Hey all, Jewelle here popping in with a guest spotlight! I'm super excited about introducing you to this lady because I know her personally. We are friends in real life, and it is always fun to be on a team with someone you know. Let me introduce you to...
Juli
(aka
julijewelz)
My name is Juli and I am 27 years old. I have been married to my best
friend for almost 5 years now and we have a 9 month old baby boy named
Joshua. This is my 5th year teaching science in a middle school. I am
struggling to find a balance between being a teacher and a mom this
year, but I do love my job. Hobbies other than scrapping include
reading, hiking, white water rafting, playing games like Pinochle,
Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, etc.
- How long have you been scrapping? Have you ever paper scrapped? When did you make the switch to digi and why? I have been scrapping since October of 2008. So 3 years. I paper
scrapped for several years. I made the switch to digi because I like
that there is no mess, I don't have to print out pictures, I can redo
things, and I can share the pages with people.
- What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill? Your weakest? Strongest scrapping skill? Yikes, I have no idea! I know that my weakest
is clustering by far! I also could work on making my pictures look
better. I am still not familiar enough with all that photoshop can do.
There is SOOOO much to learn!
- What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping? My advice is to read about organizing your materials and start off with a
good system. You will soon have so many supplies that making it better
will be daunting. Also, read tutorials and don't be afraid to try new
techniques. Learn from criticism!
- 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 Photoshop to scrap. I start with the photos first and usually get
them all situated on my page. I will look at frames in the kit first to
see if I want to use them. Then I go with papers and get them all
situated. Elements come next and then title and journaling. I usually
have some kind of idea how I want the LO to look. If I don't, they
usually don't turn out as well. I have definitely started over many
times because I didn't have a clear vision to begin with. It usually
takes me about 2-3 hours to complete a LO.
- On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week? I used to spend about 9 hours a week scrapping, but since I had my baby
that has changed dramatically. I am lucky if I get to spend 2-4 hours a
week.
- Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda? music? snacks? I sit on the couch. Usually my husband has something on the TV, but I
don't pay attention. When I am alone, I will sometimes play music, but
not often. I get into the zone and don't really pay attention to
anything around me. I am loving scrapping to the Christmas tree lights
right now :)
- What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping? Favorite thing to do besides scrapping is play with my baby boy! Besides that, play Pinochle.
- What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it? One thing I would love to do just so I can scrap it....put my baby in a
big pile of leaves! I haven't done that yet because it has been too
cold, or rainy, or I am too tired! There is always next year right? I am
also regretting not getting newborn professional pictures done, so I am
excited to have another one to do that with.
- Who inspires you in the scrapping community? Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration? I don't have one particular person I follow in the scrapping community.
There are SO many talented scrappers out there! I usually look in the
Scrap Orchard or Scrap Matters galleries for inspiration. Those are both
great communities and have some fabulous scrappers.
- If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why? Wow, hard question. I think she already created my kit! For the Love of
Boys. I just love that color combo and the theme is perfect for me. I've
had other designers ask this question and I can never come up with a
good answer. I just don't think like that I guess!
First Layout
Celebrate Life's Moments.
It was fun to find this LO. It definitely
needs some help! It only has like 10 layers total! Maybe I will redo it
sometime. Anyway, I remember deciding I was going to try out this digi
scrapping stuff after seeing some digi layouts on a friends blog. I opened up Photoshop
and couldn't figure out how to do anything! I couldn't even move the
photo around. I think I actually cried for a bit before enlisting my
sister's help. After that frustration, I knew I needed some more help.
So I decided to take some lessons. I took 3 or so classes from Jessica
Sprague and learned TONS! She really helped me learn the program and
some of the basics of digi scrapping. I am thankful I spent the money on
the classes as it is a hobby that I still love to this day.
Favorite LO
SOOO hard to choose!! I think this one is it for now. Probably because it represents the last hurrah of ours before our
lives changed forever with the birth of our beautiful baby boy. The
pictures were taken on our 4th wedding anniversary.
Most Recent Layout
My most recent LO is this one that I created with one of Amber's products I have been eyeing for awhile. It is also a favorite LO for me now. I would have chosen it for my
favorite except it fit this category too! :) I am doing much better with
layers and clustering. I feel that I did a pretty good job adding the
fabulous elements to this LO.
To catch more of Juli's amazing and inspiring layouts be sure and stop by her GALLERY
The Sweetest Season of All!
