Scrapbookers Blog Tour

I'm honored today to be tagged to join the Scrapbookers Blog Tour. Blog hops are always fun and a great way to discover new talent and inspiration. I was invited by Penny {PennyScraps}. Penny has a lovely style of scrapbooking and an incredible storyteller. We met online through a wonderful message board full of the nicest peeps you'd ever want to meet and we had the privilege of meeting in person along with about 50 others last year in St Louis. It's amazing how scrapbooking and the internet can bring people into your lives you otherwise would never meet. I know my life is richer because of it.

Now on to the business at hand. I was given a list of questions to answer and although i'm not as eloquent as Penny I'm going to do my best. 

        1. What am I working on right now?

I have several projects in the works right now. I'm always working on new projects for my monthly Close to my Heart clubs. I belong to two Design Teams that always have an assignment waiting to create. I'm several trips behind on my Disney albums so I use those photos to take a break and relive magical moments. On the message board I mentioned earlier there is always a challenge or class to get caught up in. Currently I'm working through Allison Davis's 6x6 class for the second time, my Month in Review album and getting ready to start working through Lisa Bearnson's 50 Moments book. I'm most excited about getting stories told and recorded for my family.

        2. How long does it take me to create a project?

Oh my this one is hard to answer. I start and leave projects to simmer quite often and come back to look at them with a fresh eye. Layouts can take me a few to several hours all together to create. I am not a fast scrapper by any means. I tend to second guess and play around for way too long. The running joke in my studio is 'Did you know that there are 201 places that enamel dot could have gone and I tried them all and they were all right?' LOL And don't even get me started on how long it takes me to come up with a title or the journalling.

        3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

I'm a paperholic so any new paper or old for that matter. I love to thumb through paper and just admire it. Lately I've been really challenging myself to use more stamps in my layouts. I'm really enjoying finding new ways to use my stamps and create embellishments for my pages as well as finding great words and phrases to add finishing touches to them. Enamel dots are always fun and I've added some sequins to my stash as well.

        4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I always start with photos. I love to take photos and it's hard sometimes to weed any of them out sometimes. Photos are my inspiration and they get me excited to tell the story and document the moment. Sometimes I know instantly what I want to do with them but a lot of times I go in search of a sketch. There are several free sketches online but two of my favorite are Nuts About Sketches which posts one each Monday and Scrapbook Generation which shares several each month in their Create magazine. After getting the photos and design picked I go to my beloved paper and start pulling and then through all my embellishments as well as my stamps and pull whatever I think will go well with the story I want to tell. Then it's time to create.

        5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

I follow several blogs, pinterest, Facebook pages, and the message board I mentioned previously. all of the talent out there easily keeps me inspired. Going through my photos and albums are a true inspiration as well. I'm determined to leave memories for my children to have when I'm gone. 

If all else fails I go shopping! New supplies are always an incentive to create. If shopping is not in the budget I start organizing and cleaning then I find product I've forgotten about and get excited for it all over again.

        6. What is my signature style?

I'm not sure I have a consistent signature style since I'm always being inspired by others and evolving as I'm exposed to so many different talented scrappers but I do love layered but simple layouts, lots of photos, and journalling. I love soft muted tones and most of my layouts reflect that.  I create layouts that anyone could copy for themselves.  I'm a simple practical kind of person in every way. You'll never see a layout with hours of intensive techniques or tons of product that over shadows the photos.  I'm also not in to anything too messy.  I'm just simply me telling my stories one page at a time.

Now I'd like to pass you on to three of my favorite scrapbookers, who will, in turn, continue the “tour” next Monday, Oct 13th. Be sure to check them out and leave them a little love telling them where you found them.

Barb - http://www.supermamascraps.blogspot.com
Sarah - http://yoorcrafty.blogspot.com/
Shelly - Just One Pretty Piece