Log Your Memory is all about scrapping your “real” life. March Calendar Girl Lydia Tarbox shares her thoughts today on just what that means to her …

It’s All About the Relationships…

The more I think about the concept of “real life” scrapbooking, the more I realize that what I really want to capture in my layouts are the relationships that are so important to me.

Lydia Tarbox

I have been blessed with truly amazing parents, and my siblings are my best friends. I have a wonderful husband who is incredibly patient and supportive of me. And, to top it all off, I have three beautiful and healthy children. More than anything, I want my kids to build the kinds of relationships with each other that will carry them through the difficult times of their lives.

Life isn’t always sunny, but as we endure life’s challenges, we learn what is really important. It’s family. It’s love. And, to me, that’s “real life.”

I want my scrapbooking to document the relationships that I cherish most – so that my children will look back and see how much I loved being their mother even though it wasn’t always easy, how much I loved watching them grow and learn and develop their own special bonds, and how much love I had for so many other people who were influential in my life.

Because there’s nothing more “real” than that!

So, in the midst of the all the other events and special moments that we are all trying to capture with our scrapbooking, make sure you take some time to record your thoughts and memories of the people and relationships that really bring richness and vitality to your life.

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Welcome to a new month at Log Your Memory, with lots of fun and inspiration to help you scrap your real life!

First of all, I’d like to express a huge thank you to February Calendar Girl Jen DeLorenzo (jend) and February Guest Designer Misty Cato. Both of these ladies shared a great deal of their time and talents with us last month, which was very much appreciated.

I’d also like to welcome our March Calendar Girl, Lydia Tarbox (ltarbox), and introduce this month’s Guest Designer, Suzy Iverson of SuzyQ Scraps.

You’ll learn more about these gals as the month continues, beginning tomorrow with a “real life” guest blog post from Lydia and Thursday with a fun challenge chat with Suzy, as well as a preview here on the blog of the fabulous new digi-kit Suzy created especially for Log Your Memory scrappers.

Also new this month, we’re adding several challenge chats to the calendar, beginning today with our new series created especially for our Book Club members. We’ve also scheduled several other chats open to all registered members of our site.

Here’s a roundup of this month’s challenge chats … be sure to mark them on your calendar so you can join us!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

Taking the lead as our Calendar Girl of the Month is the lovely & talented Jen DeLorenzo (jend). Jen sets the stage for a month full of sweetness with her “real life” guest post below. Jen will also assist with choosing the Layout of the Week later in the month, plus compile a special edition of our weekly Story Board.

February has arrived and love is in the air.

As the song goes, all you need is love… … and within a family there is an abundance to capture. There are so many little glimpses into the power love holds.  When my children look back through my scrapbooks as adults I want them to feel the overwhelming love I have for them.  I want them to see my heart on each and every page.

There are so many little stories that would get missed and lost in the progress of time if they weren’t written down.  The sweet little everyday tidbits disappear and we are just left with a warm glow and fond memories, but none of them distinct.  It is so important to capture that love and get it down before it slips through your hands.

A human memory is so fleeting.  It is so easy to go about our normal day and think “oh that was such a cute/sweet/special moment” and do nothing about it. Love has no limits.  You can love people, animals and things.  I think recording it all is important.

If you just try to steal those moments back from time, I guarantee you won’t regret it.  Those pages will quickly become your favorites. I have posted some examples of pages that to me speak the language of love.  I hope you take this and go scrap your love story!

Introducing February Guest Designer Misty Cato

I am excited to introduce this month’s Guest Designer … the fabulous Misty Cato. Right in keeping with this month’s theme, Misty has created a beautiful kit especially for us, which one lucky Log Your Memory reader will win for free in a special giveaway later this month. For everyone following along with the Logbook Weekly Challenges, you’ll find that Misty’s creation … “Adoration” … is a perfect complement to Weekly Challenge #7: Who is your most favorite person in the world?

