In the world of scrapbooking you might hear the term ‘scraplifting’ and wonder…
Just what is a scraplift?
It’s a strange term to be sure but basically it means taking another person’s scrapbook page design and copying the layout and position of all the papers and embellishments using your own photos and stash to do so.
And do you know what? As long as you are using the design for your own personal use it’s perfectly ok to scraplift someone else’s design. In fact it’s an easy way for beginners to get started!
A big no no would be to take someone elses layout and submit it to a magazine or for a competition claiming it’s your own design.
A ‘scraplift‘ is taking another person’s scrapbook page design and copying the layout and position of all the papers and embellishments
Have I ever scraplifted a design? Of course! As a beginner scrapbooker scraplifting designs from magazines, Pinterest and my friends was how I found inspiration for my early pages. It’s especially useful if you’ve got a bit of a scrapbook-block.
How do you scraplift?
As with any scrapbook page you need your photos and your stash (papers and embellishments). Then you need to have a layout that you like and that you want to scraplift.
In the examples below we will look at two of my scrapbook pages and how I have scraplifted the layout of one to create the other.
The Original Scrapbook Layout
Hang About
In the example below I’ve taken a layout, entitled “Hang About”, that I completed several years ago using papers and stickers by Basic Grey.
I’ve used bands of papers and trims across the page. The pink trim across the top of the page is actually the negative stickers left over from another sticker trim. I have to admit it was a bit fiddly as I had to take the tiny ‘hole’ left over from the swirls and carefully position them on the page.
Top Tip: use the left overs from sticker sheets to create even more stickers.
I have framed the photo with a circle and I’ve used a journalling sticker on the bottom right corner of the photo. The chipboard letters forming the title are arranged around the circle. I have then cut out some shapes from the patterned paper to use as embellishments. The bird has been positioned so that it looks like it’s perched on the lettering to draw your eye to the title.
I have taken a flower embellishment and positioned to the right of the page towards the top. This forms a triangle with the bird and the journaling sticker which draws your eye around the page.
The Scraplift Layout
Now we will take the design from the Hang About page and create a new, scraplift page with totally diffferent papers and embellishments.
Trucks & Polish
In “Trucks & Polish” I’ve recreated the same layout, this time using papers from My Minds Eye.
As you can see a scraplift doesn’t have to run in the same direction. Because my photo is portrait rather than landscape, I’ve turned the layout by 90° so that everything is going down the page instead of across it.
However, everything is still in the same position, the patterned paper runs down one side and then I’ve sewn some thread down the other side in place of the fancy trim from “Hang About”.
The flower embellishment has been cut by hand from a spare piece of the patterned paper then stuck in place using silicone glue for added dimension.
To help give the viewer a feel of how dirty you get at truck shows I’ve ‘dirtied’ the page by gently rubbing ink pads around the edges.
Top Tip: cut your own embellishments from patterned paper.
The photo is still placed within a circle and the embellishments are still lined up with the trim. The journaling block has also moved with the layout so that it is at the bottom left of the photo.
If you were to turn this new layout anti-clockwise by 90° you’d see that it is almost exactly the same. The only slight different is that the two sets of embellishments have been shifted to the left slightly (oops!). That doesn’t matter though, these little changes are what makes the layout unique to you.
You can of course go totally wild and change everything about the layout. The idea is that the original layout gives you a starting point for your page.
Why don’t you try scraplifting my layout – tag me in Instagram @GorgeousCrafts or use #GorgeousCraftsUK, it’d be great to see what you come up with!
Happy Scrapping!
