So This is Scrapbooking: Karen

Hello and welcome to this week's So This is Scrapbooking! when we take a peek behind the scenes of a scrapbooking life. Today I'd like to introduce you to a very talented friend of mine: Karen, I was delighted when Karen said she would like to tell her story as part of our series. She scrapbooks, she makes cards, she takes gorgeous photos and she shares it all on her blog Random Reflections. But I'll let her tell you the rest..

Karen's Story

This is a tale of how one thing leads to another. As a child, I had no particular talent in art and my pursuits were pretty much limited to coloring in images in coloring books. The rural school I attended did not offer art classes, and I grew up thinking I didn't have much creative talent to offer. Sewing was my sole creative outlet until the mid-1990’s when a colleague of mine brought in a hand-made card she had created with rubber stamps. I was immediately intrigued and after a short demonstration, I was hooked.

Creating cards for friends and family has been a passion for the last 15+ years. I've been lucky enough to be Stamper of the Month at a local stamp store (now sadly closed), published in several issues of Paper Craft Magazine, and love to get together with friends to craft. For many years, my only source of inspiration were the magazines on stamping.

After awhile, I felt like I needed some new ideas, and picked up a copy of Simple Scrapbooking. The color inspiration, articles on type, and design certainly applied to card making. But, I thought, surely the supplies I used for card making could be used for scrapbooking as well. Hah! What I’ve found is that scrapbooking has created a whole new list of needed supplies. I completed my first album in 2001 after a trip to the southwest. It’s still one of my favorites, as is scrapping our travel adventures. Travel, photographic adventures like Capture Your 365, and family are the main focus of my scrapbook pages. Shortly after completing a scrapbook of a road trip across the United States in 2008, I was offered a spot on a design team for ScrapMart, an online crafting supply site. I was a member of that team for two years, and loved the challenge of creating with new products, and especially the opportunity to attend CHA.

But that wasn't quite the end of the creative journey. It didn't take long to figure out that if my photography was better, I’d be much happier with my scrapbook pages. Now photography takes up as much of my creative time as either of my papercrafting hobbies. Here’s a layout of shore birds I captured during a recent trip to Florida.

So This is Scrapbooking. Thanks Karen! Aren't her photos beautiful? Drop by her blog to see more and say hello. You'll be very welcome!

Before I go today, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has joined in with Storytelling Sunday this year. February's stories are still coming in - you have until next Sunday to link them up, don't forget - and    what a collection of precious treasures we have for you this month. Definitely worth a look. Right here. Drop by, say hello, make yourself at home