To give you a little taste of the goods, Misty has provided this wonderful freebie mini-kit just for you! Click on the image to download this little goodie … and be sure to leave a note in our comment section to let Misty know how much you appreciate her generosity!

Also be sure to check out Misty’s store at Sweet Shoppe Designs. To sweeten the deal, Misty’s even offered a special coupon just for Log Your Memory readers.

Note: Offer excludes scoops/dips and coupon must be used on a single purchase of Misty’s products. Fans are also invited to subscribe to Misty’s newsletter here.

Please share your comments through our community forum…

The good, the bad & the adorable “ugly” is what I enjoy capturing in my scrapbook pages about real life.

Guest Post by Calendar Girl Heather Guenther

Sometimes those photos which you would normally dismiss as being unflattering or a technical mess can be the ones which tell the story the best and should be embraced not deleted. They often contain the details which make the story truly sing. They often better capture the moments which are going to be memorable for many more years than the perfect photo which doesn’t truly capture the story of the memory. They may be fuzzy or bad lighting but they will still jog the memory the same and bring back the vividness of the moment in your mind the same as a technically good photo.

Do you remember days where everything went perfect … or do you remember the ones where something took an unexpected detour? Myself, I tend to remember the days where something didn’t go according to plan. They may have seemed to be bad days when it happened if it took an undesirable turn of events, but even those days often are the ones I look back on later and smile or laugh about.

It is those moments that I want to be sure to capture in my pages alongside the good ones as they all are part of what makes us who we are. The undesirable moments of my life have probably changed me more than any “perfect” moment has. Those moments are what make life truly real to me and so I try to preserve them so that I will be able to see how they have changed my life over the years.

This past December, I had the pleasure of photographing a friend’s daughter for their Christmas card photo. It was an afternoon full of both good and bad moments. Her daughter had a bit of a cold and thus a runny nose and was not always in the most accommodating mood. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating with the location where we had wanted to take her photo for weeks, so we were making due with a less than desirable situation as it was getting down to the wire for getting a photo for their card.

I took a lot of photos and in the end, we found THE one. The one which showed her as the adorable 21-month-old that she is normally. The one which was perfect for a Christmas card. However, the number of other photos which didn’t make the Christmas card photo cut told the real story of the day perfectly. The Christmas card photo didn’t tell the story of what we went through that afternoon in search of capturing the “perfect” card shot. The truly “perfect” shots from the afternoon to me were the ones which showed the good times, the bad times, the meltdowns, the candy bribing, the laughter, the tenderness… so those were the ones that I used along side the “perfect” card shot for my scrapbook page of the day for my 25 Days to Christmas album page.

"Decembe 14, 2009" by Heather Guenther

When I look at the page, sure I notice the “perfect” card shot, but more so, I am drawn to the meltdown face which is still adorable in its own way, the tender moment of a cuddle with her mother, her sweetly having a drink of milk, the real reaction to the big stuffed Santa doll… the moments which made getting that “perfect” card shot all more special and memorable. It was a good afternoon but if I just scrapped the “perfect” shot, in a couple of years, I likely wouldn’t remember the little details which made it truly good.

So next time you are going through your photos, I urge you to take a moment to stop at those fuzzy, blurry, unflattering ones and give them a second chance. You might just find that they truly are the perfect photo for your page in the end. They may not be technical perfect photos in photography terms but may be technical perfect photos in capturing real life terms.

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

I have one final Creative Team member interview to share with you today … the incredibly talented Alyson Hall, aka “aly321” on our site. It’s going to be almost a year before this lovely lady takes the lead for the Calendar Girls next December, but until then you will find tons of wonderful ideas in her beautiful layouts and share in some great conversation with her in the forum.

Alyson Hall (aly321)

Name: Alyson Hall

Username: aly321

Location: Plain City, Utah, USA

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets, your background… I was born and raised in Utah, and love it here. I met my hubby on a blind date, and we have now been married for 7+ years. We have 3 kids… Taylor is 6, Kaitlyn is 3, and CJ is 18 months. We also have 5 horses, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 frogs right now. (In the past we have also had goats and chickens!)

