Scrapropos

Welcome this week’s guest scrapbooking artist Sharon Barrett-Shanks

Sharon

——————————————————–

Sharon’s First Layout

———————–

When and why did you start scrapbooking?

Christmas 2005 my oldest child, Bonnie, gave me a scrapbooking kit she put together with an album. I remember being scared of it all and I wasn’t to sure I even wanted to start with it all so I let her “show me” how to crop and mat a photo. I went home with 2 pages which I treasure. I’ve glitzed it up a bit after I got a wee bit brave.

It must be noted I was always a picture taker and mostly they got tossed in a box. When the kids were little (5) of them I put them in albums. It must also be noted here that as a teen I kept a scrapbook and loved doing it. One other note when I was real young I just loved cut-out dolls!

How would you describe your personal style?

Clean, sleek, geometric, colorful, whimsical and impulsive.

What most influences your scrapbooking?

I have asked myself this question over and over is it the picture or is it the paper…it really is both.

Digital? Paper? A little of both? Why?

Only paper, absolutely no digis here, although I try to copy some that I love looking at. just not that creative with PC and graphics.

If you had to make an entire album using only three colors, which would you choose and why?

Pink, Brown & White

What is your favorite scrapbooking tool?

Cricut

What is your must-have indulgence?

Rub-ons and clear stamps

If you had the opportunity to witness one historical even first hand (and take photos), what event would you choose and what would the scrapbook page you make for the event be like?

Peace in USA after WW 2. I would be taking photos of all my uncles who were in the service and were handsome, they’re girlfriends and wives were deliriously happy would make great shots. My Aunts dressed daily in dresses, nylons, make-up so it would be mostly black and white and I would colorize anything red/white/blue. I may even use the Life Magazine format as my style for the page. it was a happy time for my family and I was barely old enough to know what was going on, but I remember it well. Unfortunately not a lot of pictures were taken at that time by my family.

What does your workspace look like?

You can see more of Sharon’s Work HERE

Give a big welcome to Guest Artist

Amber Vongsamphanh (aka MrsVo)

When and why did you start scrapbooking?

I started scrapbooking in June 2006. It all started in the clearance section of my local Wal-mart where I happened upon a scrapbook album that was on clearance. The bright idea struck that I would make my mom a scrapbook of my life as a gift for all her help planning my upcoming wedding. Little did I know that $2 scrapbook album would lead to an all-put obsession.

How would you describe your personal style?

Simple Schizophrenic. My LOs are pretty simple, yet contain lots of bits and pieces from my stash, and are completed at random. I tried really hard to be a chronological scrapper and it made me so stressed out! I recently gave up on that idea and have never been happier.

What most influences your scrapbooking?

Photography. I always start with the photo and the ideas go from there.

Digital? Paper? A little of both? Why?

Paper. I have been diligently teaching myself to use photoshop and love playing around with the digi stuff, but I’ll never be able to give up the feeling of new paper in my hand.

If you had to make an entire album using only three colors, which would you choose and why?

Pink, Green, and Turquoise. No real reason, just love them!

What is your favorite scrapbooking tool?

My craft knife. I use it for everything!!

What is your must-have indulgence?

As far as scrapbooking supplies, FiberMark Card Stock. LOVE the durability and texture of it. If you want more general then Hagen Daz dulce de leche, yum!

If you had the opportunity to witness one historical event first hand (and take photos), what event would you choose and what would the scrapbook page you make for the event be like?

Great questions!! I’d have to say Woodstock. Having gone to school in the Bay Area I’ve always been a bit of a hippie at heart. My page would be a cardboard colored back ground, with lots of bright papers and embellies surrounding the photo and of course the title would have to be Peace.Love.Rock and Roll.

Show us your workspace?

A BIG thanks to Amber for letting me interview her!

You can visit Amber at her blog And I Ran

scrapbooking, scrapbook, interview, guest artist, Amber Vongsamphanh, scrapbook artist

I recently came across a post at a great blog called Scrap Smack 2 which led me to a related article at another blog, Scrap Bizzness. Both are discussing the types of scrappers that people tend to be.

So, what type of scrapper are you? I am not talking general style here. I do not mean Shabby Chic, Freestyle, Classic, or any of the other trendy names borrowed from the home dec world and assigned to scrapbookers today. The classifications I am thinking of and are referenced in the two blog links above are more general with only two categories:

1. The fashionista collector type that wants the newest and most trendy. Often has a stash that she treasures. Thinks “I need Basic Gray and Cosmo Cricket”.
2. The average scrapper that likes to make theme pages and use whatever is available that fits the theme. Thinks “I need some good zoo themed paper.”

