Hi from Deborah

I'm Deborah and, like Erin, I'm back for my third year on the ScrapbooksPlus design team. I've really enjoyed working with (and laughing with) the 2009 team, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all our new gals!

About me ... I've been scrapbooking since 2005, and like most years, you're likely to see one of my two kids in most of my layouts. When you're the primary photographer it's not as easy to get yourself in the photos and, well, they're much cuter anyhow. We've been in Springfield for almost six years now, but have spent most of our "grown up" lives in various parts of the DC area. My answers haven't changed much since last year - you can see them here - so I'm going to use Erin's idea and give you my top ten scrappy things I can't do without.

My Favorite Scrappy Things

1. Cutterbee scissors. I use these on everything. I've been coveting a pink pair ever since they came out with them.

2. Tim Holtz's Distress Ink -- who am I kidding, really anything Tim Holtz comes up with. His inks are so versatile - you can blend them, emboss with them, easily ink edges... And don't get me started on the distress stickles and the distress crackle paint. Thanks to Jen Starr's class I've really gotten into playing with his alcohol inks, too. I'll be sitting front and center next Saturday for both her classes.

The tag I made for the wall used lots and lots of Tim Holtz products -- four colors of distress ink, grungeboard, rock candy distres stickles (on the heart), and rock candy distress crackle paint (on the tag).


3. Glimmer Mist. So easy and fun to use. Glimmer Mist is a quick and easy way to make a background, color chipboard and flowers, or change the color of plain alpha stickers. Pair it up with masks and stencils and you can really change the look of your cardstock or patterned paper.

4. Patterned paper. Love it. Must have it. Lots of it. My husband thinks I could open a Springfield branch of ScrapbooksPlus with all the paper I have! I like a lot of variety - stripes, dots, muted, floral. Some of my favorite brands are Jenni Bowlin, Making Memories, and Cosmo Cricket. But, I'm salivating over the new lines just being released from My Mind's Eye, Jillibean Soup and Reminisce.

5. Coordinations cardstock. This cardstock is so versatile. It's double-sided with different colors and made to sand and distress. And even better they've just come out with patterns - look for it in the store this spring.

6. Journaling spots. My current favorite journaling spots are from Maya Road. I've bought several packages. I love the feel of these - and I've used them liberally the past several months in my projects.

7. Tim Holtz's tiny attacher stapler. I love these itsy bitsy staples! It's easy to use and one of the best ways to attach ribbon or fiber to your projects. And did I mention it's from Tim?

8. Snyder's mini pretzels. One of the best snack foods because they're bite-sized, they don't make crumbs, and you don't get your hands all greasy. Great for scrapbooking.

9. Thickers by American Crafts. These are my go-to item for titles. They come in so many colors and textures there's bound to be a set of Thickers just right for your project.

10. Pop dots. Three dimensional items on your page make things interesting. Using pop dots -- or any three-dimensional adhesive - is an easy way to make your embellishments stand out. In the layout below, I used pop dots with the paper-punched snowflakes.

So in honor of the impending storm ... here's my pagemap layout for the month. I cut out several of the shapes from SEI's Linda's Homage Foil paper and added buttons, a bit of pearly bling and some punched snowflakes.