Exciting News!

This vacation has been such a blessing! My husband has been off all this week. How am I having time to do any scrapbooking with a two year old in the house? Well, I have a couple of hours while Ethan is asleep to play on the computer or in the studio. Dave and I even had a date last night! I am even able to edit a wedding during some down time. It is amazing... I guess staying at home on this vacation has been fun! Last night I got two layouts done...

God has been good this week. I am still waking up in the morning asking myself if it is true... but they announced it on their blog today. There is my name on the list, so I guess it must be true. I am so grateful and thankful.

Create Well: When God gives you your gifts, let Him use them. Then give Him the glory for the blessings He gives you for listening to Him in the first place.

December Daily Pages

I decided to share some more of my December Daily pages. Do you know what happens when I take too long to do the journaling on my personal blog, edit, and upload pictures? I end up just having fun with the mini book - that's what! In fact, it just dawned on me that these new pages don't even have pictures. LOL!

I shared with you here some of my other pages and the inspiration behind this album. I need to print more pictures and finish it up. It is already getting nice and thick!

These pages are also inspired by Vee. I am telling you, that gal is pure inspiration. Plus, I got permission from Lain to scraplift when I want, where I want. LOL!

Create Well: Lain says it's ok...

Evans Photography: New Look!

I am so excited to announce that our Evans Photography website has a new look! Take a look and come back here to let me know what you think!

We are also scheduling Winter 2010 and beyond. We will travel anywhere in the Willamette Valley (contact us for travel information). Our promotion for the winter is refer a friend and get 20% off your session. Excludes wedding packages. Contact us at davenjen@wbcable.net to set up an appointment today!

Guest Designer: Lain Ehmann

This week's guest designer is Lain Ehmann, CEO and co-founder of  Ella Publishing Company, an online publisher aimed at creating awesome digital products for memory keepers. Lain is former contributing editor with Simple Scrapbooks magazine and author of two books on scrapbooking, Snippets: Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking (CKMedia, 2009) and (with co-author Stacy Julian) 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers (Ella Publishing Co., 2009).

Lain's story inspired me today. The last couple of days I have realized that some of my family doesn't quite get what goes into scrapbooking a layout. They look at my work with a raised eyebrow and say, "Oh. Wow. That's nice." Lain reminded me of why I scrapbook...
 

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

First, you need to know that I'm a speed scrapper! My mantra is, "If I can't get it done in the length of one "Barney" video, it's not getting done!" Most of my pages take between 30-45 minutes.

I am fairly linear and simple, but I try to add a little something unexpected. I love mixing up the linear design with polka dots and scallops, and adding a little bit of whimsy. Think Becky Higgins on laughing gas!

We Need a Little Christmas: 8.5 x 11 digital

materials patterned paper, reindeer (Holliewood Christmas Pop) + journaling block (Ali Edwards Hello Life) + word art (Cherie Mask) + stitching (Ashalee Wall) + circle rub-on and tag (Crystal Wilkerson Office Supplies) + date tab (Katie Pertiet)

What inspires you to be creative?

It's just something inside me! I've always loved color, words, and text, but never considered myself "artistic." Scrapbooking was a terrific discovery in that it allowed me to combine my love of color, words, and storytelling, all together – and it doesn't matter that I can't draw a straight line!

Patterned paper, word art, heart border (Weeds & Wildflowers Design) + patterned paper (Lynn Grieveson, Percentage Wise) + CKAli's Hand font + digital page by Lain Ehmann (http://www.getscraphappy.com/)

Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why?

I used to be so obsessed with the "famous" designers, wanting to create in the same way they did. But after 12 years of scrapbooking, I think I've finally found my "voice." I still admire other scrapbookers (Sara Winnick, Margaret Scarbrough, Beth Proudfoot, Jody Wenke, Cheryl Overton, Celeste Smith, Emilie Ahern, and Paula Gilarde are some faves), but I don't beat myself up for not scrapbooking like them! (Note: Many of those scrapbookers can be found at http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/).

What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now?

I love orange! I also am addicted to neutral backgrounds with brights… aqua, orange, lime green… yum!

