Bella Blvd Studio Blog: National Scrapbook Day: All About Laurie & Christine

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! We have so much to share with you today, so we hope you'll keep popping in throughout your day. I challenged all of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these layouts, hour by hour, for 11 hours today. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“Land That I Love”, by Laurie Schmidlin.

This year, I decided that my "All About Me" scrapbook page would be about where I live. I am lucky enough to live in an amazingly beautiful place, surrounded by miles and miles of breathtaking views. I didn't always love Montana, as the winters are long and very cold, but I now couldn't imagine a better place to live and raise my children. We live on a cattle ranch an hour away from the nearest small town. It is a rare day that I do not see some kind of wildlife such as elk, deer, antelope, moose, and many different birds (cranes are my favorite)! Not as often seen but still around here are mountain lions, bears, and wolves. I am truly blessed to call this place my home!

Supplies:
Campout: Trinkets, Let's Go Camping, Treasures & Text; Invisibles: Fresh Air; Amorie Chipboard Alpha: White; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars; Enamel Dots: Ice

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
My top 5 supplies/products would probably be dimensional foam, my Tonic paper cutter (I have to have straight, even edges), some kind of string or twine, my sewing machine (I love to add stitching on my projects), & Enamel Dots (I am completely smitten with them)!

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I almost always listen to an audiobook while creating. During the rare times that I'm not, I will listen to music...usually Pandora.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
This past year I have gotten into a bad habit of always drinking Diet Pepsi while creating. I have been slowly phasing this out and drinking more water. I don't usually eat anything while creating as I am afraid of getting my project dirty (this has happened before LOL)!

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I used to be a complete night owl and do my best work after dark. After my last son was born, though, things have changed and I now create during nap time! Heee!

5. When the creativity isn't flowing, what do you do to get back into your creative zone?
To get inspired, I will often turn to Pinterest or my favorite design site Print & Pattern. Looking at different colors together or unique patterns is usually enough to jump start my creativity!

“I Love What I Do”, by Christine Ousley.

Creating a layout about myself is probably the hardest thing that I have ever done in scrapbooking and here is the second one I’ve done thanks to NSD at Bella Blvd. Last year I focused on goals for myself that I need to work on every day. Kind of a gentle reminder to make every day count each morning. (Yes, it is still hanging up above my desk). This year I decided to scrap about my passion for sewing which is what I am currently doing for Bella Blvd. I truly love what I do and I wanted to shout it out loud! I took a simple approach to the layout. I walked around my studio and snapped pictures with my cell phone of things that make me happy. Then I had some fun with the Trinkets embellishments, alphas and enamel dots (Love these!! Must have 10 packs in each color and style!!). I hope you have a wonderful National Scrapbooking Day and make lots of layouts and have fun with friends doing the same. When I think of all of the layouts that I have done over the years and the friendships that I have made by being involved in scrapbooking, I find that NSD is a great day to celebrate!!

Supplies:
Family Forever: Family Photo, Treasures & Text; Lucky Starz: Trinkets; Molly: Trinkets; Snapshots: Paper Pieces; High Five Alpha Stickers: Color Wheel; Enamel DooDads: Oreo Black; Enamel Dots: McIntosh

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
I recently went on a long weekend get-away and took a few scrapbook supplies with me. This is what was in my bag. My Fiskars paper cutter, Tombo Dot Adhesive, foam adhesive, and my Bella Blvd paper and stickers.

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I sometimes listen to music when I am creating but most of the time I enjoy the silence.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
When I create l always have my Starbucks Frappuccino and some Hershey’s kisses.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I create best from about 2-7. I’m definitely a middle of the day person.

5. When the creativity isn't flowing, what do you do to get back into your creative zone?
To get back in my creative zone, I will take a look at Pinterest or other places online that offer inspiration. I also love a good sketch or a new pattern to get me going.