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started? I started paper scrapping FOREVER ago, but jumped into digital in January 2008. I was skeptical… I never thought it would look right for me. Boy was I wrong! I LOVE DIGITAL!! It is so amazing to see a page come together.

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time? I have become completely obsessed with it. I love to create with a variety of products, and seeing the end result of a sweet memory is the best!

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking? My kids and home. I love to be with them and be together as a family. Currently we are also building a new home ourselves, so any “spare” time I have is working on that.

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks? I do not scrap in order. If I were ever caught up I might, but now I am pretty random. I like to scrap memories, not just photos. I like to tell the story behind the photo, or the story of something going on in life when the photo was taken. I want every photo I take to tell a story and be included in our history.

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook? Definitely Digi, but I like to dabble a LITTLE in hybrid.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages? I love looking through the galleries, but it is very time-consuming as well. I usually get inspiration from the kit or the photo I am using.

Who are your scrapbooking role models? Oh wow- too many to name… Cindy Schneider is amazing, Leila and Darcy Baldwin always has great stories to tell, Scarletsierra has the best eye for design… these are only A FEW. There are so many that I stalk and love to see their pages!

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you? Hmmm… I am a singer. That is probably the one other big talent I have.

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”? A cutter that can cut ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I tell it to. Haven’t found it yet. Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom and Illustrator.

What is your favorite quote? “Enjoy the Journey.”

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages? I hope they will realize what an amazing family I have and what it was like for them growing up. I want them to learn about each member of our family. I also want to record the little moments, that we SWEAR we will NEVER forget, but always do… I don’t want to lose those.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers? Do what makes you happy! Your pages are just that, yours. Make them what you want… don’t worry about trends, or how many people look at or comment on your layouts. Just record, and enjoy!

Anything else you’d like to add? I am completely excited for this coming year, making new memories, and recording every moment.

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

I’m excited today to share an interview with Calendar Girl Becki Wright, aka “Becki” on our site. You’ll soon recognize her clean and simple style if you spend a little time in our Layout Gallery and you’ll find out what a sweetie she is once you get to know her through the forum. Becki will take the lead on the Creative Team next November.

Becki Wright (Becki)

Name: Becki Wright

Username: Becki

Location: Kansas City, MO

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets,  your background… I am a stay-at-home wife and mother, and we homeschool our daughter Kate. She is a total animal lover, so we have 2 dogs and a cat. We are active in our church and the small community in which we live. Photography and scrapping are my number one hobbies, but I also love to cook from scratch and sew. I also recently learned to crochet.

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started? I began digi scrapping in October 2003, I was never a paper scrapper. I started by creating a page with photos of our daughter’s first loose tooth and some text and showed it to our dentist. It kind of snowballed from there. I didn’t realize it was a real hobby until I saw the very first Digital Scrapbooking magazine issue a few weeks later.

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time? In the beginning, I fell into the trap of trying to make my layouts look like everyone else’s, and at the time, collage was very popular. And I was very focused on getting caught up so my pages were a chore, and in the end I didn’t like them. Today, I have embraced that I love SIMPLE clean layouts. And I scrap when and what I am inspired by. I have enough layouts done that my daughter would have a good reminder of her overall childhood. Every moment, no, but it is enough.

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking? Homeschooling and family life.

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks? By whatever inspires me at the time, no pressure.

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook? I am an all digital girl for scrapping but I occasionally make hybrid gifts for the holidays.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages? Mostly blogs, galleries and magazines.

Who are your scrapbooking role models? That’s easy – Cathy Zielske, my scrapping idol who my style is most like, Ali Edwards who believes in pictures +words, and Stacy Julian who taught me all about the Big Picture. These ladies have all three shaped my scrapping into what it is today and I couldn’t be more thankful to them.

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you? Hmmmm. Not sure.

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”? I would really like a cutter like a Sillouette, that uses any font on my computer to cut alphas for hybrid things.

