Community Forums Username: Kathie_d

Blog Address: http://kathied.blogspot.com

I am married and have 4 children (3 teenage daughters and a 10 year old son), with my first grandchild (a boy) due in just a few weeks! I work full time as a nurse in an ICU on night shifts, so this craft is a perfect stress release for me. Besides scrapbooking I love to take pictures, spend time with my family, walk our dogs with my husband, travel and meet new friends.

I vary my scrapbooking style depending on my mood, the products I’m using and my desired look: sometimes shabby, romantic, playful, rarely completely clean. I love to try new techniques and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t but it’s fun trying! My favorite technique... Do I have to pick just one? I guess I would have to say layering has to be my fav... love to layer all those goodies, but not so much that it takes away from the project.

If I was stranded on a remote island, I would need a stack of fun paper from a variety of my favorite manufacturers (which include ? Rusty Pickle, Cosmo Cricket, Scenic Route, We are Memory Keepers), straight scissors, scalloped scissors, adhesive gun, glue dots, black ink & buttons, I could keep myself busy with these few basic supplies!

My process for scrapbooking: most of my projects start with the photos and the emotion I feel from them, then I usually come up with the title for the page, then the fun of creating with just the and choosing paper and colors to compliment it... but sometimes it is the chipboard or paper that sparks an idea. As for snacking... I’m too messy, LOL. So I usually just have a cup of coffee and keep it far away from my projects. I usually scrap late into the night when the house is quiet and all are asleep. I don't scrap in any particular order, it is just way to overwhelming for me to force order into a time of creativity. I do find mini albums as a perfect way to summarize a year, or event... that is about as organized as I get.

I am inspired by products and photos, but also many online galleries and magazines spark ideas for projects. My favorite thing about scrapbooking is the wonderful friends that I have made all over the world, it is such a fun supportive creative outlet!

Check out my video I made for a little inspiration, demonstrating an acrylic project!

JUDGE'S NOTES:

How can one person have such a perfect blend of trendy techniques and balanced design? All of her work has fantastic conceptual forethought. I adore all the fun ways she uses pattern paper! Oh, and did you notice the way she cropped the photo in the ‘motherhood’ layout? Love that! Such a cute idea for a mini book- ‘little monsters’ - I’m going to do this! We definitely need somebody with her fresh style on the team!