What is your creative process?

I start in one of two places – I either feel the urge to create something, so then I'll leaf through magazines or online galleries for something to grab me, and then I'll create a layout based VERY loosely on something I find that sparks my interest. Or I have a story I have to tell, so I find the photo(s) to fit and go from there.

A True Story

 (This is a great example of having a story I just HAD to get down. This, to me, is what scrapbooking is all about!)Ami Collofello, Katie Pertiet, and Weeds & Wildflowers.

What is your story that you are trying to tell?

I mainly scrapbook about my kids – the little moments are my favorite, like when I asked my five-year-old to help her sister clean up the kids' snow clothes and she responded, "Mom, I've got my own problems!" Twenty years from now, we'll all know they had birthdays and that we celebrated Christmas and all the holidays, but we won't necessarily remember those little moments.

I encourage others to document what matters to them. If they want to be a "birthday" scrapbooker, that's totally fine. If they want to throw out all their supplies and just do photo books, great! Find a way that works for you. The important thing is to DO SOMETHING with your memories and your photos. Don't let them languish on your hard drive (or in your brain). Get them out so others can enjoy them!

How can you inspire others to "Create well"?

I'm big on permission! Give yourself permission to have fun with this hobby:

1. Permission to scrap the way you want to (every day or once a year).

2. Permission to find your own style or just scraplift whatever you like, whenever you like.

3. Permission to use the products you love RIGHT NOW instead of waiting for a special occasion (which will never come!).

4. Permission to create "less than perfect" pages.

5. Permission to take a break if you need to!


First and foremost, scrapbooking should be fun. That means letting go of obligations, "shoulds" and "must haves." Instead, just do it the way you like.

Of course, there will be times when you want to learn a new skill or technique, or experiment, or try to become a "better" scrapbooker. But to me, that just means scrapbooking more. Find your groove! Check out what other people do and how they do it. Figure out what grabs you about a layout you see in a magazine or online. Do you like the color combo? The photograph? The journaling? The title? Analyze what you like and why, and then try to bring that into your own scrapbooking!

I strongly encourage everyone to take part in my "Layout a Day" challenge in Feb. 2010. We commit to scrapbooking a page a day for the month, and we share our results in a private gallery. You'll get daily emails, support from a team of like-minded crazy scrappers, and meet some of the nicest scrapbookers anywhere! Email me at lainehmann@comcast.net or watch my blog for more details.


Follow Lain on her blog, Five Things, on Facebook, on Twitter, Flickr, and at the Write. Click. Scrapbook collective. Besides scrapbooking, she adores knitting and reading and her family (three kids, one husband). Lain also just moved from California to Boston and says, "...so expect to see me online a lot this winter."

Create Well: DO SOMETHING with your memories and your photos. Don't let them languish on your hard drive (or in your brain). Get them out so others can enjoy them!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! I pray that you take this time to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus! I am so thankful to be where I am today because of Him!

Supplies - Adobe Photoshop CS2; Template: Fei-fei's Stuff; Patterned Paper & Embellishments: Amy Wolf, Paislee Press, & Meridith Fenwick (Song Bird December 2009 Kit); Label: Lenora Stanford; Holiday Script: Ali Edwards; Twisted stitching: Katie Pertiet

I *Heart* Digital

Here are two more digital pages I worked on today for my December Daily album. The last layout is one just for fun since I am going to be missing Becca while she is gone for Christmas. I am loving digital scrapbooking so much that I am surprised that I didn't get into it sooner.

Create Well: Try to use digital scrapbooking as you would with your own traditional pages. Use your own sketches to kick off your creativity in Photoshop.

December Daily Pages

I don't think I would have ever started my December Daily mini album if it wasn't for Vee. I just found her blog last week and have been so inspired! (Seriously, I scraplifted most of these pages from her designs.) I have been so busy doing the journaling and photos everyday on my personal blog that I haven't been inspired to do the traditional pages. I just didn't feel excited. Now, I am! I am doing the pages out of order and they are going to be mixed media. I am going to upload a Blurb book for this year's account. So, I wanted to have fun with it and do some cool pages just for me!

