Member Spotlight-Michelle Pokorney

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your family? I met my husband Jeff of nearly 11 years on a blind date. We moved in together after 3 months and got married in Vegas 8 months after that (shotgun wedding??? it was because he was deploying with the Air Force, getting out upon his return, and I was scheduled to move shortly after he returned). We have a VERY beautiful and intelligent 5-yr old daughter who keeps us on our toes and is my main scrapbooking inspiration.
2. How and when did you start scrapbooking? Jeff and I went to Africa on a 3-week safari in June, 2002. When we returned with 17 rolls of film, a friend of mine hosted a scrapbooking party to help me get started and I've been hooked ever since.
3. How would you describe your scrapbooking style? Ugh…I never know how to answer this question. I think the best way to explain it is to say that I'm linear and geometric...which probably comes from my college major (Math). My husband laughs at me because I can't even put my photos on an angle...
4. How often do you journal? Is it important to you? I used to NEVER journal until I got a mini scrapbook from one of the teachers at my daughter's daycare. She wrote comments about misc artwork, photos, and events during the year in her class. The journaling was hand written on address labels, and when I read it, I cried. The journaling told stories I'd never noticed or even thought about in the art work and projects my only daughter created. The one with the most impact was pointing out that Erica was trying to write her name on one of the projects…the teachers usually write each child's name down so they know who the project belongs to. Erica saw this every day and tried to do it herself. It made me wonder how many projects I threw away (no, I don't keep them all) with her "name" that I had never noticed. It was then that I realized how important journaling is…it's the little things that people might not remember or even realize if they aren't written down, and sometimes the little things have a BIG impact or meaning. Now I try to journal *something* on every layout. Some times I journal as basic as when, where, who; and other journaling will have a longer narrative included.

5. Do you have a dedicated scrap space (room)? What does it look like right now? Yes, I have a scrap room. Up until the week before the New Year, it was more of a war zone that had to be maneuvered thru. I purged and cleaned and organized to prepare for the AC Bailey online crop and now I can actually work at either of the two tables in it. I'm resolving to clean up after every project I work on to keep it organized this year…oh, and my incentive is that I get to go on an out-of-state retreat if I'm able to keep it clean (yeah!!!).
6. What are your "go to" tools or supplies when you scrap? I am an idea book junkie!!! That was most of what I had to purge in my room. When I try to "create" a layout in my head, it never turns out quite as I dream it. But I love looking thru books and finding aspects from several layouts (general layout, techniques, colors, pix placement, etc) and then tweak it to make it my own…
7. Where do you start when you get ready to create-sketches, supplies, photos....? I usually start with the sketch and then pick the photos and the supplies. That said, sometimes exciting new supplies call to me and other times I'll want to scrap a particular photo or event if I'm in a particular mood.
8. Are you a scrapper or an artist? Definitely a scrapper…

by: C. Mercer