I am absolutely smack in the middle of these two, probably leaning a bit towards the average scrapper. And “average” here does not mean talent just the that the type of pages you make fall more into the making a birthday themed page rather than a using that cool new paper for something page.

In terms of style trends, I do like the more design oriented looks that are popular with publications. However, when I am doing a page about one of my kids dressed as a pirate I want pirate themed paper (I have some cool stuff too). Personally, I think both types of scrappers are great and bring variety and life to the hobby.

Think about what kind of scrapper you are. Pick out a layout of yours that is a favorite (or two if you are stuck in the middle with me…ha, ha that song will be going through your head all day now), and email it to me with your name or screen name so I can give you credit. When I have enough I will be doing a showcase post.

I am also looking for some scrappers to interview for new guest artist features. If you are interested drop me an email and I will send you my questionnaire.

Have you heard who the new Making Memories Idol is?

It’s Joey Whittaker!

Joey bested thousands of initial submissions and several rounds of challenges to come out on top. The final challenge was to make a baby gift using scrapbooking supplies and black-and-white photos. Below is Joey’s winning entry:

Here’s how Joey felt about winning:

“Relieved and excited. I slept off and on last night. I woke up every couple of hours thinking about the competition. At least I don’t feel like I’m going to be sick anymore!�

She will be joining the MM design team as the contest winner. Congratulations, Joey!

via MM Idol blog

Tags: Making Memories, MM Idol, scrapbooking

Jayne Jones dreams of leaving Omaha, Nebraska and living near the beach with her husband and three kids. She’s a stay-at-home-Mom whose dog Zoe is queen of the house. Some of her favorite memories are of watching the sun set over Lake Michigan with the family. They’d make the 15 minute drive a couple of times a week just to take that in. Jayne is bubbly and fun and treasures the memories she’s made and is making. This is how she keeps them:

How did you get started scrapbooking?
I’ve always kind of scrapbooked…always collected ticket stubs and notes and things. I still have every single note ever written to me. I’ve always been a saver and kept a journal. I’ve always been into photography, always thought history was important. hen I was pregnant with my first daughter in 1997, I researched Creative Memories and then found a consultant. I loved it immideately and knew it was the thing for me.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
I scrapbook a LOT. Most every day. It’s usually when I don’t scrapbook that I hit a wall. The best way to keep your creative juices flowing is to always be creating. You’re in the mindset all the time then. Going to crops once a month, it’s hard to get going. Now I don’t have that problem because I’m continually doing it.
When I do hit the occasional wall, I look at my papers. Somehow, looking at the artwork that goes into those paper designs inspires me. Looking at sketches are the second thing I do.

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
I have maybe 20 pictures of my childhood, and most of those are school photos. It was mostly a money thing - my mom couldn’t afford it. I always knew that I would miss having photos. The minute I got my first camera when I was 13, I became a picture fanatic, and I have been ever since then. From that time on, I had tons of pictures. Getting that first camera was a huge influence. It gave me power. It erased the missing parts. I’d always felt sad without pictures.

But as far as layout influences? Scrapbookers are the best sharing and giving community of artists there is. People so freely share their work and that is so inspiring. You can go at any moment in time and look at other people’s work and be inspired by it. You can pick and choose and take from that and make it your own.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
I definitely look at paper first. I fan out the picturess and pull all different sheets of paper and see what goes best.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
I think it’s pretty classic and balanced. I like clean lines. I’m not a free-style scrapper. I like them and I drool over them, but it’s just not me.

What is your best organizing tip?
I clean my scrap table immediately after doing a page. I don’t start another page until journaling and page protecting is done. I like to work on a clean surface. I love to have everything that I use regularly where I can reach them. My favortite organizational thing that I have is a galvanized steel magnetic board with magnetic baskets where I keep my adhesives and scissors. The things I use all the time are right in front of me.

Where do you scrap?
I just use a folding table in one of the two master walk-in closets in our bedroom. One day I looked and said, “I don’t need this space. I don’t have this many clothes!” I told my husband to scooch over in his closet and I put my stuff in with his. I made my closet in to my scrap room. It has a bunch of built-in sheves already, so it’s perfect. It’s a small space, and I love that everything is in reach.

How do you find time to scrap?
I don’t watch a lot of TV - probably only 2 hours a week. If I have free time when I’m not with family, I’m scrapping. It’s my activity of choice. So anytime I have free time, I’m on the computer doing scrap-related things or I’m in my scraproom. I scrap at least, on average, an hour a day. That’s what I love. I like to do what I love. It makes me a better person.

I still haven’t tried…
sewing! I don’t sew. Not even buttons on shirts. LOL! I love the look of it and think it would really enhance my pages, but how can I justify sewing when I don’t do it at all at home? What would my husband say? LOL!!