What is your favorite quote? “Life has little bits of magic at nearly every turn, if you’re looking closely enough. Scrapbooking has refined my senses. It’s made me hungry to use it before I lose it. It’s made me remember that I don’t remember what it was like to be nine years old. And that I will never live in a Pottery Barn house. And that as tiny as I am in the scope of the universe, no one lives a life like mine. Not even the people whose meals I cook, whose laundry I fold, and whose cheeks I kiss at night.”
~ Cathy Zielske (Clean and Simple Scrapbooking – The Sequel)

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages? How much our family loved each other and being together.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers? Find you own style and scrap things that make you happy.

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

It’s my privilege to share an interview today with yet another very talented designer & scrapbooker, Calendar Girl Jennifer Labre. You’ll recognize her throughout our site as “jenn7” and will have no trouble finding her beautiful pages in the gallery and her many thoughts & ideas shared in our forum. Jenn will take the lead on the Creative Team in October.

Jennifer Labre (jenn7)

Name: Jennifer Labre

Username: jenn7

Location: Wisconsin

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets, your background… I am a stay-at-home-mom of two beautiful girls, Jordan is 8 and Jenna turns one this month. Prior to having Jenna, I worked full-time in marketing and graphic design for nearly 15 years. It was through my work experience that I taught myself Photoshop and graphic design. I live in Wisconsin, where I always dread the onset of winter. (I hate winter!) My husband Jeff and I met through work and have been married for a year and a half.

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started?  I found scrapbooking while I was pregnant with my daughter Jordan in 2001. I was invited to attend a class at a local scrapbook store. Before going to the class though, I researched all I could find on scrapbooking. At the class, I was answering questions that the teacher couldn’t! I began my endeavor by scrapping an album from the journal I kept throughout my entire pregnancy. In 2005, I discovered digital scrapping and haven’t looked back!

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time? As I mentioned, I made the switch to digital in 2005. However, I still have all of my paper supplies. At some point, I think I may dabble again with paper products, but it would probably be other types of hybrid crafts or cards. I just love doing digital!

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking? Taking care of my two girls, learning to use my camera better (I love taking photos!) dabbling in some cooking, reading books (I’m about to tackle Stephen King’s newest book “Under the Dome”) watching movies and reality TV, going up north during the summer.

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks? I take so many photos it’s often hard to choose which ones to scrap. Good thing I love to scrap a lot! For me, it’s about choosing photos that tell a story or capture my heart in some way and then I try to convey that on a layout.

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook? As a digital scrapper, my laptop is my best tool – when it’s running well. I use Adobe Photoshop CS4 for designing all my pages and editing my photos. I use ACDSee for organizing all of my supplies. I have my pages printed into bound books by Shutterfly. My camera is a Canon Digital Rebel XTi and I have two lenses currently: 50 mm and 28-135 mm.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages? I love looking in galleries. Often, I’ll see a page that will spark an idea for a new layout. I love that everyone shares their work. Although I don’t scraplift, it really is a great source of inspiration. I also find a lot of ideas just from magazines or the products themselves. And of course, my girls are my greatest source of inspiration and the reason I do what I do.

Who are your scrapbooking role models? So many people inspire me on a daily basis, but I’d have to say that one person that has really stood out to me lately is Cheryl, (Gonewiththewind). Her pages are just amazing and so unique. She can scrap with any product and make it a work of art. Love her.

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you? I think I reveal so much of myself in my pages I’m not quite sure what’s left!

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”? A macro lens, does that count?

What is your favorite quote? My motto in life has always been, “Everything happens for a reason.”

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages? That I am a “real” person, who loves my family more than anything.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers? Follow your heart. Don’t worry about trying to be perfect (having the perfect photo, perfect paper, perfect words…) Just be yourself and scrap your memories the way you want to. And don’t forget to include the stories and the dates.

Anything else you’d like to add? I’m thrilled to be a part of this team. I love to challenge myself on my pages, as it often helps me to really think about things and think outside the box. It makes my pages more meaningful. And that’s what I’m all about, being myself and bringing truth to my pages. I believe in this site and what it stands for and I really hope that others will join us on this wonderful journey.

