Our friend Melissa Tallman is one very creative lady! You can check out these two layouts and many others she has created hanging around the store now! Melissa has a beautiful clean style that runs through all of her layouts. She used papers from one of her favorite companies, October Afternoon, in these layouts. When I commented on this great layout using a combination of paper strips, she laughed and said she had "scraplifted" this idea from a magazine. Of course the original layout looked nothing like this! Melissa used that layout more like a sketch in and idea book and gathered her own combination of papers & supplies to create the look she wanted to use with her photo. This is a great tip to remember the next time you're looking at other people's layouts. Remember that you don't have to recreate an entire layout down to the last embellishment to be inspired by another scrapper's creation. You might "scraplift" just the layout or maybe just the color combination. We all run out of ideas from time to time and looking at other layouts as if they are sketches, can help get you back on track with some quick page ideas. 
Maybe you already have a stash of supplies but aren't sure how to combine them to create a beautiful page. Look through our ideas here on the blog & in the store and check out some of the thousands of scrapbooking blogs on the internet...you're sure to get inspired & turn out that awesome page in no time!
Maybe you already have a stash of supplies but aren't sure how to combine them to create a beautiful page. Look through our ideas here on the blog & in the store and check out some of the thousands of scrapbooking blogs on the internet...you're sure to get inspired & turn out that awesome page in no time!One last tip from Melissa, be sure to check out the backsides of your patterned paper the next time you're looking for the perfect background! The dictionary theme background paper for her "Enrich" layout, is actually the backside of a very cute, bright cherry patterned paper. While most people's first instinct would be to use the front side of this paper in their layout, Melissa appreciated the understated look of this paper. She chose to use it as the background for her page, rubbing the edge roughly with a light blue ink pad to tie her color theme together throughout the page.
