Gallery Girls ~ jessg26 (Jessica)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Hi everyone! :o)  Kylie here with our newest GALLERY GIRLS feature…our 12th one!  A year ago SP started sharing these fun blog posts with us…a whole year of AMAZING inspiration and smiles!  So wonderful!  I guess it’s a nice time to remind ourselves what these features are all about - so here is a short, but sweet, explanation:  all of our ‘regular’ gallery posters that we love and feel that we have almost come to ‘know’ – SP affectionately refers to as her ‘GALLERY GIRLS’ :o) – and each month we spotlight a ‘new girl’!  To catch up on all our past ‘gallery girls’ click HERE or on your visits to the blog you’ll find the Gallery Girls category down the right side of the blog…just a simple click away!

These wonderful lil’ features are fast becoming one of my favorite blog posts to work on.  I really enjoy getting to know everyone better and I’m always inspired during the process…and I truly hope you are too!  Of course, this month was no different and I’m thrilled to share our next ‘gallery girl’ with you!  This time, I got to work with the lovely Jessica…though you might know her better as jessg26 :o)

 I’ve always admired Jessica’s gallery…she has the sweetest little two-year old girl, her pages are always jam-packed with lots of adorable pics and pretty things…and her scrapping style just rocks – each page is a joy to see!  I can’t help but smile at all the love and personality she packs into each and every layout.  And, when it comes to her Project SCRAP pages she is an absolute STAND-OUT – I always look forward to those!

Now for the best part…let’s get on with meeting sweet Jessica and get a first-look at all the beautiful pages she has created especially for this post!  Jessica will also be uploading all of the new layouts to her gallery…so you can see larger images and more info about each one :o)

There could be no other way to start off this ‘interview’ but to show you this stunning wedding layout. I can’t help but let out a big sigh! :o) The combination of the beautiful, beautiful photos, the lovely embellishments and sweet pastels…nothing more precious! 

Now, on with the interview…

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF…

My family and I live in San Diego, CA. My husband and I have been married for 5 years and we have a wild little girl who just turned two. I am currently a stay-at-home mommy and intend to keep it that way for as long as possible! Prior to my daughter’s arrival, I was working as a Registered Nurse at the Children’s Hospital. I loved my job and thought I would miss it, but being able to take care of my girl is so awesome. In my free time I like to avoid doing housework by scrapping, reading, sewing, or searching for yummy gourmet recipes that my family won’t eat!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SCRAPPING DIGITALLY…AND DID YOU EVER GIVE PAPER SCRAPPING A TRY?

 I started out in paper scrapbooking shortly after my husband and I were married. It was summer break before my last semester of college, I didn’t have a job, and my husband was still in school and working…so I needed something to do! I ended up getting all of the proofs from my wedding photographer for free so I got to work. I now have a lovely (and huge) wedding album somewhere in my closet. I started working on an album of my daughter’s first year while she was still very young, but once she became mobile, it was impossible…too hard to clean up everything in between naps, mealtimes, etc. It was also getting too expensive! I was interested in starting digital scrapbooking but had no idea where to begin. A friend of mine actually referred me to the Shabby Shoppe blog for free kits and tutorials, and I got a 30 day free trial of Photoshop Elements. I was hooked! My husband bought me the Photoshop Elements software for Christmas last year.

How about this gorgeous birthday party two-page spread?! Perfect scrapping…lots of photos, lots of journaling, lots of gorgeous little embellishments all in the right places!! And I just LOVE the colours…awesome banner too!! 

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR SCRAPPING STYLE?

I really don’t know how I would define my style. When I did paper scrapbooking, my layouts were pretty simple, with just a few embellishments here and there. But with digital it is so easy to add more and more! You never have to worry about using up all your supplies. I love that. I like to use lots of pictures since it is so easy to resize and fit them just the way you want them. It’s hard for me to do a layout of just one picture! I like to use lots of color. I usually like to include some journaling as well.

WHAT IS THE FIRST COMPONENT OF EACH PAGE YOU CREATE…OR DOES IT VARY FROM PAGE TO PAGE?

 For the most part I start out with my photos. I usually have a specific event/memory I want to preserve before I forget all about it. Then I like to try to coordinate the papers etc with either the colors in the photo, or just with the theme I am going for.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LAYOUT (TO DATE) AND WHY?

Jessica says ~ I had a lot of fun with all the color and I just love the pictures, they make me laugh. That kind of drama is pretty much an everday occurence in our house.

And here is SP’s pretty-in-pink pick ~

SP says ~ “I remember seeing this layout for the first time – it just JUMPED out of the gallery at me, lol – and I still love it just as much! I don’t know if it is all of that PINK…the incredibly cute photos…the TUTU…the drop shadows, or what – but it just ‘speaks’ to me :o) It is a true, girly-girl page, and the contrast of the scallop just makes it all POP! So, although it was NOT an easy decision <choosing a favorite> – this has to be it :o)”

WHAT TIP/TECHNIQUE DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD KNOWN WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED SCRAPPING DIGITALLY?

I wish I had known how to recolor! Since I’ve learned to do that, I haven’t made a single layout where I haven’t recolored one or two items. Recoloring greatly extends the use of all my digital elements.

WHAT IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR SCRAPBOOKING?

As you can see from my layouts I’m kind of obsessed with my little girl! It’s just so much fun to scrapbook all the new things she is learning and all the trouble she gets into. I guess that’s part of the reason I like so much color in all my layouts.

Another adorable & brilliantly scrapped two-pager to celebrate Leah’s second birthday! ‘TWO’ SWEET!! ;o)

TECH STUFF :o) Tell us about your camera and software!

I have a Sony Cybershot. It is not a fancy camera at all. I bought it because it was pink. And small enough to fit in my pocket. I would love to have a super expensive camera that makes all my photos look professional, but I would never have the patience to learn how to use it anyway! I use Photoshop Elements 9.

FAST FIVE FACTS!

• Favorite COLOR: blue
• Favorite FOOD: chocolate
• Favorite MOVIE: dan in real life, or Pride and Prejudice (the new one)
• Favorite SONG: “How Glad I Am” by the Living Sisters or “Hold on” by Michael Buble
• Favorite MEMORY: My wedding day, and the day my daughter was born :o)

And to finish…a cute, cute, cute PRINCESS page!!!

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

Join us next month for another GALLERY GIRLS FEATURE! Our final one for 2011…so don’t miss it!

Rosy will be with you tomorrow with a post that’s guaranteed to inspire! …and the fun won’t stop there ~ on Friday we have a yummy food post by Casharina, and then I (Kylie) will be back on Saturday with your FREE November desktop!  Bye for now! :o)

KylieGallery Girls, Inspiration, Uncategorized 7 Comments