I created this canvas for my friend Karen – and then….send it and forgot to take a photo. But you know…getting the photo of the project her holding it…is cooler anyway ;)

Diesen Canvas habe ich für meine Freundin Karen kreiert und dann….weggeschickt ohne ein Photo davon zu machen. Aber wisst Ihr was…ein Photo von dem Canvas, wo sie diesen sogar hält…ist eigentlich eh cooler ;)

*Embrace your Life*

Supplies: Acrylic Paints, Glimmer Mist, Luminart colors, Grunge Alphas, Glossy Accents

I used heavy acrylic paint on it which makes for a nice tactile background…it was fun :)

Nat

Sorry- I’m late but I had a reason…sick again with tonsilitis and it is really no fun! :(

Tut mir leid- ich weiß ich bin spät dran, aber ich hatte einen Grund…schon wieder eine Mandelentzündung und das ist echt nicht witzig! :(

So here it continues – und hier geht es weiter:

18. by Janet Zeppa
…How much time a day do you spend scrapping?

It depends – sometimes I spend 4-5 hours or sometimes just half an hour for a single Step or short change.

19. by Jana, laura j

…Wie lange brauchst du ungefähr für ein Layout?
…I would like to know how much time you take to complete a layout.

LOL – Lange ;) Manchmal mehrere Tage – so 3-4 Stunden meistens würde ich sagen.

LOL – LOOONNNG :) sometimes a couple of days- about 3-4 hours an average I would say.

20. by StampinCathy
… I would love to know how you decide what colors and layout you use?

It depends more on the theme or the journaling I choose and that most of the time reflects in the colors.

21. by Jan

Ist das LO wirklich von Dir (Is this layout really yours?)

Ja Jan….lol- es ist wirklich von mir ;) (Yes….it is :) )

22. by Erin in Germany and by Jean Marmo

…Which is your favorite tutorial or technique?
…My question is…what is your absolute all-time favorite technique?

Puuuuhhh-that is such a tough tough question. I think it is to alter my photo backgrounds.

23. by Sue Clarke
…when did you start to use paint on your LO’s and who gave you the idea?

Ok – i actually did some research and while there were some little traces of paints here and there on layout- I think my very first layout where I used a lot of acrylic paint was this one I created in November 2006. I think I was inspired by Vivian Bonder to use paints – that got me all started.
24.by Hannie from Malaysia
…Do you use brads in ur layout? do they rust and how to avoid that?

I used to use brads quite a lot in my earlier layouts and still use them here and there but more the extravagant ones ;) . The non coated ones I used did not rust so far- though I have to say this is not a very humid climate here- and it might be difference to Malaysia. Do you have this problem- and does it appear only with non coated brads?
25. by Char- D
…Do you prefer to buy or make your own embellishments?

I used to make my own embellishments in the beginning but now – and i guess that is because I spent lot’ s of time for the background already, I tend to use more premade embellishments. The above layout shows flowers that I needle felted in August 2006 myself- you can see the tutorial also here.

26. by Paula R
…My question is, do you ever get in a rut and find yourself overwhelmend with all the products that you have available to you? How do you get out of it??

Oh yes- of course! But I also have the problem sometimes that I have wonderful new products- that I want to use- but I don’t get to them. For example Grunge Paper- I have it here for actually 4 months I have not used it yet…I should get out of my rut right now and use it ?
27. by Michaela
…Wieviele LO hast Du bereits gemacht oder zählst Du sie nicht? (How many layouts have you created so far- did you count them?)

Ich zähle sie nicht – aber bei 2Peas habe ich bislang 675 Layouts hochgeladen- ein paar fehlen aber ?(I don’t count them- but on 2Peas I have about 675 Layouts so far- they are not all the ones I created)

28. by barbara
…When you scrap do you listen to music for inspiration?
I do listen to music –loud! -when I scrap and I’m sure it  gives me inspiration. :)

29. by Kerstin
…Wann scrappst Du endlich mal in Hauptstadtnähe? ;-) (When are you scrapping in the capital of Germany?)

