Gallery Girls ~ JENELLE

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Hi guys :o)  SP here!  Once again, sooooo happy to bring another new GALLERY GIRLS feature to you!  Just to explain what this post is all about…all of our ‘regular’ gallery posters that we love and feel that we have almost come to ‘know’ – I refer to as my ‘GALLERY GIRLS’ :o)  So, I decided a few months ago that it would be wonderful to spotlight a ‘new girl’ each month!  So…I am so thrilled to ‘introduce’ you guys to our third gallery girl, JENELLE (though, if you visit the Shoppe’s gallery very often – you are likely already familiar with her layouts)!  She is super sweet and fun and a terrifically talented scrapper!  She has become another ‘fixture’ at the Shoppe and we absolutely love having her here!  Her two adorably handsome little men (Nick and Corey) are the focus of most of her layouts – aren’t they precious?!  Jenelle has a great sense of style – and it shows in all of her pages…as does her love of family!  So, how about we get to know her a little better?  But first – how about a couple of brand NEW layouts that Jenelle created just for this special post…

Tell us a little about yourself… 

Hi all.  So thrilled to be asked to do this for the Shabby Shoppe Blog.  My name is Jenelle and I live in Melbourne, Australia.  My husband and I have been together for 15 years (8 of those married) and we have 2 sons – Nick (5) and Corey (2).   I am currently a stay-at-home mum, but in ‘my other life’ I am a teacher.  Travel has a big highlight of my life so far, having lived in Thailand for 12 months as an exchange student and also spending a year in the UK with my husband, working in London and travelling throughout Europe, the US and Asia. 

My eldest son is due to start school in February next year.  I am so excited for him (and also excited about creating digi-scrap pages to highlight this milestone!!)  Thanks for making me feel so welcome in the Shabby Shoppe community – such a supportive group and I love looking through the blog and gallery every day! 

How long have you been scrapbooking digitally…and did you do any paper scrapbooking before giving it a try? 

I started paper scrapping when my husband and I first went on a trip overseas and had all these photos and memorabilia from our trip.  I made up a couple of albums with all the trimmings and it took me ages to complete.  Really lovely to look back on now, although I would love to re-do it digitally.  Then I paper- scrapped our wedding photos and our photos from our honeymoon travels (which is not finished I must add!).  My husband bought me my first digital camera for Mother’s Day just after my first son was born and I have been scrapping digitally since then (2005).  Little children and paper scrapping are NOT a good combination!!  Shabby Princess’ website was my first introduction to digital scrapping supplies and there has been no turning back!

How would you define your scrapping style? 

I’m not really sure if I have a style of any sort.   At high school I really enjoyed taking classes in graphics, so I do like to create pages with clean lines and I try to follow compositional rules (well, what I remember of those rules from high school!).  Sometimes, I try to be ‘reckless’ and throw things together with scatterings of elements, but it always looks like a mess to me, so I revert back to agonizing over small details again…  Aghh! 

What is the first component of each page that you create – or does it vary from page to page (i.e. photo, papers, journaling, etc.)? 

I generally start with the photo I want to highlight and try to match colours/elements to the photo (quite obsessive-compulsive about that part!  LOL!).  But if I am starting with a template, I may try many different photos before I decide which fits best.  One component that I really need to work on is the printing of my final product!  I still have not had any of my 12×12 layouts printed.  Very hard to find a good place to print 12×12 at a reasonable price and of good quality here in Australia (although Kylie has directed me to one and I will definitely be trying them out.) 

Show us your favorite layout…and tell us why you like it so much :o) 

Not sure if I actually have a favourite as such, because I tend to become quite critical of my layouts once they are finished!  Very fussy scrapper, not a good trait!  I do, however, like my layout called ‘Hide and Seek’ because it all came together very quickly and easily and that very rarely happens for me!  I knew as I was taking the photos of Corey that it was all going to come together nicely.

What tip/technique/idea do you know now that you WISH you had known about when you first started scrapbooking? 

Oh, I wish I knew all the techniques in Photoshop!  I am still learning new ones each time I scrap.  I only just cottoned-on to using guides this week and that has made life a lot easier!  I am also trying to master the Pen Tool along with creating and saving my own shapes.  One tool I have no idea how to use is the dodge/burn tool.  My new year’s resolution is to read up on those tutorials!  My sister is always on speed dial when I get stuck on something in Photoshop (she is a self-taught master!) 

What in your everyday life inspires you in your scrapbooking?  How do you transfer that inspiration to your scrapbooking pages?

I like to draw inspiration from fellow scrappers, through galleries and scrapbooking magazines.  (Georgeinci’s layouts are always a great inspiration to me.  As are the SP creative team).  I still have an interest in graphics and graphic design, so I like to look at ads and logos for inspiration, whether in magazines, on billboards, TV ads, packaging etc..  Then there are times when I get so bombarded with ideas that I just can’t decide how to transfer them onto a layout!  Not really a creative blank, more like an overload!

:::SP interrupting to show another new layout that Jenelle created for the feature (my fave!):::

Tech Stuff (tell us about your camera and your software): 

I wish I could say that I had a top-of-the-range digital SLR camera with all the trimmings, but it is on my wish list for when I return to paid work!  Nonetheless, I have been very happy with my point and shoot Fujifilm Finepix digital camera.  Had this camera for just over 12 months now and very happy with its performance so far.  To do my editing and layouts, I use Photoshop CS2 on a very old and slow computer.  An upgrade to all of these will also have to wait for that illustrious return to paid work! 

:::FIVE FAST FACTS::: 

• FAVORITE COLOR:  Blue
• FAVORITE FOOD:  Thai food and of course CHOCOLATE!
• FAVORITE MOVIE:  Mary Poppins
• FAVORITE SONG:  It’s gotta be anything from the 80’s!!  I’m a bit of an 80’s rock tragic…
• FAVORITE MEMORY:  The first time I held both my sons

 So, now you ‘know’ Jenelle a little better!  She is a constant inspiration for us at the Shoppe and I’m sure you are finding yourself inspired, too!  Be sure to check out Jenelle’s fabulous gallery for even more gorgeous layouts and inspiration!  THANKS AGAIN for being a ‘gallery girl’, Jenelle :o)

We’ll have another new GALLERY GIRLS feature for you in January – so stay tuned (you never know – it might even be YOU!)!

I’ll be back tomorrow to announce the ‘winner’ of our SEVENTH TEMPLATE CHALLENGE here at the BLOG :o)  Have a great day/night!

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