Mostly True Scrap Tales: How Scrapper’s Block Leads to a Home Makeover

Do you know what cardstock & patterned paper colors look good with Benjamin Moore interior flat paint 198 Cornsilk? I do. And there aren’t nearly enough of them.

The Story of How Scrapper’s Block Leads to a Home Makeover

When we bought our house in 2005, every surface in the house was painted quite …… shall we say …. creatively.  We had a faux rock wall in the foyer, faux vines in the kitchen, faux marble in the living / dining room, and mystery faux in the family room. (I’m still not sure what that purple/taupe/pink with flecks of gold was supposed to be. To me, it kind of looked like kitty litter. Ick.)

Everything was faux, and it had to go.

At the time, with a newborn and moving from another state, I didn’t have the interest or energy to select a palette of coordinating colors. I picked just one color and went with it. Yes, you guessed it. Benjamin Moore 198.

It was 2005 and yellow was the new tan. Therefore, Benjamin Moore 198 became the official color of the Mintmire home. Our Kitchen, Dining Area, Living Room, Family Room, Foyer, Master Bedroom & Master Bath were all painted “Cornsilk.” Sounds lovely, right?

I know what you’re thinking. Yellow is “hip!” Mix a little yellow & gray and you’ve got the current HOT combo. Not so fast.

<—THIS was the ”yellow” of 2005. And now, 6 years later, the background in 95% of our family photos is beigey-yellow. 6 years of important family milestones & memories. 6 years worth of yellow.

The Turning Point

At a recent weekend retreat, catching up on some photos from 2009, it hit me:  I was in a scrapper’s rut. Every page looked the same. I had no more creative ways to do “boy” pages with beigey/orange/yellow dominating the background. I had no choice. It was time to repaint.

That Sunday night, upon my return from the retreat, I had a serious conversation with my husband as I explained the gravity of the situation with him:

“Yes I did pick this yellow color and I’m glad you still like it. But the color just isn’t working for my scrapbooking. “

“I need some new background colors in my photos so that I can choose different patterned papers & cardstock!”

“I’m just not inspired. I need a change.”

“It’s either paint — or try for baby #2 and hope it’s a girl so I can at least use pink.” (Okay, maybe this wasn’t really part of the conversation.)

Was it really this serious? Had it come to this? Was scrapbooking really that much of a driving force in my life?

Well, let’s just say that I CANNOT WAIT to see how great my pages are going to look with Sherwin Williams Copen Blue & Muslin in the background. Um, wouldn’t the October Afternoon 5 & Dime Collection look great with those colors?

And now that I’ve gotten started, I have a feeling it won’t end here. I have my eye on a gray color that will look terrific with the Authentique Blissful collection

Has this ever happened to you? What crazy projects has scrapbooking inspired in you? Comment and share your tale. It will make me feel better