Featured Step Class FITGirl: Meet Christy Skinner!

Today we are getting to know the Winner from Step Class #12:  Layered Embellishments.  Christy Skinner created an adorable layout, and added some great layering and texture to the fun embellishment on her layout.  Let's get to know Christy.

How did you get started in Paper Crafting and how long have you been a Paper Crafter?  I started scrapbooking in 2000 just before the birth of my oldest.  I couldn't find a baby book that I really loved and decided to try to make one with a scrapbooking kit I picked up on sale.  By the end of the first page about the baby shower I was hooked.  My style has changed a lot since the days of over cropped photos stuck down with a glue stick on a piece of patterned paper and littered with stickers, but the feeling I get by being able to tell a story beyond just a picture in an album is still wonderful!

 

What type of Paper Crafts do you mostly enjoy:  Card Making, Scrapbooking, Altered Projects, or a mix? I always seem to come back to layouts.  They are definitely the thing I get the most joy out of and feel the most comfortable with.  I do enjoy a mix of card making and altered projects when the mood and mojo strikes though!  One of my very favorite types of projects to work on right now are mini albums.  I love the feeling of completion when I finish a photo project from start to finish in a short period of time.

 

Who are your top 3 favorite Manufacturers? My very favorite paper lines are Echo Park, Authentique, and Simple Stories.  I love the wide range of papers in each line and how a lot of times leftover pieces from one line mesh well with other lines by the same company.

 

What are the top 3 tools/embellishments, you can't live without, when working on a layout/project? I know the go-to answer should be along the lines of scissors and adhesive, but truth is I would rip my paper and stick it together with bubble gum if it meant I got an endless supply of prima flowers, Thickers and Distress Inks.

 

Do you have any Paper Craft goals you have attained or would like to attain in the future? As a stay-at-home mama who's last baby just started preschool, I am finding a lot more time than most to work on my paper crafting.  It keeps my mind off of my 'empty nest', but also means I actually run out of projects to work on.  *GASP* I know...how is that possible right?  I really get a lot of joy out of making mini albums for friends and family and hope to work up the nerve to go live with an etsy store some day.

 

Are there any fun tips or techniques you have discovered, that you would like to share with our Readers?  A few very basic concepts that I incorporate into almost all of my projects are so super simple, but have completely changed my style.  #1 is to matte all of my photos.  Small step that doesn't always seem necessary, but when I pile layer after layer of paper and embellishment on, it helps set the photos off as the main focus.  #2 is to ink the edges of your patterned papers to define the layers and create dimension.  It can be a dark contrast like black ink on light colors or a suble shadow effect from just a darker hue of the shade you are working with.  #3 Is to not be afraid to leave some 'white space'.  Granted mine is usually colored cardstock space, but none-the-less, don't feel like it's a waste of space if you don't fill the entire page with photos and journaling.  Most of my layouts are 1page/1photo creations and you can still tell a complete story with your embellishments and focal points.

 

Love those great tips you shared Christy!!  Let's take a look at some more of Christy's work:

 

 

What an adorable mini!!  I definitely agree with Christy, that it is really great to have that feeling of completion, once you have a finished mini album on your hands!!

 

Love the gorgeous cluster of flowers on this layout and such a pretty color combo, with the Pink and Green!!

 

Such a great use of the journaling strips on this page and the flourish, with the butterflies and flowers is such a sweet element next to the photo!

Thanks so much Christy for playing along with us last month and for sharing a little bit more about you and some of your work!  Make sure you take some time, to visit Christy's Blog, Been There, Done That, Have the Layout!