ScrapFX DT Intro Hop

Hi there and welcome to the ScrapFX Spring DT Intro Blog Hop!  If this is your first time visiting me, nice to meet you; if you're an oldie but goodie glad you're swinging by!!  Before we get down to the fun stuff gotta take care of business so you know the deets.

 During this hop you'll get to know more about all the designers as we answer a series of questions, share a new project with, and some past favs.  Of course there will be a grand prize of a ton of fabulous ScrapFX goodies up for grabs by hopping through all blogs and liking ScrapFX on FB -  I'll be giving away one here too.  Just leave me a comment and you'll be in the running for some ScrapFX goodies from me. I'd love for you to follow along as well if you like what you see, but it isn't mandatory.    Alrighty now that business is taken care of on with the show!!

This is a newly create page just for the hop!  I haven't done a sports page in forever, but it was made easy with those super cute soccer ball chippies!!  I also loved turning one of the new graphic circles in to a sun - I'm forever thinking of ways to transform stuff in to weather shapes - ha!

What is your scrapbook "kryptonite"? (what style/colour/etc will people never see on your creations because you cannot deal with it???) - This is an interesting question for me.  I really like trying out lots of things and LOVE color.  But the one thing that truly eludes me I guess would be shabby chic.

I knew the moment I saw the large scribble heart arrive in my DT package it was going to be filled with photos!  This page was recently featured on Ronda Palazzari's blog as one of her stencil spotting pages. I cannot tell you how giddy I was - truly an honor.

 What do you listen to or watch while your scrap and WHY? - I listen to the radio playing a Christian music station or my iTunes which has various genres on it during the day or nothing at all.  It all depends on my mood.  Sometimes my spirit needs to be uplifted, sometimes I feel the need to jam out and shake my biscuits some while I create - haha, and sometimes I just plain enjoy the absolute silence. 

You will see these googly eye birds pop up in my creations over and over again.  They are a ScrapFX fav of mine!  I love the Bird Family mini pieces so much.  I have various ways of dressing them up but always love to adorn them with a big googly eye.

How do you jump start your creativity when you find that it is missing? - I give myself the freedom to play.  I grab some tags, my art journal, or one of my tiny notebooks and just play with papers, mediums, stamps, whatever.  I don't stress about the outcome, don't care if it'll become something that will look good.  I just do it to get myself in to a creative zone.  Once I've done this I can typically get going on a larger project and if not, well at least I feel good that I pushed around some color and these little play items usually wind up becoming later embellishments and as of late project life additions.

This is a small 6x6 canvas I made.  I find it amazing how the addition of the one lone ScrapFX bird really makes such a wonderful addition.

Do you snack or drink while scrapping? What? - I rarely snack or drink while scrapping. Why?  Because I am uber, uber clumsy!!!  I already run the risk of spilling globs of whatever medium I'm using all over my project - I certainly don't need to add in the extra dilemma of snacks or drinks - ha! 

One thing that is so cool about ScrapFX chippies is how well they stand up to just about anything you do to them/with them.  On this page I used the piece on the page to stamp a bit first and then added all sorts of mediums to it after.  This was of course after I stretched it out as well to stamp with it so it wasn't quite as curled over and it still stayed in tact. Pretty nifty and definitely what I need since I'm not a very dainty crafter.

 At what time of day are you most creative, or do you prefer to create? - I think I'm most creative late at night and this is actually when I create the most as well.  Is it when I prefer to create?  Not sure, this is just what works for now. I steal every moment I can to create though.

This was probably one of the hardest pages I've ever scrapped so far.  This sweet guy hasn't been with our family for a good while.  I scrapped this a few years after his passing and it still stung my heart.  I'm glad I did it though, its a fav page for sure - not for design, but for the story it tells.

If you were to describe one emotion while scrapbooking, what would it be? - One emotion is tough...hmmm....enthralling or thought-provoking.  I find that I think a lot when I'm scrapping - about the subject I'm scrapping, the story I want to convey, the techniques I'm using, the techniques I want to try, the papers I choose, the colors I go with, and it just goes on, and on.  So for me its a very enthralling process and one I enjoy immensely - when I don't allow those thoughts to get the better of me that is. ;)

This is a creation done on a piece of wood and given to my hubs for our anniversary.  Its a picture of our back acreage that I edited up on my iPhone and printed out.  Once I mounted it on the wood I went to town with my mediums and chippies.

What makes your heart race? - My hopes and dreams.  The thought that there are bigger things yet to come.  The look in my husband's eye when he comes from work.

 

This is a collage of the first mini album I made for ScrapFX featuring the binding technique I later did a tutorial on for the blog.

What are you afraid of? - Not being around for my children as they move in to adulthood.  I live with chronic illnesses that are no joke.  I worry they will take me out because docs are perplexed as to how to help me, I struggle a lot.  Its my deep-seeded fear.

Fun little card here showing how fantbulously well the wordlets work on cards!!  So elated ScrapFX is coming out with so many mini pieces - ahh!! I'm in mini bliss I tell ya'!

If you could choose a talent/gift what would it be? - To be a healer.  It kind of goes hand in hand with my last answer, huh?  No sadness,  as you see I'm quite the happy creator because I choose to be happy with my life as it is.

This mondo creation was made for my Guest DT spot with the Inspiration Elevator.  The challenge was to create a two page spread and it was quite the challenge but I met it.  The pictures here are mostly interchangeable, only a couple are permanent, and we have this hanging up and swap out photos frequently.

What is your favorite technique(s) to use right now and why? What are some tried and true techniques you love to use? - My favorite techniques right now involve using watercolors, along with pastes, getting out my tar gel again, and creating my own embellies with pastes.  Oh and using dies!!!  I've fallen in love with my dies again for the last few months and can't believe how long I went without them - ack!  Tried and true for me is always using lots of color, layers, mixing patterns, and creating scenes.

I had to make sure I shared a page that had my boy and hubs on it!  They both are so great at eluding the camera while my girl is always up in it, LOL!  This one features lots of stenciling and stamping using chippies and the ScrapFX stencils.  Really love their selection of beach stuff too - it looks so real!!

Phew!  Did you make it??!  Thanks so much if you've read this far. :D  I'm the last stop but here is the roster for you just in case:

Scrap FX Blog

MICHELLE L

Adrienne

Amy Lynne

Anita

Cindy

Claire

Elisabeth

Maria

Michelle H

Misty

Rachelle

Renata

Scarlett

Thanks again for stopping by, head on over to Facebook, like us up at ScrapFX Australia, and take good care.