This week’s LOTW is Lollipop by bluefiji97. Don’t you just LOVE it! Check out the forum and leave her some LOVE!

 and now…

1. What is your screen name and how did you choose it? What is your real name?

I go by the name of Neverland Scraps online however my friends call me Wendy.

How did I get the name? Well before I knew how to scrap I belonged to a baby forum. When I was starting up on my online beading business I was looking for a name. I stumbled into the Names Forum and left my comment for an online business name. A few days later one of the posters, a former designer, suggested that I do a play on words or something whimsical in reference to Peter Pan since my name is Wendy. She suggested something Neverland-thus my online beading business had a reference Neverland. When I started scrapbooking and designing I really liked the angle of using Neverland for my username. After careful consideration, I decided to add Scraps to the end, because isn’t that what we are doing; scrapping? Thus the persona of Neverland Scraps was created—all because of a baby name forum and a former online business adventure!

 2. What is your main job/career?

My main job is being a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, maid, chef and any other role that a woman takes on when she marries the love of her life. However when I have free time I design digital scrapbooking kits and have done so since June ’06. When the day comes that I am no longer homeschooling, I would love to have a Graphic Design job. I don’t know if that will ever come true, but it is my goal for when I am older.

 3. Are you married/children/pets?

Yes I am married to the love of my life. We have been married for over eleven years. We also have two children who are the main focus of 90% of my layouts! No we do not have any pets, nor do I want any in the near distant future! This Mama does not want to take on any other roles other than the ones stated above!

 4. Where is home for you?

That is a very good question. Home has been so many places for us in the past year. We’ve lived in Pennsylvania, moved to New York for a couple of months, moved back down to Pennsylvania for a month, vacationed at Disney and Michigan because we were waiting for my husband’s orders for our new post. Early April the Army moved us to our current location down south.

I guess if I were to pin point where home is I’d have to say that our home is where our family is one unit and together. As long as we have that, home will be many places and the Army can move us anywhere in the world and we’ll still be home—together.

 5. What are your 3 favorite foods?

7-11 Coke Slurpees, Outback Potato Soup and Philadelphia Cheesesteaks (I miss them!)

 6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Turkey Hill Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, which I can’t get here. So my splurge here is Dove Unconditional Chocolate Ice Cream

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet?

Depends, most of the time I only snack on Snyders Hard Pretzels. Other times I need something else such as a handful of M&M’s which will instantly give me a migraine. Yeah, I try to stay away from snacks—they are bad for the waistline! ?

 8. Beverage of choice?

Water with flavor pouches added, especially with Special K Strawberry/Kiwi Protein Powder or Ocean Spray White Cran-Peach Powder. However there are those days that you’ll see me drinking a Pepsi

 9. What’s your least favorite food?

Fish—I am terribly allergic to certain fish. I can’t even handle the smell of certain fish.

 10. PC or Mac? What program do you use?

PC Girl all the way!!! I scrap using Paint Shop Pro 9 and design using CS3

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

Back to my baby board memories! When I had my youngest over 5 years ago I started seeing these beautiful digital layouts being posted on the message board. I wanted to do it too! I went over to their scrapbooking board and asked a few questions to which I had no idea what they were talking about with all their technical terms! I decided that I needed to search online for my answers and after many months of Googling tutorials, searching for plain English tutorials I finally decided to give my hand at scrapping by using Microsoft Word. I struggled for months creating a layout with the program. It didn’t look anything like the other ladies layouts. One day, my father came over to the house and told me that I had Paint Shop Pro 9 on my computer. I had no idea because about the only thing I used the computer for was to check email. It was then that the door to digital scrapping was opened and the addiction was started!! I created my first layout the last week of February 2006 and have created over 500 digital layouts compared to the 40 paper scrapped layouts that I have created in the 18 years of scrapping!

 12. What was your 1st LO about?

Very good question and one that I don’t really know the answer! Most of the online sites and galleries that I participated have closed down or I’ve asked my gallery to be deleted for security reasons! I can’t go check out my oldest gallery because it doesn’t exist and the only gallery that I can look at doesn’t have all of my earlier layers. So I can’t honestly tell you what my first layout looked like since I never kept it for printing. I do know that my first 12×12 layout that I posted online was created with my first kit Neapolitan Lipstick—not bad for a beginner designer!

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

I enjoyed beading and still occasionally get email orders for Mother’s Bracelets. In fact, I have three neighbors who either had their babies or are expecting in the next month that I have to make their Mother’s bracelet. I used to sew, however when we made our last move, the movers broke my sewing machine and I’ve been without since April. It kind of makes it hard to show my fashion-designing child how to sew clothes! I used to cross- stitch, however I always ended up with a migraine. I have since sold all my cross-stitch items on EBay to prevent any other migraines! ? I also enjoy playing the piano and do so as a stress reliever. Sadly, we don’t own a piano here and the only place for me play is by visiting my husband at work, then I can sneak into the Chapel and play!

