FEATURED DESIGNER: Amy Manis

Amy Manis, a member of the April-September 2011 S:CY Design Team describes herself as “a small town girl living in Ohio.” She is Mom to 2 little girls, ages five and three, who are the main subjects of her layouts.



S:CY Design Team Member Amy Manis

 Amy was introduced to scrapbooking in 1998, when a friend asked her to help put some scrapbooks together. As Amy tells it, “of course I said 'yes.' As we were putting these scrapbooks together I was instantly hooked. And today, I am enjoying putting my own scrapbooks together.”

Amy looks to the future as she creates pages and sees her work as a legacy for her little girls. As she puts it: “My favorite subjects to scrap are my children because when they are women themselves they will want to share their albums with their own children. At least I hope so!”

Amy says she has “an obsession with pattern paper and my favorite scrapbook paper is the 'Posh' collection by Teresa Collins Designs.”


Another favorite product is chipboard: "anything from Crate Paper!” says Amy.


Amy says that she likes thick Cardstock for her card and layout projects. She says that her favourite two brands are American Crafts and Bazzill Basics. The colours turquoise, yellow, red, and black are her faithful favourites.

"Dress Up Gypsy Girl" layout  created by Amy Manis

Amy relies on two favourite online sites: Design Sponge  and Pinterest as sources of inspiration. She says that they both provide her with great ideas for color, decor, and pattern.


'Monkey" layout created by Amy Manis 

In talking about tried-and-true techniques, Amy unhesitatingly told me that distressing is the one she returns to again and again. She relates that her “favorite technique is using the distress ink pad and blending tool by Ranger Ink. I rub the blending tool to the ink pad and [then] rub around the edges of the paper.” The classic Heidi Swapp "edge distresser" tool is her favourite item for roughing up her paper.

In terms of tricks related to distressing, Amy’s is related to the clean-up process. She told me that she uses “the craft sheet by Ranger Ink. It is so easy to clean up just by wiping with a cloth or paper towel to get stuff off of it!”

Amy likes sketches, and says she uses them to help her gain a creative outlet and step out of her comfort zone. Amy reports that her favourite sketch artists are Christy Tomlinson , Effy Wild , and Teresa Collins.

Amy has taken a few online scrap-related classes and points to “Eye for Design: color creative” taught by Christy Tomlinson as her most enjoyed class to date. Amy loves colour. She said, when asked to name just one colour for ALL the walls of her home, … “I have to laugh because my husband would not like just one color on all the walls, but if I have to choose it would be turquoise, my favorite color.”

Since her local scrapbook store has closed, Amy works on her LOs and cards at home instead of at crops. She says ”I like to scrap at night when my girls go to bed. It’s quiet and I have no distractions from anyone.”

Asked about the most awesome scrappy gift she’s received lately, Amy says “the best gift I have received is from a person I am in a swap with for a whole year. She gave me three distress ink pads & crackle paint by Tim Holtz (Ranger).”
Amy has some advice for those of us who are trying to purge scraps and things we know we won’t use. She says “What you can do is get three boxes and write on one box ‘Throw Away,’ on another ‘Keep,’ and the other box, write ‘Goodwill’. Take your time sorting and you will be glad you did this. You will feel better, no stress, and someone will be happy to have found something they have always wanted!”
Alongside her scrapbooking and cardmaking, Amy really enjoys art journaling.

 Amy's scrapbooking often features a shabby-chic style enhanced with bolts of beautiful bold colour that fall right into place on her LOs. For example, in the three LOs Amy sent for this Design Team Member feature, "RED" is the POP of colour that works to mimic the energy her photos command. Softly patterned floral papers and crisp, bright flower embellies create a feminine atmosphere of whimsy that is perfect for showcasing her 2 little darlings. One or two word titles usually dominate in Amy’s work. Obvious journaling is minimal: she lets her photos speak for themselves.

Here is the link to Amy's Blog: http://artstudiostamps.blogspot.com/

"Girls Rule" layout created by Amy Manis

Amy, Thank You very much for sharing some of the pages you have done in creating a lasting legacy for your little girls. Keep up the great work interpreting the S:CY sketches...

Your art brightens our site here at S:CY! 

(c) Ali MacDonald- 2011