I have mentioned before about "scrapping outside of your comfort zone", and I wanted to say a little more about why you should try this.

I have often heard people say "oh I used up some free papers which were not my colours at all, but I am actually pleased with the result".

We are basically creatures of habit and we gravitate to our favourites when it comes to aesthetics. I actually like many colours, but I have to say that some combinations put together by crafting companys leave me somewhat cold!

I'm not a great fan of yellow, or lime green, but it has it's place and both can look quite good when placed with the right colours.

The layout below is a recent 8x8 scrapbooking page I created and the event I was scrapbooking was a "Rainbow themed" birthday party. Try as I might to use other colours, the bright yellow cardstock looked the best with the pictures and embellishments!

I'm quite pleased with the end result as it does show the theme very well... bright, strong colours of the rainbow, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel a little uncomfortable! LOL

I have also used packs, or freebie collections from magazines for instances, which are papers I would certainly not go and buy given the choice, but I have had reason to use them and the items have worked well in the end.

It is a good exercise to get yourself out of the same old colours and try something new... something different. It can be surprisig what you learn from the experience.

So when you next browsing items in a shop or online, including papers, card and embellisments, deliberately buy some items that are completely out of your comfort zone and throw caution to the wind!!

If it helps... make a card first, and also, if it helps... print out some photographs in black and white, so that there are no "clashes".

Try it... you might like it!