Mmmhh – bislang ist nichts geplant. Ich bin ja gerne in der Hauptstadt…ich würde mich freuen, wenn sich mal was ergeben würde ?
30. by Melanie
Ich wuerde gerne wissen ob sich Deine Perspektive in Bezug auf Erlebnisse & Alltaegliches durch das Scrapbooking geaendert hat.

Auf jeden Fall. Ich erlebe meine Alltäglichkeiten bewusster und bei manchen Erlebnisse versuche ich meine Eindrücke eher mit Fotos zu dokumentieren, weil ich weiß, dass ich sie später scrappen möchte.

31. by Cristina
…How do you find the time to make all these beautiful creations?

I take the time. See I work a lot but I still take this time. Instead of watching television in the evening or doing sports (which I probably should do- yikes- LOL) I scrapbook. I  sometimes only spent half an hour on a very busy day, but I still try to get creative every day.

32. by pauline and Lynda aka arlsmom
… a LO doesnt turn out quite how you intended it to be,(nicer way than saying any mistakes?) what do you do, throw it away or try to turn it into something else?
…What do you do with a layout that you may make a mistake on…glue something upside down, crooked…. what do you do?

(layout with a wrong date…LOL – already October 2009 …ahem)

Mmmhhh – one thing is, that I do not glue anything down till I have layed it all out and layered it up. (my friend Liz can verify that- LOL – since she hates it when she things I already assembled a layout and she picks it up and all falls off) So big mistakes doesn’t happen very often. But if so – I cover it either up or just leave it as it is…I’m not too sad about mistakes- they are me…I make mistake…I’m human- LOL
33. by DeanaB
…Do you have a favorite product line? :-)

Severals ? – actually of course the ones I teach with or I’m on the DT for…but there are way more.

34. by Maj-Britt
…Meine Frage: Wann sehen wir uns endlich wieder???? (When do we see each other again)
LOL – Gute Frage…..hoffentlich bald! (hopefully soon)

35. by Michelle
….Do you really create something every day for your blog posts or do you do a lot all at once for the whole week?
I do never create something especially for my blogposts – I either have something or not- LOL. Sometimes I have a lot of layouts or projects and can pull from those if I do not have something brand new to tell ?

————-

And now the winner……with a random generator :) und nun der Gewinner des Raks mit einem random generator

AND THIS IS:

Congrats Girl- you will receive a really nice package :)

So Janet – please email me your snail mail address to nathalie(dot)kalbach(at)gmail.com !

Nat

Wow- a lot of awesome and fun questions in my Blog-Aversary- Give-Away Post. And seriously it were so many- I have to break this post in two…and make you wait a bit longer for the winner :) But maybe you like to read my answers – so here are the first ones.

Wow- das waren ja ne ganze Menge coole Fragen in meinem Blog-Aversary-Give-Away Posting. Und ganz ehrlich, es waren so viele, dass ich die Antworten in zwei Teilen geben muss…was heißt, Ihr müßt noch ein wenig länger auf den Gewinner warten :) Aber vielleicht macht es Euch ja Spaß in der Zwischenzeit meine Antworten zu lesen – also hier sind die ersten.

1. by Sue Brown
okay Nat, do you try to have everything acid free and archival on your work? Or are you like me and will use just about anything and everything. (ob ich säurefrei scrappe oder mir das eher piepenegal ist)

Actually I do not care and use everything and anything ? As you see I used packaging for Grungeboard and corrugated chipboard from a pizzabox. You know I love the aging look of old photoalbums – for me it is part of the work – and not everything I did has to be in this world forever ?I’m not that interesting- LOL

 2. by Renata Pacheco, Michelle LaPoint Rydell, sandi in fl, Barbara

…I’d like to know how do you begin a layout – by the photos, by the technique you want to use, or something else?
…I would like to know your process for coming up with a layout

…My question is, what is the first thing you do to come up with an idea for a project… so I guess I’m asking, what’s the first step in your creative process?
…When you start a layout what do you choose first the photo, or do you choose the products your inching to get your fingers dirty with?

That is really different, sometimes I I have the papers first and I look at them and a theme or photo comes to my mind that I want to use with them. Sometimes I do have a photo and I look for materials I could use for them – but most of  the times I do a background with some technique and then during that process I have an idea for a photo or theme with it.

