Designer Spotlight: Renee Hagler!

Welcome to another Designer Spotlight Feature here at S:CY! We hope you'll enjoy learning more about one of our talented DT members.

Today we're shining our spotlight on self-professed "Paper fanatic" Renee Hagler.



Sketches: Creatively Yours
 DesignTeam Member Renee Hagler

 Renee has been a member of the Team here at S:CY since April 2011. 

In terms of her scrappy style, Renee told me that "I am pretty much a clean, minimalist type of scrapper. I use a lot of techniques and styles in my scrapbooking, but always interprete them in a cleaner style." A quick peek at recent Design Team work created by Renee tells me she is right on the money with her description.

"#1 Guy" Layout created by S:CY Design Team Member
Renee Hagler using S:CY Sketch 14-11

Renee credits a class with Designer Cathy Zielske as having strongly and very positively impressed upon her current scrapbooking style. Renee is drawn to photography and  her love for her children provided a natural segue into scrapbooking. "She is a phenomenal design artist. I learned so much about graphic design and applying it to scrapbooking. I find myself going back to her book, “Clean and Simple Scrapbooking” even now. After that class, I became a consummate student of graphic design and applying it to scrapbooking."


Likle many of us, Renee has occasionally been blocked about a project or LO she has been assigned. Here's what Renee had to say about this..." On occasion, I have had to work with product that truly did not represent my style. Sometimes that would create a 'block' for me. When I get 'blocked' I usually switch mediums, if only for one quick project, and find that I can come back to my assignment with a renewed vigor. My favorite switch-ups are crochet and digital/hybrid scrapping. I also dabble in cardmaking and copic coloring." Renee mentioned that she also makes items for home décor with vinyl. 
Here is a sample of Renne's crafting. She crocheted this Afghan and pillow set for her son who graduated from Grade 8 this past June. (I just love the" 'guy-colours' she chose. Perfect!)

Afghan and pillow set crocheted by
 Renee Hagler for her son

As for card making, Renee has created some gorgeous interpretations with S:CY Sketches by Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko.  Have a peek at these two beauties:

Card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler using the
 August 2011 S:CY card sketch as seen below

August 2011 S:CY Card Sketch created by
S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko



"Enjoy the Ride" card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler
using the June 2011 S:CY Card Sketch as seen below



August 2011 S:CY Card Sketch created by
S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko

As Renee tells it, her kiddos are her favourite subject to scrap "...of course! I got into scrapbooking to showcase my photography. When the kiddos were younger, they were always up for a photoshoot. Now that they are older, the shoots come a little less often, but they are still my favorite thing to scrapbook." (OH MY Renee, the Moms and Aunties among us sure understand this!! LOL)

Decorative Family Photo display created
 by Renee Hagler

In terms of her camera, Renee says that  she shoots with a Canon 30D Dslr. "I am and will always be a Canon girl. When I 'grow up' as a photographer and decide to work again professionally in photography, I plan to graduate up to whatever Canon’s latest/greatest in the Mark series at that time is. For now, I will just be content with my 30D."
Renee goes through life with her eyes wide open to anything that can be used in her scrapbooking. "I find inspiration all over the place. I always look at everything and think, how can I interprete that in a scrapbook page? I use clothing, home décor, and the pantone color trend predictions for color inspiration, alongside my overall favorite inspiration site for EVERYTHING, Pinterest."
Paper is a HUGE go-to item for Design Team Member Renee. She says "I am a paper fanatic. Currently, I am in love with Echo Park, but Sassafras Lass, and Basic Grey are two of my 'through the years' favorites. I like paper because it is versatile and can be used in so many ways on a scrapbook page, either as the base or accent paper, used to make embellishments or even the lettering for a page."

"Pure Stillness" layout created by Renee Hagler

In terms of organizing her paper stash, Renee says that her "cardstock is stored in rainbow order in vertical storage units. My patterned paper is in flat trays, sorted first by rough “feeling” (eg boy papers, girl papers, adult papers) then by manufacturer. Those manufacturers that I have a lot of, have their own tray."
Renee had a helpful clutter-busting organization tip for S:CY readers, reporting that she is "a huge fan of baskets. They control clutter, are easy to work with and allow you to see what is in each basket. I have my baskets arranged on 3 bookcases in between stacks of books and other supplies."
Renee loves being able to easily see her collection of brads and buttons while working on layouts. She told me that "they are color coded in jars I picked up from Ikea."
Working under pressure is Renee's way of doing things! As she tells it, she does her best work this way."If I don’t have a time frame to finish something, I often won’t even get started. When I am not working on a real deadline, I often set up artificial deadlines for myself to keep me motivated." As Team Leader, I can truthfully tell you that Renee has NEVER handed in a 'late' page at S:CY and has been as organized as can be about meeting deadlines! (THANK YOU, Renee! LOL)

In terms of Designing scrapbook layouts and cards thast 'WORK', Renee advises scrapbookers as follows."Don’t be afraid to use color. Just use a bit of black or white to break apart or “pop” our photos. Also, use the visual triangle to make the eye travel through your layout."

Layering is a skill that Renee enjoys cultivating in her scrapbooking. As she tells it "I like controlled layers. I layer papers, layer embellishments and right now, I like to layer titles for depth."
 

"UESPN: Play" layout created by Renee Hagler

I asked Renee about how she likes to organize her layouts in albums. I think I made her laugh, because she replied "What albums!?! On the rare occasion that I actually sit down to put layouts into albums, they go in however I get them in. The thrill for me is in creating the page. I don’t worry about storing them."

Renee calls herself a social scrapper. She LOVES to attend crops. She feels that her "best work is done when I can feed off the creative energy of the other scrappers. I think the most fun for me was the one I attended recently with a group of people I met online. It came at a time when I really needed a creative getaway and we all really meshed well together even though most of us had only just met each other in real life."

Being caught up in scrapbooking her photos is NOT a goal for Renee. She very confidently replied to my query about how she felt about this "concept" by saying "I never want to be caught up. What would I have to work on if I was caught up? Seriously, I scrap for the creative outlet. I don’t like doing anything that makes my scrappy time feel like a job. I work on what I like, when I am motivated to do it. I get a lot done this way and I can continue to feed my need for creativity."

You can check out Renee's Blog HERE. Enjoy! Renee, you have definitely given us a generous and "real" look into your creative life and philosophy. It's been wonderful getting to know you better!

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