
In 2012 I made my first minibook, in 2013 I started with Project Life and in 2014 I made my first traditional scrapbook page. I never thought I would start with scrapbooking. I thought, this was nothing for me and that I wouldn't be good in it. The main reason why I started was the fact that I wanted to use my stuff I collected over the past two years. I had (and still have) way too much stuff to only fill Project Life spreads.

So I made my first page. I don't know where I found the inspiration for this page, but I'm pretty sure it was on Studio Calico. This layout is one of my favorite ones I made in the last 15 months. I just love a good grid.
Since this first page I created 46 layouts. 46 layouts in 15 months. Sometimes I made four in a month and then nothing for two months. I don't force it. When I feel inspired I sit down (well actually I'm standing) and work on a few pages.
I'm not an expert in scrapbooking (or in anything else) but I gained some experience in the last 15 months I was working on my layouts.
THE SUPPLIES
When I started with scrapbooking I already had a lot of supplies at home because I subscribed to the Project Life kits on studiocalico.com and I also went a few times to a local scrapbook store. Although my initial plan was to use those supplies I already had on hand, I bought more stuff. I bought the scrapbook kit at Studio Calico.

I love these kits and they are perfect for anyone who has no stuff at home but also for people who have a room full of supplies. They bring you everything you need to create a few pages. There are colored 12x12 papers, 12x12 patterned paper, embellishments and always a stamp or a stamp set. I like to challenge myself to only use what comes in those kits to create a page (or more). The limited supplies, which work perfectly together, inspire me.

I keep my layouts in a simple album. There is no other system than filling my first one until it's full and then start a new one. You can find some great posts about how to organize your albums on Ali Edwards' blog.
THE INSPIRATION
There are several sources I use for inspiration. The biggest one is again Studio Calico. They have a great member gallery, creative team gallery and I especially love their Sunday Sketch blog posts where they share three sketches (a card sketch, a Project Life sketch and a layout sketch) each week. Use the sketch as a starting point for your own layout. You don't have to make it exactly similar but you can. Those sketches really helped me in the beginning to get a feeling for layouts. And I still like to pick them up from time to time.
Three months ago I signed up for the Story Kits from Ali Edwards. The Kits and stamp sets are amazing but even more inspiring is the class content you get every month. I find so much inspiration to tell better and more complete stories in that class room. Each month we focus on another theme.
I also like to browse Instagram for inspiration. There are so many amazing layouts under the hashtags #studiocalico and #craftthestory.
There are also other places you can find inspiration. For example the creative jumpstarts with Marcy and Stephanie.
SHARING MY LAYOUTS
Except one page I shared every single layout I made in my user gallery on Studio Calico (you don't have to subscribe to their kits to create an account). I also share them on Instagram under the hashtag #layoutsbyandrea.
I don't think you have to share what you make, but I highly recommend making photos of your layouts. When I see my pages through a photo I can see it with different eyes. Sometimes it highlights that there is something missing on the page. It just doesn't look complete. For example this page I made. In real life it looks okayish, in the photo, just plain boring.
I like to share my pages to get feedback but also to provide inspiration for other people. If no one would share what they made, no one could find inspiration.
And I guess if I haven't shared my layouts online, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to be featured in a magazine.

MY WORKSPACE
You can find a video of my workspace in this blog post. I like to stand while working on my creative projects.
Please note: This is NOT a sponsored post. I just share my experience.