Jewelle here and I get to share with you another guest spotlight today! I've known this lady for quite some time now and we've worked together in the scrapping community as well. Because of that I'm super excited to spotlight....
Melanie
I'm married and a SAHM with two children [almost 9 years old and 20 months old] and a third on the way! I was born and raised in Georgia, but moved to California in 2001. Since then I've lived in Oregon, Las Vegas, and now Arizona. We're currently making plans to make another move, hopefully the last, to Reno. We're definitely not fans of the desert and the 110+ days we get here in the summer. When I'm not scrapping I like to read, play games, watch movies with the family and spend time in the kitchen baking. Before becoming a SAHM, I took care of other people's children as a childcare provider.
- How long have you been scrapping? Have you ever paper scrapped? When did you make the switch to digi and why? I first started scrapping right after I graduated high school in 1999. I went to a Creative Memories party and fell in love. I did paper scrapping from then on, until 2007 when I read one of my sisters in law’s blog and she mentioned something about digi-scrapping. I googled it and never looked back, except to do an occasional hybrid project. I love digi because there’s no mess, no waste and in the end I save a lot of money!
- What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill? Your weakest? I guess using white space. I don’t know if I would say it’s my strongest skill, but I definitely feel it’s one that I’ve improved greatly on since I started scrapping. My weakest is definitely clustering. I keep working at it though, and I think I’m starting to get better at it.
- What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping? To not be afraid to play around and experiment with techniques. And always save and backup as often as you can!
- 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 learned on, and still use, PhotoShop CS3 extended. My hubby had it already from school, so I got lucky there. I usually start out by picking a template. I’m definitely a template kind of girl. From there I either jump right in with the kit I’m using, or if I’m positive about the photos I want to use, I’ll start with them. For the most part, I just kind of go with where the page takes me from there. I usually spend about an hour on a layout.
- On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week? Usually at least 2 or 3 hours a day, usually at night after my little man has gone to bed.
- Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda? music? snacks? I have to have music playing. And I usually have something to drink – either water or Coke Zero.
- What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping? I love cuddling up on the couch, or in bed, and watch movies with either just my hubby or the family.
- What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it? Go to Disney Land. Okay, I really just want to go there, but I really do get quite jealous of all the fabulous Disney themed layouts I see so much in the gallery.
- Who inspires you in the scrapping community? Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration? I don’t think I could pick just one person. Being a ScrapMatters Girl, I’m always looking through the gallery and I get so inspired by all the members of the community.
- If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why? I have a few old photos from high school, including ones from marching band, that I would love to have a kit to scrap with. I’d love lots of elements themed towards all the fun high school has to offer. Colors would have to cover all the most popular high school colors – for me it would be purple, gold, white and gray.
First Layout
This is the first layout I ever uploaded to my gallery. My first layouts were lost when my HD crashed, but this was one of the first ones I did after a two year break from scrapping. When Mason was put in the hospital, it was totally unexpected and this photo was one of the only ones we got right after surgery.
Favorite Layouts
This layout was done during a speed scrap and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. But by the time I finished it, I knew it would always be one of my favorites. I think most of it is the photo of Tori. It was taken on a car trip and I caught her completely off guard. You can't see it, but her hair is a mess - I think she looks beautiful!
When I was working in childcare, our center always did a pumpkin contest. Each class made one [no carving] and all the kids in the center voted on their favorite. This particular year I got the idea for our class to make Mike from Monsters Inc. It was quite a project, but it turned out so awesome. Oh, and we won!
Using Stolen Moments Products
I made this during Queen of Scrap using Amber's kit Makin' Me Happy. It's probably one of my favorites because it took so much time to pick the photos, arrange them and then get the page how I wanted it. I love that kit!
Most Recent Layout
I did this layout about a week ago and I love the way it turned out. Uncle Monty is my mother and father in law's dog and we always call him my hubby's brother. Not many of the grandkids like him because he's such a big dog, but Mason absolutely loves him.
Lovely layouts aren't they?! Head on over to Melanie's
BLOG and
GALLERY to view more of her fabulous layouts!
Cleaning out the Clutter...
