LOAD in Vogue Blog Hop!

Welcome to the LOAD in Vogue blog hop!  I hate to be all exclusive, but if you're not part of the ScrapHappy community, this one's not for you.  Sorry!  Membership does have its privileges, but we would love for you to be part of the fun, too.  Check out Lain's site here on how you can join this wonderful community. We are gearing up for our October Layout A Day Challenge, Load in Vogue, a scrapbooking journey through the decades.  Here we will explore trends, fads and fashion as sources of inspiration.  Many of your fellow ScrapHappy sisters have volunteered to offer you some advice and encouragement through this blog hop.  I'm the first stop on the list and then be sure to stop by and visit with the others.  Leave us some love, too!  It's good practice for commenting during LOAD.  So, sit back and relax and enjoy this LOAD pep rally of sorts.  It is sure to get you ready for a fun-filled month of scrapping.

When a Prompt Stumps You

So, many of us have been around the pre-LOAD blog hop block before.  We know about getting lots of adhesive, putting a kit or 2 together, printing off photos, getting some crock pot meals lined up.  So, I thought I would go ahead and take a different approach this time around.  Today I'm going to walk you through some actual experiences I've had during previous LOADs where I read a prompt and said, "HUH?!" and how I handled it.

This will probably happen to possibly all of us sometime during the month.  Before you freak out, take a deep breath and try to relax.  Here are some strategies to help you get the juices flowing.

1.  Use the photo in the prompt as inspiration.  I know that seems like stating the obvious, but even just jotting down a few words or phrases that come to mind when you look at the photo may help you find your angle.  Is there a way you can connect a personal experience to the subject?

2.  Google the subject or search on Pinterest.  Maybe a different photo or reading about it on a wikipedia page may help.  If it is a technique based prompt, you may find some layout samples to help inspire you.  I'm not saying you have to do hours of research.  Just a few minutes.  Here's how a quick search on Pinterest helped me with the hidden element prompt from LOAD213:

Taken from my flickr description:  When I saw this inspiration pinterest.com/pin/6262886952564201/
on pinterest for hidden elements, I also immediately knew the story I would tell. I'm not one for doing my son's schoolwork, but he is an excellent speller and he despises these word searches. He makes EVERYONE miserable, so I sort of help him along to put everyone out of misery. Thought this was a fun and unlikely story to tell...all from that silly prompt!

3.  Talk to someone about the prompt.  It doesn't matter if they are scrappy or not.  During LOAD513, Lain prompted us to be inspired by a "red herring".  I honestly didn't even know that term.  My husband explained to me what it meant, but that still didn't make the light bulb go on.  Then he mentioned that the hosts of our favorite radio show, "Car Talk" often mention the term "red herring" during the puzzler portion of the show.   I hadn't remembered that.  Oh yeah!  Now the wheels were turning.  My page in the end had nothing directly to do with "red herring" and it didn't even mention it on my page, but I did make a meaningful page about our favorite talk radio show...a story that would probably have never been told had it not been for this prompt.

Taken from flickr description: At first it may seem that I went off prompt, but this is completely inspired by red herring. I wasn't sure how I was going to approach the prompt, so I started talking to my hubby. He then reminded me of this radio show that we like to listen to and how they often talk about a red herring in their "Puzzler" portion of the show. We (as a whole family) enjoy listening, even though my husband is the only one who is into cars. These guys are so entertaining...it doesn't even matter. It is a great and very unlikely topic to scrapbook, but really part of our Saturday mornings. 

4.  Stretch and twist the prompt to work for you.  Also during LOAD513, Lain stumped me again.  We were to scrap a page about lust  (in the sense of something you reeeeaaallly want).  I read it and had nothing.  I could not, for the life of me, think of something I wanted so badly that I would make a scrapbook page about it.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I thought all day and was nearing the time I had to make a decision and scrap.  Finally, I decided to change lust to luster.  I had been wanting to scrap a page about the story of my wedding ring and luster is a word that is used to describe diamonds.  BINGO!  Is this anything close to the original prompt? Not at all, but it doesn't matter!  My page.  My stories.  My scrapbook.

Taken from my flickr description:  I used the actual word lust as a starting point and changed it to luster, as in shininess. My Dad passed when I was 6 and my Mother re-married, so before I got engaged she gave me the ring my father gave to her to have the diamonds re-set. So the title doesn't mean that I REALLY wanted my mother's ring, but I am sure glad that I have it.

5.  Cut your losses and move on.  Sometimes you don't have time to google, pin, talk and stretch.  Sometimes you just need to crank out a page and be done.  And you know what?  That's okay!  Really.  No one will be offended.  Scrap something easy and light and move on.

Taken from my flickr description:  Off prompt and working late tonight after helping my DS with a heritage day project all day long. Used a technique Monica shared in the washi tape webinar. This one is clean and simple.

  And, I have to tell you, there have been multiple times where I let go of the idea to follow the prompt and ended up somehow serendipitously following it anyway.  I think when I took the pressure off, the creative connection just sneaked in.  Here's an example:

Taken from my flickr description: I had given up on the LOAD prompt as I didn't think I had anything, and moved on to the prompt over at Whimsical Musings. Pam challenged us to scrap about being late. After finishing this page...I think I did satisfy both prompts. The question of why would be to my mother: "Why is being on time being late?" She was definitely an early bird! 

We strongly encourage you to follow the prompt when you can, but understand when you can't.  Some days you will read it and know exactly how to approach it and others will take a bit more work.  Please don't curse at us if some of them stump you! :)  It is when you stretch those creative muscles that you become a stronger and more confident scrapper.  Sometimes, it is that extra effort that yields the most inspiring and meaningful pages.

For the record:  During this round of LOAD, I do have a little bit of an advantage since Leslie and I wrote the prompts. Honestly, though, we are so wrapped up in getting everything organized that I don't really even think about how I am going to approach them until that day.  Last year during October LOAD, I remember reading one of the prompts and thought, "Now whose bright idea was THIS?" and then sheepishly remembered it was ME :)

Now be sure to stop by to find out what your fellow scrapsisters have to say.  Your next stop is Christy  It's always nice to know you've stopped by so leave a hello in the comment section :)

Lynnette     http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/ 
Christy       http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/
Heather     http://noexcusescrapbooking.com/
Lisa           http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/
Cathy        pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com/
Dani          http://scrapperonthestreet.com/
Nolwenn   http://creationspapier.com/
Kelli          http://scrapbookgirl71.com/
Theresa     http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/
Leslie        http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/