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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Sketch 14-11

I have a wonderful challenge for you all today!  I found the following Sketch a toughie myself, and *I* created it! (Ahem!) LOL LOL  ;o)

Here we go with Sketch #14-11. Hope you like it!

Ready? OK, here  it is: 



Sketch #14-11 created by
S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

First we have a FUN interpretation of the Sketch by our wonderful August Guest Designer Rita Barakat!

"Fun in the Sun" layout created by
 S:CY Guest Designer Rita Barakat

"Mr. and Mrs." layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Cheryl Casas
 [Note: These are my parents in June 1960. I have used an August Scraps of Darkness kit.]

 "Last day of School" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member
 Heather Bridges Topich 

"My Beach Boys" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Tammy Pyette



"African Drum Lessons with Aunt Jill" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Tammy Pyette
[Credits: Papers: ateets_sunporch collection label and word art was a freebie from the http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/]



"Happy 2: Davie 2010" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Patchi Moussatche



"Tell me Again..." layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Mandy Harrell 



"#1 Guy" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler 

"A Happy Hello" card created by
 S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko



"Big Sister" layout created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

[Journaling reads: "Kate, this picture is so gently amazing to your Daddy and me! We lit a '#5' candle on Noah’s donut, which is a fun tradition we started just for him. When we look at this 2007 photo of you and Noah, we can see that not only are you physically close by, you’re also watchful of his safety. You are so wonderful!
We love you, big sister. Noah loves you too, even though it’s harder for him to tell you that in words." Photo~ April 2007; Journaling~ June 2009]

"En Route" layout created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

[Journaling reads: These are my favourite pictures of our boys, taken in the RV by their big sister as we drove along on our way home from camping in Bridgewater, NS. The boys, who were strapped in on the sofa, were just being generally cute and cuddly, playing together. They were having so much fun that Kate, seated across from them in one of the easy chairs, snapped these pictures. I think they are the best ones ever… they make my heart feel warm! Love all four of those kids so much…

~Aug 2010...in the Land Yacht~ en route  ~Journaling by Mom, July 2011]

And those are our interpretations for the week, for Sketch #14-11. I think our Team really stepped up, especially since I handed them both an UNEXPECTED and tight turn-around time on a rather challenging sketch!

Bravo Team!~ You "rocked it" yet again! Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

A very special thank you to our  August 2011 Guest Designer Rita Barakat, whose beautiful layouts have added some exhuberant "FUN" to our post this week, and to several of the posts we have shared this month!! Thanks for being with us, Rita. It's always a joy to have you share with us. You are (and always will be) a welcome face here at S:CY! 

See you all next week!! ...Guess what? It will be SEPTEMBER then, and we at S:CY have a very special month planned and ready to roll!!!!!!!!! Be sure to join us right here.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Card Sketch #5

Welcome to S:CY, everyone. So happy to see you!

Today we have another wonderful new card sketch for you from Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko. She's my close friend (despite being all  the way across Canada) and "right-hand gal" here at S:CY, and once again, she has come up with a beautiful Card Sketch!

Sketch #5 created by
 S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko

Ann's sketch provides us with an intriguing design! There's an open area in the centre for an image with space radiating all around for embellies or pp.

What did the Design Team come up with? AMAZING cards of course! LOL Let's move ahead and see!

Floral "all occasion" card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler



"Happy Birthday" card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Patchi Moussatche 

"Happy Valentine's Day" card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Amy Manis



"With Thanks" card created by
 S:CY Design team Member Jackie Primmer-Plank



"Make a Wish" card created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Lindy Rabenstine



All occasion "Cameo" card created by
 S:CY Deisgn Team Member Mandy Harrell



"You know you love me" card created by
 S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko

Ann, thanks once again for an amazing sketch and sample.

Design Team gals, you knocked this one 100% outta the park!!

 Just LOOK at those cards!

THANK YOU all so much for this beautiful work!

