Welcome to my blog!!

For over two years I’ve receive questions like these: What is the name of your blog? Do you have a website? Where can I see your projects? The wait is over…I finally have a blog! No it is not fancy and I haven’t added any personal touches but it’s a start. I will use this to share my creative pursuits in scrapbooking but will include other things of importance to me from time to time. If you follow me long enough, you will learn all about our crazy and fun family; see plenty of pages and learn some techniques as I hope to have tutorials from time to time. I pray this adventure will be as fun as you all say it will!

About six months ago, I tried out for an on-line Design Team with Urban Anthology and ended up in seventh place. Well, it’s back again and I’m going to toss my pages into the ring and see where they land. I have completed challenge #1 – a layout about my signature scrapbooking style. There are two ways in which to be chosen this time around. The first and most exciting is to be voted a member by fellow scrapbookers. They will post all of the entries with voting buttons and you will choose the winner. They are going to be choosing three other individuals at the end of the on-line voting to be a part of the team as well. So, please check the blog (http://urban-anthology.com/blog/) from Saturday, September 26th to Wednesday, September 30th to cast your vote. I realize some of you aren’t scrapbookers, but I’d love your vote as well. Thanks!

Challenge #1 – Choose a sketch from the Design Teams Gallery and use it for a layout depicting my signature style, a personal photo and a description of my style.

As a scrapbooker, I believe the emphasis revolves around the story. Coordinating paper and bling are great things, but they don’t tell the story – they sell it. So when I scrapbook, the story is my aim in the theatrical performance of my layout and so what better way to tell a story than with a picture?

Pictures tell the story in way words can’t. Time Magazine – National Geographic - they take countless amazing pictures that tell someone’s story – someone’s experience. The facial expression – the wrinkles – the sparkle in their eyes – the joy in their smile – it paints visual imagery that would take chapters to pen. Oh – and I tilt those off center frequently or as I like to call it, catawampus. The unnatural angle draws your eyes very naturally.

My supporting cast member in the play is paper. It’s the canvas for which the story is painted. It’s the foundation the beautiful house sits on. It’s too often picked because it matches – not because it supports from edge to edge.

To wrap up the act and scene, I complete my story with embellishments – it’s the use of color and texture that moves you from one scene to another, telling the story with dimension and style. Think of them as props, costumes and light. Too much causes you to lose focus of the story. I use them appropriately and intentionally. So to answer your question about style, it really depends on the story told. Not all my stories are the same, so my layouts are reflective of each individual, unique tale, down to the last pop dot, brad and bow. My layouts are clean but you with patches of subtle distressing. I use ribbons and threads for texture. All of it works together to present the dramatic play, the Kristen way.

Thanks for checking out my layout and voting for me later this weekend! This concludes my very first post!! I look forward to sharing much more with you as I begin this new adventure. And thanks to those that have encouraged me to blog - I'm glad you did!