What am I working on right now?
I am currently wrapping up some fun assignments for Doodlebug using their latest Ghouls & Goodies, Friendly Forest and Happy Camper collections. I am also working on a couple different fall layouts using Pebbles Home+Made collection and a few cards for an upcoming call at Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine. :)
How long does it take me to create a project?
I am a super slow paper crafter. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and so I would say a 1-page scrapbook layout typically takes me anywhere between 3 to 6 hours and cards can take me between 1 to 2 hours.
What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?
I put together a little picture board of some of my latest favorites as well as a few things on my wish list right now. I am really drawn to all things cute, colorful and happy! I am loving all the epoxy shaped Sprinkles & glitter sprinkles Doodlebug is releasing along with so many of their newest doodle-pops, clothespins & paperclips! My other favorites include Echo Park's Fine & Dandy collection, almost everything Lawn Fawn is releasing and Pebbles soon to be released "Home For Christmas" collection. I also think the Bundle of Joy stamp set by Technique Tuesday is so sweet!
How does my creating process work?
I generally start with my photos. Before I even print them I am looking for sketches that match the number of photos and orientation of my photos (vertical vs. horizontal, etc.) I love printing my photos the size I need them without a lot of waste and reprints later. When I get them back from processing, I print a wallet sized picture of the sketch and pair them together in my photo box so that they are ready when I need them.
From there I am pretty motivated to scrapbook based on whatever latest product I'm wanting to use so I will flip through my photo box and find the pictures that best match the colors or theme of what I'm wanting to play with. If the sketch I originally selected doesn't match well with the product I'm using, I can usually easily find one that works better or alter the sketch to better suit my needs.
How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
I am definitely inspired by paper collections as well as really great sketches. I am a Pinterest addict (you can follow me HERE) so there's so much to be inspired by there whether it be color combinations or other projects with elements I love. I am also really inspired by my children's clothing. I love to look at old Gymboree lines for colors and paper piecing ideas at Peek-a-Sku and GymboHaven.
What is my signature style?
My favorite scrapbook supply is patterned paper so I'm always looking for designs that allow me to use a number of patterns in one layout. I also adore bright, bold colors and all things girly. I have addictions to both my Silhouette and my sewing machine so most of my projects use one of them, if not both.
Unfortunately I am utterly torn between my love for scrapbooking and my love of card making so I feel like I can't share some of my recent layouts without also sharing some of my favorite cards from the past year. ;)
Now it's time to link you up to a few of my favorite paper crafters who I'm happy to also call my friends...
- Jodi Wilton- I adore Jodi's bold and bright style. We share a love for all things cute and she does cute REALLY well! She always is coming up with unexpected designs that WOW me!
- Shellye McDaniel- This clever girl is on NINE amazing design teams and somehow she never seems to run out of darling ideas. I adore all her stitching and wonderful attention to detail!
- Teri Anderson- Teri's style is so fresh and fun! She not only works as one of the Go To Gals for Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine, but designs her own line of stamps for Technique Tuesday and runs the Moxie Fab World blog, all while juggling assignments for several cool design teams!
I LOVE your layouts and ideas. They are always so fun and bright. I am a perfectionist in life, so I try not to let myself do that when I'm scrapbooking, but looking at your layouts, it is totally worth the time you put into them. I found your blog via pinterest maybe about a year ago. I have a few other questions for you (that hopefully aren't addressed elsewhere) - where do you put all of your layouts? Do you have a favorite brand or type of book to store them in? Are you making family books or just books for each of your children? I'm having trouble keeping my momentum. I just feel like all of my hard work will just end up in someone's pile of junk one day because there will just be too many scrapbooks, they won't be special anymore. But I love paper scrapbooking and just don't want to go to digital. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThank you! My favorite albums are by We R Memory Keepers (I LOVE their nice thick page protectors that are oversized at the top). I used to do post bound, but they are so much harder to keep updated so I switched to binders. Unfortunately I don't scrapbook in order so I keep the layouts with older photos in a pile on the shelf for about a year and then when it's too tall I sit down and spend a day putting them in albums. I just make family books for me and then one large school themed one for each child with a double page layout per school year. My kids love the family albums and I figure they can take turns sharing them someday or they can dissect them later taking the pages that focus on each of them and split up the rest. I honestly make the pages because I love putting my creativity in something lasting. When I have to decide between making a cute treat box or making a layout for a design team project, the layout wins every time because I know it's something we can cherish long term. ;)
DeleteMendi - I sure love being one of your followers and I just adored this post and learning more about you!! You consistently amaze me!! You are crazy talented and so good with matching colors and patterns together!! What great and incredible layouts and cards you make!! Thanks for this little peek in to what makes YOU wonderful!! Keep up the good work - you are awesome!!
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