favorite scrapbookers blog tour…

I feel so honored to have been tagged by one of my own favorite designers, Jen Gallacher in a fun "favorite scrapbooker/blogger" tour that has been going around blog land recently.  I’ve been a big fan of Jen’s for a very long time and have been honored to work with her in several different capacities over the years.  Right now we’re working together for Echo Park/Carta Bella Paper…and it’s awesome!! 
First, the Q&A:
1. What am I working on right now?
A better question might be…”what am I not working on right now?”  Seriously, I have so many projects that are “in the works.”  I usually don’t multi-task with my design work – I’m normally a “start one project, finish it, and clean up before I start the next project” kind of girl.  But right now – it’s chaos around here.  Don’t believe me?  Well, just take quick look at my work area:

I won’t say it’s not organized…because, believe it or not, I know exactly which pile contains what I need – I just haven’t taken the time to put the piles away yet.  This is unusual for me – but this is real life…and a glimpse at what I’m working on right now. ;)
2. How long does it take me to create a project?
I am a slooooooooooooow designer.  I feel like Speedy Gonzolas when I’ve completed a project in 3 hours or less.  I tend to overthink things and take longer to get started than I should…but I don’t know how to change that.  So that’s that. 
3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?
Oh goodness, that’s almost like asking me to choose my favorite child!  It’s too hard to choose one or two – so here are several things I’m loving right now (some old, some new):
My Cuttlebug.  I’ve had this thing for years and hardly ever used it, but we’ve been doing a lot of bonding over the last several months and now I can safely say that I LOVE it. :)

My Silhouette Cameo.  Seriously, I LOVE it!  I use it mostly to create bags and boxes and things like that…but I also love cutting shapes and letters with it.

I recently made a pillow at the Doodlebug Design Team Retreat, we used a Silhouette to cut iron-on transfers…and now I want to make more fun pillows..you can never have too many, right?

And all of the fun AUTUMN and CHRISTMAS collections I get to work with right now!




4. How does my writing/creating process work?
This is a hard one to answer.  Since this is my “job” and a lot of my designing is based on assignments, it’s most likely that I will start with product.  Then I will chose photos based on the collection I am working with or the theme that I am assigned.  However, when I am creating something JUST FOR ME, I start with a photo or a story…something special that I want to remember…and work forward by choosing products that support my photo or story.  The second way is my favorite way, but I am flexible. :)
5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
I find inspiration everywhere!  Magazines, books, food packaging, the talented women I work with and so many other talented crafters that I admire from afar.  I love perusing Pinterest and other online galleries.  I find that more often than not, if I just sit down with either a story I want to tell, or a product I am really excited about using, the inspiration will just come.  I guess that is why I love this hobby so much – it’s not a “stretch” for me and I truly enjoy it so much!
6. What is my signature style?
I don’t really know what my “signature” style is…but I will definitely say that I fall in the “cute & simple” spectrum.  I’m not technique-driven…and don’t do a lot of complicated things on my projects.  I like bright colors, clean lines, and straight-forward designs.  I admire ALL styles of scrapbooking and paper crafting, and I’ve tried my hand at many different things, but I always come back to my clean, cute, and simple ways.


I have decided to play by the “three strikes” rule for this blog hop.  I tried to tag some of my favorite scrapbookers to be next on the tour – and they had all been asked already.  SO, here’s the deal…I am tagging ANYONE who is reading this right now. If you would like to hop on board and share a bit about you, please consider  yourself tagged!  If you want to leave a comment, I’ll edit my post to add a link to your blog right here:

Taunya Butler!

Thanks again, Jen, for tagging me to take part in this fun blog hop.  And thanks to everyone else for reading my blog and following along on my scrappy/crafty adventures!

Happy Monday! :)

a little hello card on a monday morning…

It’s a brand new week!  And it’s my turn to take over the Top Dog Dies blog today – hop on over there to read more about this card:

{click on an image for product information}

a photo challenge…

Now, I don’t claim to be a photographer by any means.  I’m a mom who loves to take pictures and document those pictures and the stories behind them through scrapbooking.

I don’t have a lot of technical knowledge. I’ve picked up a few tips from people who are much more talented than myself.  So, without proclaiming any special skills, knowledge, or abilities, I am hosting a little photo challenge on the Two Peas blog right now.

 

It’s all about Black & White conversions and WHY you might want to convert your photos. If you’re interested, you can read all about WHY I converted these three photos to black & white (here).

Check it out HERE in the Two Peas challenge gallery – and if you take me up on the challenge, you just might win a Two Peas gift certificate for yourself!

one of my favorite things…and a challenge…

Good Monday morning!!  I have a fun little project to share with you this morning – and it’s all about LISTS!  If you know me, you know I’m a HUGE list-maker.  I love being able to write up a list of things I need to do and cross them off methodically…it’s one of my happiest moments when I look at a huge list of items that are completely crossed off.  :)  (If that’s weird, please don’t tell me…) 

Anyway, it was my turn to create a layout for the weekly challenge at Two Peas – and guess what the topic was?  Yep, lists!  Now, I suppose when they wrote that topic, they expected someone to make a layout and use a list as the journaling.  Of course, I am not one to create what is expected…so I made a layout that is actually ABOUT lists!

{Check out all those lists!!!}

Of course, not only is the topic about lists…there are lists included as part of the journaling too!

Now the fun part – if you join me over at Two Peas and participate in this challenge, you could win a gift certificate to Two Peas!  All you have to do is create a layout with a list (or you could follow my lead and create a layout about LISTS themselves…or some other quirky obsession you might have).  Just post your layout (here) and then check back to see if you are the random winner!

To see more details, read more about my layout, and see all of the awesome products I used, please click HERE to see everything! :)  I can’t wait to see your ideas and LISTS!!!

join me for a letter sticker challenge…

Hi guys!  I just wanted to pop in super quick to let you know I’m hosting this week’s layout challenge over at Two Peas in a Bucket!  The challenge for this week is to mix & match different letter stickers on a project (something I love to do on my layouts).  Here’s a little peek at my layout:

Please click HERE to see the entire layout and join in the challenge fun.  There’s even a prize that will be awarded to one of the challenge participants!  I can’t wait to see what everyone creates for this challenge!  :)

are you up for a challenge…

If you are, please check out the challenge I’m hosting over at Two Peas.  The challenge is to scraplift a Garden Girl.  I chose to use a layout by Jen Gallacher as my inspiration – you can use the same layout or choose any GG layout for your inspiration!  Click HERE for the details.

You have until midnight on Friday to post your project – a random winner will receive a gift certificate to the Two Peas shop! :)

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