december member spotlight

Hello!  My name is Adrienne Alvis and I live in a very small town in Southern Illinois.  I've been married to my wonderful husband for almost seven years now and we have three beautiful and spirited children.  Because of my hardworkin' hubby, I am very lucky to be able to stay at home with my children and create.   I started scrapbooking about six years ago and instantly fell in love!  At first, I only scrapbooked in my spare time as a hobby, but over the last couple of years I have been wholeheartedly determined to make it more of my everyday life.  

I started my blog, Table Scraps, just a little over a year ago and I joined Freckled Fawn's Design Team this past September.  I have been a Studio Calico member for over two years now and I remember receiving my first Studio Calico kit and thinking to myself, "Whoa! This is going to totally change the way I scrap!".  And it did!  I've been a lover of all things SC ever since, especially the amazingly talented members of it's community and design team.  

There are so many things about this hobby that I enjoy, but most of all I love being able to capture and document the moments that are making up my children's lives so they can share them with their own families one day.  This is truly my passion and I have learned so much and have met so many amazing people through my scrapbooking journey.

What are your top 5 favorite products and why?

1.  Washi tape of course!!!  It's so versatile and easy to add to a layout or card for that special touch or pop of color.  My stash has grown tremendously in the past few months thanks to my DT position with Freckled Fawn :)

2.  Mister Huey's Mists.  I love the visual interest that mist splatters add to my layouts.  I also like using mists to color wood veneer, chipboard pieces, and white card stock cuts from my Cameo. 

3.  My sewing machine - I can't scrap a page without at least a little bit of stitching on it!  I love the texture and handmade feel that stitching gives my layouts.  Wood veneers, Thickers, chipboard, vellum...you name it, I've stitched through it.  I've really put my machine through a lot, but luckily I've only broken one needle in the past six years!

4.  My Silhouette Cameo -  I love this machine!  It makes it so easy to add a custom title or background to a page.  I was over the moon when SC started offering cut files in the shop!  I think I own almost every one!

5.  Flairs/Badges - It took me a while to jump on the badge boat, but once I did I knew I was a goner!  This is probably the only embellishment that I hoard in my stash and think very hard about using before I adhere it to a page!

Where do you find your inspiration?

I love scanning PInterest, Instagram, and the amazing SC Gallery for inspiration.  I blog surf and love looking at crafty sites on the Internet.  I also love looking through fashion and home decor magazines to find great color combinations and to check out new trends that I can incorporate into my layouts.  I also find sketches to be a huge inspiration as well.  

What is your favorite color and/or color combo?

Turquoise, red, yellow, and gold have been my go-to colors recently.  I like to mix it up though and try new color schemes depending on what colors I pull from my photos.

Tell us a bit about your design process.

I always start with my photos and pull my color scheme together through them.  Then I go through my supplies and grab what I want to use for my layout so it's in full view.  Next, I start placing paper and items on my page until I'm satisfied.  I usually place my photo on my page first and then work everything else out around it.  I like to tell my story through my photos and design so my journaling usually takes up the least amount of space on my pages.  I never attach anything to my page until I'm 110% sure I like where it is.  After I add a bit of journaling, I will machine stitch and mist on my page for the finishing touch.  Sometimes this process takes an hour and sometimes it takes all day.  It all depends on my inspiration and the amount of time I get to work in between distractions (like laundry and cooking, ha!).

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

Other than scrapbooking, I like to read, listen to music, watch television, and hang out with my hubby and kids.  We're really into outdoor activities like fishing and hiking through the woods near our home.  I also love to ride my bike down our country roads and recently, I started running.  We keep it pretty low key and ordinary around our house, but I love it!  I've also been really focusing on my photography skills lately.  I've been taking a few online classes since I bought my first DSLR this past spring and I love experimenting with different settings and editing software.  I'm also a big fan of my iPhone and all it's app capabilities.  I love how I can capture so many more "everyday moments" with my iPhone and share them instantly with friends and family.  I'm really quite addicted!

I want to thank Nicole Harper and Studio Calico for featuring me in this month's Member Spotlight.  It is truly an honor for me and I think the SC community really is the very best!

Comments

[Brenda Roggeveen]

Hi Adrienne. I always love your colorful and fun layouts! So well deserved that you are in the Spotlight! Thanks for always inspiring me...

[Latrice]

I must know what town you live in? i went to school at SIU and my hubby is from outside of Springfield. How fun! Great work.

[Jamie]

Oh yay! I always adore your work adrienne, so happy to see you spotlighted! <3

[Adrienne Alvis]

Thank you all for your sweet comments! And I live in Du Quoin, Latrice...I went to SIU, too! xo

[jamie]

Wow Adrienne!!! This is fabulous!!! So happy SC highlighted such an amazing talent. And well written too!!!
~jamie