I Do

Craft Warehouse sent us our next assignment and I am so excited about it! My Mind's Eye new Life Stories line is amazing! I found this photo of me on my wedding day... Dave was just getting into photography and learning a lot about how to use a camera. We didn't own an SLR at the time so our photographer let Dave take some photos. (We loved that guy! He taught some photography classes in town and Dave took some when we got our Canon). I love this photo because I know Dave took it. It is actually my favorite shot out of the 1000 pictures we got!

Supplies- Patterned paper, diecuts & journal tags: My Mind's Eye; Flowers, leaves & bling: Prima Marketing; Alphas: American Crafts; Eyelets & Crop n Dile; Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger Inc.; Other: ribbon, muslin, pearls, and thread

Create Well: Find a photo you love. If it inspires you use it.

Immeasurable Ways

I wanted to share with you something special that happened this weekend! I have been recording my December Daily on my personal blog. I wanted to share with you the journal entry for the layout below:

Today was Saint Nicholas day. I want Ethan to know who Saint Nicholas was; he was a man who loved God and shared the love of God with those around him. After we read a couple of stories about the real Santa Claus, Ethan decided he wanted to be Saint Nicholas too!

This is a new tradition I want to start. I found dollar store stockings and had him fill them with oranges and some chocolate gold coins. Then, Ethan wrote Merry Christmas on the Christmas cards we had made a couple of weeks ago.

It was such a challenge for Ethan to sneak quietly to our neighbors' house. He tried really hard. We just left them at the door.


Doesn't he look so sweet as Saint Nicholas?

                               

I also wanted to share what happened yesterday: So yesterday was one of the best days I can remember in a long while! We started the morning by going to church. We were able to drive to church in my car; I am so thankful! Afterwards, when we pulled into our driveway, we could see from the car that the stocking that we dropped off earlier in the week was back on our doorstep, filled again! Ethan yelled out, "Saint Nicholas was here!" So, Ethan brought the stocking inside and we got to watch him open it up. It was so awesome to see him so excited about the fruit.

There was a card inside the stocking that read, "We didn't miss the moment of you teaching Ethan how to share! You are great parents and wonderful neighbors. God bless you"

I started to cry when I read the card... I was touched. It means a lot to me to see Ethan learning how to show love to others. Then, for it to come right back around to him in the same week. He really understood what it meant to show God's love and kindness. Then, two hours later, our other neighbor knocked on our door and gave us a gift bag filled with baked goodies! Look! This didn't happen last year. See how just showing kindness and love becomes contagious?! Totally awesome! We aren't going to keep the stocking. We are going to fill it again and give it out this week. It shouldn't just stop at us, right? God's love needs to be shared again and again...


Create Well: Spread some of God's love this week. It may come back to you in in immeasurable ways.

Guest Designer: Stephanie Howell

This week's designer, Stephanie Howell, is real. I love how she thrives on living the moment with her family. (Those that have loved ones in the military know what I am talking about.) It is easy to forget how precious our time with our family truly is. Stephanie's story is one that inspires me; she captures those moments and through her bright and cheerful designs makes something beautiful out of something that could be difficult.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style? A good friend of me told me that my style is “soul scrapping” because I put a bit of my heart into each and every layout. I LOVE this. I don’t have a typical style…graphic, shabby, etc. I do think I’m somewhat simple with a touch of vintage. Modern vintage maybe. I don’t really do techniques, I just make meaningful layouts that make my heart happy.

What inspires you to be creative? It’s my sanity. Honestly. The only thing that is “all mine”. I love making things for my children and for my family. But that quiet creative time is priceless. Also, the funny things my girls do inspire me. So many things I want to get down on paper…so little time. ;)

Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why? Jenni Bowlin will always be my very favorite scrapbooker. I’ve adored her for years. I love every single thing she does. She does vintage without it seeming dated. She also puts her heart into everything she makes.

What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now? Hmm. I always love using teal, or tiffany blue.

What is your creative process? I have no process. No sketching, no note taking, no design rules. I pretty much do whatever works at the time…whatever makes me happy.

