Recently, I went on a book binge and bought a ton of scrapbooking books. I've already written about Cathy's book which has to be my all-time favorite. But here are a few others I have read and loved. First and foremost are the two Ali Edwards books: A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking and Designer's Eye- scrapbooking with patterned paper

Ali is an inspiration to thousands and I am no exception. I love her style, her attitude, her creativity, and her generosity of spirit. One day, I would love to meet her. Until then, I will have to do with the layouts. I must say that the layouts in this book don't even speak to me the way Cathy's do but there are little bits and pieces of inspiration all over these books and I use both of them regularly for inspiration and good ideas. I know Ali's coming out with another book this fall and I also know that I am going to have to buy it. If she's doing it, I know it will be worth the money and the time.

If Cathy isn't your style, and you're looking for the one and only one book to buy, it would have to be Stacy Julian's The Big Picture... Scrapbook Your Life and a Whole Lot More. Stacy is fantastic. She's inspiring. She's funny. She's creative. She's great at simplifying. She's great at organizing. She's great for giving you fantastic ideas. But mostly, she's great at shifting the way you think about scrapbooking. If you're struggling with your scrapbooking, pick up her book. It will change your life. At least your scrapbooking. That's a promise.

Here's another one I've loved to bits: 101 Things You Can Do With Your Scrapbook Supplies was mostly an impulse buy since on all the boards I read, everyone said it was fantastic. And they weren't lying. The book is great. Full of great, little ideas. I dogeared a lot of the pages to make sure I'd remember to try them out. There are some gems in this book, so if you're looking for some practical, useful ideas and not just looking for general, overall inspiration, this is a great find.

I also own two Autumn Leaves books: Perfectly Clear and The Look Book. While I am a fan of all things Rhonna Farrer, I just never got into these books. I liked the stamping one because it had some interesting ideas and since I own too many stamps, it's always good to have a set of ideas to try. But these books just didn't speak to me. Not in the way that the others inspired me.

I still have a few more books from my spree and I'm sure I'll be buying some more real soon. Like Cathy's first book....