Member Spotlight

This month's member spotlight is shining bright on Keshet Shenkar, user name Keshet. Let's get to know her a little better.

When did you start scrapbooking and what got you started?

I started scrapbooking when I was 16, in 2001. The way I discovered scrapbooking is actually a funny coincidence—my father is a business consultant and he once worked with Creative Memories. They gave him a bag with a starter kit, which he promptly put in the basement. I was poking around the basement looking for a photo album one day when I came upon the kit and started playing. As they say, the rest is history! I’ve been in love with photos and office supplies (too many mechanical pencils to count, anyone?) since I was a little girl, so I think I was bound to find this hobby sooner or later!

What are your top 5 favorite products and why?

Label stickers. Seriously, I cannot get enough! They add the perfect touch to anything from Project Life to a layout to home décor, and they make wonderful “homes” not only for journaling, but also other design elements. I keep them separately in my stash and go through them constantly.
Journaling spots. This is a teensy bit similar to #1, but I love to add journaling to my projects in pretty ways, and these die-cuts and tags are the perfect way to do it! I also love to layer them with embellishments. Elle’s Studio makes some lovely ones, and there are wonderful sellers on Etsy producing beautiful designs as well.
Border Punches. I have a few too many of these, but the basic scallop and doily designs are the real workhorses for me. I use them on nearly everything I create.
Flowers. I’m a girly-girl kind of scrapper, so it was very convenient that my new baby is a little lady! I love adding flowers, either pre-purchased or handmade, to my layouts. I also love creating flowers by layering journaling spots, stickers, and other items in my stash.
Letter stickers. Especially Thickers—and especially the Lullaby font! Nothing makes me happier than a big stack of letter stickers, and I use them on every page I create. I still remember my “happy place” at last year’s CHA—the wall of Thickers in the American Crafts booth!

What is your favorite Studio Calico product and why?

This is a tough one, but I’ll have to go with Fab-rips! I love using them as layers or pleating them into flowers. I’ve torn through so many of my packages!

What is your favorite go-to or signature technique?

I don’t know if this counts as a technique, but I would say handwritten, heartfelt journaling. Part of it is that I’m too lazy to get out the typewriter, part of it is that I love the personal touch, but almost every project I create incorporates my own handwriting. I also like to journal with as much depth as I can—I really use scrapbooking as therapy in that way! If I want to keep something private, I usually create a hidden pocket on the layout to tuck in my journaling.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration from life—my topic usually stems from whatever is new and challenging in my life at the moment. When it comes to design, I get so much inspiration from other scrappers, especially SC-ers—you’re the best! I also love reading scrapbooking, home décor, and DIY blogs, and get lots of ideas that way. Finally, my “color” board on Pinterest is where I store inspiring color combos.

What is your favorite color and/or color combo?

A combo of yellow, pink and aqua. I just love them together! I’m also loving all off the gray out there lately!

Tell us a bit about your design process.

I usually start with an idea of what I want the page to be about, whether it’s a sentiment or just something light about a recent vacation. I generally have a sense of what I want the layout to “feel” like—layered and haphazard, or graphic and striking, for example. Along with that comes a basic sense of where the elements will be. After that, I pull supplies, move things around, and cut and paste until I like the result! I don’t always start a project with a good vision of what I want to create, but I definitely enjoy the process much more when I do.

Tell us a bit about what else you do since we know you are creative in more ways than just scrapbooking.

My job doesn’t seem that creative (I work at a nonprofit doing divorce law!) but it actually does involve a lot of “thinking out of the box” and coming up with clever solutions to problems. In my non-work life, I love to use my creativity to decorate and organize my home, cook and bake Sabbath meals (I’m especially experimental with my baking!) and put together cute outfits for my munchkin. I’m also experimenting quite a bit with photography and would love to learn more!