of my decorative scissors, and divided most of the stickers up between scouts, 4-H and the daycare. I hardly ever use any of them anymore. I do still like the puff/dimentional stickers. One of the things I bought was the Links-to-Links tool where you use the punches to make borders. I hardly ever used it and as it did not fall into my formula of $1 per layout tool purchase formula I consider it a waste of my money. I've had it for at least 3-4 years now and one set of the templates heve never been opened. I'd like us to move the magazine discussion to a new thread so I can follow it better. Magazines are getting so expensive I've had to stop buying them from the stores. For those of you that have them a review would be great to help some of us decide which ones to purchase. I know that I sometimes purchase Scrapbook Answers after I see some on the newsgroup discussing the contents of the latest issue if it sounds good. Sandy

Magazines can be interesting because their layouts seem to ebb and flow with trends. That could be why you are seeing so many flowers now. Next month it could be something else. I try to stay away from fad trends so my stuff doesn't look dated. Its kind of like watching a show from the `70's and seeing all of the outdated clothes and hair styles. They I guess didn't plan for the next fad.

But, then what goes around comes around. Sooner or later the `70's will return. It maybe 2020 or something but it will be the `70's.

Robert

I have to say of all of the scrapbooking stuff I am not that fond of stickers. Especially the puffy plastic ones, the jelly raised ones and the ones that look like reflective (glittery) bumper stickers. EWWWWWWW!

Velum stickers are nice, but that is because they are subtle and pleasant. Some are just plain ugly and tacky (not the stuff on the back either).

Robert

re magazines, still got a huge vote for Lasting Memories magazine... what you need to create the page is always available, the LOs are inspiring, and the articles educational and interesting. All ads are scrapbooking related and I've got to say, it's the only magazine I have ever read everything in, from the first to the last, it's all fascinating, interesting and informative. No I'm not a vendor... just a great big fan of the magazine.

Melissa in Seattle

Melissa, are you no longer a Creative Memories consultant? I thought you loved it? Personally I have a bias for Scrapbook Answers. I wanted to mention for those of you who have access to iTunes that they have the scrapbook answer podcasts on there for free as well as other scrapbooking howtoos!

I get Simple Scrapbooks, Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbook Answers. I basically just browse through them for layout structure rather than what was used in the layout. I got SS and SA on ebay, I think they were less than $10 a whole year. I got CK when they were running a 2 year for the price of one year special. I don't mind paying what works out to less than a $1 a mag but I am not willing to pay $5 to $15 for a mag at the store.

Speaking of podcasts I have enjoyed those from