Interview with Scrappin' Serenity

Welcome to Saturday & another designer interview; this week we're going to meet Christie Bowien of Scrappin' Serenity!


Tell us a little about yourself & your family. My hubby and I met in college, it was my senior year & his freshmen year (yep ... I married a younger man, woo hoo cougar, haha). Anyway, it was pretty much love at first sight. We started dating a month after meeting, and then were engaged 5 months later. And then we married 10 months later. Hey when you know you know! We've been married nearly 6 years (December 31st, will be 6 years). We have a 4 year old (soon to be 5 in January) daughter, named Haylie. We also have a 3 1/2 year old son named Hunter. We are currently living in West Texas, but hope to move closer to our families soon! We pretty much do everything together as a family!

What part of designing comes easiest to you? Colors are always kind of hard to me, because a color palette can signify whether people are going to consider it a boy kit or a girl kit, and I hate having limits! But when I start designing a kit, after I've narrowed down a palette, I almost always start with the papers, so I guess that's the easiest!

If you’re running low on design mojo, how do you kick-start your creativity? I love looking at color palettes, and of course going shopping and looking at kids clothes always helps with great ideas!

What is your favorite kit you've designed? I would have to say it's a tie, between The Girl & The Boy. Both of these kits were designed with my kiddos in mind, so they're both pretty special to me!

What kits/products do you have in the works? Well ... my birthday is coming up (Oct. 28th), and I have a weekend only freebie kit (with a weather theme) planned to give away on my blog [pssst ... check out Christie's blog now]! But I also have a Fall collaboration in the works with Scraps by Andrea ... and of course some wintery and christmasy kits down the road too!

If you could change one thing about this world, what would it be? Wow ... that's deep. There's so much that needs to change to make this world a much happier place, where does one start? World Peace, right? Seriously though, I would really love to see all the kids who don't have a loving caring home to have one. Every kid deserves to know what real unconditional love is.

Which would you pick…more money or more time? If you had more time, you could always make more money, right? ;) You can't buy time with money. So I guess I'd have to say time, but not to make more money ... but to spend it with my kids, there's never enough time in the day (even though I wish bedtime would come sooner, some days); but the fact is they are growing up way to fast! Nothing is more important than that time with them to make tons of memories (and then scrap them of course!) :)

Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? I love fruits and most vegetables, there are a few veggies I won't eat (cucumbers & any kind of pepper), but for the most part I'd say I'm a fruit & veggie lover.

Rate yourself on a scale from 1-10, 1 being the best, how close are you to a superhero? Definitely a 1! I rock! LOL. Seriously though, all mom's should definitely consider themselves superheros. Look at all the things we accomplish everyday, and then we go to bed, and get up and do it all over again! It definitely takes a superhero to do what we do!

Name five of your favorite movies. This is a hard question. My family LOVES watching movies! I swear we spend most weekends just hanging out on the couch watching movies. Maybe if I categorize this it would be much easier.

• Favorite classic - Dirty Dancing (the original of course, with that heartthrob Patrick Swayze)
• Favorite kid movie - All the Toy Stories (yeah, I count them as one...and could definitely watch them over and over with my kiddos)
• Favorite recently released movie - Real Steel (LOVED IT... Hugh Jackman, yum, yes...but it really is a good heartfelt movie)
• Favorite always go back to no matter what movies - Harry Potter Series, Twlight series, and Lord of the Rings Series

Okay so yeah, there's definitely more than 5, but I narrowed it down a bit! LOL.

Thanks Christie! Head on over to the store to see all of Christie's wonderful products & don't forget to follow Christie on her blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account!

Interview with Shel Belle Scraps

Welcome to Saturday & another designer interview; this week we're going to meet Shel of Shel Belle Scraps!


Tell us a little about yourself & your family. I'm a thirty-something single gal who lives in Minnesota and loves it. No hubby or kids, but I do spoil my dog, two nieces, and one nephew rotten!

What part of designing comes easiest to you? Color schemes are always the easy part for me.

If you’re running low on design mojo, how do you kick-start your creativity? I step away from the computer, look through magazines and websites, check out what my friends have posted on pinterest, listen to music, go for a run — whatever it takes to restore my mojo. I never know when inspiration might strike, so I always carry a little notebook with me so I can jot stuff down when it does hit.

What is your favorite kit you've designed? Amelia has been my favorite so far. I love the colors and the fun doodles in it; I absolutely love the way it all came together.

What kits/products do you have in the works? I've got a couple kits in the works including a holiday-themed one, a kit for little boys, and one for little girls.

What's the best movie you've seen in the last year? So hard to choose, but it’s a tie between The King’s Speech, The Help, and Bridesmaids.

What is your favorite memory from childhood? There are a lot to choose from but some of my favorite memories involve being at Twins baseball games with my brother, parents, and grandparents. My grandfather had season tickets for a few years, so I got to see a lot of games — including Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when the Twins won it all!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you make your home? I love Minneapolis and all it has to offer — arts, sports, culture, entertainment, schools, etc. So luckily, I’m right where I want to be. But if I had to choose another city, I’d probably choose London, England. I love it there.

Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball? Hmm..My guess is to slow it down a bit.

If you were a type of food, what type of food would you be? Something that’s good for you but also has a kick to it. Maybe spicy tuna sushi or salsa.

Thanks Shel! Head on over to the store to see all of Shel's wonderful products & don't forget to follow Shel on her blog, Facebook page, & Twitter account!

