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Scraplifting-A Touchy, but Inspiring, Topic in the Scrapbooking World
Ramie Ahlstrom - Scrapping Deck Cruise Director
Scraplifting, or CASEing (copy and steal everything) can be a touchy topic among scrapbookers. Scraplifting is defined in many ways, and you will probably get a different answer from each person you ask! I define scraplifting to be "using another designer's layout (or card, tag, etc) as inspiration for designing my own."
CASEing can be defined as copying and stealing everything…from the papers used (whether actual paper or digital papers) to the title and/or quote. Of course, with scrapbooking, each person's layout will be a bit different---unless of course you are scrapbooking some stranger's kids in your book!! Scraplifted from a digital scrapbooking online gallery, this layout is about as close as I ever get to CASEing one.
Scraplifting is a great way to get inspiration when you are in a "scrappers block" or need help getting back into the swing of scrapping! As scrapbookers, sometimes scraplifting frees us from the pressure that we often put on ourselves to create masterpieces. Since there are copyright laws that protect many of the patterned papers, it is not always possible to scraplift a layout exactly. Recreating some embellishments is nearly impossible (at least for me as a beginner!). When you cannot scraplift item for item, it is easy to use a layout for inspiration and to CASE what you can. Here is a layout that I did after getting some serious inspiration from a layout from SS Reflection's own Laurie Montague.
Many idea books and magazines are designed with this very purpose in mind! Be sure to check out Sharon's book reviews in the Ship's Library for more info on great idea books! SS Reflections is a great place to seek inspiration, and our designers feel honored to be scraplifted (or stamplifted for the stampers!)! Here are a few layouts I scraplifted from the pages of SS Reflections. (Please see the supply lists for the information about the original layouts.)
Of course, showing the utmost respect for the original designer is a must when scraplifting! If you see a layout in a magazine or idea book and decide to scraplift or CASE it, please be sure to give the original designer credit, especially if you upload the layout to an online gallery or ezine. Submitting a scraplifted layout for publication requires that absolute credit be given to the original designer. Be sure to check with the publication for their specific rules before submitting a scraplifted layout.
If you do not do any uploading, add a little note to the back of your layout in pencil. If you have time and the email address of the original designer, it is a great thing to drop them a quick line to ask permission to scraplift or to thank them for the inspiration their layout gave you. Sending them a copy of your layout (or a link to it if it's online) is a nice touch also.
Before starting the layouts for this article, I spent a few hours searching for layouts I wanted to scraplift. Most were paper layouts, and I found them in galleries online. I searched websites of scrapbooking companies (i.e. Karen Foster Design, Rusty Pickle, etc), SS Reflections, and online galleries (such as Two Peas, DMarie and ScrapJazz). I found that recreating some of the items used was very easy. I simply substituted a striped, digital background in place of striped material in this layout:
Recreating other items was not as easy, but making the change from traditional paper scrapbooking to digital scrapbooking has had more than one challenge. I faced it head on and recreated stamped metal embellishments on this layout:
Sometimes, as a digital scrapper, I have not been able to find "just the right embellishment." I have been slowly teaching myself a few tricks here and there. When I found a layout with charms hanging from a ribbon that I wanted to scraplift, I searched feverishly through my stash of digital charms to find ones that would work… to no avail! I started playing with some 'Layer Styles' in Photoshop Elements and created my very own (and in colors to match my layout exactly)! Here is the layout:
Be sure to share some of the layouts that you have scraplifted, especially if they are from layouts by SS Reflections crewmembers! We would love to feature them in our readers' gallery, so email a jpeg image (scanned or photographed), resized to 475 pixels wide, to robinwillis@ssreflections.com. Be sure to include your full name and the city/state/country where you live. Also, please note where the layout came from, if possible!
If you have any questions about scraplifting, don't hesitate to email me! Find my email address below my signature at the end of this article!
Happy Digi-Scrapping!
Ramie Ahlstrom
ramieahlstrom@ssreflections.com
Scrapping Deck Cruise Director
S.S. Reflections, Inc.
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