Do you have a favorite album?
Wow. My favorite album is my Book of Me. Before I started it, I was like, “Uh, this seems kind of selfish [to be making a book about myself].” But it’s the best gift I could’ve ever given myself. My son loves my “first car” page. If you had albums from your grandmother, wouldn’t you love to have her Book of Me? I’m hoping someday my great-grandchildren will want to know about me.

Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
Basic Grey and Fancy Pants. Part of it is the feel of the paper. It’s substantial. Their colors are deeper and yet kind of muted. Rich. Even their bright kiddish colors are still rich, even though they’re bright.

I can’t get enough…
paper. Absolutely. I could stop buying right now and scrapbook the rest of my life and wallpaper my house with it and still have enough leftover to pass it on to my kids in their inheritance. I love paper.

Is there a scrapbook item you wish you had?
A guillotine trimmer. I’ve been thinking about the Purple Cow one. My birthday is coming up….

Is there anything else you do when you’re scrapping that keeps you moving along?
I don’t eat or drink anything while I scrap, except for the occasional glass of water. There’s no electricity in my room except for the overhead light, so I don’t have a TV or radio or anything. Can’t use the iPod in case my kids need me - i need to be able to hear them, and since I’m already barricaded in a closet…lol. I do burn a candle, though. Mulberry.

What’s your best advice for a beginning scrapbooker?
Contact a Creative Memories Consultant. You need someone to mentor you. Whether that’s a CMC or a friend… someone who’s gonna help you and share their stuff so you don’t have to go out and buy everything. Just start. Don’t worry about not having everything. Make it your goal to do one album. Don’t think about all of your photos, just think about completing that one album. After that, you’ll be hooked.

Anything else our readers should know about you?
I read the comics every night. I love Zits and Foxtrot.

Megan Clappin is a happy homeschooling mom-of-three (Lexie, 10; Katya, 8; and Ty, 3) who lives and scraps in Northern California. She’s been married for 14 years to her best friend Brian, who sacrificed half of his home office for her scrapbooking habit. Megan has been a Creative Memories consultant since 1999, but she’s mostly a hobbyist now to support her own habit. “I’m my own best customer!”, she laughed. She’s still loyal to the CM brand, but has begun to branch out with other papers recently. Megan is taking night classes (she’s studying to be a nurse!), and her studies have been cutting into her scrapping time lately. Even so, she manages to carve out a little bit of time here and there for her photos, and the stories she wants them to tell.

How did you get started scrapbooking?
When Katya was born, I asked Brian to have all of the birth photos printed. He knew I wanted 4×6, but the lab offered “4-inch” and “5-inch”. He ordered the 5″ by mistake, so I ended up with a big stack of 5×7 birth photos! I couldn’t find photo sleeve albums with 5×7 slots, so I was stuck. Not long after, I met a Creative Memories consultant and was introduced to CM, but the 12×12 albums totally intimidated me. Then I met another CMC who showed me her 8×10 albums, and that size seemed so much more manageable. I thought, “I know what to do with all those 5×7s now!” After one album, I realized that 8×10 was so unrealistic so I switched to 12×12 and never looked back.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
A lot of times just taking a break and stepping away is very helpful. Staring at the page, what bothers me most is white space. I just don’t like it. What do I with it? I tend to do color blocking and so a lot of times I just use whatever’s sitting there on my desk. Scraps. As I’ve gone on and I’ve done more through the years, I’ve learned there are just some pages you just hate, and you just have to move on.

That’s such good advice! I currently have two layouts, using the same pictures. I hate them both, but I’ve decided it is okay. I’m moving on. lol!

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
The way my family enjoys seeing the pictures is really important. One of the things I do a lot is a lot of journaling. What has influenced me that way is going through the cardboard boxes of pictures in my grandparents’ house and just seeing all these unlabled pictures that have become meaningless to people because they don’t have stories to go with them and we don’t even know who the people are anymore. And I don’t want my pictures to become those someday. They’re the neatest pictures but unless you know who they are, they’re not meaningful to anyone.

