Saturday Artisan: Scrapbooks and Stones

Meet Colleen of Scrapbooks and Stones. Colleen specializes in scrapbooks (custom books or premade pages), handmade jewelry, and things made out of duct tape. As some of you may know, I scrapbook and I love it. Preserving memories, looking back to what we'd been through, is priceless. Scrapbooking is more important to me now that we have a son who is growing up so quick. So when I 'meet' Colleen, I said, "Gotta love this gal". Lol. Let's get to know her a bit more, shall we? Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? I am a newly wed and when my husband and I moved to Florida for his job I needed something to do. So I started my etsy shop. I make scrapbooks pages, custom scrapbooks, jewelry, and things out of duct tape. I started making things out of duct tape when I was about 13 and I used to sell it to other kids. Then I started making jewelry when I worked at The Pot & bead, which was a beading and potter studio. Finally I started scrapbooking for my boyfriend (now husband) when I was in college.

  Why scrapbooking? My father was a photographer so photos were always a big part of my life. He took pictures of everything. When I got to college no one was taking my picture anymore, so I became the friend with the camera and I took pictures of everything. I made my boyfriend a scrapbook because we were going to be apart for the summer and I never stopped adding to it. I think scrapbooking is a great and unique way to preserve photos and other memorabilia.

What is the story behind your shop name?

I wanted something that incorporated my items, and I like the idea of everything starting with the same letter. Scrapbooks and Stones was the result. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? I like the planning process. I like coming up with an idea and sketching out a scrapbook page, or laying out beads and seeing what looks good together.

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?

I live in a small town on the east coast of Florida. It is in-between Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. I’ve only lived here a few months so I haven’t discovered all of the cool things to do, but the beach is always nice. 

How do you balance your personal and work life? This is pretty easy. My husband goes to work all day and I work on things while he is gone. I know sometimes he gets annoyed that I am constantly checking the computer, but I figure it’s a good opportunity for him to check on sports.

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? 

Tape. I use tape while scrapbooking, I use it to tape off one end of a string while I’m beading, and then of course there is duct tape.

How do you promote your shop?

I have a facebook, twitter, and tumblr that I use regularly. I’ve also just started a chime.in and digg. I do a lot of promotion through those but I also am a part of lots of teams and participate in challenges, giveaways, and blogs. 

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Giveaway Winner of $20 Gift Certificate from FotoTaleDesigns

Congartulations Gianna (#23), you are the lucky winner of last week giveaway sponsored by FotoTaleDesigns. For others, please don't fret! There is BOGO sale going on now at FotoTaleDesigns.

You have 48 hours to response after being contacted by Sarah, the artist, herself.

Thank you Sarah for sponsoring this great giveaway!

Thank you everyone who entered. For this week giveaway, please click here to win a pair of earrings.

Saturday Artisan: Foto Tale Designs

Meet this week Saturday Artisan, Sarah of Foto Tale Designs. Absolutely I adore her shop. She offers practical designs that definitely help you in the organizational department and save you tons of time, something that we really need in our busy days. Read on and find out how she started her business and get inspired!

Tell us a bit about yourself and what art/crafts you make? 

 I am a stay-at-home mother of 2! They keep me very busy. I think that my kids are pretty cute, so I take loads of pictures! I did traditionally scrapbooking for about 15 years. I accumulated thousands of dollars worth of stuff, and it took up my whole office! I started to find that it was harder and harder to spend hours making one page, especially when I could only use it once. So I decided (at the coaxing of my husband, who wanted office space!) to go digital! I have LOVE D it! I love that all the time I put into my designs can be reused again and again! So, after getting into digital scrapbooking and learning Photoshop I found that I love to design and create templates. I know that most people are getting busier and busier every day, so I decided to start selling photo templates to those who don’t have time to create their own. My templates make it so easy (for those with some Photoshop experience) to quickly mask your photos and change your text, and then you have a beautiful, customized display ready to print with the printer of your choosing. You can reuse the templates as often as you want, change the pictures, text, maybe play with the colors a little and you have an endless amount of possibilities- so fun! And most importantly, it’s quick and easy!

Currently, in my etsy shop and on my website I have the following kinds of templates: graduation announcements, baby/birth announcements, photo display templates, wedding save the date cards, thank you cards, guestbook albums, photo albums, mini accordion albums, CD labels, CD cases, image box templates, blogging templates (a MUST have for everyone who blogs!), and many more, with new stuff being added all the time!

What is your favorite item in your shop?

My favorite item would have to be my blogging templates. I use these on almost a daily basis. I also think they are an item that everyone has a need for. We all know how slow blogger is to upload your photos 5 at a time, and then you have to rearrange them. With my templates, you quickly and easily mask your photos in and save the image as a .jpg and then you upload that to your blog. You know have many photos as one photo! Not only does it save time, but it gives a really unique, sophisticated look to your blog. You can even go further, and give the template some bling by adding in a paper background or coloring the borders. Tons of fun options! And again- SOOOO easy and quick! 

What inspires you?

My children, my memories, and my hopes for the future! As I watch my children learn, grow and play, I cherish the moments. I want to remember them at this fun, innocent, sweet stage in life! So I make designs that I hang on my walls and items that I use in my scrapbook; designs and templates that I know will mean the world to me forever! I get a lot of ideas for my color combinations from my past. Such as my wedding color combination, and those of my sister’s and friend’s weddings that I really liked. I also get the theme and feel for that specific design line from my feelings and memories of those special times in my life. I know that everyone has similar experiences and feelings, and I hope that my designs help them get in touch with those memories and that they help them display and tell their stories! 

What is your goal for 2010? And are you on the right track? 

One of my biggest personal goals for 2010 is to get caught up on my scrapbooking! I started off the years almost 1.5 years behind! I have been working away and I am getting closer to being caught up. I am about 5 months behind now. So I still have a lot of work to do, but I am getting there!

As for my shop, my goal for 2010 is to exceed 100 sales. I hope I am on the right track. I am working really hard to offer unique and fun products at a good price. Some days are slower and harder than others to find the time to put in, but I really enjoy designing and seeing my products develop from a blank screen. 

What is your favorite tool that you cannot live without? 

When it comes to Photoshop and designing, my best tool is my husband! He has been a computer programmer/designer for about 10 years and he really knows everything. He is always so patient with me and is always willing to help me and teach me new techniques. He is my go-to guy and mentor in the digital world. I sure love him!