Interview with Jensen Motley Crew Designs

Welcome to Saturday & our next designer interview; this week we're going to meet Jodi Jensen of Jensen Motley Crew Designs.


Tell us a little about yourself & your family. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. My mom & I moved to Utah in 1975 to live with my Uncle. When I was older I met my husband on a blind date & we got married 6 months later & have been married for 23 years. We have two amazing children - Janette (Nettie is 17) & Christopher (Pher) is 16. We love to camp, fish, hunt, hike & we like to laugh A LOT!

What part of designing comes easiest to you? Absolutely themes and colors, no matter what I am looking at I see the potential for a color palette & theme. It could be a magazine in a doctor’s office or just a description in a book. I have so many color palettes to use & not enough time. However, I love to take a paper template or element & see it transform into a new creation.

If you’re running low on design mojo, how do you kick-start your creativity? Thank heavens this hasn’t happened yet, but I would probably take a small break, gather my magazines & search them & the internet for ideas.

What is your favorite kit you've designed? I would have to say Lily Bell, this is a kit I made on behalf of my mother. Her maiden name was Bell & her given name is Lillian & we call her Lily Bell. The colors are some I found around her house. I love the soft colors & it was was fun to have her help me pick out the elements & papers.

What kits/products do you have in the works? I have a kit in the works called Apple Seeds, inspired by my apple trees. I also have a baby kit in the works.

What book are you reading right now? I am actually reading three: The Message by Lance Richardson for my book group; And Furthermore by Judi Dench (because she is my favorite actress); & Paper Hearts by Deborah Williamson.

Can you list 5 ways to use a pencil other than writing? 1) Poke someone; 2) throw it to someone; 3) erasing something; 4) use it as a fire wood stick; & 5) to open things that are covered in plastic.

What was it about you that first drew your significant other to you? Definitely his sense of humor! I talked to him on the phone a week before we met & he was always cracking me up!

What kind of car do you drive? Ford Explorer.

What was the last movie you went to see? The Help.

Thanks Jodi! Head on over to the store to see all of Jodi's wonderful products & don't forget to follow Jodi on her blog!

Interview with Growing Pains Scrapped

Welcome to the new Stuff to Scrap Designer Blog! Here you'll be able to get to know all of our wonderful designers a bit better, each week a new interview will be posted. We're going to start off the interviews with Tracy Ladle, the designer behind Growing Pains Scrapped.


Tell us about yourself & your family. I am a proud mother of three beautiful kids. Karlee is 11, Carson is 9 & baby Grace is 14 months. Our oldest two were a blessing through the miracle of adoption! They came to us straight from the hospital. And Baby Grace was another miracle ... one the doctors said would never happen! After all these years, we were blessed with a shocking, miraculous pregnancy ... & we couldn't be happier! I have a wonderful husband who takes awesome care of us ... allowing me to stay at home with our kids! I love to spend time playing, reading, talking with my kids. I also love to digi-scrapbook, blog, garden, read, & exercise. I have been scrapbooking for 18 years & have, in the last 2 years, converted to digi-scrapping! I was born & raised (& lived my whole life) in Utah, but recently moved to Tallahassee, Florida when my husband accepted a fabulous new job here. It’s been a hard adjustment, but I love the heat & the beauty of Tallahassee (& I don’t miss the snow!).

What part of designing comes easiest to you? Probably papers … at least papers are my favorite to create!

If you’re running low on design mojo, where do you go to kick-start your creativity? The last time this happened, I asked my creative team for suggestions & that’s how my Alayna kit came about! I also look at my own pictures & see what type of kit I’m needing to get them scrapped.

What is your favorite kit you've designed? I love Bloomin' & I also have a new one called, Timeless that I absolutely love. It’s kind of patterned after one of my older kits (that I've since retired) called, Treasures of Yesterday. Oh … Picture Perfect is pretty new & I love that one too! Hmmm…how that for an answer? LOL, I love them all!

What do you have in the works? I’m working on an autumn/fall themed kit called, Autumn Comfort & I’m also working on a collaboration with Tammy of Mommy Me Time Scrapper called, Turkey Trot that will release in November.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I would buy a house with a pool, I’d pay off my families' houses & I’d move my sister to Florida! I’d also probably buy a second home in Utah so that I could go visit all the time … actually, I’d buy a plane, then I could go back & forth!

What's in your music play list right now? This is going to sound so strange to y’all, but I use my ipod touch to access the internet & to play games. It has music on it, but I never listen to it. I have actually perfected the art of reading while running on the treadmill … who needs music when you've got a good book?

What's the last book you read? I’m currently on the 4th book of a series about Disney called, The Kingdom Keepers. It’s juvenile/fantasy fiction. I also love crime/mystery books. I’m a book lover & read probably 2 books a week!

Where is the farthest you have been from home? Well … seeing how we moved to Florida from Utah last year, I still pretty much consider Utah home … even though home is now Florida (how’s that for messing you up?). So … Florida is pretty darn far from Utah – 2200 miles. Our family has also taken Disney cruises to the Western & Eastern Caribbean.

If you were an animal, which one would you want to be? Probably a dog because I have a dog & lover her to pieces…& I’m thinkin' that dogs have a pretty good life!

Thanks Tracy! Head on over to the store to see all of Tracy's wonderful products & don't forget to follow Tracy on her blog or Facebook page!