Advice received from fellow class members

I still want to scrapbook and store the photos and their stories by having asked I the big “Why bother scrapbooking?” question I needed some guidance and help. The good thing with Big Picture Classes is that the support and advice you get from the class when you post on the message board. This is the advice I got from my class mates,

1. Check out the articles in the issues at http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/index.html this magazine is no longer published but there is a wealth of info on-line from the magazines. I like your LO's.

2. If you have been scraplifting most of the time, but aren't happy with the end result, it sounds to me like maybe you have been trying to be something you are not.

3. Everyone has trouble with embellishments so maybe ask yourself the following questions: “Why do you use embellishments? Do you like the look of embellishments on your page, or do you try to use them because you think you should? There's no rule that says you have to use them. Hope this helps! :) And know you're not alone. I think many of my layouts are "good" but not "great" and I realized recently almost all of the ones I'm not thrilled with are copies, in someone else's style that I wasn't totally comfortable with. Thanks to this class though, I'm learning to be more specific in what I copy, and as a result I like my layouts more and more. They are becoming more authentic to me. But it's been a slow process. It does take time. So I hope that you can find your way too, as I am. :)

4. Cathy Z. types her journaling because she has so much to say. As a professional graphic designer she finds hand writing hard on the eye when it is extensive (I'm paraphrasing here). If you look at other people's LOs, those that have extensive journaling usually type it. Cathy Z, Nic Howard are good examples. Look at Stacy's LOs and you will see that her handwritten journaling does not take up that much space.

5. Break up your journaling as Karen does using that adorable journaling stamp. That way you can still handwrite, but it won't all be clumped together.

And not only did they give me loads of advice but also encouragement and compliments on both my layouts and my handwriting.