For layout ideas and inspiration, I primarily use ScrapShare.com. And lately, in trying to cultivate my creativy, I’ve been finding inspiration in advertisements. At Mervyns one day, I saw a wall display with all these shades of blue - like colorblocking - and I liked it, and thought, “That would make a great scrapbook page!” I actually went home and used that inspiration to make my birthday page. (click to enlarge)

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
Typically, I think, “How many photos can I cram on a page?” I go through all my swap borders to see if I have anything that fits the theme. Then usually I play with the pictures on Power Layout guides just to see how I want them to lay out, and then I crop and get them laid out. Then depending on whether or not I’m using a border, I pull out appropriate papers. Then I journal. I made a commitment to myself not to go on to next page until I journal. It’s been a very good discipline for me, because I feel like it’s the most important aspect of scrapping, and yet I don’t enjoy doing it. I’d rather scrap! So I make myself journal before I go on to the next page.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
Simplistic. I’m very -I don’t know- I’m all about very simple lines. I do elaborate pages very rarely. I don’t corner round like I used to. I consider mine a classic look. Very simple.

What is your best organizing tip?
I’m an organizer-aholic. I love cubby holes and pen holders and things.
I love -and I know a lot of people won’t necessarily agree with me - but I love CM’s sticker decofile. I have all the little tabs labeled by Fall and Spring, etc. It’s very handy because I go and pull what I need if I happen to want to use stickers.

I try to clean up as I go. I’m not great at it, and I don’t always hold to it, but at least every couple of pages, I’ll gather all my scraps and put all my stickers away and put my pens away, and it’s like a clean work space again.

Where do you scrap?
I stole my husband’s office! I used to have a scrapbook room before Ty came along. When I was pregnant with him, we took the scraproom/school room and it became the girls’ room. Their room became the nursery, and I took over the computer desk in my husband’s office. Sometimes, during certain TV seasons, like the Olympics, I’ll bring out a card table in front of the fireplace and bring a power layout box with me and scrap in front of the TV.

How do you find time to scrap?
I’m slowly perfecting the art of grabbing a few mintues here and there, like when Ty’s napping in the afternoon… and I sometimes grab some time in the evenings. Last November, I went to my first scrapbook retreat. I got 70 pages done in two days! I did my whole cruise album that weekend.

I still haven’t gotten the hang of…
hand lettering! I really wish I could do some of that gorgeous handwriting that I see others do. I have not gotten that down and I wish I could.

What’s your favorite page and why?
The title page in Ty’s baby book is my favorite! You’ll enjoy this: it was actually inspired by one you did for one of your boys. I saw it years ago and filed it so I could remember it, in case I ever had another baby. When Ty was born, I came across that file and was so excited to remember it. I love that page mostly for sentimental reasons.

Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
I use a lot of CM because I’m a CMC. But besides that, I like Basic Grey, especially their monograms. That’s the first thing I bought of theirs. I like their papers, too.

I can’t get enough…
Stickers! I don’t use them as much as I used to, but I’m still a sticker collector. I’m a child of the ’80s, so it’s natural. Remember sticker albums? lol! And paper. At least I use the paper!

Do you have a favorite tool?
I couldn’t scrap without my personal trimmer by CM.

Tell me about your first page.
Actually, it’s not that ugly! I went to my first workshop and brought all my pregnancy and birth pics of Katya. It’s a 2-page 8×10 spread with 4 photos, all cut in ovals, which I traced and cut. I had purchased some stuff at Walmart -funky little stickers. The whole background of the page is decorated with tiny dots. I told you I didn’t like white space! Even back then I guess I didn’t like it. All of my lettering is the dot lettering, where you draw a big dot on the end of the letters.
Another sign of being a child of the ’80s!
(laughing) Yah. At least it’s journaled.

Besides the obvious gift that scrapping is for your family, why do you enjoy it?
I think I’m actually good at it. I found something that I’m good at, that I’m interested in, and it’s something I can do. I don’t paint, I don’t write. I don’t do a lot of other creative outlet things. But this gives me a good outlet, and it’s just good downtime. I feel like I’m doing something procutive in my liesure.

You knew you were a scrapbooker when…
immediately. I saw how all the pages went together compared to slide-in-pockets. It turned pictures into stories rather than just snaps of life. But I knew for real that I was true scrapbooker when I started buying stickers because they match so-and-so’s dress. LOL!

What do you think is your strongest ability, scrap-wise?
I have fairly good printing. I match up odd mixes of colors, but people tell me that I have a good eye for color.

Is there anything else you do when you’re scrapping that keeps you moving along? Music in the background. iPod or radio. Generally, I don’t scrap in quiet, mostly because my house is NEVER quiet and I wouldn’t know how to function. LOL! Chocolate is always good. I keep something hidden in my desk.

What’s your best advice for a beginning scrapbooker?
Don’t allow yourself to become overwhemed with the choices. There are dozens of stickers for this page, and dozens for that one. Same with pieces of paper. Keep it simple. You can always branch out, but start simply. You can always add to it later. Being caught up in a lot of choices becomes distracting to what you’re trying to do.

