Still playing around with different styles forever and always!
I think it didn't take long in the beginning. I took lots of classes from talented ladies at different scrapbook stores.
When I first started scrapbooking Creative Memories and Stampin' Up were the only places to get supplies. Then I discovered Michael's and the it changed forever for me. Now days I can't keep up. What was once in, is now out. As far as my style goes, I guess it has changed with the trends. One thing for sure though, my photos are still the focal point of my layouts. I still consider myself a clean and simple scrapper with a lot of white space.
I mostly played "follow the leader" with my scrapbooking for the first few years. I hung out on various forums and played along with challenges, copied the styles of layouts that I liked, etc. Eventually I figured out what I liked to do and what kinds of papers etc I liked best. I still like experimenting with new products, layout styles etc.