INTRODUCTION

Life is full of rules, and scrapbooking is no exception. Rules are great. They provide guidelines for our pages, and they help us become comfortable as we learn our craft. But they can quickly become boundaries that stifle our creativity. By trying to follow the rules all the time, you cut yourself off to possibilities. Scrapbooking is a creative hobby, which means there is no right and wrong way to do it. There are no scrapbooking police. No one is going to tell you your scrapbook layout is not a real layout because you did not follow “the rules.”

This book is meant to open your eyes to all the rules you follow, consciously or not. With tons of examples of how to break the rules, this book is bound to spark a bit of a rebel in you and get you creating in fresh new ways. Being a rule rebel doesn’t mean that your scrapbook pages need to be completely out there. Like me, you probably still want your pages to look like scrapbook layouts. I want my photos to be recognizable, my journaling to be clear and my memories and thoughts to be preserved. You can accomplish all this and still be a rule breaker. This book is meant to stretch you creatively, not change the way you scrap completely. Follow me as I show you ways to push yourself past the rules. I’ll give you a nudge down a path that you might not have gone down otherwise.

As you go through this book and try some of the challenges, you may find that not everything is for you. You may find that adding elements on an angle takes you too far out of your comfort zone, but you may also find that choosing colors with different intensities gives you the creative kick you need. I hope that as you become aware of the rules, try the challenges and look through the book for inspiration, you will start to create with a greater sense of freedom and find what works for you.

Sure, there is a time and place for rules. But sometimes you need to cut loose so you can give yourself true creative freedom. Remember, the only “should” in scrapbooking is you should have fun!