Spotlighting Tanya

Hey all, Jewelle here again with a CTM spotlight!  This lady has been creating amazing layouts for Amber for over a year now, and I thought it is high time to spotlight her!  Let's learn more about...

 Tanya

{aka tanyariley}

I'm a single mom of a 10 year old darling daughter. I am going to college full-time to become a clinical psychologist to help children and families of children with disabilities. I school my daughter at home through a charter program. She has autism spectrum disorder and is high functioning so this has made a huge impact on our lives. I love art and scrapbooking is most definitely an art. 

1. How long have you been scrapping?  Have you ever paper scrapped?  When did you make the switch to digi and why? I have been digital scrapbooking since 2003. I've paper scrapped for about 5 years before that and tried to since a few times only to realize again it's not for me. I switched because I found that digi fit my vision for what my pages should look like in my mind. 
2. What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill?  Your weakest? My strongest scrapping skill is my coordination of colors and elements. My weakest would probably be minimalistic style layouts. I love them but can't seem to do it!
3. What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping? Take your time learning as you go. Don't worry if you don't love your first layouts. What's amazing about digi is that you can always do it again and, like dieting, you can see your progress as you go!
4. 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 PSCS5 on a 27" iMac. I use iPhoto to organize my photos and picasa to organize my elements. I mostly organize in the folders on my system, but if I need to quickly find something visually I open up Picasa. I can start with a photo, with a design, with a template, whatever! I just like to flow with whatever feels right.
5. On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week? Not as much as I'd like. Lately, 3 hours is my current average, it used to be at least 20.
6. Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda?  music?  snacks? My perfect scrapping environment is a show on Hulu or Netflix in a small window and some free time! I don't usually like to munch while I work on my layouts because I get focused and the food gets stale!
7. What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping? I love to read. If I wasn't busy with school I'd be reading what I want. 
8. What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it? I'd love to go on an exotic vacation, just for the pictures and the theme album!
9. Who inspires you in the scrapping community?  Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration? I'd have to say the people that inspire me vary from well known to little known. I love Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske, of course, but I also love layouts by Mi Monteiro and Mumkaa. I love to see the paper layouts out there at 2peas and the many scrapbooking blogs for inspiration too! I may not always translate it literally though.
10. If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why? My kit would be Tiffany blue with a slightly faded lime green, black, white, soft yellow a bit more butter than lemon, and warm grey. I just love all those colors and am drawn to them in photos and products. I have no idea what the theme would be. Maybe transitions in life?

Oldest Layout

This was when I first started to digiscrap and was exploring with many techniques. I used patterns, text, and color to create a blend with the black and white photo of my kiddo in the yard playing in the water.

Favorite Layout
This layout really describes who I am and what I have in my head day to day, except the beads...   

Most Recent Layout 
I love Amber's products because they are so versatile. This kit was meant for winter, but the soft pretty colors really made me want to use a recent self portrait that I was proud of.

Amazing layouts right?!  To see more of Tanya's work be sure and stop by her GALLERY