 Readers and followers, see you all next week! Be sure to try this sketch and leave us a link.... LOVE to see what you'll create!

Have a good one!!

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Designer Spotlight: Jackie Plank!

Today our spotlight falls on Jackie Primmer-Plank, who has been a DT Member at Sketches: Creatively Yours since April 2011.

S:CY Design Team Member
Jackie Primmer-Plank

Jackie is also a member of Sisterhood of Scrap Forum and actively participates in multiple aspects of that busy, friendly scrapbooking site.

I asked Jackie to tell me about how she sees her scrapbooking style. She replied "My Scrapbooking style is ever-changing. I go from a cluttered look to a clean look and vice versa. I rarely stay with the one style but am rather all over the place with it."

Jackie kindly shared one of her first-ever scrappy layouts with us here today... she remarked "I am especially attached to this layout as it is one of the first ones I created. I had very few supplies at the time. I used masking tape and paint to get the effect and some foam stamps that I picked up at the dollar store. The post card was one of the first cards I had received from my pen pal in Sweden. I had met her online and I was using the nickname 'Katz.'"  

"Katz" layout created by Jackie Primmer-Plank

Jackie has a GREAT sense of humour as demonstrated in her tale about her cat. I have to share it here, 'cause she really made me HOOT telling me about Missi. (Jackie, I hope it's Ok! LOL)  "I just have the one pet, Missi, my cat. I don’t scrap about her very much because she really doesn’t give me much to scrap about. All she ever does is sits in her daddy’s lap and sleeps... that’s when she isn’t on the arm of my chair waiting for treats (hissing at me in between each treat)." I had to ask Jackie why Missi hisses at her... she answered: "My cat hates me and will only get up with me when I have treats or chicken... then she gets up on the arm of my chair but hisses at me between mouthfuls to remind that she doesn’t like me, LOL." It seems that poor Jackie gets the raw end of the pet deal in her house...  I'll let Jackie finish the story...."Oh she LOVES her daddy, to say the least. She spends her time curled up in his lap.  It is poor me in the wintertime cause then she wants to sleep curled  up under my chin like she used to do when she was a kitten... only problem is that she isn’t a kitten anymore and doesn’t fit there so she ends up sleeping on my face. LOL..." (Thanks for the giggles, Jackie!)

Jackie can also be more serious, as evidenced by a very beautiful layout (below) about her mother's Bible. Jackie says "This layout is special to me because it is about the most precious possession of my mother's. When she died it was the only thing I wanted. I have never been able to write poetry in my life but the poem on this layout just poured from my pen. In the envelope are bits and pieces that she had tucked into her Bible."
  

"Mother's Bible" layout created by
 Jackie Primmer-Plank

 Jackie told me a little about her favourite scrappin'-subjects! "My favourite subject to scrap would have to be my five grandchildren. They are the light of my life." See below for a layout that Jackie created about one of these special kiddos.


"Spring Cleaning" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Jackie Primmer-Plank
 using Sketch 03-11

 

Sketch 03-11 created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

"Summer Fun" mini-album created by
 Jackie Primmer-Plank

[Notes from Jackie: I don’t normally do Mini Albums but a couple of summers ago my grand daughter spent a week camping with us so I made her this little album as a memory for her.]

Jackie told me that if she could only scrap scenery "it would be parks and conservation areas. I have a whole drive full of photos shot in our local parks and trails. We spend our summers walking those trails bird watching. It has to be the most relaxing thing to do." Along the same theme, Jackie told me that the most amazing place she ever visited was "the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls. It was so beautiful and so delightful there. So many butterflies, and they were even landing on us!" Jackie enjoys taking photos of all these beautiful creatures and places, and when I asked about it, she told me that her camera is a Canon Rebel XTI.

Jackie is a self-described animal lover... and says "Horses are tops on my list of favourites. I could spend my life with them."  A peek at her blog reveals MANY beautiful layouts featuring horses, but this one, with a photo of an equine friend named "Rocky," tops my list of personal faves.


