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Guest Designer: Jill Sprott

What I love about this week's guest designer, Jill Sprott, is that she is able to tell her story with her elements, paper, and photographs. She doesn't just make beautiful pages, she also uses each element on her page to enhance her story. Her work moves me to make mine be more than just "some product on a page". I know you will feel the same...


I live on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with my husband Rob and my daughter Zoe. I started scrapbooking over seven years ago out of curiosity, and although it took me a long time to shake off the fear of “messing up,” I kept at it, and I’m glad I did.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

My pages tend to be thematic -- there’s always a message or a central emotion that I am trying to capture. I don’t really plan my pages in some kind of scholarly fashion, designing them to have some kind of symbolic resonance, but they usually end up working out that way. Maybe as an English teacher, I’m just programmed to think in layers of meaning. To that end, I find that I can’t just grab a product and use it -- there needs to be a purpose for it, a reason for including it on that particular page. I suppose my style can best be described as a form of convergence, pulling together “telling” bits and pieces until they click for me, until they all say what I want them to say.


What inspires you to be creative?

E.E. Cummings was right: “Feeling is first”. My creativity is definitely emotionally driven, and my family is the wellspring for much of that emotion. I’m also inspired by time, if that makes sense. The ticking clock pushes me to create in order to provide “a way of remembering that which it would impoverish us to forget,” as Robert Frost once claimed about poetry, and which I think perfectly captures what scrapbooking can do for us as well. When I really need a creative spark, new products usually do the trick. Reading blogs and exploring online galleries can always reignite the mojo, too. My photos can also trigger emotions and ideas, and I just kind of riff off those feelings as I rummage through my stash, trying to pull items together.


Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why?

So many of my favorite scrapbookers have had a formative influence on me, and all of them continue to surprise, delight, and challenge me creatively. I most admire those designers who transform product to work for them, who create a palpable and unique emotional feel on each of their pages, and who regard their words as a crucial element of scrapbooking. These are the designers who set aflutter scrappy little butterflies in me whenever I see their work:

Sasha Farina -- Sasha’s pages are beautifully composed and gloriously vibrant. Not a page of hers goes by that does not elicit a “WOW” from my stunned mouth.

Stephanie Howell -- I think of Stephanie as a “soul scrapper.” She removes the pretense filter and just lays out her truest, rawest thoughts on the page. She also somehow manages to take even the newest products and render a vintage feel from them.

Caroline Ikeji -- I proclaim Caroline the Queen of Color-Pop. She has such a knack for combining patterns and colors in ways that make her already-stunning photos shine.

Lisa McGarvey -- I discovered Lisa during my first year of scrapbooking. There’s something so consistent in her style, yet each one of her pages holds something of the unexpected, too. She has an amazing talent for pulling together multiple photos and a variety of accents and papers, and creating something unified and quirky.

Doris Sander -- Doris’s pages make a sound that goes “click.” Every charming detail falls perfectly into place, accented by her beautiful, flowing hand.

Dina Wakley and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer -- There’s been a longtime debate over whether scrapbookers can/should call what they do “art.” One look at Dina’s and Julie’s pages, and the debate is resolved for me as far as they’re concerned -- ART. ART. ART.
What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now?

I have somewhat of an obsession with green and blue (and not just on my pages, but in my closet, too). Along with kraft and cream, these “baseline” colors seem to show up on almost every single one of my pages. I love their natural, fresh, and comfortable feel. Lately, though, I’ve been finding myself adding more red, pink, and yellow to my pages; still, green and blue always seem to find their way into the mix somehow.


What is your creative process?

It’s a sense of play that ignites and motivates my creative process. I can’t create with an “I-have-to-do-this” attitude; instead, I approach each page with an “I wonder what might happen if...” attitude. Even if I’m working from a sketch, I can’t follow it like a map; I tend to use the ideas that I jot down on paper as a springboard, and then I end up going my own way. There really is no set plan; it’s a “choose your own adventure” kind of plot that I follow, and this allows me to take risks and to be forgiving along the way.


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

My story doesn’t really follow a linear plotline. My story, as it is depicted in my scrapbooks, is usually in medias res (“in the middle of things”) or in flashback mode. I suppose my pages are mementos rather than chapters, fragments rather than a unified whole -- and I’m okay with that. Life is episodic. There’s no need to scrap every photo or spend every free moment with a page-in-progress in front of you; the carpe diem approach better serves us all during the memory-making process than it does the memory-preserving process. Someday, I want to look back on my pages as a love story, not an I-wish-I-had-loved-more story.

