We are so excited to have the talented Lisa Varshine as our guest designer this month. We are huge fans of Lisa's creative projects using our kits -she is a new subscriber, but we have been following Lisa for some time, and we are sure she is going to amaze you all with her creations.
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GET TO KNOW LISA
Hi everyone! My name is Lisa Varshine (some of
you may have seen my work as Freckle Pickle). I’m thrilled to be this month’s
Guest Designer. Thank you for having me! I’m a wife and mom of two (Ava, 6 and
Ben, 2), living in Atlanta, Ga. Right now, I’m a freelance writer and a
passionate (ok, obsessive) memory keeper. I finished my first spread in October
of 2016, and I have no idea how I’ve survived without this craft for so long.
While I’ve just recently started memory keeping, it’s become an all-consuming passion
for me. I’m primarily a pocket-page scrapbooker. I love documenting our lives
in weekly spreads, as well as mini albums, traveler’s notebooks, and the very
rare 12x12 traditional spread. While the sizes of my projects are varied, my
style remains the same: clean, yet bold, graphic, and colorful. I’m in the
middle of my second year on Ali Edward’s creative team, as well as my third
term for Studio Calico (on both their Travelers Notebook and Documenter teams).
I’m also very lucky to be designing for Color Cast Designs. I’m so happy to be
here and honored to share a few of my projects with you all.
Q&A with LISA
When did you start scrapbooking?
I completed my first spread in October of 2016.
My son was born in August of 2016 after a three-year battle with secondary
infertility. At that point, we were coming out of a dark period and I was so
filled with gratitude and joy that I wanted to document as much as I could of
my little family of four. Not everyone in our situation gets a happy ending.
Beyond that, memory keeping has really helped me find my voice as a storyteller
and be mindful of my attitude and perspective throughout the ups and downs of
everyday life. When I started memory keeping I had thousands upon thousands of
pictures living on my phone, and I’m so thankful to have these memories present
in a more tangible form.
What is something most people would not know
about you?
I am such a candid person (for better or for
worse), I feel like I’m an open book. But, I would say anyone who follows me on
instagram might be surprised to know I’m a political junkie. I went to school
in Washington D.C. and graduated with a political science degree. I lived there
for ten years and worked on Capitol Hill as a Senate staffer, and in nonprofits
after that. A lot of my freelance work deals with policy and politics. On top
of that, I’m constantly listening to political podcasts and checking my news
feed. It’s a particularly contentious political environment right now and
memory keeping provides a little bit of a reprieve from the acrimony, a safe
space. The scrapbooking community is just an absolute gift! I’ve made so many
friends and spoken with so many amazing women. This craft has been such a
blessing for me.
What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t
live without?
If computers and printers were considered
scrapbooking products, that would be my easy answer. I print at home on my
Cannon printer and use Photoshop frequently. But, honestly, I would choose the
basics that I always run out of: my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (staples), black
Stayz-on ink, and then inkjet vellum. I’m using those three things over, and
over, and over again!
What do you love about the July Life Crafted
Kit?
Ah! How do I even narrow that down? I just can’t
possibly pick a favorite, so maybe I’ll just share a few highlights. Chipboard
is probably the embellishment that I reach for the most and this month’s
chipboard designs are so great. The patterned papers are ridiculously cute, so
complimentary without being too matchy. My favorite is the gorgeous neon pink
star pattern! I had to wrestle that one back from my six-year-old. But, I think
the stamp might be the winner for me. The sentiments are perfect, the fonts are
right up my alley, and the smaller size will be perfect adding to photos. It’s
one that I know I’ll use again and again.
If you could see my scrapbooking space now….
Hah! You might be horrified. I’m lucky enough to
have a home office that I use for work and crafting. But, we are currently
going through a couple renovations in our house and we’re “storing” a lot of
extra stuff in my space. I can’t find anything! Normally, I love it. As soon as
we moved in, I painted an entire huge wall, floor to ceiling, with magnetic
chalkboard paint. That wall dominates the room and is home to so many pictures
from my kids, chalk drawings, ABC magnets. You name it. It’s also the only room
in the house where there was no compromise…my husband absolutely never enters
that space. It’s 100% my taste. I can’t wait till our projects are finished and
I get it back in there.
Here is a peek at Lisa's Creative Space
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I have been using my gorgeous Goldenrod Life Crafted
album as a summer mini album. For my second project with this months’ kit, I
wanted to put together a spread talking about what our afternoons look like. We
have been spending our time outside with friends, popsicles, sidewalk chalk,
and a rainbow sprinkler inflatable (thank you Amazon!)
I used a full page photo of the kids on the
right side of this spread. I wanted to add more detail and interest to the
photo and decided to punch concentric circles in a few of the wonderful
patterns from the kits. I staggered them to showcase each pattern, then topped
the stack off with a circle chipboard piece. I finished this little cluster
with the “summer is here” stamp from the Life Crafted set.
On the left, I added a two-3x4 page protector.
How lucky was I to find the PERFECT journaling card: the rainbow. I actually
used the digital version of the card so I could include typed journaling. I
love to add black whenever I can to all of my spreads. I guess I feel like it
balances out the bright colors I tend to gravitate towards. The half-circle
“hello” chipboard was perfect, and total bonus that I was able to repeat the
arch shape.
For the bottom 3x4 card, I used a scrap piece of
transparency (old page protectors also do the trick). The spread before this
one includes a great full-page shot of Ava and a friend in the pool. I thought
by using the transparency, I could let some of that great turquoise peek
through. I used the a sticker from the add-on kit (I will be using ALL of
these) and then used a large date stamp with Stayz-on ink.
Finally, I used the stamp set for this cute tab.
“Wonderstruck” was in a such a cute font, and perfectly sized for the tab
insert. Quick and easy…just how I like it!
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Thank you so much Lisa for giving us a peek at your creative space and the gorgeous spread. Your projects are beautiful and always innovative and colorful. Lisa will be back in a few days with another inspiring project. If you are not a fan of Lisa, yet, then make sure you follow her, she is an awesome and truly inspiring documenter :
