Introducing our new creative team members ...

Introducing our new creative team ...

Rather than do the usual bio's I gave them all a series of scrappy related questions and asked them to answer a couple for me ...


Aubrie - USA
http://www.scraphappi.blogspot.com/

Do you have a must use tool you can't get by without? Other than the basics, my absolute favorite tool is my Zutter Distrezz it All.  It makes edge distressing so much quicker.  And, it is always a head-turner when I go to crops because it sounds a bit like a table saw!

If you could ask any scrapbooking personality to a crop day at your house who would it be and why? This is a no-brainer for me.  I want to scrap with Tim Holtz.  I have a million of his products, and would love his insight on different ways to use them.  The man could market toilet paper and I'd probably buy it! 

What got you started on your memory keeping journey? I've been scrapping since I was in junior high.  It started with albums where I'd include keepsakes. I worked on the school yearbook in both highschool and college, which is basically scrapping in a different format.   I switched to 12X12 album format in early college, some 15 or so years ago.  Since then I have amassed a stash of scrapbook goodies, and it just keeps growing.  Sometimes I think I have a serious hording problem! 

Do you have a distinct style or tend to go where your creativity takes you? I'd like to think I go where my creativity takes me, but I clearly tend toward distressed and inked pages these days.  A few years baack I made a deliberate effort to do more distressed, dimentional pages.  That seemed to open my creativity up so much, and now I have a hard time doing a page that does  NOT involve some kind of distressed element.  I've tried to emulate a more "clean" style, using negative space on the page, because I adore that look.  But, that style just isn't me and it never turns out well.  So, distressed and croweded with multiple elements seems to be my style...although the degree varies from page to page.  

Leanne - Australia
 http://leanne555.blogspot.com.au/

Do you work in long sessions or snatches of time?  I am unfortunately one of those people who get an idea in my head and it has to be finished before I go to bed, or else I can’t get to sleep.  Snatches of time....what’s that? I think I have been in my room scrapping away for about an hour and then realise it has been more like 3 hours...oops!

Do you prefer recording family memories or everyday life?  A bit of both I suppose. I love to scrap about the simple everyday things that we tend to forget as the years go by. They are usually stories about what my 5 Grand Children get up to and I must admit it is fun to look at my albums with them and have a laugh!

Do you have a distinct style or go where your creativity takes you?  I wished I did have a distinct style.....life might be easier! I just go with what pops into my head and go from there. I do prefer to do bright and colourful pages.

If you could ask any scrapbooking personality to a crop day at your house who would it be and why?  I think Lizzy Hill.....just love her sense of humour! I am in awe of her ability to scrap any style with ease. She has a knack of knowing just where to put what and I would love to see her in action! I just love her work.

Deb - Australia

http://www.deefa-debz.blogspot.com.au/

What time of the day do you prefer to work? and why?  I almost always scrap during the day, particularly in the morning and very rarely do I scrap into the night.   Mostly I like to finish my project once I start (well that is always the plan) and as I’m an early riser and definitely not a night owl, I find scrapping at night doesn’t work for me.

Do you work in long sessions or snatches of time?   I normally choose to scrap on days when I don’t have much else planned so that I can sit and create for a couple of hours at a time.  Because I use paint, mists etc on the background quite a bit, the drying time is what stretches out the time I take to do a page as I normally let it dry in it’s own time.   Mostly once the wet bits are dry, I do the majority of a layout in one sitting  but do leave it on the desk to add maybe some little extras later if I think it needs it.   

What do you regard as your scrapbooking strength?  Scrapbooking strength ... hmmmm ... I think I have gained, over the years, the strength to be happy with the not-so-perfect page and the thing that helped me get to that stage quite a few years back now,  was taking the step to “doodle” on my layouts.  Until this time, I totally disliked even the small amount of hand journaling I did on my pages and the thought of doodling on the page – well that thought didn’t really enter my mind.  What if I messed it up!    Now-a-days, I rarely re-do a layout or start  again.  A lot of the pages that I am most happiest with are the ones that haven’t gone to plan and I’ve created something from the “mistake” if I can call it that.

Do you have a distinct style or tend to go where your creativity takes you?  I think I have found what I am most happiest with but always find it hard to describe.   I love “shabby” very much and I feel most of my pages end up that way.   I like getting messy mostly and just adding little bits that, to someone else, might not really fit but to me it is just what the page needs.  



Di - Australia

http://mytawnyinspirations.blogspot.com.au/

Do you have a favourite manufacturer?  papers / cardstock: Fabscraps, Graphic 45, Prima and Basic Grey. Quite often I choose to use the reverse side of these papers, because often they have very interesting designs/patterns.  Stamps; Darkroom Door and Chocolate Baroque  Ranger / Tim Holtz products (especially inks, stains and sprays)

Do you have a must use tool you can't get by without? Most used tool that I now couldn't do without is my Sizzix Big Shot (with the longer plates).

Do you work in long sessions or snatches of time? I prefer to scrapbook /craft in longer sessions, especially if things are going according to plan. If no one else is at home during the day I'll craft then, otherwise I'll do it a bit later in the evening. However, this varies depending on what I'm doing and if it needs drying time.

What do you regard as your scrapbooking strength? I feel that my strength is the ability to step outside the box, look for ways to incorporate different products and being willing to explore through experimentation and play. At the moment. I am exploring more mixed media creations, zentangle designs and canvases.

Kylie - Australia

http://kyliegwseekingrainbows.blogspot.com.au/

Which trends (past or present) have you particularly liked or loathed?  I don't know whether I loath any trend, but I think its a shame when the prettiness of the page, and dumping of tonnes of embellies takes control over the storytelling of the page. I think every page and every photo has its own story and I like to record this story. Not just by writing a few notes on the back of the layout. I loved it when paint and particularly spraying came in. It opened a whole new world to me.

What time of the day do you prefer to work? and why?  I do my best work at night or on weekends. Depending on the weather, if I can start scrapping at 11am on a Saturday and go into the afternoon I would probably turn out my best work. That said, I have been able to turn out pages at night from 7pm onwards, but rarely on week days because my full time job leaves me too tired and because I sit in front of a computer all day at work, I don't want to when I get home!

What do you regard as your scrapbooking strength?  Colours, placement, and storytelling. It took me ages to train myself on the first two. Some time, I'll tell you how I did that. I always like to be a bit different too, so I am always looking outside the square. I am also lucky to have had training on graphics applications about 15 years ago, which I still draw on today.

What got you started on your memory keeping journey?   This is a good question. I think a combination of personal tragedy and epic realisation got me started. When I realised that I was probably never going to get married and have kids and have no one to pass onto who I was and what I was like, and what I was all about, then I took to scrapbooking like a duck to water.

Welcome to all our new ARTastic teamies -  we are going to have an awesome year.

You still have time to get your layouts in for January.  We would love to see our gallery overflowing with your creations.  We also have some awesome prizes to give away and one of them could very easily be winging it's way to you. You have until 11.55pm January 31 to get those entries in.