How can you inspire others to "create well"?

To “create well” is to “live well.” It means using the gifts you have, building on your strengths, and being the author of your own story -- not striving to be someone else or to directly emulate someone else’s style. Although the vast majority of scrapbookers create our pages in isolation, when we share those pages with others or connect with others’ work, we are participating in a kind of creative exchange of ideas. Within this community, to “create well” involves putting work out there that represents your voice. That voice may be -- and will inevitably be -- influenced by other voices, but it is still essentially yours. It’s in losing yourself in your own process that you will eventually find yourself.


You can find Jill at her blog, Use Your Words where you can find more inspiring layouts. Jill also designs for Collage Press, Lily Bee, and Scrapping Bella.

Create Well: Use the gifts you have, build on your strengths, and be the author of your own story.

Pencil Lines: Run with Me

This week's Pencil Lines' sketch used stars. I forgot how much I love using stars. I didn't know that I followed scrapbooking trends so much that using "stars" was stepping out for me. Flowers, hearts, and butterflies are used a lot lately. I didn't realized that I used them just as much even though I have a boy! Ha! I am loving stars and want to use them more in my layouts.



The star diecuts that I used are from Close to My Heart.



       I ran this paper through my Texture Boutique by Sizzix with a Cuttlebug swiss dot template.

Last night my sister and brother-in-law called us and asked if we wanted a movie night and they would watch Ethan. Ummm, yeah! They didn't have to ask us twice! We went and saw "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D and it was brilliant! It was really nice to have a date night with Dave.

Create Well: Step away from flowers, hearts, and butterflies for a while and use different elements that you aren't use to.

Grow

Thanks for all the advice for my artist block. I am much better this week. Maybe it is because I just pulled out everything that I could onto my living room floor and just played! I had the most fun with this layout using one of my favorite photos that my husband took of me nine months pregnant with Ethan.

My style has cleaned up this last year. I love negative space, paint, and clean journaling. But, I realized that I need to start using more of my stash! So that's what my goal was for this layout. I wanted to layer it and use items that I had been keeping for ages.



I had this bingo card from Jenni Bowlin and wanted to add elements that are about five years old with the new K&Company's butterfly.


I layered Prima flower, K & Company's butterfly, with this fabric element that I bought a year ago. I bought it because of the black and white design but when I got home I had no idea what to do with them. I am so glad I finally figured something out!



I have a full packed of these tickets from Jenni Bowlin that Becca gave me when Ethan was born. I haven't used any of them. I just tucked it under the photo as the center of this flower. I also layered Fancy Pants rubons underneath.

I used rhinestones that came in Ethan's Cars sticker pack that he got for his birthday! Ha. Shhh, don't tell. They were the perfect color! I looked on the date of these stickers and they are from 2003! Why do I still have these? Yes, I love them, but I need to use them for goodness sake!

We have been trying to get back to some sort of a routine around here since Dave's accident. He is getting better and is back to work this week. Which means that Ethan and I have more time to spend together. Even though it is spring break where we live, Ethan and I have been doing some projects together anyway. Easter is creeping up fast and I don't want to miss this opportunity to teach him about the real meaning of the holiday.

Create Well: Pull out what you have in your stash and use it already! Just layer it!

Guest Designer: Amy Peterman

Amy Peterman's designs have been capturing my eye for quite some time now. Amy is unique, fun, and she's not afraid of using bold designs and color! I love her use of multiple photographs to tell her story. You can find Amy at her blog, Evidence of Creativity.


I am a lover of all things creative — a stroll through an art exhibit, an afternoon playing around in Photoshop and InDesign (pre-kids I was a freelance graphic artist), a night spent with knitting needles clicking as I watch an old movie, a walk along the lakeshore with my girls admiring God’s creation, a date night with my hubby at a favorite pub listening to some local musicians — all of these things are creative in their own way, and I love it all. But, I think what I love the most, is playing with photos, paper and bits of this and that. Give me a bowl of dark chocolate covered almonds, some tunes, and a day to myself to scrapbook and I am one happy chick!



