Featured Designer: Patchi Moussatche

Our spotlight is shining on S:CY Design Team Member Patchi Moussatche today! Patchi is married and is a mom to two boys. She is a scientist working in the research sector. Her attention to detail in answering my questions is refreshing and allows me to have her speak 'in her own voice' throughout most of the spotlight feature. :o)  

S:CY Design Team Member Patchi Moussatche

Patchi told me that her favourite topic to scrap about is holiday time. She says "I love scrapping vacation photos. I save all the brochures, maps and other ephemera from the trip so I can add them to my layouts. I love remembering all the places we've been to and all the fun we had - and the kids love pointing out what they remember on the LOs!"

Here's a perfect example of Patchi's words in scrap-action:


"Bluebell Railway" layout created by
 Patchi Moussatche

Patchi  gave me some info on the above LO:  "This layout was based on Sketchy Thursdays sketch 3.10 (2011) and was picked as a favorite over there. It is one of my favorites too, as incorporates lots of ephemera from the outing. Details can be found HERE."  This favourite layout was also published by Scrapbook News and Review, vol #4, issue #6.

I asked Patchi about her scrapbooking style and she had a very interesting reply. She told me that she once took an online 'test' about her scrapbooking style, and it told her that she had a style that was 'Fun and Playful.' Her response to this result was to give it an affirmative 'nod' with these words:  "I'd say I lean towards the bright and colorful most of the time if you can call that a style ;)"


"Tax Time" layout created by
 Patchi Moussatche

The above LO is one of Patchi's favourites because she finds it so much fun-- - as Patchi put it:  " I love the pictures! As you can see, I'm not much for journaling, it doesn't come easy for me. I'm working on it though..."


In terms of scrapbooking design tips, Patchi had a relied-upon tip to share with us..."I read a 'rules for beginners' article early on that said to always mat the photos if they are going on patterned paper. I totally agree, and I abide by it. Most of my layouts have matted photos regardless of the background, either individually or in blocks. And every layout that I think 'I should have done things differently' always has non-matted photos and that's the first thing I feel like changing. It's the thing that bothers me the most I guess - you can call it a pet peeve ;)"

"Blue Tongue & Happiness" layout created by
 Patchi Moussatche

Patchi is not a marathon-session scrapper, generally speaking. About her scrapbooking process, she exlained that "I scrap in bits and pieces. I leave things out and add to the layout or card whenever I can. Most of the time I'm stealing some minutes in the morning before going to work and if I manage to leave work early I stop at home for a bit to scrap before picking up the kids at daycare or make dinner. It gives me some time to relax and disengage from work-related stress, and (I think) makes me more pleasant when the family gets home."



"On the London Eye"  layout created by
 Patchi Moussatche

  Patchi told me "This LO is one of my favorites because it is so different from my "normal". I tend to make "boy layouts" - LOL. This LO also uses my favorite paper collection of all time - 'Seaside' by October Afternoon. Details can be found HERE."

Patchi is a loyal scrapper, too! She told me that  she gets most of her papers through a monthly kit club called Apron Strings Designs.  "The plastic sleeves are then stored in a crate by my desk. If I buy paper on my own, I assemble my own "kits" in empty sleeves and set them in the crate. I store my cardstock on my desk. You can see a picture here."

"I'm so organized it's scary,"  says Patchi. "Now that my scrap space is defined I noticed that I'm a "drawer scrapper" - I have a drawer for punches, one for adhesive, one for embellishments and one for accents (glitter glue, ink). When I scrap I open the drawer I need, use the stuff, then put things away before moving on to the next step. My table space is limited, so this way all I have out is the paper I'm using. Once I finish a project the patterned paper scraps go into a zip-lock bag and the cardstock scraps into another. I save all my scraps and use it often for cards or when I need a "little something" for a LO."

Patchi told me  a bit about how she stores and organizes her LOs. "I'm a chronological scrapbooker, so everything is in order. I started with the baby albums that cover 3 months for each boy. Then I have 3 sets of concurrent albums: vacation, birthdays, and 'everything else'. Everything is 12x12. I order prints of my photos by the hundreds and scrap them in order; once a LO is finished it goes into the themed album."

Hmmmmm... Ordering that many pics means someone's been taking photos! LOL... so... I asked Patchi about her camera. She said "Laugh as you may, I have a Canon Powershot elph. (Ali's note: So do I, and I am NOT laughing! I love it!) It's small and can be slipped into a pocket so I can always have it with me, not that I remember to use it - LOL. My MIL has a similar one, and she takes thousands of pictures, which I download when we visit each other. I love using the ones she takes, because as she snaps pictures non-stop and doesn't frame them well - I have lots of photos to choose from and I get to crop them to my heart's content. I love spontaneous pictures!"

In addition to being a talented scrapbooker, Patchi is a also GREAT card-maker. She has created some real beauts for us here during her current DT term at S:CY. Here are a couple of her cards.  I personally love these two  because of the cheerfulness and creativity they convey!


"Happy Birthday" card created by
Patchi Moussatche

Patchi's sweet card was created using the following S:CY Card Sketch by Ann Seleshanko:

 And another gorgeous card:

"Birthday Boy" card created by Patchi Moussatche

The above card was created from the following S:CY Card Sketch, also by Ann Seleshanko:

In my 'conversation' with Patchi, I asked her how she feels about the idea/concept of being “caught-up” with scrappin’ her photos. Her answer will make you smile: "I'm a year "behind" right now, but that doesn't bother me. More than a year makes my memory fuzzy, and I guess I would prefer a 6 month lag. But there would be advantages of getting caught up - I could scrap my baby pictures! :)"

Patchi, Thank You for being such a wonderful Design Team Member here at S:CY and for allowing us a peek into your life and scrapbooking process. It  has truly been a pleasure to get to know you better by writing your Spotlight feature!

You can enjoy Patchi's blog HERE.

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