I often find that every few scrapbooks I create I start to get a little stagnant on new and different ideas for creating them. I’ve come of with lots of great ideas that ‘work” but doing them over and over again seems to make those things that looked amazing when they were first created start to look a little ordinary.
In talking this weekend with a scrapbooking friend, she tools me she likes to pick up a new scrapbooking book every few months or so for new inspiration. Her and a few friends also share the books, so they can essentially pass ideas around without having to spend anymore cash at the local bookstore.
If you’re looking for new scrapbooking ideas my first suggestion would be to go to your local used bookstore. In many cases you can pick up used scrapbooking books for just a few dollars and start to build up your own library of ideas.
One book I really like is the Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking which is packed with tons of ideas, but also tons of instructions for basic things that I didn’t exactly know how to do properly when I first started.
Here are a few more that are worth picking up:
Scrapbooking for Dummies: While I’m not exactly fond of being called a Dummy for any reason, the “For Dummies” series tends to offer a lot of good basic knowledge. I find myself going back to it as a reference every now and then when I’m trying to remember how to do something. It might not be a good investment if you’re an old pro, but for beginners it’s definitely worth an investment.
501 Great Scrapbook Page Ideas: This book gives you a lot of great ideas for certain types of pages you might want to create in your scrapbook. The book offers great ideas for different situations where you might otherwise be sitting in front of a blank page thinking “How do I do this one?” It’s a great thing to have on hand for those “Ummmm” moments.
If new books aren’t exactly in the budget now there are plenty of free ways you can get inspiration for your next masterpiece. You can also often find inspiration for new scrapbook pages in magazines and ads that are around you or even your favorite blogs.
What books or resources do you use for inspiration?