Supplies: Adhesive (Tombow) • Chipboard, clip, mini folder, patterned paper, pins, transparent die-cuts, trim (Fancy Pants) • Letter stickers, paint, letter (Making Memories) • Pens (American Crafts) • Rub-ons (Die Cuts With A View)


When I scrapbook, I need everything out, spread around me. I make a serious mess. I once had a work surface my wonderful husband built for me that was counter height (I stand when I create) and was ten foot long. I usually covered every inch of that table. I sold it last year before a move and now I need to have hubby built me another one. Pretty please, honey!


Supplies: Adhesive (Tombow) • Brads (All My Memories) • Chipboard letters, die cuts, felt, lace, patterned paper, ribbon, rub-on letters (Fancy Pants) • Pen (American Crafts)



One of the things I always have out, amongst my mess, is paint. I can’t get enough paint. In fact, it’s not often that I create a layout without it. I think my use of paint makes me more of an artsy scrapbooker. I love that when I scrapbook, I’m not only preserving memories, but it is also an art form.


As seen on the Memory Makers website

Supplies: Adhesives (Duck, Therm O Web) • Chipboard letters (Imagination Project) • Ink (Stampin’ Up!) • Mesh (Magic Mesh) • Paint (Making Memories) • Patterned papers (Creative Imaginations, Imagination Project, Zsiage) • Pens (Chartpak, EK Success) • Rhinestones (me & my BiG ideas) • Rub-ons (My Mind’s Eye) • Stamps (Fancy Pants) • Stickers (Making Memories, SEI) • Correction tape (BIC) • Misc.: staples, tulle


Since scrapbooking is a creative outlet for me, I’m not too concerned with scrapbooking every photo. I only scrapbook the photos I feel connected to at the moment or what goes with certain products I’m into. It keeps the process fun for me and I find that when I force myself to scrapbook photos I’m not crazy about, the layout doesn’t come together the way I’d like. I still want to include those not-so-great photos and extra outtakes (they are still important snippets of life), so I try to include them in divided protectors in my albums.


As seen in Scrapbook Trends October 2009

Supplies: Adhesive (Tombow) • Buttons, chipboard, clip, die-cuts, journal notebook pages, mini folder, page protector, patterned paper, rub-ons (Fancy Pants) • Pen (American Crafts) • Paint, tiny alpha stickers (Making Memories)

When I’m in a scrapbooking mood, but can’t be in my creative space, I spend time resizing and touching up photos to get them ready for my next layout, blogging, and perusing the galleries at twopeas and scrapbook.com. I also spend time checking out creative blogs. Currently, I’m totally inspired by…

Elizabeth Kartchner - I love her use of colors and patterns.

Jen Jockisch - She has a fun retro vibe going on. Love it!

Cindy Tobey - Funky, quirky style and great details!

The Pioneer Woman an amazing photographer (and cook!)


As seen in Creating Keepsakes November 2008


Supplies: Adhesive (Therm O Web) • chipboard, die cuts, felt, patterned paper, ribbon, transparency (Fancy Pants) • Paint (Making Memories) • Pen (American Crafts) • Other: Embroidery Floss


Amy Peterman is a 2008 Memory Makers Master and designs for Fancy Pants Designs. She resides in Northern Michigan with her husband, two daughters and two German Shorthaired Pointers.

Create Well: Still want to include those not-so-great photos and extra outtakes? Try to include them in divided protectors in your albums.

Ordinary Moments

I have been in a little creative funk lately. I just haven't got it. Have you ever felt like that? My sister did a couple of weeks ago... maybe she gave it to me. I didn't know scrappers block was contagious!

I have played for the last several days and have a few of the worst pages I have done in a year!

I have tried everything.

Sketched.

Found new inspiration online. Here and here.

Read magazines.

Looked at decorating sites to get some new color combos going. Like this one.

Found a fancy to relaxing with a movie on while working.

Even bagged the sugar thing for the Old Fashion Chocolate Cake my brother-in-law brought over.

Nope... nothing.

You know what did happen? Several nights of no sleep.

All I can think of is vintage fabric, sewing, layers, and color! Ahhh!


To make up for my HUGE block, here is a digital layout I did several weeks ago with one of Becky Fleck's sketches just for fun. I used a few different designers' elements but most of it is from this kit by Paislee Press and Emily Powers.

