Stolen Moments: Spotlighting Amanda S.

We are halfway through November so it is high time that I introduce you to one of the guests who has been working diligently for Amber. Sit back and enjoy!

Amanda

{aka dznyscrapper}

I've been married to my wonderful husband for eleven years and we have 3 great kids, Michealla (10), Hunter (7) and Kailee (22 months). We also have a 3 yr old black & white Shih Tzu named Tinkerbell. I am a SAHM the majority of the time, but I also substitute teach at the local elementary school and teach classes at my local scrapbook store.

How long have you been scrapping? Have you ever paper scrapped? When did you make the switch to digi and why? I started digital scrapping about 4 years ago. At first I just started so I could do photobooks for my kids' grandparents for Christmas. I started paper scrapping in 1995. I still do a little bit of paper scrapping but it has been very limited for the last 2 years. Just before I had my youngest in December 2008, I switched to digital almost exclusively. Her crib took over my scraproom, so going digital was so much easier. I had planned on only having her in there for the first few month, but here we are almost 2 years later and she is still in there. lol.
What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill? Your weakest? I think one of my strongest scrapping skills is choosing the colors for my layout and then being able to mix and match kits to get just what I want. Along with that would be my ability to recolor items to get them to match my pages. My weakest is probably my journaling. I have never been much of a journaler, so that carries over into my pages, too. Though I have gotten a lot better since I first started scrapping.
What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping? Get to know your program by reading tutorials and asking questions, but also don't be afraid of it. Just get in there and start playing around with it.
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 currently use Photoshop Elements 5.0. I would like to upgrade to a Photoshop Creative Suite someday, but for now PSE lets me do most of what I want. For my layouts I usually start by picking my pictures and then checking if I have a template I want to use with them. Then I go through my kits to see if any kits I have will go with my pictures. If not then I either go shopping or start mixing and matching. Once I get everything open in PSE and start working on my page opening more things up as I need them. My journaling and title are usually the last thing I put on my page. It usually takes me quite a while to work on a page but on average I can get a page done in about 3-4 hours if I don't have a lot of interruptions.
On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week? On average I probably spend about 12-15 hours scrapping though I also spend quite a bit of time checking out the latest happenings at ScrapMatters on top of that. I usually scrap for a couple hours after my kids go to bed each night or while my youngest takes her afternoon nap.
Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda? music? snacks? I do most of my scrapping while sitting on my couch with my laptop. I have one of my favorite shows or movies on the television for background noise. I almost always have a can of Mountain Dew next to me, too. I usually don't snack while I'm scrapping.
What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping? My favorite thing to do besides scrapping is traveling and camping with my family. Since my husband drives truck long distance and is gone for a week or two at a time, we all look forward to when we get to spend that time together as a family without all the interruptions. I also love taking pictures of all the great memories that we make together.
What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it? I would love to travel somewhere tropical just so I can finally use all the great tropical kits I have been hording. lol. I have a weakness when it comes to those kinds of kits.
Who inspires you in the scrapping community? Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration? There is so much great inspiration to be found in the scrapping community. I don't know if I have any one person that I go to for inspiration. If I'm feeling like I have lost my creativity I will usually peruse the gallery at ScrapMatters. There are so many awesome scrappers there that it doesn't take too long and I feel inspired. :)
If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why? Right now I would have to say I would love to see her create a nature/explorer kit with a more girly feel to it. There are a lot of cute kits like this out there but they are all very boyish. I would love to see one with pinks, oranges and greens. My youngest is such a little tomboy. She's the little girl you will find sitting in a mud puddle with a dress on and a frog in her pocket.

Oldest Layout
This is one of the first digital pages I did with Photoshop Elements. It was before I was buying all the great kits that are out now.

Favorite Layouts
This is one of my favorite pages because of the picture. It's from this summer during one of our visits to the park. It was time to go and both kids grabbed one of Kailee's hands to take her back to the car. My kids have such a close relationship and my youngest looks up to her big brother and sister so much.

These pictures are from our vacation to Yellowstone National Park in 2008. We happened to find these elk just sitting there under the tree.

I just love how this page came together. It's one of my many pages that has a very long credits list. lol. The pictures are from when we went to the butterfly house at a zoo we visited this summer.