Anything else our readers should know about you?
I’m a pretty avid swapper and paper piecer. One of my favorite pages features a paper piecing I did, of Olivia.

Creative Memories, CM, Basic Grey, scrapbooking, scrapbooker, journaling, photos

Cyndi Jennings is blessed. As the self-described “retired stay-at-home-Mom” of 3 college-aged kids, she gets to scrap whenever she wants! “But you can never really retire from being a Mom,” she says with a laugh. “My kids are 21, 22 and 23 now. We were young when we had them, so it was like we grew up with them. It was a lot of fun.” They spent many of their early years living in Germany when husband Marc was in the service, and those years allowed the family to really connect with each other. “We did everything together. We didn’t take a lot of pictures back then. Everything was on video,” she says. She’s making up for lost time now, though. Even though son TJ and daughters Quisha and Nicki are all grown up, she constantly snaps photos of them and their “toys”. Marc, a youth director, totally supports her scrapbooking obsession and also shares her passion for Disney. They live 14 hours away (14 hours too many, according to Cyndi), but that doesn’t stop them from making the drive whenever they can.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
I usually step away from the project and leave it alone for a couple of hours, sometimes even a couple of days. When I’m really stumped, I pull out idea books and magazines or I get online and that’ll usually get me back on track.

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
Probably online sites. They’re my #1 source of inspiration. (Cyndi is DisneyCyndi on ScrapShare.com.) I love seeing what people do with the exact same products that I use. I’m a researcher, so if I’m stumped on something, I’ll research it to death. I’m relentless and will keep going ’til I track down exactly what I need.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
I actually do it the opposite way. I don’t choose photos first. A lot of times I will see paper and embellishments that I really like and then I’ll bring those home… and then when I take pictures, I think, “ooh, this will work with that paper.” I take a lot of photos of my girls, so I’m always picking up anything pink and purple.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
I have had people tell me that I have a romantic feel to my pages, probably because I use flowers, swirls, stuff like that. I try to keep clean lines.

What is your best organizing tip?
Have a place for everything, and everything in its place. If I didn’t have somewhere for it to go I’d never get anything done, I have so much stuff! Have a place for paper and embellishments, so you don’t waste time looking for what you need.

Do you have a scrap room?
I actually took my formal living room and put my furniture in storage and turned in to a scrapbook room. I needed space to be more organized!

How did your husband feel about that?
(laughing) Oh, Marc even shops for scrapbook stuff for me when I’m not with him! He finds bargains. He probably would never scrapbook with me though. He doesn’t freak out about how much I put into it. He knows how much I spend. Most of the time he probably spends more on it than I do! He’s rare.

How do you find time to scrap?
My kids are grown, so I’m at home - so I can do it all day long if I wanted to. I usually do it in the morning after they leave for work and classes. In the evenings, we have family time.

What’s the biggest obstacle you face when scrapping?
I tend to be a perfectionist. I’m always trying to make sure that I don’t spend too much time on each page. I could spend two weeks or even three weeks on a page if I didn’t stop myself. I have to remind myself that I’m doing it for fun, to preserve my memories.

I still haven’t gotten the hang of…
packing for a crop. I guess because I have a scrapbook room, it’s really hard for me to leave stuff at home. The few times I’ve gone, I’ve taken everything but the kitchen sink! Then I don’t even get anything done ’cause I’m too busy visiting. For me, the best part of a crop is meeting new people, making friends, seeing what other people do.

What’s your favorite page and why?
I could never choose. They’re like my children! That would be so hard for me because each one is so personal. I love them all for different reasonsl

Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
Lately, I’ve been using a lot of Heidi Swapp products. They captured my attention because they’re so girly. My two girls love to be in front of the camera and her stuff just screams “I’m a girl!”

I can’t get enough…
embellishments. I love flowers, brads, stamps, eyelets, you name it. I love it.

Do you have a favorite tool?
Stamps. Acrylic stamps lately. Lots of flowers. I often create my own patterned paper with stamps.

Tell me about your first page.
(giggle) Even before I got my first Creative Memories products, I got an album on QVC and did Easter layouts of my daughters in their Easter outfits. I actually still like that layout today! A lot of people want to tear up old layouts, but I think I got it as soon as I started scrapbooking, so I’ve always liked the pages I’ve done.

What got you interested in scrapbooking in the first place?
Actually I got interested because of my first trip to Disney. I came home, got online and searched about Disney, and started seeing Disney layouts. Then a week later my cousin invited me to a CM party. It was the first time I’d heard of CM. I became a consultant, too, for about two years.