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

I knew when I first saw Rebecca Kuchenbecker’s lovely, journaling-filled layouts that I wanted her on our Creative Team … and everything I’ve learned about her since that time has only confirmed my choice. (It doesn’t hurt that we share the same favorite all-time quote!) This Calendar Girl will take the lead in September, but you’ll find her inspiring pages and comments everywhere on our site under the username “MamaBee.” Read on and learn more about this amazing lady!

Rebecca Kuchenbecker (MamaBee)

Name:  Rebecca Kuchenbecker

Username:  MamaBee

Location: Appleton, Wisconsin

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets,  your background… Hi! I’m Rebecca… known as MamaBee in the forums.  I am happily married to my best friend, David, for the last 5 years… and we have a precocious 2 ½ year old son.  I have a degree in communication and have spent almost 10 years working as a Computer Software Instructor and Documentation Specialist. It was my dream job however I traveled a lot… and I am very blessed to have a supportive husband, who encouraged me to hang up my corporate hat and stay home to capture our son’s every move as he grows.

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started?  About 10 years… I had a 9 week short term assignment in England for work and it was a trip of a lifetime for me.  My step-dad let me borrow his new digital camera that saved pictures onto 3.25 floppy disks!! When I got home I had over 600 photos and a box full of memorabilia. I wanted a chance to write down all our inside jokes and all our experiences we had in a creative way. I remember seeing a show on HGTV where they showed scrapbooking and I took my first trip to Hobby Lobby… and my obsession with the hobby began.

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time? Well… I don’t use decorative scissors on my photos anymore… LOL!  Looking back at that first album, I was so nervous about my writing that I copied passages from my travel guide to explain the photos, not my thoughts or impressions of what it was like being there.  Now, for all the layouts that go into the family scrapbook, they have to have some sort of journaling on it to explain why the photo was taken and what story I am trying to tell.

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking?  Being a loving mama and wife are my number one priority. I do love to cook… and I love to cook big meals! I am a bit old school in that my measurements are a pinch of this, palmful of that… which means that I’m a horrible baker!

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks? One of the main reasons as to why I scrapbook is that I have a horrible short-term memory… so I choose the events I want to remember. Funny little things that my son says, important milestones the family goes through, and general everyday happenings. I think it is fun to look back and see how things have changed… even if it’s a different packaging of the laundry soap.

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook As of this year, I’m 100% digital, however have been known to pick up the glue and scissors to dabble in hybrid.  I do love bound books and will have my layouts for a certain event such as vacations bound into a book. For my everyday memories, I send them to be printed and then placed them into 3-ring binders.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages?  When life gets crazy, I force myself to stop and count my blessings… in doing so, my creative juices start flowing with the ideas that I want to capture. I am also very blessed to be able to create for amazing designers and I’m always inspired and creatively pushed by my other team members.

Who are your scrapbooking role models?   Hmm… that’s hard to narrow down. My role models are those that scrap from the heart. You see on their page the love that they have for their family and for this craft.  Two that come to mine are Lynnette Penacho aka Nettio and Ali Edwards.

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you? My IRL friends don’t even know this…  I’m a very shy person and getting shyer the older I get… yet, if you put me front of large groups of people to give a presentation it does not scare me… but put me in a situation with people I don’t know and I have to chit chat… I’m sneaking closer and closer to the exit.

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”?  My husband would say there isn’t a list, it’s a novel!  But I would love to take some photography classes… understanding how to use my camera, lighting, etc.

What is your favorite quote? One of my favorite all time quotes is: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your break away.”

~ Maya Angelou

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages? I’m leaving a legacy and I want others to see what my family was like and how we lived during the “turn of the century.”  My husband’s mother passed away when he was 10 and many stories of him growing up are lost… I do not want that for my son.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers?  The best tip I have is be yourself in your scrapping… don’t be afraid to write what you are thinking and feeling – you will be happy that you did.

