So, I’ve been counting down to Thanksgiving so I can put my Christmas tree up (that is a rule in the Team Browning household: no trees before Thanksgiving), and my husband lovingly pointed out to me that there is a coffee table in the spot where the tree always goes. Whoops. The coffee table always used to be in front of the couch, but once I started to get knee-deep into this art stuff, I needed a place to stack all of my crap. And now I need to find a new home for my crap. Unlike most artists, who have entire rooms in which to work, I have a coffee table.
And these are all of the magazines that I cleared out from under it. Hello, my name is Jill, and I’m a magazineaholic. I amassed the collection below in just over a year. I subscribe to 14 different magazines, not to mention the ones I pick up at the checkout at Walmart or the ones from the UK that I buy everytime I go to Borders.
So what happens to all of these magazines? Well, as I read each and every magazine, I cut out the pages that I want to keep, put them each in a plastic sheet protector, and file them away in binders. 
If I don’t want to keep an entire page, I cut out the pieces that I want and tape them to a sheet of paper before I put it in a plastic sleeve.
This is a very time-intensive (and expensive) process, which is why I’m so behind. Time and money are two things of which I do not have a surplus. So why do I do it? Especially when there are so many images and resources available for free online? I guess I think of it as my own personal database that I can access at any given time. And it’s only stuff I like, organized neatly into my own personal catagories. I don’t have to worry about searching through pages of magazines and websites of stuff that doesn’t excite me. It’s a constant source of inspiration. (A recent post by Leah of More Ways to Waste Time discusses this topic in more detail.)
I’ve been doing this for about 6 years now, so I’m really starting to run out of room…
uh..wow! that is a lot of magazines jill,lol! your a magazineaholic and a closet scrapbooker! but what a great idea, i wish i had a library of inspiration, it would be awesome to own especially when stuck in a creative rut.
Maybe I really should open a library and loan the binders out to people!
Wow, the collection of the Jill Browning style library has grown since I saw it last! Oh, the good old days when you used to tape all of your finds on your closet doors. Have you ever checked out apartmenttherapy.com? It’s one of those sites that, like Leah says in her posts, may be more inspirational than pictures of some millionaire’s pad, though YMMV.
Holy cow! I forgot I used to do that! Not only did I plaster my closet doors, but I did the back of my room door, too! What kept Mom from killing me?! I wish I had taken a picture of it. And that was even back when I used to read Seventeen and Glamour and other fashion magazines. Whoa, that’s a blast from the past! Thanks Amy