"Rocky" layout created by
 Jackie Primmer-Plank

Jackie is a night-owl scrapper who reveals that she scraps best after 11 PM. She also told me that she finds herself returning to the technique of faux stitching again and again. "I seem to use it on almost all of my layouts." She tsaid, too, that she also tends to "ink the edges of everything" on her layouts.

An organized scrapper who says she works best under pressure, I can testify that Jackie is amazing at handling deadlines. Always on time with her work, she has made my job as Team Leader ever so much easier!

On the issue of scrappy time-management, Jackie was able to provide an excellent time-saving tip to share with our S:CY readers. "I have arranged all the tools that I use on a regular basis in a tote and drawer close beside me and I always make sure they are put back as soon as I finish using them, " says Jackie. "Knowing exactly where to put my hands on my tools when I need them as made a big difference when I am scrapping." Again showing her sense of humour, Jackie remarked "... it took me awhile to break DH from helping himself and not replacing them, though."

Jackie told me that she really enjoys using Sketches to kick start her scrapbooking. I asked this prolific scrapbooker to share some of the Sketch sites she likes to check out. She was able to recommend two she enjoys using. One is Let's Capture These Sketches and the other is Sketch Support .

In terms of scrappy tools, Jackie says one of the best gifts she was ever given was from her daughter, who gave her the original Cricut when it first came into being. Says Jackie: "I wore that one out. LOL"

Jackie, a hearty "Thank You" for allowing us a peek into your scrapbooking world. It is one of beauty and fun as is evidenced by your colourful and well- designed scenic, animal, and cherished grandchildren pages! Your work for S:CY this Term has been so valuable in helping us to post a variety of pages that demonstrate balance-- in design, colour usage, love for extended family and in presenting heartfelt journaling. Keep up the beautiful work!

You can check out Jackie's BLOG here. Enjoy!

~

Sketch 13-11

Hello everyone! Thanks for coming by! 

We had an "email glitch" last week with some interpretations, but we can remedy it. Here's our Guest Designer Rita Barakat's layout for Sketch 12-11 for you to enjoy: 

"H2O: Soak it in!" layout created by
 S:CY August Guest Designer Rita Barakat

 

Detail of Rita's layout

Here's the Sketch Rita used for her LO: 

Sketch 12-11 created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

Thanks Rita!! So happy you're here with us this month and that email glitches are so easily remedied! 

Let's move along to some more scrapbooking eye-candy today. We have a brand new sketch to share! It's lucky Sketch #13-11! Enjoy!


Sketch #13-11 created by
S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

Let's see what our Design Team came up with this week, shall we?
First, an interpretation from our August  Guest Designer:

"Something Beautiful" layout created by
S:CY August Guest Designer Rita Barakat

Detail of Rita's layout

"Building our Home" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Heather Bridges Topich

 "Merry Christmas" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Amy Manis



"Caught Being Good" layout created by
S:CY Design Team Member Jackie Primmer-Plank

  

"Easter" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler

"Discover, escape" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Lindy Rabenstine
[Note from Lindy: This is the Ben Lomond Manor House at Shenandoah Crossings in Gordonsville VA. A beautiful place that you can rent. I'm told it has about six or seven bedrooms and bathrooms that the entire extended family could rent and it has it's own gameroom, hot tub and pool; however the price is quite nice too. Heehee, without renting it this is the closest they allow other guests.]

"White water rafting in Jasper" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Tammy Pyette

"Love" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Maggi Harding

"Blessed" layout created by
 S:CY Design Team Member Sylvia Galindo

 

 "Age 37" layout created by
 S:CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko



"Gr.2- Artwork by Noah" layout created by
 S:CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald
[Note:This layout was created for Lain Ehmann's May 2011 LOAD class]

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Leave us a link to your creation if you try any of the sketches you see here! We'd enjoy popping by your blog or Gallery and will leave you some love!

Remember to stay tuned for more Designer Spotlights, more S:CY Card Sketches and more LO Sketches, COMING SOON!


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