When I was first confronted with the idea of scrapbooking I admit I was completely unresponsive and uninterested. It wasn’t until a friend waved a copy of a then recent magazine under my nose that I began to reconsider those preconceptions of what scrapbooking is and gave it ‘a go’! Those magazines provided me with a lot of the inspiration and ideas that I needed to get started scrapbooking and by reading every single materials list for every single layout, I began to get a feel for which products and styles were most to my liking.
As a result, I would definitely say I am a ‘product-inspired’ scrapper. A new box of goodies to play with will usually have me firmly planted in my scrapping chair within minutes. I've come to know which products work best for me and which ones get those creative juices flowing;
- SEI products are an all-time favourite of mine. The double-sided patterned papers are sturdy and strong and seem to withstand my rough-and-ready approach to scrapbooking. I like to scrapbook fast and sometimes the flimsier papers suffer as a result!
- Heidi Swapp products work well in that they are generally designed to be altered. I love to combine products in unconventional ways and the ability to paint, sand, ink and adhere combinations of products works very much in favour of Heidi’s range of embellishments.
- Chipboard products have always found a place on my layouts. Whether they be Li’l Davis Designs, Pressed Petals, BasicGrey or Scenic Route, I have some in my stash!
- Bling! Bling! I've been a fan of anything shimmery and sparkly since beginning scrapbooking. I haven't quite stretched that attraction as far as glitter, but jewels and sequins are often featured on my scrapbooking layouts and projects.
I created the ‘Today I Scrap’ layout as an example of my own unique style. I have incorporated clusters of embellishments and plenty of bling! I've used a fairly ‘busy’ BasicGrey patterned paper as the foundation for my layout and mixed in several other ‘scraps’ of patterned paper. I'm definitely not afraid to mix-it-up a little!
‘Violin Girl’ also demonstrates my preference for clustering – it incorporates hand cut elements from the ‘Scrumptious’ range of papers by Sassafrass Lass along with chipboard, Tinseltown florals (Li’l Davis Designs), Heidi Swapp jewels and rubons.
It is also clear that I like to use big, often single photos on a layout. I LOVE to take photos and become quite attached to each one that I painstakingly edit and print. I'm not opposed to multiple photo layouts, in fact quite the opposite, but when I find a photo that particularly ‘speaks’ to me, I do like to honour it with a layout all of its own!
‘Ashleigh’ is a recent favourite layout of mine. It was created for Scrapbook Creations magazine and feature on last month’s cover. It is a simple layout featuring a beautiful photo and some of her favourite products.
I decided to share this particular layout as it just so happens that it was created almost exactly a year ago! I was surprised to notice how much her style had changed, but how my taste in scrapbooking products, hadn’t! Strano ribbon is still an important part of my stash as are my Heidi Swapp and SEI products.
Isn’t it funny how easily addictions can stick?!
