Happy July!  Happy Independence Day America!  Everyone at Two Peas wishes all of you a very happy holiday!

It has been a great summer so far-- busy as usual. Jeffrey and I traveled to Roma, Italy in the beginning of June to celebrate our 10th Wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful vacation!  Armed with our digital camera we took over 1000 photographs!  I am intimidated by them. I can’t wait to scrap them with all of the notes from our travel journals, but I want to make it the best album I have created yet, and I am frightened that I might make something I won’t like in later years. As I think about it, I think this is what keeps me from scrapbooking the important milestones in my life, birthdays, etc. I want to capture them and display them in a way that I am sure to love later. But I need to stop thinking that way and just create a page that adequately reflects the moment. I think I should make that my project and goal for the rest of the year.

We even met a few Peas on our trip----Hello to the user who introduced herself to us at the Philadelphia Airport!

July is the month of the summer trade show, and I am looking forward to attending! I love looking at all the new products, purchasing as much as I possibly can. I can hardly wait to have it all in the warehouse, so I can unpack it and hold it in my hands.  Products, paper especially, is what keeps me loving this industry and this craft as much as I do. I love to see and buy new products.

We are planning a lot of pre-tradeshow previews and presales---there is lot of activity coming up in the next 2 weeks! Watch for all new product releases and sneak peaks.

 

"Miss You Card - new SEI Be Bop collection" by Shelley Sullivan	"New Products (Lil Davis) Play" by Terrie McDaniel
"Greatness (new Sonnets stickers)" by Mellette Berezoski	"Newsletter - New Product Pebbles I KAN DEE" by Leslie Lightfoot
"Bundle of Joy - O'Scrap Choices" by Amy Grendell

When did you start scrapbooking? how were you introduced to it?
I started scrapbooking 7 years ago. My sister Lisa had started an album at a home party and completed about 6 pages in it. Every time I visited her, I would look at the album. I was so drawn to it. She never added anymore pages but I would always want to look at it. I knew that I wanted to do this thing called "scrapbooking" with the photos and stories of my son, Stephen who was only 6 months old at the time.

I found some supplies at a craft store and kept going back and getting more before I even did a page. After I did my first page, I never looked back (and I never stopped shopping!).

What are your sources for inspiration?
Defiantly my children and the other people I love. I am inspired to scrapbook when I have a story I want to tell about them or to them.

How do you get started on projects (layouts, etc)?
I usually start with the photos. I literally will stare at the photos until an idea for a page pops into my mind. I need to have a good idea of the story I want to tell with the photos before I can go onto picking out products and such. After the idea comes to mind, I will go to my patterned paper and start laying things on my workspace until ideas for the layout design come.

What things do you like to communicate through your work? (this might be a bit deep, I am sorry if this is too hard)
I want my children to be able to go back and look at the pages in the scrapbook and remember the bits and pieces of their life. Those memories hopefully will include lots of love, lots of fun times, lots of cool things that they did and sometimes some not so fun or happy things. I hope they will feel in their hearts how much I love them and how proud I am that they are mine.

What have been your biggest achievements or greatest layouts or moments with this hobby?
I am very proud of being a Garden Girl. I sometimes still cant believe that I am one. I dont know how I got so lucky! No matter what other things may or may not happen in the big scrapping world for me, I have achieved something wonderful by being asked to be a Garden Girl.

I am also really proud when I give someone a gift that I made like an album, mini album or even a card that they just totally love. That makes me feel so good.

What kind of goals do you have with your scrapbooking?
I would like to try and catch up a bit on my photos. I am way behind and lately have been scrapping very little. So my short term goal is to get some pages done. I would also like to get my completed pages out of the HUGE pile that they are in and into albums. That is my goal for the summer vacation.

I would also like to win CK HOF. I have entered every single year since it started and obviously have not been chosen to win. It hurts not to win but I still give it my best every year.

Where do you scrap? do you attend crops or conventions?
I scrap at home in my scrapbook room. I do attend crops and retreats when I can. I thrive on the social interaction and usually get nothing done but I enjoy the social part. I teach at a local CT crop called Lil Ladybug SOS Crops and have met some wonderful woman there. I really look forward to this crop every month.

I attend conventions whenever they are close enough to drive and my child care plans work out. I have flown to conventions but like when I can keep my feet on the ground for traveling.

Where does scrapbooking fit into your life? do you scrap in the morning, evening, late night? when do you do your greatest work?
When my boys are in school, I get a few uninterrupted hours of scrapping. This is usually not enough for me, so I scrapbook almost every night or do some scrap related like read a magazine. I do my greatest work when I am alone and my brain can think without someone needing help in the potty or needing a drink.

What does your family think of your scrapbooking?
My kids seem excited when I show them pages I have in magazines or on Two Peas but get the most thrill when I show them the actual pages that I did about them.

My husband is over the moon about my scrapping. He loves to show off my achievements and can be overheard bragging about me. Makes me feel good!

Do you have a favorite product line, paper, sticker, or cardstock color?
I really love KI. It has a little of everything I love -- patterned papers, cool letter stickers, some embellishments and some awesome premade punch outs.

I also love rub ons -- any kind or color -- I want them all. My favorite cardstock color is celery or Hillary.

what do you want the peas to know about you? this can be short bio information----where you live, if you feel comfortable doing that. if you work outside the home, etc etc.
A little bit about me and my family: we live in a small town in western CT. We moved here two years ago when we bought our first house. My husband, Stephen and I were born and raised in NYC. He was born and grew up in Red Hook, Brooklyn and I grew up in Glendale, Queens. THe country life is something very new to us but we love it.

I have two boys Stephen who is 7 and Daniel who is 4. We recently found out that we are expecting our third baby in January.

I have met so many wonderful ladies because of this hobby, online and off. I am very grateful for all the opportunities and friendships that I have received because of scrapbooking. I dont know what I did or talked about before scrapping!