Anything else you’d like to add?  I would like to thank Kristin for this awesome opportunity to be a Calendar Girl and I hope that I will be able to inspire others out there to scrap their everyday memories!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Get ready to get better acquainted with another Calendar Girl! Eryn Herbert, known simply as “eryn” on our site, will take the lead for our Creative Team in August. If you’ve spent any time at all in our Community Forum and Layout Gallery, you already know this lady is extremely involved on our site. You’ve also experienced her endearing sense of humor. Read on to get to know her even better …

Name: Eryn Herbert

Username: eryn

Location: Perth, Western Australia

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets,  your background… I have 4 kids (7-year-old twin girls, a 3-year-old boy and a 19-month-old boy) and a DH whom I haven’t yet got around to marrying! At present we have no pets though it would be lovely to have a cat or dog again. Oh we do have sea monkeys sometimes…but they die easily!

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started? I started scrapping 5.5yrs ago. My mum’s group was doing scrapbooking as an activity and I so didn’t want to do it! But it only took one Google search to realize what I was missing and I went shopping before my first class! I started digi about the same time but didn’t actually realize it. I had no idea that digital scrapbooking existed, yet I was creating invitations in Photoshop sticking extractions of my kids on cartoon ponies and things! I created my first digital page before I knew about digital scrapbooking, too…but then didn’t start for real until January 08.

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time? My scrapping has changed immensely. I used to love my oval cutters…and now you won’t see an oval within cooee of my pages! The one thing that hasn’t changed is that I never like to do or use the same thing twice. So I am always trying new products, techniques and styles…and so my scrapping is constantly evolving.

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking? Um…well I guess I am supposed to be cleaning the house during that time …but I tend to browse the forums instead! lol But seriously on weekends we always try to do something with the kids. Usually it’s the beach or pools, going to the park or for a barbecue, mini golf, spending time with extended family.  For myself I love reading, taking photos, photo editing and relaxing.

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks? They choose me! I scrap whatever is inspiring me at the time. It may be a photo, a memory, a funny thing one of my kids said, a challenge…

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook? I use Photoshop 7, my Wacom pen and my computer. I really need to upgrade my program as it is about 15 years old now but my computer is too old for the newer versions! I am yet to print any of my pages but when I do I will make photo books and also fill up my Creative Memories albums with single pages.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages? The photo or journaling inspires me and I go from there. Sometimes I will have a ‘look’ in my head that I aim towards and other times I just keep throwing things at the page until it comes together!

Who are your scrapbooking role models? I don’t have any role models as such. There are some scrappers whose work I really admire…but I don’t consciously try to imitate their layouts. I find scrap-lifting and using templates more difficult than creating from scratch! However I won’t deny that my style changes subconsciously as I find new artists to admire. Some of my favorites at the moment are Amanda Resende, scarletsierra, and She (Monika).

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you? My online and offline personalities are complete opposites! Not by choice though. Online I tend to be a little loud, silly and cheeky and this is the real me. In the real world, I can’t understand what people are saying when there is background noise, so in a crowd of 3 or more I tend to just stay quiet because I find it difficult to follow the conversation. Over the years this has made me into what you would call a ‘quiet’ person..yet in reality (or out of it lol) I don’t see myself that way! Also my entire body is partly numb! I have an extreme hyper-sensitivity to codeine…and became partially numb after an operation a few years ago. It’s something you get used to though!

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”? Well  the main things are a laptop and Photoshop CS4. I don’t have a kit wishlist…I just grab the stuff I love as it comes out and hope DH doesn’t check the account! Lol

What is your favorite quote? I love this one from Confucius….when I see flaws in others I try to always look to see if I have similar flaws and then work towards fixing them.

“When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.”

~ Confucius

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages? I hope they can get a glimpse of the real me from my pages. I scrap my feelings and memories and I try to make the look of my pages convey the feelings that are going through me while creating them. I also want my children to be able to ‘see’ how much I love them and to have a record of their everyday lives and their personalities.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers? Scrap for yourself. Don’t try to scrap for comments or you will never be content. If you scrap what makes you happy and you love the page then you will never have any scrap regrets in the future!