Besides the obvious gift that scrapping is for your family, why do you enjoy it?
It’s become like a ministry for me. I like sharing it with people. A lot of African-American women do not scrapbook. They don’t get that it’s not about the paper and product and things - it’s about preserving a history. We didn’t preserve our history back in the ’60s. We need to be able to look back and see where we came from. As much as I love to shop, one of my goals is to kind of sponsor a young lady when they come to a scrapbook event and introduce it to them. To show my people that it’s not just for our caucasian sisters. “It’s not really me,” they say. I want other women to do this, and I’m hoping that seeing me do it and seeing themselves in my books will make them say “I want to do this for MY family!”

You knew you were a scrapbooker when…
In high school, I saved articles and put them in magnetic books - of course, before we knew that magnetic albums were so bad. I’ve always loved doing creative type things like that.

What do you think is your strongest ability, scrap-wise?
I would have said a couple years ago being artisitic with it. But my journaling has become really strong, especially since I started blogging. Practice has made a difference. (Read Cyndi’s blog here.)

Is there anything else you do when you’re scrapping that keeps you moving along?
Some days I want quiet so I can think better. Other days, I turn on my Christian music. Recently, Marc bought me a TV for my scraproom, and sometimes I don’t even leave that room! My laptop is in there, too. I told Marc the only thing missing is a fridge.

What’s your best advice for a beginning scrapbooker?
Don’t get overwhelmed. Keep it simple. The most important thing is pictures, and putting some journaling down. Don’t get caught up in all the stuff, cause it’ll probably discourage you.

click to enlarge:

Nikki Evans is a a vibrant, talented, beautiful 21-year old college student with big dreams and a big personality. I’m honored to call her my friend! She began scrapbooking 3 years ago when I had a crop at my house and has since created dozens and dozens of personal pages in her Book of Me and in family and friends albums. She’s been commissioned to do professional work, too - the most recent being a Disney World album for a local client who saw her work. From the very beginning, Nikki’s been a natural. Her profound love for family shines through in her journaling and her natural eye for layout and design is evident on every page.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
I don’t! I sit there until I get it, I guess.

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
Of course you; that was a duh. I don’t like the magazines too much, I mean, they have good ideas but I try to use my own creativity.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
I see what colors to use based on the colors in the photos. I kinda just see what’s going on in the pictures, and pick paper first, then embellishments.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
Very simple. I don’t like bright colors. My style is fun and artsy. I like it!

What is your best organizing tip?
Stay organized!

Do you have a scrap room?
I scrap in my [parents'] den or wherever there’s a table. When I get my own place, I wish for an extra room for an art room/scrapbookin room. I’d have it all organized, all scrappy so I could always be ready to go at it! I’d call it my Studio.

How do you find time to scrap?
It kinda just happens. All of a sudden I just start scrapping. I don’t scrap as often right now ’cause of my college classes. I always try to go to the Fortress retreats and crops, too.

What’s the biggest obstacle you face when scrapping?
Finding time - my own time.

I still haven’t gotten the hang of…
finishing a book! ha ha ha ha ha!
I have a bunch of unfinished books. I have so many that I’ve started that aren’t even finished. I can do pages but I never put them in there. That’s my problem - when I do projects I can’t ever finish them.

Favorite page and why?
There’s this page from the first Fortress retreat called Scrappy Friends. I just love that page because of the memories it brings me from that weekend.

Do you have a favorite manuafacturer?
I love Mickey Mouse stuff! I collect it and hope one day to use it when I go to Walt Disney World.

I can’t get enough…
embellishments. I love embellishments. I like the ones with words and letters. Metal.

Do you have a favorite tool?
Brads! Is that a tool? I put ‘em on corners, use ‘em for tags. They make it look cool. And I love love love rub-ons. LOVE rub-ons.

Tell me about your first page.
Ooooh, it’s ugly. It doesn’t have anything. It’s so plain. NOW I look at it and my pages have more ooomph to it, but that first one was of my Grandmother. It was one picture of her sitting in the middle of a page and it had strips of paper…lol…. ugly. Now I look back at my first book and I’m like, “Oh my gosh. That’s how I started off?” No matting, nothin’.

Besides the obvious gift that scrapping is for your family, why do you enjoy it?It massages my mind. Gets my mind off a lot of things. My pictures bring me back to those happy moments.

You knew you were a scrapbooker when…
everyone kept telling me I was so good at it. They loved my work. I’ve always been an artist and my handwriting has always been good.

What do you think is your strongest ability, scrap-wise?
I’m really good at lettering. I’d rather draw big letters than use die cuts and stuff. I love to make different fonts. My journaling.

Any time-saving strategies that help you scrap faster?
I have my pictures picked, paper is picked out, and I know what I’m gonna do so when I get to my table, I already have it my head and know how I’m gonna do it.

