Shopping in my own stash

Sometimes I feel the need to play little tricks on myself to jumpstart my creativity.

I like to pack up my supplies as if I am going to a crop, and wheel my tote into the kitchen and set up shop. I think the amount of stuff I have in my scraproom gets overwhelming at times and it hinders my ability to make...anything.

So I have a new trick that I recently started playing...going shopping in my stash.

Here is how I do it..step by step.

1. Grab a few pictures and pretend you are at a scrapbook store crop. Pack a tote with all the essential tools you would take to a crop and set up in a location where you DON'T normally scrap.

2. Go into your scraproom (or whatever) and "shop" for things to use on that layout. (Be sure to give yourself a time lime to "shop" - 20-30 minutes should probably be the max amount of time.) You can even go so far as to take a plastic bag to put your "purchases" in.

3. Next leave your scraproom and go back to your temporary scrap area (this is a crop after all) and create your page.

4. REPEAT

This works well for me because it forces me to focus on a specific project with specific elements...I am out of my scraproom so I am not being overwhelmed by all the choices I have in there.