Getting out of the creatvie rut - Yin Goh

Thanks for stopping by again today. I hope you're finding some ideas to turn your creative blahhhhs into creative aaaaaaaahhhs!!

Today's guest is Yin Goh. I stumbled on Yin's blog because she was offering a free template that had a bunch of photos. Well I'm a sucker for a layout with a bunch of pictures, so I stopped by to download, but the more I read, the more I really appreciated Yin. I love how her photos are the stars of her pages. Here's how Yin describes herself....

I'm just someone who makes up templates from my layouts! I had a stint as a designer of kits about 4 years ago but stopped because it was too time consuming and I really just want to scrap my own photos! So making templates from layouts I had made seemed like a really great idea!


What causes creative block for you?
I always start with my photos in creating a layout. Once the photos are arranged in place, I look for the background papers and plan design elements. This is where I can get stuck - sometimes just not being able to find a satisfactory color scheme (it works or it doesn't!) or not being able to find a pleasing way to complement the layout. Then I can go on for a long time just trying out paper after paper, or element after element.



(I don't know...I think she does pretty well....imho)


Which is harder, getting started or getting finished? Why?
Getting finished! I'm always thinking there's another paper or element in my hard disk that will be better on the layout!

What do you do when you get stuck in the middle of a layout or project?
I usually lay it aside, start working on another layout, and come back to it another day when I'm fresh with new ideas.

Do you have a photo of a "stuck project?" (any plans for getting it un-stuck?)
Well, I have been wanting to complete our New Zealand album for the longest time, it was started in 11X8.5 format, and recently I finally got started on it again when there were requests for 11X8.5 format templates!



Knowing you are in the middle of your house renovation, do find yourself getting stuck in that project?
Definitely the renovation project completely took over all our energy and focus. But every four to five days, I will take a break and just dabble in some scrapping. I simply started many layouts, got the pictures saved in separate files for each layout. It did not take long, so that later when I have some time, I could jump straight into the arranging of photos, and searching for papers and elements, the parts I love most!


Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Magazines, book and CD covers, movie posters, others' layouts! I'm always looking out for layout arrangements, color schemes, images that appeal to me.

Do you have any "go to" tricks or techniques that always work for you?
It is obvious, I almost always add a white shadowed mat for my photos, as I feel that they give each photo a distinctive border and make them stand out and more striking.



Do you ever find inspiration outside the digital scrapbooking world? How does that "outside inspiration" translate to the digital canvas?
As mentioned above. In addition, a lot of stuff I read inspire me in journaling and provide ideas and (topics other than events) for me to scrapbook. Now all I need is more time! :)

Thanks for your imput Yin!! Visit her on her blog.

What about you? Do your photos take center stage in your layouts? Are you simple and linear like Yin? Have you ever crammed as many photos on a layout as she does. I have, but it doesn't look as good as hers!