Meet Kathie!

Well, the month of December didn't exactly pan out as we had hoped with our Guest Designer. Poor Emilie...she was so very, very sick. We only got to see one of her layouts for our weekly challenges but she did offer us some incredible layouts on her introduction day! I hope you've all had a chance to post your scraplifts in the comments section of that post! Emilie, we all hope you're feeling much better and that you get back to scrapping in no time!


Now let's get to the good stuff! This month's Guest Designer is Kathie Link. She is a busy scrapper indeed who (I'm a little jealous of this next fact) lives in Australia...Right now where I live, it's -30. Where she is it's the opposite!! As usual, she will share her 3 favorite layouts with us and you get to choose one to scraplift. Upload the link to your page in the comments section and we'll announce a winner after the end of January. So here she is...

Q:Tell us a bit about you and your family.

A: I live in Adelaide, Australia, with my husband and three year old son, Jamie. I used to work as a human resources manager, but when Jamie was born I decided to take a bit of a sea-change and I now only work a couple of days a week as an occupational health and safety adviser. My husband is a sales engineer, but loves to renovate houses in his spare time. That and an active little boy keep us really busy.

Q: How long have you been scrapbooking and where did you get your start in this craft?

A: I started scrapbooking about four years ago when Phil and I got married. I wanted to make a wedding album with the photos a friend took at our wedding. LOL, twenty scrapbooking albums later, and I’m yet to make that wedding album! I think that my wedding pages will be an eclectic mix that I do from time to time over the years now.

Q:What inspires your creativity when you are scrapbooking?

A: Scrapbooking started out being a creative thing for me. But since Jamie was born, my greatest source of inspiration is the funny little things that he says and does. I am conscious of wanting to record my life, so that I can look back later and remember.

Q:Describe your creative style

A: I would say that my work is fresh and playful. But I’m pretty versatile. I scrap for a lot of themes and challenges, and that keeps me flexible. There’s nothing like getting papers that you’d never have selected in a blue fit, and trying to create something inspirational out of them. It keeps me on my toes.

Q:What are your three favorite products/techniques right now?

A: I love paper piecing! I know, I know. So old fashioned. But I can’t help myself! When Jamie was born there were so few embellishments out there for little boy pages. I was bored of stars and spots and stripes. So I started using his toys as templates for either drawing pictures for his pages, or paper-piecing embellishments to use on his layouts. It sort of grew from there.
I love distressing and inking. I started scrapbooking vintage photos and using lots of ageing and distressing techniques. Even though my pages now tend to be more about modern-day life, my love of distressing has translated across into the work I do now.
I am also a patterned paper addict. I love all of them. I especially love papers I can carve up into shapes to use as embellishments, or to add to my paper-piecing scenes.
Q:What project(s) are you currently working on?

A: I was recently named as an Australian Scrapbooking Memories Master, and with that came a twelve month contract with Scrapbooking Memories magazine. I’ve just finished one project for them and I’ll soon have to start on my January project. I also work as a design team member for Shop and Crop, an Australian scrapbooking store, and Scrapware, an Australian manufacturer of chipboard elements. Between those three commitments I usually have a bit of a list of projects that are either on the go, or that I’m mulling over in the back of my mind. Life’s never dull!

Q:Describe your perfect day

A: Aaah. I had my perfect day while we were on holiday recently. We stayed at the best resort; it was true luxury. The weather was around twenty-six degrees (Celsius) with a blue sky and little wispy clouds. We were close to the beach – white sandy beaches and gentle surf. The three of us went out down to the beach in the morning and browsed the shops on the way home. In the afternoon, when Jamie went down for his nap Phil and I took turns in heading down to the pool while the other one stayed in the apartment. I read two novels, sitting by that pool. Bliss! In the evening we found some beautiful restaurants close by where we were staying, and then came home, curled up on the couch and watched movies. I can’t wait for our next holiday, lol.

Q:What are your three favorite layouts of all time that you’ve created (published or not)?

A: At Two – the journaling is from the journal I keep. Every month I write all the things that Jamie’s up to. It’s a great source of inspiration and journaling. I love the photos too. And the design is typical of me.
Little Gardener – my pages often look like pictures from old children’s picture books. I love using distressed book papers and vintage colours really resonate with me. I am particularly in love with vintage red at the moment.
When I Grow Up – I don’t get much of a chance to do girly pages, so when I do, I go all out and really enjoy the process. This page is one of those instances.