And Renata added this to her question:  By the way, you could do more online classes… I’m too far away to attend your classes in Europe!!

I do have a running online Class right now Renata – it is called Story Teller and you can take a look at it here:

[youtube width=”325″ height=”271″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTvnjeAyL_U[/youtube]
I might do some more online workshops in the future but right now I have no actual plans.

3. Eliane and by Pamela Young and by Aimee Moen and by Alison, hilde janbroers
…Where do you draw your inspiration from?
…My question, where do you get your inspiration from mostly?….where do you get your inspiration? Do you have like an inspiration book or board where you display what inspires you?… where do you find inspiration for your work?

I know that a lot of people answer this the same- but seriously – almost everywhere. I walk to work everyday and I see things that inspire me- people, street art, posters, houses, store windows but also movies, magazines, online galleries , art galleries- there is so much out there- the world is just a never ending inspiration!

I have a journal where I put my ideas and inspirations down – but I usually implement those into a layout or project right away.

4.  by Silke
…Mich würde interessieren, wie Du die Abdrücke mit der Luftpolsterfolie machst. Die verwendest du ja oft. Und außerdem würde ich gern wissen, ob es Haushaltsgegenstände gibt, die du für deine Arbeiten häufig zweckentfremdest :-)

(She wants to know how I do my BubbleWrap Stamping and if I use household items in my Scrapbooking)

[youtube width=”325″ height=”271″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEV4lAh4ChM[/youtube]

Ich benutze oft Dosen zum Stempeln, Folie für Hintergründe,  Küchenrolle um Muster in nasse Farbe zu pressen und vieles mehr. (I use cans for stamping. foil for backgrounds, paper kitchen towels to add patterns into wet paint and some more).

5.by Twinmom
Welche Acrylfarben benutzt du? (which acrylpaints I use)

Das ist unterschiedlich. Ich benutze Ranger Dabbers- vor allem auf Reisen oder für bestimmte Projekte bei denen ich mit dem Applikator spielen möchte. Ansonsten aber Golden, Amsterdam und alles was man so bekommen kann im Künsterbedarfsladen.

6. Melissa McP
… Meine Frage ist: Most of your layouts posted show journaling auf Englisch; aber ich moechte wissen, if the layouts you make for yourself are journaled mostly auf Deutsch? Oder findest Du es leichter, auf Englisch immer zu journaln?

I journal in English because a) my husband is American and English plays a big part in our life- LOL – and b) a lot of the  family members from my site are located in England. It makes sense for me to journal in English and as English is a world language I also think that the people that are interested in my journaling in the future will be able to read the journaling. I would like to add that I love expressing myself in German- but that is something I do the whole day also due to my work as a paralegal and quite frankly- my long winded German sentences are very dry – I find it hard to have a short and hip German- that is easier in English for me (although I know I make a lot of mistakes!)
7. by Maja

An wievielen CJ-Runden hast du schon teilgenommen? (how many circle journal rounds have you placed with?)

This one is my first one so far and I love it! (das ist meine Erste Runde und ich finde es total genial :) )
8. by jana
…Wie fühlt es sich für dich an, wenn du dein erstes neben dein letztes Layout legst und was denkst du darüber?(what do you feel and think if you put your first and last layout next to each other?)

(Nat’s very first layout!)

Was für eine witzige Frage….tja…was soll ich sagen….ich denke erstmal ….wow – gleich ein 12×12 layout und dann eigentlich nur noch 8.5.×11 Layouts und ….boah….was für ein langer Weg hinter mir liegt…und…hey….ich habe schon am Anfang Techniken gemocht- hier Nähen! (that is a fun question – well – I do think about the sizes and what a long way lays behind me and that I liked techniques from the beginning on :) )
9.by Inge Guillaume, Carol
…do you have a scrap room? if yes how is it organized? can we see pictures? if not how is your creative space set up? great layout! thanks for the chance to win :P
…How does your scraproom look? A place for everything and everything its place or let’s go with the flow?
…Which special lo would you like to make in the future?

My room looks sometimes messy- sometimes well organized. I have a lot on shelves as I’m a visual person and tend to use the things I see. I have a little stand where I work- a little table on the side with a sewing machine…which is mostly covered with stuff and a desk for my laptop and papers.