Create Well: What do you do to get out of a creative block? Please do tell!

Live Today

This week has been a hard one in the Evans' household. Saturday, my husband was preparing a beautiful birthday meal for our friend, Sarah, when he accidently poured a stock pot filled with 350 degree sauce onto him. It was a terrible night filled with memories I would like to forget. He has the week off to heal from his second degree burns.

Three days later, Dave wanted to conquer the meal and we had our family over to eat it. Sarah and the family loved it. Becca helped me realize that I needed to take a picture of the dinner. I protested at first, saying that I really didn't want to remember the night. But, she reminded me again how God brought Dave through it all.

We are all thankful that Dave had to begin the meal a day before hand and that it was 11pm when the accident happened. Ethan slept through everything and I was out of the room as well. The sauce covered the kitchen, dining room, hallway, walls, and cupboards. It is amazing that Dave was only burned from the waist down.

I wanted to share a layout I did last week...

It helps me to remember to live ready. Christ's love and compassion is more abundant everyday. I want to know that no matter what happens (because those accidents can and do happen) that I am living ready to see Jesus.



Create Well: Are you living ready?

Guest Designer: Charity Hassel

The best part about starting this blog has been the opportunity meeting and working with amazing designers, artists, and Christians who love the Lord and love papercrafting! This week there is no exception! Charity Hassel's designs are bold and fresh!


I’ve always known I wanted to be a wife and a mother. I also knew early on that I wanted to become an RN. So, how fortunate am I to be all of the above. I have been a wife to Brian for almost 8 years and a stay at home mommy of Alexander, 5 and Audrey 3. I have been an RN for over 12 years and work one shift a week in the surgical ICU at Mayo.

Believe it or not, but a long time ago I would have never thought I was crafty or would have thought I would have gotten into scrapping. It was after marriage when I realized I needed something of my own, something I could do to express myself, a hobby that I could do in my spare time (of course there were more spare moments then before kids!). Now, I am pretty addicted to scrapbooking, cardmaking and paper crafting!


How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

Like so many other designers, I struggle with describing my style. I do a lot of layering, hand cutting and try to find new techniques or uses for products. I will try to find a way to use my circle punch in as many ways as possible, for instance! I get excited when I come up with a unique way to use something. I’m always trying to scrap better!


What inspires you to be creative?

Sometimes just the smell of new papers! It’s a bunch of things. Being around other crafty people, new products, great photos, and a story to tell can all get me jump started. Another thing that helps me is a great sketch, whether for a layout or a card.


Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why?

Oh, wow. Do I have to only choose a few? Danielle Flanders & Jen Gallacher are a couple.

I have so many favorites. Sometimes I really love looking at scrappers who have a completely different style than my own. Some can rock the simple look, graphic, etc. and I seem to get inspired by looking at so many styles.


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

Yellows, greens and blues.


What is your creative process?

Depends on what I’m doing. Sometimes I have a photo I want to scrap and I dig through my things to find just the right mix of product to complement that photo. Other times, if I have a kit or something new, I’ll just start playing with the new stuff and find a photo later. Many times I’ll just get an idea as soon as I pull product out of a box. I tell my husband that I can’t unpack a new kit out of the box until I have time to scrap because that initial rush of ideas that hits me right away must be acted on quickly!


What is your story that you are trying to tell?

I’m just a normal mom with an ordinary life story to tell. I have been so blessed to have a wonderful, healthy family. My story is the one of me and my family growing, learning, and working together to become closer to each other and closer to God. I want us to remember the little things along the way that fill our lives with real meaning. Life is so fragile and goes by so quickly. I want to cherish every moment. Sometimes people make judgements about other designers. About whether the stories they tell are "real" enough or not. Life is certainly not all sunshine filled days but I usually focus my layouts on happier moments. There's so much hurt and sadness in the world that I want to remember the good times. On days that aren't so great, it is nice to recall those fun sweet days.

I hope that my work brings a smile to the face, maybe a new idea on how to use a product, or encourages others to begin their own creative journey.

How can you inspire others to "create well"?

You know, I talk to a lot of people about creating. So many people are new to this hobby or are just trying to get memories down quickly. They don’t know where to start. I think I find the most joy in helping someone make something they love.


