Category: Sponsor Spotlight

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Sponsor Spotlight

Black Friday specials from our Sponsors

– – – – – – DLDHistory.com – – – – – –
 
40% off all account upgrades at DLDHistory.com
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Brittish Designs – – – – – –
 
40% off Brittish Designs
 
*40% off entire store (excludes grab bags and bundles) 11/23 through 11/26
*All new Black Friday Grab Bag!
*Each person who purchases the grab bag will be entered in the Black Friday Raffle
*Grand Prize: WINS MY ENTIRE SHOP!! (1 winner)
*Second Prize: $50 GC (1 winner)
*Third Prize: $25 GCs (2 winners)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Chelles Creations – – – – – –
 
Chelles Creations
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Keystone Scraps – – – – – –
 
50% off Keystone Scraps
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Kellybell Designs – – – – – –
 
50% off Kellybell Designs
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – WM [squared] – – – – – –
 
20 items for $1 each - WM Squared
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – ResalesDVC – – – – – –
 
Black Friday specials - ResalesDVC
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – FranB Designs – – – – – –
 
50% off FranB Designs
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Crossbone Cuts Designs – – – – – –
 
Crossbone Cuts Designs
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

– – – – – – Natalies Place Designs – – – – – –
 
1 day sale at Natalies Place Designs
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <–

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Designer Spotlight Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor Spotlight – Crossbone Cuts

Today’s Sponsor Spotlight is Tanya, of Crossbone Cuts! Tanya’s one of my closest friends and favorite scrappers, and I was SO excited when she decided to start designing! This week is her one year Designiversary, and I thought it was a great time for fellow MouseScrappers to get to know her better!

Tell us a little about yourself:
My name is Tanya and I am a 30 year old hair stylist/waitress from southern California! I have 5 fur-babies and one equally furry boyfriend =)

What got you started in designing?
On a whim I decided to enter a designing contest to see if I would actually like it or not. Turns out I LOVED it! Designing just kinda snowballed from there.

Where do you find your inspiration for designing?
All over the place! Since I am still in my first year of designing, I have been focusing on the “basic” holidays and trying to squeeze in making things that my CT asks for or kits that I personally need to scrap my own photos!

What do you like most about designing?
The satisfaction of actually finishing a kit. I moan and I complain and I get mad at myself with every kit. It is my process. Lol. But when I actually finish a kit, see it in use and have people tell me how much they like it, it is SUCH a good feeling. I put my blood, sweat and tears into everything I make with the hopes that people will love it as much as I do.

What do you find to be the biggest challenge with designing?
Finding my mojo to get started and picking a color palette. Oh man, I hate picking colors. I am very indecisive when it comes to colors and sometimes it takes me a whole day to narrow the colors down. Then there is the creative mojo. Most of the time I just stare at the computer. Just waiting. But when my creativity does decide to strike, watch out because I won’t stop until I am finished with what I am working on!

How many hours a week do you spend designing? Is designing your full time job?
Designing is not my full-time job. I wait tables part time and am a part time hair stylist. Luckily I have a lot of flexibility with both jobs which gives me tons of designing time. I am usually on the computer for at least 8 hours a day. Usually more like 10. A early night for me would be going to bed at 3am. I do try to not be on the computer on the weekends and actually interact with people and whatnot.

How do you balance your time?
I don’t. I am a time management mess. I do my computer work during the week and most of the time I don’t even turn on the computer on the weekends. Which leads me to be a stressed out mess by the time I actually do turn it on Sunday nights. I have a horrible memory, I have about 30 to-do lists and I forget to check them all. I really need to work on time management. Lol.

What is your favorite kit?
Right now, it is 30 Days Of Thanks. I just love the colors!

Who would you love to collaborate with?
There are lots of people on my list! I LOVE doing collabs. I think they are great for newer designers too because you really learn a lot when you work with a more established designer.

What is a piece of advice you have for those that are trying their hand at designing?
Learn your program, be prepared for TONS of trial and error and there is always something new to learn. You are never gonna know everything. Keep at it and have fun!

Who are some of your favorite scrap artists?
I really need to start browsing the galleries more. Every once in a while I will come across LO’s I love and if I remember I will pin them to my Pinterest for future reference. No one in particular. If I see a LO I love, I will comment and pin =)

What is a piece of advice you have for scrappers?
Remember that you are scrapping YOUR memories. With any luck, these pages are gonna be passed along in your family for a very long time so don’t worry about comparing your pages to other peoples pages. So you think someone can cluster better than you or you don’t think your shadows are realistic enough. Don’t worry about. Scrap for YOU and your family. It is the photos that they are gonna remember. Not that your shadows weren’t realistic enough.