Do you snack when you’re scrapping?
Gardetto’s. I love those things and they’re not messy when you’re scrapping.

Is there anything else you do when you’re scrapping that keeps you moving along?
I love listening to music, singing and scrapping along. KLTY [local contemporary Christian station], Acappella, something soft - not too hard core.

What’s your best advice for a beginning scrapbooker?
Have fun. It takes some time to do it and it’s a lot of work but it’s fun once you get started.

Jill Cleaves is an oxymoron. In a cluttered, jumbled, disorganized studio, she creates layouts that are clean, streamlined and balanced. “Messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds,” writes Penelope Greene of the New York Times . If Jill’s confession about her desk and studio are true, she’s living proof that Ms. Greene’s assessment is dead on. A legal assistant for 25+ years, Jill enjoys her job but admits her recent discovery that “working part time is heavenly”. Between work, a busy family (sons Beau, 11, and Chase, 8, are involved in karate and music) and being a Creative Memories consultant, Jill finds time to read, enjoy the Florida sunshine, and hone her photography skills. She shoots with a Canon S2is, but the Canon Rebel xTi is her dream camera.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
I’m not very good at that actually. For a long time I used to do Mystery Pages [step-by-step directions for creating page elements and layouts without the guide of a photo or sketch, hosted online at ScrapShare.com]. Now, basically I sit and stare. Or I get online and look at layouts, which gives me inspiration to get started. I started posting layouts online a couple of years ago, but before that I hadn’t scrapped for probably a year. I kept seeing all these layouts and I thought, “I have got to do this and make myself work.” It was everyone else’s work that was my inspiration.

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
ScrapShare. Becky Higgins sketches hugely right now, and the other sketch books too. I rely on those a lot these days.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
I stare at it for a really long time. I will stare at pictures forever sometimes and then I go to the sketch books and start pulling paper out of my stash. I have so much paper you wouldn’t even believe. I’ll put it with the pictures and look at it and say, “Is this it? Nope.” By the time I finish a layout, I have a whole stack of unused paper sitting beside me. I’m doing a Disney album at the
moment - but my layouts are not typcial Disney layouts. Not a Mickey Mouse to be found! I take my inspiration directly from the colors and feel of my photos!

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
Clean straight lines with lots of color. Not too overly messy or froufrou-y. Sometimes I think that my layouts end up looking a lot alike.

What is your best organizing tip?
I have none. If you saw the state of my scrapbook room, you’d know. It’s a hurricane. I reorganize all the time, but I don’t have any one thing that works. My problem is I don’t put things away in between and so then I have this huge mess on my desk.

What’s your favorite thing about your scraproom?
All my pictures. Pictures of family and friends - but mostly family - are all over the wall and everywhere.

How do you find time to scrap?
I don’t watch TV at all so I scrap in the evenings. By 8:00, my boys are reading, so it’s quiet here and that’s my time. And I stay up late. And now that I work part time, I have my afternoons a little too - sometimes an hour or so if we’re not running around.

What’s the biggest obstacle you face when scrapping?
Inspiration, journaling. I’m horrible at journaling. I was doing albums for both boys, separate. Currently, I’m working on a vacation album, and I’ve decided I’m only doing one. Now I’m at a point that I don’t know what I’m gonna do next after this vacation album. I’m at a crossroads about whether or not I’ll continue doing individual albums for the boys, or family albums. I still have a lot of old photos to scrap, too.

I still haven’t gotten the hang of…
embellishments. I’m not very good at that. I can do the die cut stuff but I don’t like stickers any more at all. I wanna use all this stuff but I’m embellishment-impaired. I haven’t used eyelets and fibers, yet. I’ve used ribbon some. I’ve made tags, chalked ‘em up. I’ve just started using fluid chalks and I really like the depth they give.

Favorite page and why?
It’s a layout of my older son Beau that’s titled “Freckles”. And it has a quote, “A face without freckles is like a night without stars.” He loves it and that’s what makes me love it even more. He loves his freckles and thinks it’s cool that I did that page.

Do you have a favorite manuafacturer?
Basic Grey for paper right now. I just ordered the new stuff that came out at CHA [Craft & Hobby Association convention)!

I can’t get enough…
paper! I organize it several ways because I have so much of it. Printed stuff like Wild Asparagus, Basic Grey, Bohemia… collections I have a lot of… I separate by manufacturer. For solids, I have a hanging file cart. Then I have paper stacks from Joann that are in vertical storage. Scraps are in a big file box in ROYGBIV order under my desk. I make the boys sort my scraps!