What is your story that you are trying to tell? How can this inspire others? Be true to yourself. Don’t get caught up in what the “in thing/product” is. Stay authentic. Make things that your family will treasure. Tell the stories, share the moments.

Growing up with a ridiculously artistic mother, Stephanie tried and abandoned many crafts in frustration before she finally stumbled onto scrapbooking and fell in love. She made a few scrapbooks (in the loosest sense of the term) when she was in college, but truly became obsessed when she was pregnant with her first daughter. Scrapbooking is her therapy and has gotten her through six of her husband’s overseas deployments.


Stephanie has been published in Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook and Cards Today, Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers and Scrapbook Trends magazines. She designs for Lily Bee, Jenni Bowlin, and Studio Calico and has guest designed for a multitude of wonderful companies.

Stephanie lives in Georgia and is married to Jimmy, who is a Captain in the army. She is also a stay-at-home mom to Harper Elizabeth, who is three, and Sadie Caroline, who is almost two. In her spare time, she loves antiquing, reading, and watching reality tv (her dirty little secret). She dreams of learning to sew, embroider, knit, quilt, and cook (well). But most of all, she loves just being together as a family, and she relishes those moments…as they are few and far between.

You can also follow Stephanie on her blog, Just Me and My Soldier and our Two Little Chicks.

Create Well: Make things that your family will treasure. Tell the stories, share the moments.

December Daily

The last few days I have been busy getting ready for the Christmas program at church. Our house is also for sale and so I have been busy getting it ready to show. The best part was that I set aside a couple of hours before bed last night to do some traditional pages for my December Daily album. I can't wait to get photos of the pages. I was totally inspired this week by a few designers and couldn't stop sketching all day!

I document every day in December on my personal blog, but I thought I would share some of the digital pages I did with Ali's templates. I printed them for the first time this week (I have all my pages professionally printed) and couldn't believe the quality! I am loving digital more everyday!

With these pages, I am printing them as they are and adding them into my album. I will add a few traditional elements but mostly my book will have a mix of these with traditional pages. How are you documenting the season?

Create Well: How will you document your traditions for your family to treasure and remember forever?

Evans Photography: It's Christmas!

Boy, we have been craft-crazy here at home. We finished all our homemade gifts last week and this week I have been focused on the Christmas event I am directing at church. We are doing A Night In Bethlehem which is going to be such a blast! But my kitchen is filled with paper leaves, wreaths, 100 paper bags to fill and tie off, scrolls, tops, and fabric everywhere! I am making our census takers wreath headbands with ribbon and silk leaves. I tried mine on and I love it so much I might keep it on for the next week! ;)

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas tree. I just can't stop adding to it. ;) I put a lot of gifts on ornaments or right on the tree. It makes me able to enjoy my art a little longer before they are given away to family!

There is my favorite tree ornament that Martha, from Vintage Trifles, made (the framed altered art). Not quite what I had in mind when I bought it. But, it looks great to have some quirky things in the tree.

Create Well: Like it a lot? Have it displayed in your home, or in my case, wear it for a few days. ;)

Guest Designer: Wilna Furstenberg

This week's guest designer is talented Wilna Furstenberg. For those readers who are papercrafters, Wilna is no stranger. She designs for Making Memories, Two Peas Digital Design Team, and Creative Therapy. She is also this month's Guest Design Team Member for My Minds Eye. Her art is creative, bold, unique, and she sets the trend! She is so witty and sweet, she makes you just want to get to know her more. Not only does her art and personality shine, so does her spirit! She loves the Lord and shouts it!

