Kari here to share a little something that matters to me.  Let’s hear it for SPEED SCRAPS!!!  I’ve often heard them referred to as “addicting.”  Now, I will admit I haven’t gotten to participate in near as many as I would have liked to, but every Speed Scrap I have gotten to play along with has been a thrill!  There is something about the energy that rushes through the forum during that 2 hours that can’t be described … it must be experienced   I think playing along is one of the best ways to push yourself to try something new, limit your ability to “fuss” with your page too much, stretch you outside your comfort zone, and take a little (much deserved) time for yourself.  I love that everyone who participates takes the time to leave some love in the gallery – seriously makes my heart gush when I read all of the comments!!  The icing on the cake?  There is always a FANTASTIC participation prize from one of the extremely talented SM designers created especially for the Speed Scraps!  A completed layout, 2 hours of “you” time, stretching your creative mind, having a blast with friends, feeling the gallery love, and a new goodie to scrap with – what could be better?!?!

There is now a thread posted at the beginning of the month with the days and times of the scheduled Speed Scraps for the entire month so you can pencil them into your calendar!  There is a daytime and an evening scrap scheduled each week.  The thread with the March dates can be found HERE.  In case you hadn’t heard there is actually one scheduled tomorrow night!!

Wanna see what you’ll get if you come to play?

Seriously … the prizes are that good EVERY time!!!  If you haven’t tried a Speed Scrap before I challenge you to do one this month.  I can’t make it tomorrow night but I’ll definitely be scheduling myself for some “me” time very soon!  Just remember I *DID* warn you about the addictive nature of Speed Scraps ….

Happy Sunday everyone! This week’s LOTW is True Love by Scrapper_Smiles. Isn’t it beautiful? I just love the colors of this LO. Make sure you leave her some love in the forum.

Now on to our Spotlight…

1.   Your screen name? Your real name?

My screen name is kv2av….I know it’s a weird one but I’ve been using it for 10 years now and it would feel even weirder to change it. My real name is Kathleen.

2.   What is your main job/career?

My main job right now is SAHM mom to my four girls and the boy on his way in just 4 more weeks. I am a teacher, but I stopped teaching this year because I felt like I really needed to be home with my kids while they’re still little. I plan on going back eventually, once they’re all a little older. And I’ll be subbing to keep my license current until I decide to go back.

3.   Are you married/children/pets?

So yep – I’m married…we’re coming up on 10 years in May. My husband’s name is Keith. We have four girls – Amya (8), Elena (5), Téa (4), and Maricela (2). We don’t have a name picked out for the little boy yet….it’s hard to come up with a boy name we like and sounds good with our girls’ names too. We don’t have any pets right now except for our fish – but we have owned 2 dogs, a bunny, and 15 cats (there were 3 moms who each had a litter of 4 kittens, all at the same time!).

4.   Where is home for you?
Right now, home is in Utah. I was born in West Virginia (where my parents live now), but grew up in Florida. I’d go back to Florida in a heartbeat – I miss the beach and hate the cold!!

5.   What are your 3 favorite foods?
My 3 favorite foods are pretty much anything Mexican (tamales, chile rellenos, enchiladas, flautas, etc.), pizza, and cereal. I could eat cereal all day and usually have at least 15 different kinds in my house so that there’s plenty to choose from.

6.   What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

My favorite flavor is vanilla (I know, boring) but I like to add caramel on top…does that help?

7.   Snacks…Salty or Sweet?
I like both salty AND sweet. My favorite snack is the Klondike Caramel & Pretzel bar. SUCH a good combination.

8.   Beverage of choice?
I love my Pepsi, but I’ll take a Mountain Dew if Pepsi’s not available.

9.   What’s your least favorite food?
Least favorite food? That’s a hard one because I’m a pretty picky eater. Besides anything that sounds weird to me or that I think I don’t like, I’m not really a fan of seafood.

10.  PC or Mac? What program do you use?
I scrap on a PC using CS2.

11.  How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started?

I’ve been digiscrapping since March of 2005 (holy cow, that’s a long time!) I followed the instructions in a Simple Scrapbooks mag for how to create a digital page and was hooked.

12.  What was your 1st LO about?
My first LO was about my 2nd daughter, using pictures from when she was born. It’s still in my 2Peas gallery…..I just went and looked at it – the drop shadows are HORRIBLE!

13.  Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)?

Besides scrapping, I like photography, cooking (only the cooking part, not the cleaning up afterward), playing the piano, reading, and playing with my kids.

14.  What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?
The most challenging part of scrapping for me would be deciding on which pictures to use (I’m SO far behind) and making my page look as “real” as possible. I’d love to get better at my shadowing and also clustering/layering elements.

15.  What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?

Not related to scrapping, I’d LOVE to improve my photography skills (which is kinda scrap related) and I’d like to be better about being organized in my house and my life.

16.  What are your favorite movies/TV shows?
Favorite TV shows? Don’t get me started.   I like to watch The Office, Law & Order (the original and SVU), CSI (the original), ER, House and Friends (I still watch the reruns). I could keep going, but I won’t bore you. Favorite movie genre would definitely be romantic comedy – I love movies like 50 First Dates, Hitch, Just Friends, Notting Hill, etc.

17.  Describe your “scrapping” environment.  Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?
My scrapping environment right now is the living room couch. My awesome hubby got me a laptop for Christmas and I’ve been putting it to good use. Dh is usually out here with me, with some lame show I don’t like on the TV. (But I can’t complain since he got me the laptop!)

18.  If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?
2 elements??? I have no idea – probably some sort of frame or mat for my photos and a ribbon? I don’t know that I have an element that I use in every layout.

19.  Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?
Little known fact: I raised pigs for 4H in high school. Got them as babies, fed, exercised, raised, and cleaned up after them until the county fair, and then sold them for money. I’m a pretty big girly-girl and hate getting dirty, so when I tell people this, it usually surprises them.

20.  Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?

I don’t know if I have a specific style….I usually like to use more than one picture, I like my pages to look like they could have been created with paper, and I love to use templates or do a scraplift to help speed up the process.

21.  Favorite LOs that you have done?
Favorite LOs? Now I’m going to go back on my “usually use more than one picture”, since 3 out of these 4 only have one picture. But they’re my favorites because of the picture, with the design coming in second.

splish splash

Thanks Kathleen for letting us get to know you better. Make sure you check out her gallery!