Tuesday, April 3

Cut & Paste.

If you have happened to have followed sfgirlbybay for a while, you'll know that I have kept inspiration journals for the past few years. I used to let the many pages I pulled from design and shelter magazines pile up to ridiculous heights. Sometimes I'd actually organize them into individual folders; fashion, recipes, craft ideas, interior design, photography etc. and then watch them collect dust. But one day an old boyfriend of mine shared with me his journals. Hundreds of scraps of newspaper and magazine clippings, personal thoughts, ideas and anything that ignited his passion. In his case, mostly entrepreneurial, cultural and political observations. His journals motivated me to finally glean through my gluttonous stacks and cut and paste my images into my own journals. I use blank white sketch books because I like a plain white canvas. I like black & white images, sometimes bright and modern, occasionally sweet and sentimental. Whatever makes me happy and puts an idea into my head. And now, I flip through them for reference all the time. It's always creatively motivating. Here's a glimpse into some of the many pages that inspire sfgirlbybay.











22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can never get enough of these. I have my own journals, although there are some magazines I just can't bear to cut up!:) Thanks for saring, I follow your blog and enjoy it.

Jo Walker said...

I love that your bookmarks are paint chips. Great collection of tearsheets. You ARE an addict!

Anonymous said...

Mine are in file folders. You inspire me to put them in books. I can see how much more useful it would be.

Anonymous said...

This post made my day!

I have stacks & stacks of magazine pages in a bin at home and have many more publications to look through for more pages to tear out.

Your books have motivated me to be creative as I keep only the images that truly inspire me and document it in a more personal way than a bin full of pages.

Thanks-a-million!

Anonymous said...

I was the same way. I had piles of clippings but would rearly refer back to them THEN I started pasting them into a journal and leaving that page open on my desk so it could be inspire by it till I found the next inspiration to paste. Helped me to look for inpiration everywhere and carry my camera. I now love to refer back to the journals.

trudesign said...

I really like this idea. I recognize a few of those pages, cause I have some of the same ones in my binder. I put all of mine into a binder, but I kinda like your idea better. Seems more raw...

Anonymous said...

is it wrong to feel "love" when looking at "things"??? this post is so great. thank you. -Denise

erinn said...

I'm curious as to how you keep your sketchbooks from not wanting to close after you put a bunch of stuff in them. I have started ripping every other page out to make a little extra room.

Anonymous said...

This is such an affirming post, since I do the same thing with my magazine! I use binders and sheet protectors, so I can go back and rearange images or make "theme" notebooks.

Joanna Goddard said...

this is so great. i am in love with your inspiration journals. you've inspired me to start keeping my own. what a cool way to learn more about your own taste and what you are drawn to! thanks for the great post.

Anonymous said...

Is it wrong I think of my favorite magazine tears as "treasured friends" that I bring out of file folders and visit when the mood strikes? I use sheet protectors and 3-ring binders too, that way I can re-arrange to my heart's content. It would be too hard to commit a particularly good image to only one use.

sfgirlbybay said...

i'm glad you all like the post and may want to create your own books.

erinn - to answer your question - yes, they budle and don't quite close, but I don't mind.

and i think the sheet protector version is great - whatever inspires you. i think of my books as a personal history of my ever changing taste and style. kind of like a diary, which i always start in january and never seem to keep up with. :)

Anonymous said...

inspirational indeed! I just love these!

Blogging Masterclass said...

another great post from you, sfgirlbybay!

this is so inspirational, i love to see the journals of others, to see what makes these click.

have you ever visited the blog treats + treasures? she is in the netherlands i believe and shares her art journals on her blog. they are so gorgeous.

i am bookmarking this post. lovely job.


holly

Anonymous said...

I alternate between storing my tearsheets in clear plastic folders and in binders. I love the idea of an ongoing inspiration book, though. Do you use double-sided tape or glue? Is any sort of special glue needed in order to prevent the pages from getting soggy?

Great site!

Anonymous said...

excellent idea- thanks for posting. all my clippings are floating around in folders now.

Anonymous said...

Hello-
I find your blog very sweet and comfortable, like a nice cup of tea and an old sweater.
Always makes me smile.
Anyway, as a lurker I have related to your frustrations to finding the perfect sofa- style, comfort, cost and the of course finale decision… my husband. I wish I had a Room and Board close by… (Honey wanted to try it out before buying.) I wish we had gone to NY to scope it out. Oh well!
I can’t tell you how happy I am about you sharing your inspiration journals. I have multiple binders with filled plastic sheets starting from 25 years ago! (And I’m not that old!) I have always kept pictures, cards and stickers for future ideas. I even have some fabulous hairstyles saved from the 80’s and a stylish graduation card from high school. I don’t even know if my husband knows I have them, he just listens to me rip images out of magazines during movie night at home. Oh what will they say when they find them after I am long gone? I can only imagine…
Keep up the great work- jeen marie

patricia zapata said...

what a wonderful idea! I'm definitely going to implement this one asap!!

Anonymous said...

I have a glue book too, I love your pages, thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I subscribe to 25 magazines a month and have folders of torn pages organized by room (living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc.) I also have one on fashion, beauty tips and party ideas. I have way too many for recipes. I want to paste them in a book but it feels so permanent and I have so many that I would need HUGE books in order to fill them. Do you mind sharing what kind of books you paste in?

Unknown said...

It always nice to see that so many others do the same as you, especially when all of your close friends think you're a little crazy. My journal started more out of necessity since my apartment is small and I just don't have to room to hold on to piles of magazines and cataloges. Now I find that I look back at the imagines more when they are all in a journal together then when i still had all of the mags.
For the person who asked about what kind of glue, I just recently bought an Acid Free Memory Glue Pen from Elmers and it is sog city, I don't recommend it. Usually I just use a glue stick which works just fine and there's a bit of nostalgia that goes along with using one.

sfgirlbybay said...

So happy to see all of you making books too. I use a xyron machine at work which creates a peel-off laminate (so i have a little advantage here due to the fringe benefit of art supplies at the office). But I often use a glue stick at home. :)