scrapbooking q+a

photo courtesy of getty images


although it's been some time since I last taught a class I still get quite a few emails from former workshop students wondering about my scrapbooky status...and I thought that a little q+a might be in order:

do you still scrap?
Yes...not as much as I would like, but I'm still into it

how/when did you start?
I started at about seven...my mom bought me a spiral notebook that wasn't for school and encouraged me to fill it with whatever. With blunt nose scissors in hand and a tub of paste I proceeded to cut apart magazines and stick things in my notebook including small observations beneath each image. At one point I had 12 notebooks that I kept in an old suitcase. On a particularly traumatic afternoon my father accidentally threw my suitcase away and I was inconsolable for a long while. I have yet to forgive him.

what kind of equipment do you have?
this is funny...I don't have "equipment" just a small point and shoot canon on permanent loan from my mom and a larger fixed lens kodak that has more mp's. The canon goes everywhere with me...the kodak does not. I also have a beautiful nikon slr film camera that I will never give up. Oh...I also have a couple tripods. I guess that can be considered equipment.

do you alter your photos?
sometimes. I brighten things up or change to black and white. I like getting a bit experimental.

what's more important...story or photo?
story. always. the photo plays a supporting role.

since you don't have kids, what do you scrapbook about?
everything else besides kids. I do have a niece and nephew...but I'm really the star in my own scrapbooks.

scrapbooking has a bit of a stigma attached...are you ever embarrassed to admit that you do it?
nope...I'm embarrassed by very little at this point in my life. would it be different if I called it a journal, cuz that's what it is...just with very pretty paper and pictures.

what's your style?
hhhmm. eclectic? i dunno. when asked I usually say vintage/modern. Yes...let's go with that. I like old ledger paper, typewriter fonts, my own handwriting, vintage photos, old labels...but I also like clean bold typefaces and plenty of white space. I can't really escape my designery need for order and simplicity.

what are your favorite lines of paper?
ohhh, this could be a long one but I will limit myself to few:
sassafras lass
cosmo cricket
crate paper

do you subscribe to any magazines?
magazines, yes...just not scrapbooking mags. I'm really inspired by catalogs, and random things I find on the internet...so the magazines aren't really necessary

will you teach a workshop again?
I don't know. workshops are tough. they require a lot of time and preparation. i might try to develop something for online, but i really like the personal interaction that happens in a real live workshop. I have an idea...but it's still in the daydream phase.

do you buy a lot of stuff?
no. do I like a lot of stuff? yes, I just don't buy it. I belong to a kit club so that satisfies my craving for newness. I still purchase things on occasion...but right now I have enough supplies for fifty scrapbooks.

what are your favorite scrapbooking websites/blogs?
some of these aren't strictly scrapbooky...some are personal blogs...but these are inspiring my own scrapbooking right now:
studio calico
jamaica
creative blessing
hula seventy
sfgirlbybay

so that's it. i think this week may be heavy on the scrap talk.