My name is Wilna Furstenberg. I grew up in South Africa, in 1991 I met and married Jaco who is still my heartbeat. When we got married, he was second year med school and shortly after that I decided to go to University too (he was having way too much fun) and we both graduated in 1996: he in medicine and me in fine arts. In 1997 we had our first girl, Tia. Even today we wonder what we did to deserve such a sweet child. Of course I tell my husband she takes after me. His response to that remark was not very gentlemanly (which just proves my point). Anyway, in 1999 Kirstin was born. She is the organizer and fashionista in the house. Jana (from our names JAco and wilNA) is our last born. I think if I was not as strong willed as I am, Jana would have her own Credit card. Yes, I said no. In 2005 we moved to Canada. I joked about our coming to Canada to all my friends: the only reason I am coming is to win the scrapbooking hall of fame. And in 2006 I won HOF. After that I have just been making pages and enjoying the journey. We live in Saskatchewan: it really gets very cold here (-40 degrees celsius). Jana learnt early on not to lick the fence when it's that cold. In April this year we got a Mini schnauzer. We all totally adore him and his name is Mac. Just because I love mac computers. Very, very much. A last few facts about me: I homeschool our girls. It's one of the best things I ever decided to do...i love it! I love coffee and right now I am not having any because I read this book that told me how bad coffee is for you. I hate that book. I also love cookies... same thing... same book, now I even like the book less. I am so happy that we dont have to eat scrapbook papers! We can just enjoy it by being creative!

How would you describe your scrapbooking style? One word that comes to my mind when I look at my scrapbook pages collectively is Lyrical. Lyrical means "expressive of deep emotion, of personal nature" and another meaning is "poetic." I love the combination of words and art on my pages and try as I might, I just cannot change those two aspects of scrapbooking for me. Lyrical also refers to the romantic in me. I love subtle colors and muted tones.

What makes your style your own? I think the way I combine things. In some strange way, each page looks different, but there is some aspects that make them the same: I love to use only one photo on my layouts (always expect sometimes). I love to work in linear aspects. I always use text as part of the design. I tend to group embellishments. I love muted colors.. as opposed to bold patterns.

What inspires you to be creative? Oh, many things! Pretty scrapbook product, paper or digital. I love a good photo that speaks a 1000 words. I love the idea of producing and leaving a legacy. I create to tell my stories. To teach my girls in my own way how much God loves them. I create to bless.
 

Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why? I have many. Right now in digital it’s Carina Gardner and Chelsea Parsons. I love the freshness of their designs. I love the subtly of the colors. I just want to say my favorites change weekly! In paper it’s Making Memories, My Minds Eye, Sassafras, Cosmo Cricket and the one and only Jenni Bowlin. Personally I love lines and collections that helps you tell the stories and are great supporting actors and let my pictures + words be the main character.


What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now? I am so into browns, greens, and blues right now. With splashes of red and happy colors.

What is your creative process? I usually start with the papers. Then I would choose pictures that will work with it. That’s one reason why I love digital scrapbooking so much. I can change a layer in under 10 seconds. But with traditional paper, I would stack the page without adhesive and see how things go together. Sometimes I would “test” the photo and embellishments on different background papers. So, in a way I would compile the page totally until it works and them adhere everything.

What is your story that you are trying to tell? How can this inspire others? This is an easy one for me. I tell the story in my pages that we are innocent and in favor with God. This is my bottom line. We have a savior in Jesus that paid an incredible price for us to be able to stand before the father and have confidence. We are important to our Father. This message comes in lots of shapes and forms, but is always the same. We are so completely and utterly loved.

How can you inspire others to "Create well"? The thing is this: we all have a story to tell. We all have something in our heart that propels us forward. The good news of Jesus is so in the forefront of my life and has been for so many years, it’s all I want to talk about. And somehow it flows into my scrapbooking. Someone else might have something else that makes them jump out of bed in the morning. Whatever that is, live it with passion. You will then create well.

From her blog, My heART, you can get artist inspiration, spiritual inspiration, but also a good laugh now and then! You can also follow Wilna at Facebook and Twitter!

Create Well: What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? Whatever that is, live it with passion.

