Artist of the Month

I know this is old news for my facebook friends but I do actually have some friends who aren't on FB (gasp! ELISA!) and a lot of my family read my blog but don't really do facebook so I'm not trying to be obnoxious about this and post it everywhere... ok, I am BUT it's nice to have some validation for a hobby that's borderline obsession and I really do just want my family and friends know what I'm up to.

 On Tuesday (6/29) I got an email from Design House Digital letting me know that I was chosen as Artist of the Month for July. They just started this and I was the first! It's a huge honor and I am so grateful I came across DHD to make my scrapbooking home. Someday I hope to be a decorator there! You can find the blog entry HERE.

Have you met Katie?

Besides being fabulously talented, fabulously creative, and fabulously adorable, she’s our fabulous Artist of the Month for July.
Here’s a little bit of information for you, straight from Katie’s mouth!

Name: Katie Richards

What camera do you use? My husband is the photographer of the family so I depend on him to give me the pictures I need to scrapbook. He uses a canon 30D and I have a “purse camera” that I use when he’s not around. It’s just a little canon point and shoot.

What program do you create in? I use photoshop CS4 and I LOVE IT. I used to use elements and once I switched to CS4 it was like a whole new world.

How long have you been digital scrapbooking? I was first introduced to digital scrapbooking a little over 2 years ago by my BFF Amy (aka. mrslovelly) but I was working full time and couldn’t find the time to scrap. I really started digital scrapping in December when I somehow came across Carina Gardner’s blog announcing that DHD was opening soon and decided I would give it a go since I had more time on my hands.

How would you describe your scrapbook style? Clean and linear is my natural style but lately I have been trying to break free of that and do more clustering or forcing myself to let loose a little bit.

Where do you create, and when? I use my iMac at my desk cause I have a super comfy office chair and it’s in my family room so it’s easy to keep track of everything that’s going on. I usually find the time to scrap in the afternoon when it’s the kiddos nap time or in the evening when I should be working on my homework.

What’s your ‘go-to’ technique or trick? I use the mask tool in almost every layout. When my friend showed me how to use it it totally rocked my scrapbooking world. When I had a smaller supply of digital paper and elements I used the re-coloring trick a lot too so it looked like I wasn’t reusing the same kit for every layout.

What’s your favorite color combination? GREEN! I’m kinda obsessed with the color and I have to force myself to use other colors. If I could do every layout with Green, brown and pink I’d be content.

Do you start your layouts with pictures, a story, or products? Right now since I’m trying to play catch up I just go by what’s next in the photo album and from there I pick my papers and elements that would go with it. Sometimes when I buy something I’m really itching to work with I will search my picture folders to find the perfect photo to go with it.

Where do you find your inspiration? I follow a million scrapbooking blogs so I keep an inspiration folder where I go to get ideas when I’m feeling stuck. So I guess you could say I’m inspired by my fellow scrapbookers and their great layouts.

Do you prefer movies or books? Ohhhh this is the tuffest question to ask me because I’m obsessed with both! I’m always in the middle of a book and looking for other good books to read. I was also a theatre major in college so acting and movies are a big part of my life as well. The greatest high for me is reading or watching a beautiful well-told story.

What’s your favorite snack? Right now it’s sweet potato fries (which I just discovered you can buy frozen!!!) I also enjoy a good muffin or chocolate treat.

What type of music do you like? Alternative and sometimes some R&B. If you look at my pandora.com stations I have Dashboard Confessional, Weezer, Joshua Radin, Regina Spektor, Arcade Fire….

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I grew up in Arizona and always hated it. I wanted to live somewhere with 4 seasons, green and with lots of trees. It took since I got married to convince my husband to move somewhere else so now I’m living my dream of living in Northern Colorado and I LOVE IT! If I could pick another place to live it would be upstate New York.

What five adjectives describe you best? Spontaneous, friendly, loyal, random, dramatic

Here are a few of Katie’s layouts that really caught our eye:

All layout by Katie Richards

Whether her designs were ordered or chaotic, with photos or without, or bad times or good, they are all, well… FABULOUS! Congrats, Katie, and thanks for providing us with such FABULOUS inspiration!