 14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?

I think the most challenge part is being consistent with my layouts. Some days I have good layouts that I really like, other days I have layouts that I look at and wonder what I was thinking. I always try to learn and do new things, but there are those things that I just can’t bring myself to do such as doodles. They just aren’t my style and so far I’ve yet to been able to incorporate them successfully in to one of my layouts.

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

I would love to learn how to build my own computer. I know a few things about computers and have installed hard drives and what not. I am nowhere near being able to put together a computer by myself without my father’s help. I want to learn how to build my computer as well as gain the knowledge to upgrade my motherboard and other computer components. I know I know how to change our cars oil, brakes and rotors, but I don’t know how to do them without my father looking over my shoulder and that is hard since he is 1000 miles away. I would like to gain the confidence in being able to take care of our car instead of getting frustrated that I have to take it to the dealer to change the oil because I’m scared the car will fall on me if my dad isn’t around.

 16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows?

Survivor and Amazing Race are things that my father and I watched when we lived with them for three years. The girls and I lived with my family while my husband enlisted, went through Basic Training, AIT and deployed. Those shows were something that we share. Now that we don’t live with them, we call each other during the show and after the show to talk about. My mother on the other hand, she and I still watch “together”

CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds and CSI:NY. Just like my father, she and I call and talk to each other the next day about the show. It’s funny watching TV with my parents while they are 1000 miles away! For myself, I enjoy watching NCIS and watched that a lot when I broke my leg. My children and I always watch everything on Food Network, especially Cake Challenges

 17. Describe your “scrapping” environment:

I used to have a computer room, but with our move, I lost that as our house has gone from 1,500 square feet to 900 square feet. Currently, my computer is in our bedroom because there is no other space in the house! Most nights when I am scrapping, my husband is laying in bed either playing his Xbox360 or watching wrestling. Because he gets up early for PT, he’s usually soundly sleeping around 9pm. After he falls asleep, TV is off and I can hear his snoring and rustling in bed. I always try to have a water bottle by the computer in case I get thirsty as well as try not to snack while on the computer. However, during ScrapMatters Birthday Weekend Speed Scraps, I spilled water three times on my keyboard. I have since had to replace the keyboard because eating and drinking at the computer is dangerous!

 18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be and why?

One would have to be frame. I’m a firm believer that your photo(s) have to be attached to the layout somehow and in my crazy mind a frame is often the best choice. Another thing that I find myself using a lot are stitches, either in crazy lines, shapes, individual, etc. I love my stitches and enjoy using them on my layouts!

 19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?

My new avatar says it all “I’m so much cooler online” How I act online is not how you would find me in person—don’t get me wrong. I’m a very honest and a faithful friend; however I’m not all that outgoing in real life. I have my quirks, don’t we all?!

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

It would have to be emotional! I don’t have a certain style other than I scrap with my emotions. If I have a migraine, my layouts are more prone to be thrown together with no rhyme or reason. If I’m feeling good when Im scrapping or creative, my layouts tend to have more clustering, layers or new techniques. If I am mad or upset, my layouts tend to me mellow whether in color, photos or tone. Going back in to my gallery I can tell you how I felt when I scrapped the layouts just by looking at them!

 21. Favorite LOs that you have done?

I needed to ask my family and three of the four said this one was their all time favorite layout because it was my youngest daughter’s reaction to her daddy leaving for Iraq the following day. It was emotional as is the layout That Moment-Priceless

Another favorite of my children was the one that I did for a speed scrap, Sully

However I think my personal favorite is That’s Right, She’s Wearing Pants just because I’ve never used three different alphas before or focused very much on a title in the past.I love the overall playfulness of the layout and love the end result.

However you can see all of my layouts at my gallery here at ScrapMatters

 22. Are you on any CTs? Which ones?

Currently the only Creative Team that I am on is Elegant Wordart by Bethany however I would be head over heels if I could scrap for all the talented designers at ScrapMatters!

 23. What is your favorite part of being a ScrapMatters Girl?

My favorite part was the day that I realized that I had finally found my home in the online community. I also love being active in the forums and gallery as well as getting to know the fabulous people here at ScrapMatters. I love being a ScrapMatters Girl and am thankful every day I get to log in to the site that I can call this place home and be encouraged by all the beauty that surrounds our wonderful site.

Thanks Wendy for letting us get to know you better!