Scrap Saturday - Scraplifting Etiquette

To all of you who live in Utah, Happy Pioneer Day!! (And cheers for being able to light fireworks twice this month...) I have a weekend FULL of fun family plans.

Anyway, today there's no tutorial. I know most of us scrapbookers find inspiration through others' work, and in this digital age of posting and sharing your layouts it can kind of be confusing on the etiquette of copying others' work. I did a little research on the subject, and here is what I found:


First, off, Scraplifting IS:

...using enough elements from someone's layout to inspire you to create your own masterpiece that it is clear that you have used a certain portion of someone else's ideas. Examples of this may include:

• The way colors are used
• The way embellishments are used
• The way the page is laid out
• The way the papers are used
• The techniques you have used

Scraplifting IS NOT:

• A DIRECT COPY of someone else's layout.
• Having a small idea you see jog your brain into coming up with a creative idea of your own.

Basically, if you are just creating a page to print and add to your own albums to enjoy - no problem. Copy whatever inspires you from wherever your find it with no credit to the creator! (Although, I'm sure they would love it if you told them how much you loved their layout!) It's when you want to post your layout in galleries, on your blog, or submit it for publication that you need to make sure you are giving credit where credit is due.

If you have scraplifted a layout and want to post it online - add a little link to where you found the page, or at least the name and creator of the page in your credits.

If you have duplicated a layout - meaning you used the same layout, same products, same placement - I wouldn't post it online in a scrap gallery. If you decided to post it on your blog, most definitely give credit to the creator. And by all means, don't submit the page for publication, as that would be stealing another person's idea for personal profit.

If you were inspired by a layout - meaning you changed the layout quite a bit, or only used a small portion of their layout for inspiration, feel free to send your layout in for publication or post it online without credit. (Although I'm sure the creator would love to know they inspired you.) It is certainly okay to be inspired by others' work. That's what scrapbooking magazines and online galleries are all about!

I hope I didn't scare any of you away from scraplifting others. Some scrapbooking sites even have challenges based on this very idea. Now, go browse through some galleries and get inspired!!


As an example... here's my page:

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and here's the original by Janet Long at designerdigitals.com:

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I was inspired by the design, but I changed the colors, the placement of the title, and used different elements. I also took a slightly different take - I wanted to compare my music selections from the past with those of the future. While I did post this online - with credit to Janet Long - I wouldn't submit this for publication in a magazine.

Now.. onto the new releases for this week. Wendy made a super fun BBQ kit, and I had so much fun scrapping all kinds of pics with it:

(credits & comments)

(credits & comments)

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If you want to see more layouts done with this awesome kit, check out Wendy's blog.