Special layout in the future – I would love to do a layout about me and my husband- but as kids – side by side and about the differences growing up in different countries.

10.by Aimee
….Hey Nat… What kind of pen do you use for your journaling?

For white journaling a Signo Pen for black journaling a black Zig Pen, for Transparencies a Faber Castell Transparency Writer.
 11. by Jeannie
So how do you get over scrapblock?

I simply let go….seriously! When I realize I have a scrapblock or missing mojo as I tend to call it, I just let it go and do something else. Reading, Going out, meeting friends, visiting Art Galleries – often doing things that I have not done for quite a while and then after a couple days my fingers are itching and I need to go to my room and all comes naturally.

12. by karin
Inspirieren dich die beiden gezeigten alten LO für ein neues Werk? Sind da Sachen/Dinge drauf, bei denen du denkst: Das könnte ich auch mal wieder machen? Also z.B. ein LO mit viel Quadraten, oder die Schleifenblumen oder eine Aufteilung.(Do you get inspired by the two old layouts you showed?)
Mhhh – gute Frage!  Also das Layout Unplugged inspiriert mich eigentlich dazu, mal wieder was mit Stoff zu machen – bei dem Kindergarten Layout ist das schwierig – ich mag es …aber es inspiriert mich nicht. (Not really beside the fact that I itch to use fabric again)

13. by AlexM

Well I would like to know why you chose to work with rectangular format the most and which scrapbooker did inspire your funky-messy style the most?

I first chose the rectangular format in the beginning of my scrapbooking because I was overwhelmed with the 12×12 format- but over the years I’m really grown to it and I love it that it is still ununuasal to scrap this format. I know that  a lot of doors remained closed for me because of this…but this is me now…and I will stick to it.

In the beginning of my Scrapbooking I was totally inspired by Celine Navarro and also by Catherine Scanlon and Vicki Chrisman – they influenced me with their techniques and way of signature scrapbooking. I still adore them ?Celine made me realize that there it is a wonderful way to incoporate mixed media techniques into scrapbooking, Cat made me want to stitch and distress and Vicki just blew me away with her techniques and wonderful dreamy yet shabby style. My dream is still to meet Vicki and Cat for a Retreat- we had talked about this in the past- but it never worked out.

14. by Carola
How has your scrapbooking style changed since you started and where do you see it going in the future?

I would say it changed from „trying out all and everything“ to „I know what I like and have a signature“. As you see in this layout above that was published in Simple Scrapbooks – I had a different style in the beginning and it suited this magazine well. LOL – later not anymore – and that is totally fine- I still like my old layout because of the journaling- but I do like my present style better- it is more me.I do not know yet where it will be going. I stopped thinking about it. I want to develop myself further but I do not want to put pressure on me how fast. We will see.
15. by Brenda W.
…I love it that you use a lot of bright colours on your layouts. Did that come naturally to you, or did you have to work up to it?

I love bright colors and I love to use them. Funny enough I used to  only wear black or muted colors before I started scrapbooking. Since I use a lot of colors in my layouts I wear more colorful clothing too. Colors make me happy-
  16. by Stacy C.
Do you have a favorite tool that you use most often?

[youtube width=”325″ height=”271″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LAzoV1SxcQ[/youtube]

My Brayer ? Because it is the coolest tool in the world and versatile.

17. by Sabine
Mich würde interessieren, gibt es jemanden in der großen weiten ScrapperWelt den auch Du unbedingt noch gerne kennenlernen möchtest? (If I would like to meet some certain people in the Scrapworld)

Ja – da gibt es schon noch einige, die ich gerne mal kennenlernen würde. Eigentlich eine ganze Menge- von meinen Designteamkollegen bei Rose Moka bis hin zu den anderen Primadonnen, die ich noch nicht alle getroffen habe – aber auch einige deutsche Scrapper ?
—————

That is it for today- puhhh – more answers tomorrow- I really hope you enjoy those. And the winner will be posted with the next thread too.

Das war es für heute – puhhh – mehr Antworten morgen – ich hoffe wirklich Ihr mögt das. Und auch der Gewinner wird mit dem nächsten Post verkündet.

Nat