Gallery Girls ~ SparkysGirl2 (Lisa)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hi everyone! :o)  It’s Kylie here…and once again, I’m thrilled to share another GALLERY GIRLS feature with you!  It is always an absolute joy for me to put these all-time favorite posts together for all of us to read & enjoy!  As I’m sure you’ll all agree, there is something so special about learning a little about the very talented person behind all those wonderful pieces of gallery inspiration!  And with this new post we are very fortunate to get to know a little more about the very-very talented and lovely Lisa!…or SparkysGirl2, as she’s known in our beloved little gallery.  

Here at the Shabby Shoppe we soooo treasure our little digi-scrapping community…and Lisa has been a special part of our Shabby family since 2009.  And, since then she has delighted us and inspired us beyond words with all the layouts she has posted.  Her digi-scrapping skills are literally breath-taking…every page is quite simply stunningly beautiful!!  Lisa has a definite knack in bringing out the very best in the paper combinations she chooses to layer…floral, plaid, stripes…genius!  Put your hand up if you’re like me and in complete AWE of Lisa‘s clustering skills…seriously now, just take a peek at all those perfectly formed posies!  And, she sure knows how to mix and match all our favorite Shabby Princess kits seamlessly!  I’m certain we’ve all stared at a SparkysGirl2 page from time to time, totally fascinated, and just soaking up all that brilliant scrapbooking goodness – I know I have!!  And it’s not just Lisa‘s scrapping abilities that catch your eye, it is her sense of family, her memory-keeping…the stories remembered and beautifully told.  Her pages are heartfelt and, above all else, full of love!

(Be sure to keep on scrolling so you don’t miss all the brand new layouts – there’s bunches and bunches!! - Lisa created especially for this feature!  She will also be uploading them to her gallery…so you can see larger images and more info about each there…Thanks Lisa!)

Let’s start with some inspiration!  Lisa sent through so many new creations that it made the job of choosing which one to keep full-size and showcase first a very tricky thing indeed…I fell in love with all of them!  In the end I chose this beauty…how could I not, really!  Old photos of loved ones get me every time!!

Now, on with the interview…and heaps of inspiration along the way…

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF…

My name is Lisa, but I am known around digiland as SparkysGirl.  I am married to my best friend, and we have raised three kids together – two girls and a boy.  Our son still lives at home, but he has one foot out the door!  He will be graduating from college at the end of this year, and he is planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him — sssshhhh!  Depending on timing, I might be revealing a secret! ;)  We have a dog named Tanner, and three cats:  Grace, Suzy and Faith.  At this point in our lives, my husband (also known as Sweet Baby Cakes) and I are officially “dating” again.  We managed to navigate the waters of child rearing, and we finally have time to spend together doing things that we enjoy.  We find time to see movies, peruse antique stores, take short road trips, and we share dinner out A LOT.  In addition to working full-time as a systems analyst, I enjoy photography, reading, genealogy, and, of course, digital scrapbooking.

Here are two more lovlies!  How fun is the angled background papers?!!

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

I have been scrapbooking digitally since April of 2009.  At that time, I was looking for a way to create a special scrapbook for my husband’s upcoming “milestone” birthday.  I also wanted to create a slideshow of photos.  As I hunted the web for resources, I stumbled upon digital scrapbooking sites … like The Shabby Shoppe!  I was intrigued, and I got started almost immediately.  I had paper scrapped for years prior, but I was frustrated by the mess it created and the need to pack it up and put it away.  With digital, there are no tiny scraps of paper, glitter or glue to clean up!  I can scrap anytime and anywhere!  Instant love and instant addiction!  I am so thankful for the Shabby Princess, because she has those “freebies” on her site.  I downloaded and used those to build my confidence in my ability to scrap digitally.  Without those freebies, I doubt I would have pursued the craft the way I have.  I was worried about investing money in kits until I was sure I could successfully use them to create layouts.  I am eternally grateful to her for her generosity!  It opened up a whole new world for me!

Now these are just PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY!!!!!

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR SCRAPPING STYLE?