Tell me about your first page.
In August 1996, I went to my first CM party. All my pictures from that first album are all cut up and corner-rounded and trimmed with trampy scissors. I look at it and cringe. Oh my God, the sticker sneeze! Lots of triangles all trimmed with nasty scissors, all different ones, no less. Not a square line in the bunch and now that’s all I do, square lines. I don’t have to show you THAT, do I? lol!

Besides the obvious gift that scrapping is for your family, why do you enjoy it?
It’s satisifes the frustrated artist in me. I took art all the way through High School. I loved it but was never very good. My two best friends were awesome and I wasn’t, and I wanted so badly to be as good as they were. So this satisfiues that desire for me. And it’s therapy. A couple of weeks ago, Chase asked me, ‘Mom, why do you scrapbook?’ I answered, ‘For the memories, of course, to remember you when you were just a little guy.’ Two or three days later he comes to me because he had to write an essay about testing for black belt. He needed to know dates and awards and such for the essay, and I said, ‘Just go get that scrapbook over there; it has all the info you’re looking for.’ He says ‘Mom, these books are wonderful!’ I replied, ‘AHHH! you found a purpose for them now!’ LOL!

Scrapbooker Kristi Carman is a mother of 5 busy children ranging in ages from 3 to 15. When she’s not busy remodeling her house in one of Fort Worth’s beautiful historic neighborhoods, she’s working with and loving children and young women in the inner city who struggle with poverty or are working their way out of it. Kristi began scrapbooking 3 years ago with the Fortress Scrapbooking Ministry, which she now helps direct. One of the greatest things that has come out of her scrapbooking hobby is that it’s allowed her to contribute financially to the adoption costs for her youngest son. Kristi sells her custom-made paper bag scrapbooks and kits at craft fairs, Canton Trade Days, and on eBay. She uses 12×12 albums for her family scrapbooks, and scraps in 8.5×11 for each of her children’s books.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
So far, I can’t say that I’ve ever really been in a slump!

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
Stacy Kocur, first of all, number one. Probably #2 is magazines and the internet. They all inspire me.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
Sometimes I look in a magazine for inspiration. Sometimes I’ll go through my scraps and try to use up as many as I can before cutting up more paper.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
Hodge Podge, free-for-all, scrappy. (LOL) ‘Cause I like my scraps. Wild. I’m not simple by any means.

What is your best organizing tip?
Stay organized and don’t let it get out of control. Be creative with your organizing. You don’t always have to use stuff that’s meant for scrapbooking. I have my grandfather’s tool cabinet in my scrap area. The flat drawers that were for saws and wrenches now hold my papers and pages. The small drawers that were meant for screws and nails now hold everything from paper clips to tape to brads and eyelets, fibers, buttons, etc. All of my embellisments fit in the 20 little drawers. I put labels on the outside of each drawer - I’m so proud of myself! lol!

How do you find time to scrap?
I don’t find time. It’s never there. I MAKE time. In the afternoon during naptime or in the evening during TV time is when I scrap the most.

What’s the biggest obstacle you face when scrapping?
Journaling. I’ve never been a writer. I had an English teacher in school who always wanted to hear a certain specific thing in our papers and I never seemed to write what she wanted. So now I’m sorta hesitant about writing, even when it comes to journaling. Except that you always say to write anyway, that it doesn’t matter how it sounds, as long as I write it.

I still haven’t gotten the hang of…
OH. The computer, definitely. I’d like to print some titles or journaling, but I’m computer illiterate! I hate the computer!

Favorite page and why?
Ooooh. I don’t know. That’s a hard one. You know I have a lot of favorites. I always like the ones where I use a lot of torn paper and layering. There’s one of Faith that says “Future Scrapbooker”. It’s at one of my first crops, and she’s just sitting there with paper and scissors, and concentrating on cutting. Totally in her element. It was probably one of my first really good pages. Because it says “Future Scrapbooker”, I was able to really use a lot of different elements. Different letters, brads, etc. I was able to really be free with it. It’s all orange and pink. I love the expression on Faith’s face. The pictures are just really good.

Projects on the horizon?
I’m excited to make a scrapbooking calendar that I saw in a magazine recently.

Tell me about your first page.
It was one of Faith’s. It was titled “I be-leaf in you.” The journaling says “Faith has been fascinated by dirt and leaves since the time she could crawl.” That’s it. That’s all I wrote! It’s plain and ugly - a piece of white cardstock glued on a piece of orange cardstock. i just stuck the pictures on and stuck a bunch of leaves everywhere. Its’ not too bad, I guess. LOL

Besides the obvious gift that scrapping is for your family, why do you enjoy it?
It’s therapy. It’s calms me. It’s the one thing that takes me away from the everyday grind and let’s me be creative.