Anyone else get a little teary last night watching The Bachelorette? I was at the gym and Jason saying goodbye to his son turned up the waterworks, which I cleverly passed off as sweat and quickly wiped away with my towel. Crying at the gym is probably not really cool, huh? I also have a habit of watching tv with my headphones on but laughing out loud... then looking around, mortified, to see who heard me. Yes, I am also the person who cracks up at the men who pound on the exercise bikes and yell "no way!" while watching sports on the tvs. Good times at the Lincoln Park Athletic Club, I tell ya.
Anyway, thanks for the questions that were left on the MM RAK a while ago (I've got a sweet Fiskars giveaway to do this week, yay!) And here are some answers...
Karen wrote: love reading your blog....what are your fave scrap goodies right now?
Hi Karen! My friend Melanie works at Two Peas so she emailed me last week to let me know the Heather Bailey Freshcut products were in (she's such a good friend :)) so I placed an order with lots of fun goodies... October Afternoon, Doodlebug polkie dots paper (going to try their flocking powder too), new SEI, some Making Memories Fifth Avenue... lots of good stuff right now. But I especially love that Heather Bailey line, just so gorgeous!
Annie wrote: I loving seeing a KP update on my Google Reader! What's your pens/markers you use in scrappin?
Hi there Annie! The only pens and markers I use are American Crafts. They are the best, hands down. I picked one up four years ago and have been in love ever since. The AC pens are made on a machine right in their warehouse in Utah, with a chemist named Milton on staff. Little bit of trivia for ya ;) The pen that gets used the most is the AC Precision Pen .03 in black. Seriously the best.
Jeannie wrote: Love your style! Do you have a signature style in your scrapbooking - is there something in your pages that you always use or do??
Hey Jeannie! It's kind of funny because I'm not sure how to even define my own style? I know that I like to do bright, colorful layouts with just a few embellishments. I'm lucky to be part of the American Crafts and Fiskars Brands teams, so you will always see something from them on my pages because they generously send me their awesome products on a regular basis. Oh and foam dots... I always use foam dots. I am addicted :)
Candice PJ wrote: How great that you are sharing your wealth with this RAK! My question is about journaling - how do you do it? Does is just come to you as you make a layout or do you plan it in advance?
Hello Candice! Good question. I usually don't plan journaling in advance and so most of the time it comes out really cheesey or incomplete. I really love writing my own journaling, but am finding myself using the computer more & more because I can type things out and easily edit (rather than mess up the layout when I mispell words, which I do often!) When Heather was here she was looking through my books and mentioned something I had written on a page and I said "yeah, that was really cheesey & dorky because I just wanted to get it done and submitted to a magazine." But I started thinking more about it and realize that I need to focus more on journaling that I will enjoy looking back and reading, rather than hurrying to get it done.
Jenny A wrote: I love your blog! And it is super cool that you are sharing goodies with us! What is your absolute favorite color to scrap with?
Hi Jenny! I think my favorite color to scrap with is pink... because there are so many fun shades of pink and it always brightens up a layout. I do love to use leaf green though, that's probably a bit overused on my pages!
Abby wrote: Hi KP! Love your blog! My question for ya: How do you get yourself out of a "I don't feel creative" rut...those days when you're feeling less-inspired but you want to create a layout...but then you don't? Hope I didn't confuse you! Btw, love the SATC shoes! :) Thanks for sharing your goodies with us! Also, you need to share a photo of what your scrapnook looks like!!! :)
Hey there Abby! First off, the SATC shoes in that photo were from Target... totally a good deal :)
I definitely go through creative ruts or burnt out periods. It's hard because right now I am a scrapbooker as a part-time job, so I spend about 20 - 30 hours a week creating. I never want to put work out there that I'm not proud of or haven't put 100% into, so it is challenging to always be creative. My personal solution is to go shopping (but not necessarily to buy anything!) (but yes, I probably will ending up buying something!)... I get tons of inspiration from clothing stores like Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic, J Crew, GAP... places that have fun colors, patterns, design. Taking a trip to the scrapbook or art supply store is always a guarentee for me that I will want to go home and scrap.
As for my scrapnook, right now it looks like a tornado went through. I'm kind of embarrassed that my company last weekend had to see it! But I've got lots of fun projects in progress right now that couldn't be disturbed (or at least that is what I tell myself!) I just finnished working with the awesome Maurianne at Creating Keepsakes on the How We Create article for an upcoming issue... so you can see lot of photos of my space and read about my process in the magazine soon!
Ok, that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me and enough rambling for today :) The end.
Hi KP!! Love your giveaways -- I hope I win! I hope I win! :)
Recommendations?!...I was shopping at J.Crew the other day and there are some patterns & styles I think you may want to check out! The Quincy Top and Clea Tanks are cute -- will go nicely with cardigans (right up your alley) and the sophisticated Kayla Blouse (patterned or solid) is a nice choice as well! Check 'em out! :) Have a good one!