What is your favorite thing about Disney? What is your favorite ride? Favorite character?
My favorite thing about Disney is probably just the magic of it all. Living so close to Disneyland and getting to visit as much as I do, I sometimes forget what it is really all about. Then something will happen and I will be reminded of just how special Disney and Disneyland is to me. I grew up at Disneyland. It was my weekend night hang out when I was in high school, I have hung out with every friend that I have ever had there and we have had family reunions there. Disneyland will always hold a special place in my heart. I don’t really have a favorite ride. It was The PeopleMover until they took it away. Still hoping it comes back someday =) My favorite characters are Roger Rabbit and Figment.

Besides scrapbooking and Disney, what is one thing you are passionate about?
Wait a minute! There are OTHER things in life?! LOL!

Tell us something no one else knows about you?
I have recently discovered that I share way to much info about my life on Twitter and Instagram so everyone pretty much knows EVERYTHING about me.

Be sure to check out Crossbone Cuts blog this week for all the fun celebration going on for her Designiversary!

Check out some Crossbone Cuts kits that are perfect for scrapping your Disney memories!

If you would like to know more about Tanya and/or her designs, you can find her in all of these places:
Crossbone Cuts Twitter
Personal Twitter
Crossbone Cuts Facebook
Personal Facebook
Blog
Pinterest
Instagram – TanyaH666

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Designer Spotlight Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor Spotlight – Sahlin Studio

Today’s Sponsor Spotlight is Krista, of Sahlin Studio! I’ve been a fan of Krista’s scrapping since before she even started designing, and even I learned a few new things from her interview!

Tell us a little about yourself:
My name is Krista Sahlin, designer behind Sahlin Studio. I am a wife, lucky to be married to my best friend (and ‘IT’ guy that helps keep my computer running well.) I am a mother to two wonderful and rambunctious kiddos, Sophia (10) and Gabe (8). 🙂 Random fact: I married into a difficult to pronounce last name. It drives me crazy that 99% of people say it wrong. LOL! So if you’d like to know: “Sahlin” is pronounced – (sah-LEEN) as in, Celine Dion. What else? I am an avid memory keeper (i.e. scrap addict) a love that has combined my love of digital scrapping with my found love of designing. As a designer, I love creating a mix of vintage and traditional, from paper scraps to metal finds…. an eclectic mix of these trinkets makes the pages so unique and beautiful. But most of all, it is incredibly surreal that people use my designs to help capture their most treasured memories. What a great honor to have my designs used for such special moments and occasions.

What got you started in designing?
I started digital scrapbooking in 2007 after a trip to Walt Disney World. I found amazing digi designs in the digital scrapbooking industry and was hooked. After a year of doing digi, I noticed I had specific photos that kept piling up because I was waiting for that “perfect” kit. So… I decided to try my hand at designing papers and elements to fit what I was looking for… the rest is history. 🙂

Where do you find your inspiration for designing?
First and foremost… my family. Yup, most of my inspiration comes from all of my family’s photos that are on my hard drive waiting to be scrapped into a cherished memory. When I find certain photos beginning to pile up… I know I MUST create something to scrap these memories. After family, I am also so inspired by COLOR…practically anywhere and everywhere there is color. It could be in a fabric or a pattern on a couch pillow, from my kid’s artwork to a magazine ad or an ad on a box. I find there is so much inspiration everywhere, and sometimes in the most unusual of places.

What do you like most about designing?
The fact I can call playing on my computer all day, in my pj’s… a job. LOL!! But more seriously, I love being able to be home when my kids are home, and be there when they need me.

What your favorite things to design?
I love designing elements. Seriously. I find it hard to stop… I keep going and going. Finding unique elements and ephemera is always the most fun part of the process. Also, another favorite element of mine to create is, journalers. Oh, how I love them! My main reason to scrapbooking is about ‘the story’, so I love providing scrappers with the right tools to help them tell their stories.

How many hours a week do you spend designing? Is designing your full time job?
I am lucky to call digital scrapbooking designing my FT job. I wake up each day with such excitement to design… I don’t ever doubt this is the best job ever!! Designing products makes up about 25% of my time. Doing administrative work, marketing to writing tutorials and articles take up the rest of my time. The amount of hours I work is pretty shocking, but I would have to say I typically “work” about 60+hours a week.

How do you balance your time?
This can be very challenging when you work out of your home. You don’t ‘leave the office’, so to speak.It can become very easy to hop on the computer and start working again. It is something I am trying hard to work on finding that good balance.
But in other way it is SO rewarding. When my kids are home… I’m available. When they have a field trip, I reschedule things and work at night.

What is your favorite kit?
Picking a Favorite Kit is SO hard. I have a connection with each one create.
But if I had to chose… right now, I would say “Grandma’s Dresser by Sahlin Studio”

Who would you love to collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with either Paislee Press and/or Anna Aspnes. Each of our styles
are pretty different, but I think the combination of styles would equal a true beautiful & electric mix.

