Meet Guest Designer Mel Blackburn

We are introducing our second guest, Mel Blackburn, as little late this month as she was 

awaiting delivery of her Citrus Twist scrapbooking kit goodie box.

Hi everyone! I’m Mel Blackburn and I’m so excited to have been invited to be guest DT for Citrus Twist Kits!! What an honor it is! I’ve always admired the CT kits and having an opportunity to design with the Sugarland project life kit is such a thrill! Here’s a little about me,  my design style is eclectic, from complex multilayers and mixed media projects to simple TN spreads, I love and want to do it all!!! About three years ago I shifted my creative focus to documenting my family’s daily activities with pocket pages.  I’ve also created 6x8 Story albums, these albums feature stories that might not be normally documented, I truly love this project. My memory keeping plan for 2018 is to continue my 6x8 Story albums and also create 6x12 weekly pocket pages spreads.

You can follow my work on Instagram   and my blog.

Today I’m sharing a pocket page spread from my 2017 album. I still have about 10 weeks to finish in that album and I plan on completing them throughout the year, as the opportunity arises. I am not worried about those weeks and will start my 2018 album. In this spread I opted to create customized cards using the pattern paper and diecuts.

Creating customized cards is a great way to stretch a kit. I especially love the black and white pattern paper (anything B&W is an instant favorite) and those prints were ideal for my pocket page and to be paired with the diecuts. This week is rather light in pictures so creating filler cards was essential. Since the patter paper prints were similar I made sure to place the black and white filler in strategic locations in my spread. I didn’t want to have filler cards in close proximity and opted to place them at a diagonal design, which helps guide the eye through my spread. Hope you are inspired to create your own filler cards!!!

Q&A

1. When did you start scrapbooking? I’ve been in the scrapbook industry for over 10 years. My love of paper started at a very young age when I started hoarding a collection of notepads and fruit scented pens. My love of scrapbooking and memory keeping evolved when I became a mother.
2. What is something most people would not know about you? In our 20s, my husband and I decided that it would be fun to take up scuba diving, so on our honeymoon we went sea diving. Although I enjoyed the experienced I was a bit creeped out with swimming last in line, not knowing what could come up behind me really creeped me out, so I always tried to stay ahead of the group. When we came back from our honeymoon my husband decided to continue with his scuba certification, I opted to watch from the sideline and enjoy the beach with a good book!
3. What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without? I would be lost without  my typewriters (either my vintage or electric), my Tim Holtz tiny attacher (this is a favorite in my house, from my youngest daughter to my husband, everyone borrow it from time to time – I really need to get one for everyone!) and finally my Staz-On ink, I use that stuff on everything but I especially like it on pictures, it really creates clear images (plus it smells good!). 
4. What do you love about the January 2018 "Sugarland" kit? What an awesome kit!!! First of all, the color palette, I’m a huge fan of a light color palette, it’s like this kit was made for me!! The diecuts are also a favorite of mine, I love using diecuts not only with my pocket pages but also in TNs, love how they can be layered without adding bulkiness. Finally the book page, I can’t wait to use it in a TN, ephemera is always a favorite of mine and this page will be perfect!!! 
5. Finish this sentence “If you could see my scrapbooking space now . . . " you would be shocked at the minimalist design of my space! I have a small table and an armoire, everything that I own has to fit in there. I no longer have a dedicate room, my work space is in a corner of the dining room. I will share more of it in another post!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

- Mel