Spread Christmas Cheer

My brother-in-law's grandmother, Betty, is fighting cancer this Christmas. If you would ask her how she is doing she would tell you how God has blessed her this week, without one complaint. I have asked Becca if I could share Betty's testimony:

Betty and Austin Kersey have been pillars of faith and an example of Christ's love to their family for decades. Betty loves God and loves others. She is a prayer warrior. When my husband turned his back on God, in his early twenties, Betty went to her knees. Josh had stepped so far into sin, she finally had to tell him he was no longer welcome in her home. She would be there once he made some changes in the right direction. That was the wake-up call he needed to hear. Grandma is a woman of ultimate grace and forgiveness. Josh knew he had disappointed his Grandmother but ultimately he sinned against God. The family jokes that Grandma has a "red phone" connection straight to God. She calls and He listens. We know that in reality, we all have direct "red phones" to our Lord and Savior. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Grandma lives in California and is surrounded by a supportive and loving family. When I talk to her about her treatment and how she is feeling, she only has praise to give. I cry when I think of her sweet and loving spirit. In the midst of everything she is going trough, she would rather hear my news and lift me up in prayer than dwell on her circumstances.

A month ago I spoke with Grandma and she had requested some cards. Her letter came a week or so later. The dear letter explained that her original request was more of an offer of ideas. Though she would love a few cards to share with others, she has been reflecting on how the greeting card industry doesn't have too many cards to those ill people who may not "get better soon". She says, "the cards in the stores "don't cut it" most of the time for serious ill people who may not "get well soon" or not at all - this should be remembered in any greeting card."

Becca and I have been sending Betty some cards to give to other people who are suffering from illnesses who may not "get well soon." In sending her some cards to give to others, we will be encouraging her at the same time. I am asking as you create your Christmas cards, design team cards, or other cards that you would think of Betty and her new friends she has found during treatment. Could you help her spread Christ's love? If you would like to send a card (blank inside) to Betty, email me so I can get her address to you at createoften@hotmail.com.

The most important thing to remember, as we make cards, is to not only enjoy the creative process but pray over the recipient of the card. God knows every detail of what they are going through, even though we may not. Trust that He knows and He cares!

It's Finished!

It's almost ready to be ordered! I am so excited! This project has brought family together that haven't seen or talked in 25 years! I am so blessed to be a part of it!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Let It Snow!

It is so cold here. My theory is that if it is this cold it should at least be snowing! On Saturday, Becca remembered to bring her camera. Good thing, cause now I have pictures of how cold it really is. I think we were outside for fifteen minutes before calling it good. Yesterday, Dave took me to get my birthday present from the photography shop - my scanner! It takes so long to get there that we stopped at the basket slough. It was nice to see a little bit of wildlife while we ate lunch in the car. Then we got out so Ethan could run and burn some energy. Ummm... it was even colder than the day before! So, five minutes later we headed home!

Supplies-  Adobe Photoshop CS2; Patterened Paper: With Love From Mushy; Postage Stamp Frame: Ella Publishing Company; Paint: Paislee Press; Embellishments: Designs By Lili; Let it Snow Stamp: Katie Pertiet

Guest Designer: Elizabeth Carney

This week's guest designer is my dear friend, Elizabeth Carney. Not only does she design for American Crafts, I am a Scrapaholic, Pink Sketches, and Treasured Scrapbooking, she loves the Lord above all!

I’m Elizabeth! I am happily married to a really great guy who serves in the USAF. We’ve got 1 beautiful daughter who’s 12 and two lovable dogs. We currently live in WA and really pray that we end up settling here, we love it so much! I work at Starbucks and love my job! I love Jesus, love to garden, read, and spend time with my family and friends too. I feel extremely blessed to live the life that I do!

How would you describe your scrapbooking style? What makes your style your own?

I know it would be cool if I could actually label my style and I am sure someone can, but I’d have to say that my style evolves and changes as my mood does and what is working for me at the time that it does!! There are basic staples when I scrap such a color, textures, patterns, and elements. I am a huge lover of color because color evokes so many emotions!

I think that everyone’s style is their own, even if you pick up elements that someone else is doing. For instance, I always use a corner rounder somewhere on my work I simply have to use it! I also like to use cardstock as my base and then mix it with patterns to get clean-lined that’s fun! I guess if I had to label it, I’d still say it’s a tossed salad! All the ingredients of elements mixed into a big bowl to create a great project!

What inspires you to be creative?