What is a piece of advice you have for those that are trying their hand at designing?
1) Design becuase you LOVE it… not to make money.
2) Be sure you have a style that is different from others out in the market, something that is uniquely YOU.

What is a piece of advice you have for scrappers?
1) Scrap for yourself. – Don’t worry about having a gallery worthy page or getting caught up in the trends of what a good looking page is “supposed” to be. Trying scrapbooking with this thought in mind, “What do I like when I’m looking through my scrapbook?” If you love looking at pages with multiple, large photos… then DO it. You will never regret having those pages. But you may someday regret having the ‘trendy’ pages with tiny photos and white space.
2) Back Up, Back Up, Back Up – be sure to set a quarterly date to back up all of your files. You don’t want to learn the hard way.

What is your favorite thing about Disney? What is your favorite ride? Favorite character?
My favorite thing about Disney is all of the special, magical moments that you find there with your loved ones. They tend not to be the BIG things, but the small little things that happen that create the best memories.

My favorite ride at Disney is, “Toy Story Mania” at Hollywood Studios.

My favorite character we met, “Snow White”.
We had such an amazing experience meeting her, and it’s one we’ll never forget.

Check out some Sahlin Studio kits that are perfect for scrapping your Disney memories!

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Designer Spotlight Sponsor Spotlight

Designer Spotlight – Natalie’s Place Designs

Well it’s time for another Designer spotlight.  I’m so excited and pleased to bring you…

Natalie from Natalie’s Place Designs.

I will admit that I’m a little partial to Natalie as she is totally responsible for “ME” and my scrapbooking addiction.  Several years ago I basically stalked her on the DISboards and her amazing talent and generosity to all us less fortunate.  She created journal pages, T-shirt designs, thank you cards, autograph pages, and so much more wonderful and amazing designs for FREE!

She is the reason I began digital scrapbooking.  She has been so inspirational to me.  When I created my very first Disney Shutterfly book in 2007 it just didn’t have that “Disney” feel.  It was her designs that lead me to take the leap!

Shortly after she left the DISboards she contacted me about her new adventure as a Digital Scrapbook Designer and asked if I wanted to be on her creative team!  I was thrilled she was using her wonderful talent to create amazing kits to share with all of us.  As you can image I said YES!!   I guess my favorite part of her kits is the depth and texture to each and every paper, element, and alpha.  She creates her designs from scratch and they are simply amazing to me each and every time she does a release.

So without further ado let’s do the Designer Spotlight “Must Do” (Sound familiar?…he-he)

Let’s take a peek into Natalie’s Little Corner of the World! 

Where do you find your inspiration for designing?

Inspiration, for me, can come from almost anywhere. I see patterns and color combinations and random shapes in the world… ideas spring from there. I bounce a lot of design ideas off my daughter…..She has a very interesting take on most things. It amazes me where our brainstorming sessions sometimes go!

What got you started in designing?

I have been an artist all of my life.  I graduated from college with a BS in Art Education and taught art for a few years before my kids were born. I had to leave teaching altogether after my kids were diagnosed with autism. For therapy purposes, I started using the computer to create graphics, flash cards and communication cards for them. After I got my first digital camera, I began digital scrapbooking.  Because I couldn’t seem to find the things I wanted for my pages… I used what I learned to create papers and elements for myself.  It has all kinda grown from there!

What do you find to be the biggest challenge with designing?

Creating papers….. it’s a love/hate kinda thing! If I have a kit with 15 papers….. I have probably created 30 along the way. I am constantly changing them. I may spend an hour on a pattern and then just toss it into the maybe file because, I am just not happy with it!

What is your favorite Designing tool?

I love BRUSHES!!!! Between the brushes that I have collected and the ones I have created, I probably have over 5000 brushes on my hard drive.

How many hours a week do you spend designing?

Probably about 15 hours average….. unless my son is going through one of his insomnia phases!

Do you have another “real” job besides Designing?

I am a full-time manager for a major retailer.  My husband and I work opposite shifts, so that one of us is always home with the kids….

How do you balance your time?

Designing is my relaxation outlet…… but it comes after family, home and work.  My husband is a HUGE help with everything.  He is great with the kids and is very supportive of me & my designing.

What is your favorite kit?

If you put a gun to my head and made me choose it would have to be Jungle Party.  The Jammin’ Jungle Parade is one my favorite things at Disney (it is even my ring tone!) and this kit was inspired by this parade!

Who would you love to collaborate with?

I would love to do a collab with Paula and Melissa from Keystone Scraps. I love what they do!

What is a piece of advice you have for those that are trying their hand at designing?

Don’t fall in love with everything you do. Even if you have spent a great deal of time on an element or paper…. It may not be that great or right for your kit.  Save it for later however….. you can go back and tweak it.

Who are some of your favorite scrap artists?