You can read about Charity and peak at her other projects on her blog, Meaningful Menagerie. You can also find Charity designing for CPS, Creative Charms, October Afternoon, and Polka Dot Whimsy Scrapbook Kit Club.

Create Well: Life is certainly not all sunshine filled days. But try create a layout while focusing on happier moments. On days that aren't so great, it is nice to recall those fun sweet days.

Pencil Lines: For Good

This layout is from Pencil Lines' sketch 178 using this month's sponsor, Prima Marketing. Go to Pencil Lines to enter a beautiful Prima prize pack. I also included some K&Company product which made this paper stand out even more.






My life verse is Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." What's your life verse?

Create Well: Use your life verse on a layout.

Teach Often Update

Now that we are settled in our new home I have started teaching from home again. For those who follow Teach Well Teach Often it is updated!

Guest Designer: Emily Powers

I can't even begin to explain how our next guest designer, photographer and digital scrapbooker, Emily Powers has blessed me with this week's feature. Emily will not only inspire you artisticly but encourage your soul. Enough said. Let Emily say it as only she can...


John Newton once wrote, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of god I am what I am.” I’m a mom, a wife, an artist, a dog lover, a photographer, a writer, an eternal optimist, a teacher, a limping worshiper, a storyteller, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a night owl, and a bibliophile. I’m spontaneous, determined, loyal, whimsical, smart, eclectic, organized, passionate, creative, generous, ordinary, and resourceful. Mostly, I’m just me, Em.

I’m inspired by my family, particularly my husband and daughter. Matt is my heartbeat. We’re high school sweethearts and we’ve been best friends since the 10th grade. It’s stirring to wake up to your soul mate every day. My daughter, Addelyne Raine, is four-and-a-half. She’s a 3’6” adventure. If Matt is my heart, Addy is my soul. She’s taught me to live moment-by-moment with my eye’s wide open.


My Abba inspires me most of all.

"Welcome, child," he said.


"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."


"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.


"Not because you are?"


"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."


"For a time she was so happy that she did not want to speak."

(From Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis)

I started digital scrapbooking and experimenting with photography in January of 2006, six months after my daughter was born. She was my creative catalyst. Every day she changed, grew, moved on to something new and memories slipped between the cracks. I think it’s important to look back at where we’ve been in order to see where we are going. This is one of the primary reasons that I document our journey through photography, art and words. One day, Addelyne will look back. She will know that she was loved and wanted from the very beginning. She’ll be able to trace the themes and stories that crisscross her life. She’ll know where she’s been and that will set her free to see where she’s going.





My style is eclectic and artsy.




A few of the places I love to pop in and visit every day.

A Beautiful Mess - http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Cakies - http://mycakies.blogspot.com/

Decor8 - http://decor8blog.com/

Holy Experience - http://www.aholyexperience.com/

How About Orange - http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

Lushlee - http://www.lushlee.com/

Poppytalk - http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/

Print & Pattern - http://printpattern.blogspot.com/

The Purl Bee - http://www.purlbee.com/

[I] Love Life - http://lovelife.typepad.com/my_weblog/


A few more...

Cafe Cartolina - http://cafecartolina.blogspot.com/

Erin Vey - http://www.erinvey.com/bark/

Jinky Art - http://jinkyart.com.au/blog/

Tara Whitney - http://tarawhitney.com/justbeblogged/

Share Some Candy - http://www.sharesomecandy.com/

Swiss Miss - http://www.swiss-miss.com/

Shannon Sewell - http://www.shannonsewell.com/theblankpage/




Visit Emily at her blog, Oh Snap! You can also follow Emily at her photography website, Twitter, and on Facebook. To check out more of her digital products visit her shop at Oscraps Store.

Create Well: One day, your family will look back at your pages. They will know that they were loved and wanted from the very beginning. They will be able to trace the themes and stories that crisscross their lives. They will know where they have been and that will set them free to see where they are going.

His Eyes Say It All

Becca took this picture of us in January. It is one of my favorites because she captured Ethan's eyes perfectly.



I was in Craft Warehouse during Christmas and Jeanean was creating the coolest cards with these snowflake buttons. So... I bought them all. ;) We used them on our own cards but I had extra. I loved using them on this page and as the center for the flowers. So cute!


Create Well: Think outside the box and use decorative buttons in unique ways on your pages.