Stolen Moments: Spotlighting Crystal

Hey all! It's Jewelle here. From now on I'll be popping in every once in awhile. So, lets get down to business.

The CT member we are spotlighting is

How long have you been scrapping? Have you ever paper scrapped? When did you make the switch to digi and why? I've been digi scrapping for almost 3 years. I tried a few paper pages with little success. I discovered digi after getting PSE in order to edit photos better. That was December of 2006 and I've been hooked ever since.
What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill? Your weakest? I feel like I'm getting pretty good at clustering. I enjoy doing it anyway, whether it's my strongest skill or not....I don't really know. Coming up with titles and making them look creatively placed on my pages is probably my weakest.
What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping? Stick with it!! It's frustrating at first, and you'll feel like you'll never be at the level you want to be. But, I think I'm constantly improving my skills. It's definitely an ongoing process.
Describe your scrapping "system"... What program do you use? Where do you start first - photos, papers, elements, journaling? Do you always have something in mind when you start, or do you let your creativity guide you? How long does it take you to complete a layout? I use CS4. I choose my papers first, but almost always have a picture that I want to use in mind. Next I'll look for some kind of frame. I have a hard time scrapping without a frame on at least the main photo. My pages rarely look like what I had in mind when I started! lol. It sometimes takes just 30 mins or so to create my layouts. Other times it can take a few hours to get it right.
On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week? That always changes. It depends on so many things that are going on 'in real life'. Occasionally I'll get an entire Sunday to myself and I admit that I spend the majority of the day scrapping!
Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda? music? snacks? First thing in the morning, it's coffee and total quiet while DS is still asleep. That's my favorite scrapping time. Once I have this baby, I'm sure I'll break out the coffee at night and stay up a little...it's not like I'll be getting much sleep anyway! haha!
What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping? photography
What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it? Hmmm...I've never thought about that one. I guess go on some incredible dream vacation...a cruise to Alaska maybe.
Who inspires you in the scrapping community? Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration? Wow...there are to many people to list. I tend to head to the gallery at MSA for inspiration when I need it.
If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why? A baby themed kit sometime in early February would be fantastic!! lol!

Crystal astounds me. She is still pregnant, but still finds the time and energy to scrapbook. Lets check out some of her layouts and what Crystal has to say about them!

I had a hard drive crash last spring and lost all my layouts. So, I went found the first layout I posted at DST. Its not my first layout though. I didn't start participating in the scrapping community until about a year after I started digi scrapping. It's the oldest layout I can get a copy of. The photo is of my oldest niece.

My Favorite Layouts

Light of my Life...the photo is of my son and a family friend that he's been playing with since they were babies. I just love the photo of them running.

My Favorite Boys...the photos are of my son with my two nephews who are also his Godfathers. I became an aunt when I was only 9, so my nephews and nieces are more like siblings to me. I love that my son has them in his life.