Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Hi, it's Pam here! I don't know about you, but I love a challenge. I really enjoy trying new things and stepping out of my comfort zone. I started scrapping in 2002 and started to challenge myself a couple of years later.  So, I challenge you.. step out of your comfort zone for a day and try new things :) I am sharing a bunch of layout and how I stepped out of my comfort zone in each page and tried something new!

1. Create a paper/banner out of your photos.
One of the first times I stepped out of my comfort zone was in June 2005. I wanted to write about how wonderful a reader my son was, especially because he has just been diagnosed with Autism (thus the title: Diagnosis: A Reader to give him a good diagnosis as well). For the to banner I actually photographs a lot of his book and printed it on a transparency! This was BRAND new for me. Check out what I am referring to.

2. Create photo block and print on one sheet of photo paper.
For my next page I am sharing an example for the same year in November 2005. This is the first time I created a photo block of photo and printed them all of on my sheet of photo paper. This is also the first time I created a uneven frame!

3. Cut and arrange paper around a main circle.
In May 2006, I created this crazy page!! This is seriously the first time I tried anything like this. All papers and arrows pointing in the direction of the photo... check this out.

4. Experiment with negative space.
In this next example I experimented with negative space for the first time. That was fun!! I also created a title which bend around the journaling which was also a new thing for me!

5. Cut paper in unique way and photo edit pictures (like your eye).
In May 2007, I cut out each piece of paper so it was focusing outward. I also manipulated a photo of my eye for this page proving to be a challenging concept. This is one of my all time favorite layouts.

6. Create squares with lots of embellishments and stickers.
Another page is May 2007, I challenged myself to use different types of lettering along with different color of paper and embellishments. This was sooo out of my comfort zone, but I love it!

7. Distress chipboard with paint and ink. 

I created this next layout in Sept 2007. As you might have noticed I don't normally use much ink or paint. I challenged myself big time but painting chipboard pieces and distressing them afterwards.

8. Use a border created by journaling to create a visual circle with eye.
This page created in October 2007 shows how I used the journaling block to serve as the border of the circle. I like creating the false border of the circle.

9. Print off things/names on different pieces of paper and put the on a vine.
This page (created in April 2008) took he out of my comfort zone because I hadn't ever created anything like a vine before.  I drew what I thought a vine would look like and printed off words onto different scraps of paper. I traced and cut out each word an applied to layout.

10. Design a page around one single letter.
As you can see the "Z" in zoo really stand out here. I designed everything to fit into the open spaces. That was definitely getting me out of my comfort zone.

Next week I will be sharing 10 more examples of how I stepped out of my comfort zone. Want to share how you stepped out of your comfort zone? Send me an email at scrappingpam73@yahoo.com with you page and how you got creative!