Featured Designer: Cheryl Casas!

Cheryl Casas lives near Palm Springs, California "where it has been over 110 degrees everyday" lately!! She has been a member of the S:CY Design Team since April 2011. Cheryl is a Massage Therapist and has been in her profession for  over 11 years. 

S:CY Design Team Member Cheryl Casas

This multitalented gal has a scrapbooking style that she describes as "alternative." As Cheryl puts it- "I can go from cutesy to dark and everything in between. I always try to be different, that way I don't get bored and I can keep everyone guessing what they will see next. My most favorite style is Gothic. I love to be romantic, dark and mysterious."  Her fave colours mirror this style. Cheryl says that for clothing, decorating and scrapping "I love BLACK!!! I wear it, scrap it and it is all over my house. Maroon and other dark colors attract me as well."

"Femme fatale" layout created by Cheryl Casas
[Notes from Cheryl: "This page is totally me!!  I love the colors and style.  It is shows romance, mystery and danger.....perfect combination!!!  I made the bodice by hand, as far as drawing it out, then cutting it out of the pattern paper, then adding all the embellies for the right design, like velvet ribbon, a cameo and some bling." Scraps of Darkness Kit used here.] 

Cheryl enjoys "the darker and more alternative side of scrapping," and describes herself as  "a big fan of Scraps of Darkness kits. They are supplied with exactly what I am interested in using for my pages. The members and DT are a huge inspiration to me, as well as all the fabulous things that come in those kits." Cheryl herself is a member of the DT at SOD. She explained that "my love for Halloween and dark things have given me the edge I have for my Gothic and alternative style. Black is something I am attracted to, so I will gravitate toward things that are dark and mysterious to use on my pages."

Cheryl told me a little about her favourite topics to scrap, saying "I love to scrap my husband and I together. My favorite style (Gothic) is easily met when I scrap us. So I am always pleased with the pages I make because they just flow together, like they were just meant to be."


"Time Apart" layout created by Cheryl Casas
[Note from Cheryl: "This page was made based on my emotions of not spending enough time with my dh. I did a ton of distress work to work off some anger issues lol. I wasn't afraid to rip and tear. It is sometimes okay to pull your embellies apart, like I did with my flower. This also shows off my Gothic style, with the dark colors and dark mood this gives out. I love lacing.....it gives some Cheryl flair!!!! Journaling reads: 'Time is torn when we are not together.' "
Scraps of Darkness kit used here.]

Cheryl's family also just adopted two new puppies and as she puts it "They are just so cute to me, so any opportunity I get, I take pictures of them. More photo shoots evolve because I adore them. So how could I not scrap those precious photos? I want to show them off!!! LOL!"


"What's in your Basket?"  layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Cheryl Casas w/ Sketch #2 by July Guest Sketch Artist Charlotte AKA Suepup

  Here's the Sketch that Cheryl used for the above layout:


Sketch #2 July 2011 by
 Guest Sketch Artist Charlotte AKA Suepup

 Cheryl is a 'distresser ' when it comes to her scrapbooking. It's a technique that she finds herself returning to again and again. "My life is just not complete if I don't distress a page in some way. It looks to plain without it... I need my comfort and my 'Cheryl flair!!'"


"Puppy Love" layout created by Cheryl Casas
[Note from Cheryl: "These are my sweet little puppies.  I used a lot of wet distressing to frame around the photo. I wanted a soft and distressed look and achieved it by using lots of flowers and some lacing." Scraps of Darkness Kit used here.]

Cheryl usually scraps starting "in the later part of the day (starting around 4pm)," and said that "it will take me into the early morning hours to finish a page (about 2am). I get a lot of interruptions, so my pages take awhile to finish and once I am on a roll (kids are in bed) there is no stopping me." Cheryl describes herself as a slow scrapper. "My pages take me roughly around 6-8 hours" she says. "I take a long time just making decisions on what I am possibly going to use, as far as papers and embellies. If I don't have an idea for a design, then I rearrange things a million times... perfection is a must for me."

"Tangled" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Cheryl Casas

Here is  the sketch Cheryl used to create this LO:  


Sketch 02-11 created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

Cheryl says that she scraps alone..."not because I want to, but there is no one I know around me to scrap with. No nearby crops to go to either. My kids and dh all support my passion. My oldest daughter, Jasmine, is my 'decider.' If there is something I can't decide on, I call her over to make the final decision for me!"

"Shaghai Girl" layout created by Cheryl Casas
[Notes from Cheryl: "Here is a Halloween photo of my dd Gisselle. I  used it with some bright papers, which I misted and distressed to make them dark to fit into a Halloween theme. Even with soft and feminine embellies, I can make them dark and mysterious. I also love to get jewelry pieces for embellishments. I used a chain of Chinese buildings here." Scraps of Darkness Kit used for this LO.]

I asked Cheryl whether she was an organized or messy scrapper. She replied "I would like to say I am organized, but looking at my dining room table where I scrap, it looks like a cyclone hit, lol. But at least I know where everything is, so there is a reason for my madness." Cheryl stores her scrapbooking supplies in a medium-sized hall closet. She uses canvas storage totes for her papers saying "They fit perfectly inside and upright, so I can file through them."  She uses boxes for her other supplies, for example, preferring "clear plastic boxes for my inks and paints and my loose flowers." Cheryl has been ingenious in choosing a small plastic carry tote for all her alphas, because it stands conveniently upright, enabling her to flip through the letters. "Everything else is in plastic bags inside boxes" says Cheryl.

Like many of us, Cheryl is not a chronological scrapbooker. She struggled with what made sense in terms of how she decided to store her layouts in albums. "I finally just put them in the order I make them, since I skip around the time line of photos so much it was too hard to separate them that way or by specific people." Cheryl  enjoys seeing how  her scrappin' improves over time, which is an oft'-forgotten advantage to the layout-storage approach that she has embraced.  

Aside from her passion for scrapbooking, Cheryl is a HUGE movie buff. She and her family "love to watch movies. We own over 2,000 of them and will watch them again and again. I keep up with the new releases and always love to talk about a good flick."

Cheryl, thanks for being such an asset to the Sketches: Creatively Yours Team these past few months. I loved writing your Spotlight feature and  helping our readers get to know a bit more about your "Cheryl Flair"! Keep up the awesome work!

You can follow Cheryl's creativity on her blog, HERE.
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