I'm torn about tearing - what are your thoughts on the issue?
My House Beautiful arrived last week, and the moment I saw the page above (pottery by Jill Rosenwald) I wanted to rip it out and frame it or tack it to my yet-to-be-finished inspiration board. It's so gorgeous! But, I couldn't bring myself to rip out the page and disturb the glossy mag.
This happens a lot. I see an ad or a room in a mag that sends my heart fluttering, and I want to tear it out, but I can't do it. I just can't. So the ad/room stays in the mag and I forget about it. And then when I remember to look at it again, the details are vague as to which issue had it and I spend an afternoon looking for it.
I know I am talking to a pool of my peers, so what do you do? Do you rip pages out to your heart's content and surround yourself with tear sheets that constantly inspire you, meanwhile leaving your stack of mags a bit page-less here and there? Or do you prefer to maintain your mags in pristine condition to enjoy for years to come?
This issue has risen to the forefront recently, as I am in the process of finishing one of our guest bedrooms and it will be serving double duty as my office, complete with inspiration board to keep track of the many things that catch my eye. And I'm torn...pun intended.
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I tear them out, no regrets :-) I have an inspiration binder I put them in. Otherwise my magazine collection would get way out of hand. If you want to keep the mags you could use those sticky tabs and color code them for different rooms (green for bedrooms, red for accessories, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI do a combination of both. My favorite magazines (House Beautiful and Canadian House & Home) I cannot bear to tear up, so I just tag the pages and every now and then scan the images in. The rest of the magazines I tear up and put the images in an inspiration binder.
ReplyDeleteI wait until the new issue arrives, then look back through the previous month and tear away!
ReplyDeleteThis alleviates some of the stress...
I wait until I have a stack of mags. Then I spend an afternoon with cups of tea and cut out pages with an xacto knife. Next I put the pages in a little carrying case file. When I am working on a project I put the inspirational page(s) in one of my kids recycled school folders. Currently its my son's 4th grade sciene folder. I do the same for recipes.
ReplyDeleteI wait a couple of months or sometimes even a year before I tear out...unless I really want the image now. I also have a great memory and can narrow down a month when I remembered seeing the image/product. Then all I have to do is look at all the magazines for that month. I just can't keep full magazines around for too long or they start to take over our house.
ReplyDeleteUsually after a couple months I tear the mag apart and file the images. I try to do this as often as possible because the hubs always thinks we live in a magazine store!
I was asking the same question on twitter the other day. i'm slowly starting to tear sheets from Vogues and Elles, but can't bring myself to tear my beloved (old, of course) Dominos or Elle Decors.
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming...this is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteI keep all my magazines in pristine condition - can't bear the thought of tearing pages out. I did however buy two copies of the current issue of Vogue Living so I could tear away to my heart's content and also scan without having to crop.
ReplyDeleteI try to scan and then if something is a must on my inspiration board, I'll print it out on photo paper or the like and stick it up.
Sandy K
Forgot to say, I absolutely LOVE your blog.
ReplyDeleteThe appearance of your blog and the content are stunning.
Sandy K
I didn't know this was a hot topic, and now I feel guilty for my excessive tearing. Coincidentally, I have already torn out this EXACT page from HB because I intend to buy several of these delicious vases for Christmas gifts. I haven't even read the whole issue yet, and I've already torn out this page.
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves books so much that he doesn't break the spine on them as he reads. I guess it's the same love that y'all feel for the beautiful mags.
I do a combo...some tear sheets (depending on the mag), but scan every image I want to keep. Nerd time: I have a separate iPhoto library (hold down command key when opening iPhoto to create/select library) on my external hard drive dedicated to magazine images. That way I can easily tag them by keyword (bedroom, kitchen) and event (House Beautiful August 2010). It makes it really easy!! Yes, it takes some time but is worth it if you like to easily reference images.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I do: I dog ear the pages where I see something I like, then I sit down at some point with my stack of mags and cut out the images. Then I paste them into leaves of cardstock that basically make up what I like to call my very own "Magazine" of inspiration... check it out: Inspiration through Images
ReplyDeleteThis is a good question that I have pondered many times...I think that ultimately to get good use out of all your magazines you need to subscribe to the "tag" or "tear" method. Post-Its sells many different kinds of tags that you could use to organize your magazines if you can't bear to rip them. I usually end up taking out my favorite pages and photos and I organize them by room and I keep them in an "inspiration portfolio!"
ReplyDeleteI don't tear out, I just save my favorite issues...but that habit may change as I'm amassing far too many mags and going to just tear sheets would definitely be a space saver.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great comments. I really thought about it a lot today, and I think I'll aim for a combo of tearing out ads/images that I like, but perhaps leaving the features intact and organizing them with some sticky tabs for easy reference.
ReplyDeleteI have torn sheets out of all kind of shelter mags except "House and Home" because I paid a ton of money for the subscription to get it delivered to me in the States and the now defunct "Domino". I loved so much of the content in each "Domino" that I couldn't bear to tear it apart!
ReplyDeleteI can't bear to rip the pages of the magazine. I am just like u:(.
ReplyDeleteOMG, just discovered you. I'm drooling over this blog! Ok, back to your question. I have my "tear sheet" file! It's a great pile of inspiration!!!!!! Back to your blog....
ReplyDeleteI'm a recently new follower and I adore your blog! As for your question, I often feel strongly torn between the decision of what to do. I see all sorts of amazing inspiration books, which makes me want to rip the pages out. On the other hand, I love having piles of magazines around for other people to look at and enjoy while in my home. I admit that I do a mixture of the two. I'm not sure I'm gutsy enough to rip out everything I see and love!
ReplyDelete