Nicole's Layouts So Far

I haven't been very good about posting my layouts as I "race", so here's what I've done so far. (Click on the photos for credits.)

Challenge #1 was all about Meg. This was right after she came home from her sleepover at the vet, and things were a little stressful. The challenge for this layout was to rip the photo into at least three pieces. I also tried to grunge up the photo a bit and make it look like it had been sitting in my pocket for a couple days. Even though I hadn't actually printed out the photo to put in my pocket, Meg was on my mind 24-7!

Challenge #2 required Grace and I to work on a "Cabin Fever" layout together. We used her photo since she had the perfect cabin fever story. I'll let her share it with you since she can tell the story better than I can (after all, she was there!).

Challenge #3 was to re-scrap the oldest layout I'd posted in a gallery. Since I've really only posted to one gallery, I didn't have much to choose from. I didn't love this challenge simply because I really like the FIRST layout I did with this photo. This one here will probably never make it into a printed album, especially since all of the journaling had to be the same as on the original layout. Oh well, at least I was able to experiment with turning a normal photo into a film negative.Here's the original layout that I had to re-scrap.Challenge #4 was to be artsy-fartsy and use wings, paint splatters, glitter, etc. I like the way this page came out. And yes, Meg is the star of the show again!

Challenge #5 required me to use three unique frames and no pictures. Yikes! What's the point of scrapbooking if you can't use pictures?! Some scrappers create digi-scrap collages that are art in and of themselves, but I prefer to scrapbook the traditional way. For me, scrapbooking is all about recording my story for posterity. Challenge #6 required me to scraplift one of Grace's layouts. I copied the layout she did for Challenge #5, which Grace will post soon.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for more layouts and interviews. :)

Getting to Know Nicole

Tell us about yourself and your family.
I live with my husband, Tim, and puppy, Meg (Megatron), in South Korea. Tim's a fighter pilot in the Air Force which is why we live in such an exotic location. I'm originally from NH and have lots of family and friends still there. I'm a teacher, but I'm passing the time in Korea working as an executive assistant, aka glorified secretary.

How long have you been scrapbooking?
My college roommate got me hooked on traditional scrapbooking in our freshman year. I started digital scrapbooking in the summer of '07, and I've since convinced my college roommate that digi is the way to go!

How did you learn/when did you start digi-scrapbooking?
Tiffany of Storybooks to Share got me hooked on it. She makes the most beautiful books and they inspired me to create my own. Plus it's nice to not lug all sorts of paper scrapbooking supplies from country to country when Tim gets stationed somewhere new.

How would you describe your style?
I usually try to get my pages to look like they are paper layouts. I want everything to look realistic so that the person looking through the book has to touch the page before s/he realizes the ribbon, button, etc, isn't actually there.

What's the last good thing you read?
I'm reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett right now and love it!

What's your favorite non-scrapbooking hobby?
Probably knitting, but cooking, baking, and relaxing on the beach are all close seconds.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
What a hard question! I would love to go back in time and meet Oscar Wilde, but I wouldn't want to be him, so I'm not really answering the question. This is the sort of question that I would likely answer in a thousand different ways depending on the time of day you asked me, but right now I'm going to say Ernest Hemingway in the 1920s or 30s. I suppose I am living out a very small portion of his experiences --- I too am an expat. Hemingway saw a lot more of the world than I have so far. I wonder what it would feel like to create such fantastic characters and write books that would one day become classics. I will probably never know those emotions firsthand, but anything can happen. :)

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
Since I can't request Audrey Hepburn, I'll go with Keira Knightley. She's way hot and a great actress! Okay, I've only seen one of her movies, but she's the person who first comes to mind. I would absolutely not want Angelina Jolie to play me. (Homewrecker!) I'd throw a real hissy fit about that... unless it meant I could meet Brad Pitt. :)

What's your favorite quote?
Right now, it's an Oscar Wilde quote: "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." It makes me laugh every time I read it!

What's your favorite kind of cheese?
I got hooked on Raclette while vacationing in Chamonix, France. It quickly became an addiction. My village's market in Germany occasionally carried it, but there is absolutely no chance of ever finding it in Korea.

When you were five years old (or six or seven) what did you want to be when you grew up?
A farmer. My grandparents kept pushing for me to become a doctor, but I was determined to be a farmer!

We're Off!!

Click to see full-sized, and to get the credits!

The race has begun!!  The first challenge was posted early this morning.  I was so anxious to get scrapping that I went ahead and completed it!!  The challenge posted was to tear a picture into three or more pieces, and to use journaling.  

When I was working on this LO, I wanted to make sure that it was a LO I would be happy with whether it was satisfying the needs of the challenge or not... I wanted to be more subtle in my incorporation of the challenge requirements, so that my layout was my layout that happened to incorporate the challenge, rather than made just for that purpose.  I think it turned out well--I've been looking forward to using this kit by Kasia, and I think it works here!

The tearing was an interesting challenge.  I used some paper curls that I found in my stash, and I like the way the result turned out.