Breaking the rules

Since I first started scrapbooking I have heard lots of talk about the 'rules' of creating a layout. Like most people I think rules are a good thing, but occasionally they are meant to be broken!

The comment I hear time and time again from my non-scrapbooking friends is 'I couldn't do that' - I always tell them the same thing 'There is no right or wrong way to scrapbook, if you're preserving your memories and enjoying doing it, then you're doing it right!' I actually think I can hear some of you recoiling in the background now!!

I realise it's not a popular train of thought - but it's easy to get bogged down by the rights and wrongs and lose sight of the importance of recording something of note for future generations.

So I'm throwing out a challenge to everyone, tear up the rule book for a while and see what happens.

For my first layout I committed the ultimate sin of not using a title. I always struggle with titles at the best of times but I included all the relevent information and the fantastic Authentique curiosity range provided lots of key phrases to make an actual title redundant

For my second layout I mixed three different manufacturers, although it's great to have a lot of the work taken out of a project by having matching ranges it's sometimes fun to mix things up a little, I know a lot of you do this already but I thought it would be interesting to see how many different ranges I could fit onto a page. Also I wanted to create a vintage page without going down the usual lace and ephemera route, just because your photo is vintage doesn't mean you can't take a modern approach with your layout.

And lastly, I know that photos are better grouped in odd numbers, but what if I have four photos I want to use? Ok the obvious answer would be to do two layouts and split the photos into a one and a three, but I wanted to prove that you can use an even number and still make it work

I'm in no way saying that we shouldn't follow certain rules in scrapbooking, they are there to help us create something asthetically pleasing, but, especially for those who are new to this wonderful hobby, I want to say don't get bogged down by guidelines, just enjoy what you're doing!

 I actually have two rules that I live by that I won't compromise 'Buy copious amounts of stash and USE it!!'

I used the following products:

Simple stories

Crate paper

LilyBee

Authentique curiosity range

S.E.I. dessert springs