Anything else you’d like to add? My personal scrap goal is to make all of my pages meaningful. I regret making pretty pages in the past that had absolutely no significance and so I am so thankful to have the continued motivation from Log Your Memory to help me achieve my goal!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

It’s my privilege today to share an interview with Calendar Girl Jenn Barrette, known throughout our site as … JennBarrette! You may already know Jenn through the fabulous digital kits and beautiful pages she creates as a designer … read on to find out even more about our July leader of the Creative Team!

Jenn Barrette (aka JennBarrette)

Name: Jenn Barrette

Username: JennBarrette

Location: Kenora, ON Canada

Please tell us a little about yourself … your family, your pets,  your background…  Hi!  My name is Jenn, I am a WAHM of 2 kooky kiddos (Ava 3 and Lilly 1 ½).  I have a super supportive hubby (Dave) and one troublesome kitty.  I am a digital scrapbooking designer and have a career background in business management.

How long have you been a scrapbooker & how did you first get started? I started scrapbooking in October 2006 after the arrival of my first child, and tried out paper scrapbooking, (ok…I didn’t try very hard, but I did buy a bunch of fun supplies!)  My mom sent me a link to Shabby Princess Designs, thinking I could print out her digital freebies for my paper scrapbooking…well once I found the world of digital scrapbooking I was hooked!   So it has been 3 years now that I have been obsessed with digital scrapbooking  and now that my girls are getting a little older, have started doing a few hybrid projects.

How has your scrapbooking changed since that time?   It would say my style has changed with the trends, and I have grown as a scrapper as I learn new tricks and techniques.   I have only recently started on learning the art of journaling; my previous pages were more photo-centered and didn’t always tell a story.

What fills your time when you are NOT scrapbooking? I love to eat…err…cook, and am constantly trying new recipes.  I also have started on a weight loss journey this year and try to get in some exercise everyday.  I love going on day trips with my kids, and take them to the zoo, library, amusement parks, etc. whenever I get a chance.

How do you choose what to include in your scrapbooks?   Usually when I upload my photos to my computer, I open up a word document and make a list of things I want to scrapbook.

What types of materials do you use when you scrapbook? I consider myself a digital scrapbooker and order my pages in bound books each year (one for each of my children highlighting their year) and also print all my pages 8×8 and keep them in a post-bound book.

Where do you find inspiration for your pages?  I am mainly a kit scrapbooker and just sort of start placing things around until I am happy with the page.  I do get inspiration from different digital galleries and occasionally use templates to get me started on a page.

Who are your scrapbooking role models?  There are so many talented scrapbook artists in the community,  but I really love the style of Cindy Schneider, Crystal Livesay, and our very own Calendar Girl Aly Hall.

What is something your scrapbooking friends probably don’t know about you?  I am a big kid at heart, I love to play video games, watch cartoons, and have cravings for sugary kids cereals.

What is on your scrapbooking “wish list”?  I am dabbling in hybrid these days, and I wish I had more embellishments in my stash.    Since I am a digital scrapbooker my real “wish” would be that they created a hue/saturation tool for real life.  LOL  If I only I could use my Photoshop tools in the real world!

What is your favorite quote? “Measure your life in love.”

~ from RENT Broadway musical by Jonathan Larson

What do you hope future viewers of your scrapbooks will gain from your pages?    I hope that future viewers will gain a well-documented view into the past.  I think it was be such a treasure for my kids to have these pages to look back on their childhood.

What is your best tip for fellow scrapbookers?  Just concentrate on your pages and memories, don’t worry about the trends and products you are using.  In 20 years you won’t remember who designed the kit you used, but you will be happy to see the photos and the stories come to life on your page.

Anything else you’d like to add?  Just that I am so happy to be a part of the Log Your Memory site and to have the chance to inspire the community as a Calendar Girl!

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