My scrapping style is eclectic to say the least.  Most of my layouts are the standard heritage or paper-look style.  However, if the mood strikes I’ll create a page that leans more towards an art journal type layout.  If I am going through a difficult time, I often use the outlet of scrapping to express myself.  One fairly constant in my pages is clustering … I am an element-clustering fanatic!  I love flowers, leaves, swirling ribbon and string, and stamps.  I am in awe of the creativity of other scrappers, and when I feel my mojo going on the fritz I haunt the galleries or participate in a challenge.  I love to look for new techniques to learn, and I’ll often incorporate them into my layouts – this adds to the random and eclectic style.  One resource I use a lot to learn new things is Photoshop Creative magazine.

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

The first component of each page varies from page to page for me.  Sometimes it’ll be a particular element or paper from a kit that inspires me.  Other times I have a specific photo or topic that I am laying out, and I’ll start with it.  Every now and again … it’s the title that begins it and I build from there.  As I sit here pondering my typical approach to a page, I realize I’m a little scattered about it.  But it always works itself out in the end.

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

Lisa says ~ One of my most favorite layouts is one that I created for the Amazing Digi Scrap Race last year.  I love it, because it is a heritage page without a heritage look to it.  It’s called, “Creative Women“.  Some of the most special people in my life are on the page.  I really, really, really hate photos of myself, so it’s odd that one of my favorite layouts includes a photo of me.  I think it was a required element to the page.  I love the colors and the topic.

…and here is SP’s pick(s)…

…okay, so SP had a hard time picking JUST ONE (I don’t blame her one bit!)…so there ended up being a tie for her fave SparkysGirl2 creation…

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

The technique I wish I had known about right away was shadowing, shadowing, shadowing!  It makes such a huge difference in layouts!  I am always searching for cool shadowing techniques that create a more realistic look and that adds to the page creatively.

WHAT IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR SCRAPBOOKING?

Just like my eclectic style … my inspiration is random, too!  I see layouts EVERYWHERE (this is now a family joke – they recognize the zoned look I get when I see something that is inspiring a page)!  From the menu board at a restaurant, to a television commercial, to a magazine advertisement … I’m always thinking in terms of how it could be translated into a page.  I am a Christian, and I am often inspired by my faith and the scriptures.  I am also driven to document my heritage.  After my Mama passed away, I received tubs of old photos.  Some of the photos are labeled with who the people are in them.  However, quite a few aren’t labeled at all, and I find this to be so sad!  Each of the photos has people with a story … and, I’m nosey … I want to know their story.  I’m on a quest to get them labeled and the stories told.  I hope my children and grandchildren will appreciate having tons of family information at their fingertips.

What beautiful photographs…and stunning page designs to match!

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

I have a couple of cameras.  I have a Canon Rebel T3i that I use as a backup.  My main camera is a Canon 60D.  My next investment will be in better lenses. 

When I first started scrapbooking digitally, I used Microsoft DIP but only for a short time.  I used Photoshop Elements after that, but I have since upgraded to Photoshop CS5.  I recently purchased Photoshop Lightroom to organize and process my photos, but I haven’t learned how to use it yet.  Sometimes it seems there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

These two layouts are sooo creative…and sooo cute!

FAST FIVE FACTS!

• Favorite COLOR: Blue
• Favorite FOOD: Chocolate
• Favorite MOVIE: Planes, Trains and Automobiles (I love to laugh!)
• Favorite SONG: What A Wonderful World … makes me cry every time I hear it!
• Favorite MEMORY: The day I married Sweet Baby Cakes

And finally, this little masterpiece…it makes my heart smile!

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So, now you ‘know’ Lisa a little better!  She is such an inspiration for us at the Shoppe and I’m certain you are finding yourself completely inspired, too!  Be sure to check out Lisa’s entire gallery for even more beautiful layouts and digi-scrapping inspiration! 

THANKS AGAIN LISA, for being a ‘gallery girl’ and for allowing us to admire all your special pages – full of wonderful family photos and memories – right here at the Shabby Shoppe blog today! :o)  It has truly been a pleasure & a privilege to work with you!

Thanks for stopping by…and I’ll be seeing you all tomorrow with the JULY free Desktop!!

KylieGallery Girls, Inspiration, Uncategorized 9 Comments