I find inspiration in almost every layout that I see. I have a great appreciation for different styles…. So I don’t really have favorites.  I am partial, however, to the work of my CT. Cynthia….the photo guru, Linda…..the composition guru and Lisa… the technique guru make up the best CT a gal could ask for!

What is a piece of advice you have for scrappers?

Scrapping… to me, is about the story you are creating with your photographs.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

ITALY!!!!!  The food, the art, the culture, the history, and the landscape……what more can I say!

Besides scrapbooking, what is one thing you are passionate about?

I love baseball!  My husband and I are huge Phillies fans!!! I used the watch games with my Dad and my Grandpa as a little girl and now it’s something fun to share with my husband.  And now, if the Phils would just start hitting…………..

Tell us something no one else knows about you?

I love the color black….. when I paper scrapped, everything was on a black background! I actually have to stop myself from adding black to every kit that I make!

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Natalie.  She has a wonderful gallery of her layouts so be sure to check them out for further inspiration…HERE.

Here is a small sampling of her most recent and my favorite kits.








 

Categories
Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor Spotlight – Kellybell Designs

This is our first Designer Spotlight and I thought it would be great to meet one of our sponsors: Kelly from Kellybell Designs.

Kelly is a designer and store owner of Kellybell Designs.  She started digital scrapping in 2008 and has combined her love for Disney with her designing talents.  Her kits are inspired by Disney parks, characters, rides and events, but they are extremely versatile and can be used for so many non-Disney layouts.  Her store is chock full of amazing kits, page starters, paper stacks, alphas, pixie dust trails, date stamps and frame clusters.  Kelly’s layouts are always filled with gorgeous clusters and fabulous stackings of papers, ribbons and flairs.  And if you’ve been following Kelly, you’ve seen her 3 beautiful girls which are the focus of all her layouts.

So put on your favorite Disney tune, grab a snack (I’m dreaming of a Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar) and read along to get to know Kelly.

Where do you find your inspiration for designing?

My inspiration of course comes from Disney! And a lot from everyday life too. I like to mix the whimsy of Disney with some real life elements like buttons flowers and foliage. It makes for a kit with a lot of dimension.

What got you started in designing?

Well I got my start designing over on the DIS forums making customized T-shirts for people. Then I stumbled on to the digital scrapbook thread over there  and was totally blown away with the whole digital scrap-booking idea! But I couldn’t find that many Disney related kits to work with so I decided to take my knowledge of designing T-shirts to making digi-kits. And poof Kellybell Designs was born.

What’s on in the background when you’re designing?

Usually the TV. I watch NCIS a lot. I love me some Mark Harmon! 🙂 or if it’s baseball season, a Yankee game. lol

Is designing your full time job?

No I am a single mother of 3 girls. My oldest is 9 and the twins are 5. I also work part time out of the house as a Certified Professional Coder (coding medical visits for a successful local gynecology practice).

What do you find to be the biggest challenge with designing?

Landing on a color scheme. This is usually the first step to making the kit and sometimes takes me the longest to accomplish.

How many hours a week do you spend designing? scrapping? community surfing?

Usually about 60 to 70. Thankfully the girls are in school full time so I have that 8hrs free to work, if I am not at the Dr.’s office, and once the kids are all tucked away in bed I get down to business again. I am a night owl so most of those hours are late at night.

How do you balance your time?

Very carefully lol. As a single mom the kiddos come first, so once the mom duties are all tended to, I can spend every every minute working on my designs.

What is your favourite kit?

Wow that’s a tough one, hmm… right now I would have to say Magical Beginning. It has a super fun color scheme and it is so versatile.

http://kellybelldesigns.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=37

Who would you love to collab with?

Wow there are so many great designers out there, but if I had to name names, Keystone Scraps, Chelle’s Creations, Brittish Designs, & Crossbone Cuts.

What is a piece of advice you have for those that are trying their hand at designing?

Design what you would use to scrap with. Approach each kit or theme idea with that in mind and the kit will take a great shape.

Who are some of your favourite scrap artists?

There are so many in the Mousescrappers community! Every single one of my CT members and guest too. They do an amazing job week after week and I love what they turn out, they are definitely some of my favorites! But I would also like to give a shout out to Susan(Susan0326), Andrea from Little Green Frog, Jan(QuiltyMom) and Fiona(fioojtne).

What is a piece of advice you have for scrappers?

Don’t forget to journal, it is so important to solidify those memories. It makes a huge difference when you look back on the pictures and have the story to go along with them too!

Besides scrapbooking, what is one thing you are passionate about?

Well besides vacationing in Disney World, and my daughters I would have to say Baseball! Go Yankees!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Kelly and you can find her blog, store and gallery at www.kellybelldesigns.com. Go browse her store and check out for her lastest releases as well any scrapping goodies you need to add to your stash.

Here is small sample of what’s in her store.