Judges' Notes

I love the simple style of her layouts. Everything about them is perfect, color? Check! Design? Check! Craftsmanship? Check! Composition? Check! Focus and direction? Check! She has a great way of sharing the story of her subject through handwritten journaling that is beyond who and when. The cards are so interesting, I like the way she has fashioned a flower on one card and a banner on the other out of pattern papers. Elizabeth’s photo and flower garland is really fun- love the plated flower lollipops and the photo combination. I’m excited to see what kinds of things Elizabeth will create on the design team.

Username:wiederspohn

Blog:http://scrappingappetite.blogspot.com/

I scrapbooked my first page in 1997 in the basement of a friends house. We were stamping cards and I decided to give scrapbooking a try. I often have random thoughts like this. It is OK. It makes me more creative. The page had one photo on it and I used the same flower stamp over and over. Let’s just say I have improved a little.

I would describe my style as clean, deliberate, and simple. I spend a lot of time thinking and collecting ideas for my next page. I also love to group items and use contrasting colors. My photos are the focus and I love clean lines and a good collection of embellishments.

If I were to share a single technique I love with everyone it would be that I ink and sand the edges of everything! It is a hidden talent of mine.

Stranded on a remote island I would take my computer with a very long extension cord. I consider my computer a great scrapbooking tool. Blogs, ads, my friend Diana, and product websites all inspire me to create different pages and projects. I also couldn’t live without my stash of papers, my Making Memories cutting board, ATG glue dispenser, Cutterbee scissors, Tim Hotz Tiny Attacher, white paint, black and brown ink pads, Zig writers, sanding paper, and my Threading Water border punch.

The greatest moment in scrapbooking is when I get the warm fuzzy feeling after I finish a page or project and share it with my husband and friends.

If there is one thing I have learned over the past years it is that not every layout or project has to be perfect and there is no such thing as a mistake. Mistakes are just chances to be more creative.

Currently my favorite paper lines are from October Afternoon, My Minds Eye, Pink Paislee, Jenni Bowlin, and American Crafts. I also love the embellishments from Making Memories and Tim Holtz.

I scrapbook chronologically and I start my creative process by organizing my photos by event or project into it’s own large storage bag, then I pull out papers that inspire me and any ideas or pieces of inspiration I have collected and make each event or set of photos into their own little kit. This way I can grab and go. I usually pick out 6-10 embellishments and ribbons and challenge myself to only use those supplies. This saves me a lot of time. Journaling and titling my layout is the last thing I do because I usually reminisce about the photos the entire time I am making the layout giving me good ideas to write about. After I feel the page is done, I push myself to add at least one more item to my page. I often Scrapbook with my scrap-friend Diana, while watching movies with my husband, and with my 5 year old. At crops I usually have a Starbucks iced mocha with a pump of caramel in my hands. Starbucks coffee inspires me to do great things.

My inspiration is everywhere in everyday life. I take many page ideas from ads, blogs and product packaging. I recently took an idea from a quilting show on television.

Over the years I have developed a few habits or "quirks." I only print my photos in matte. (Shine is for embellishments.) When at a crop, I always have to look through all the pages I finished there at the crop before starting a new one. My friend and I call it the “flip.” I also only journal with my Zig Writer in brown or black ink. There is a difference in pens and no, not all pens are created equal.

I am loyal, stubborn, and creative I usually get a couple of hours a week to scrapbook after the kids go to bed. If I would like “help” I can scrapbook more often. I also get to crop with my good buddy Diana once a month for 6hrs. My scrapspace is a 5’deep x7’wide closet. We built the closet especially for my scrapbooking so all the shelving is heavily reinforced to hold tons of organizational units and paper. I’m not sure but I think I might be able to stand on those shelves. The best part of it all is that the closet closes so I can start a project and then leave it and close the doors and my one year old son can’t get to it…yet. The closet is neatly set off my family room and is stuffed to the brim but well organized. If it were possible for any song to play when I walked into the room it would be The Newsboys’ “Wherever I Go That’s Where The Party’s At.”