Dayv actually got me started with scrapbooking, believe that! He did not have a lot of photos of himself growing up and does not have a lot of childhood memories that are photographs. So when we received a magazine in 1998 we sat down together, after he said he wanted me to create scrapbooks of our daughter and our lives and picked out some basic supplies. So my creativity is drawn from my life and those experiences that we live as a family collectively and individually.

I am also drawn to color, textures, and supplies that speak my language! I love bold, bright, fun, and cheery things and there is a HUGE amount of inspiration found in each of those areas that I use to draw up my creativity.

Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why?

I love everyone’s work because you can find something in each project that you’ll find inspiration from!! But I do have a few favorites…. I love Christine Middlecamp’s work because she can layer like no other! I love Danielle Flanders work because it is classy with cute all rolled into one. I love Stephanie Howell’s work because she can tell a story on her pages and draw you in. I also love Sasha Holloway’s work because it’s chalked full of color and fun! Those are just a few who I always find inspiration from at any given time.

What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now?

I am really diggin’ yellows, red, turquoise, and brown.

What is your creative process?

Even though I love to mix things up with my moods, I think I generally always follow the same process. I love getting everything out that I am feeling at that moment. Normally it is papers and then it goes from there to the embellishments, other elements, and lastly photos. I usually scrap a page without a picture. I might have a photo in mind and sometimes I don’t, but the photo normally doesn’t come into play until after the layout is half way or almost completed. Isn’t that weird? Sometimes I don’t even have photos and I am scrapping! I like to get all my supplies out and just “feel” them. I will lay everything out and just start creating.

I also don’t scrap very long. Probably from start to finish, unless it is an altered project I normally do a layout in about 30-45 minutes. If I take longer then I start to second guess myself and end up getting frustrated with it and myself which turns into me not liking it. I also just stick it down right then and there. I don’t put it all over the page to see where I might like it; I just go with what I am feeling at that moment.

My biggest piece of creativity is either looking at a sketch, someone else’s work, a challenge, or project that I am called to do. I always find myself looking at the tiniest of details in any of these areas and creating from there. I don’t copy what it is exactly, but I might take a way someone laid a paper, put a flower, or how the sketch is and turn it all around to make it my own. It spurs on my own creativity by seeing others. That is what I love about scrapbooking!

Another way I am inspired is buying kits. I am a HUGE lover of them because they make it easy on you so you don’t have to spend hours buying things, but it also gives you something to go on. They might send a themed kit, but you can make it what you want, how you want, using what you want. I really enjoy getting a kit in the mail, then laying it all out and looking at it over and over. This gets my creative juices really flowing!

What is your story that you are trying to tell? How can this inspire others?

Mainly I truly believe in being real. It’s important for me to show that to my family, friends, or anyone that looks at my work to see that I am a real person with real issues. Whether they be happy all the time, hard, creating layouts about me or my family, or sharing my love of Jesus. Jesus is a HUGE part of my life and I want to show that through my creations always because He put the creativity there to begin with! Those pieces are a part of me and that is what I want the looker to see when they look inside of me and my work. When you do that, you get a glimpse into who I really am.

That’s a hard question! I don’t normally see myself inspiring others. I truly think that Lord wants us to be humble like that! I just try to do what I feel at the time I am doing it and share the love for this really cool hobby hopefully inspiring others along the way.

How can you inspire others to "Create well"?

Even though I am a huge fan of looking at other people’s work, I think it’s important to find who you are through this really cool hobby! This is another facet of our lives and it’s a pretty important one because at the end of the day we are creating to preserve memories {and using it for our sanity, at least that is what I do!}And it is important to be inspired from you. It’s really okay to like what you are doing, how you do it and the end product as well. I believe that if you truly look within and then allow your creativity to flow outwards, this can and will inspire others to create well! Creating something you love will allow others to glean from that because we all have something to offer!

On Elizabeth's blog, Inside Me, she has this quote, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'". Isn't that what it's all about? Using the gift God gave us to bless our families and others to glorify Him. Elizabeth does just that!

Create Well: Look within and then allow your creativity to flow. Creating something you love will allow others to glean from that because we all have something to offer!